SWAM Sounds in Geoshred iOS App

[spaka...@gmail.com]

Has anyone else here done the Firmware 1.56 update and taken advantage of the newly affordable Audio Modeling SWAM sounds available vide the Geoshred app on the iPad? They are only £15 each, for which you get about 10 different versions of the sound with various effects added. That's massively cheaper than with other platforms. Of course you need the Geoshred app first, which is very cool in itself (about £27).

Erik has created a dedicated DM48 control parameter for this combo called Geoswam, that goes along with the others there (Wind, Keyboard, MPE etc). 

The SWAM sounds are fabulous, as expected! However, I'm finding my normal breath control settings for other apps don't work so well for the Geoswam sounds, and I need to use new ones. Still experimenting with that...  Just curious to hear what settings others are using to get the fine level of breath control they like.

[Douglas Tanner]

I've spent several days, literally, working with this and I even had a very helpful conversation via zoom with Pat Scandalis, the developer.  They are in the midst of correcting a couple of bugs.  One fix came out last week and another is due this week.  These mostly have to do with needing to reload the program "a lot".  The first bug fix helped quite a bit and the second will hopefully allow running the program in the background without it shutting down when you return to it after having another active program on the screen.  The other program I use a lot is iReal rhythm tracks. 

The best thing about it is that it works will with an iPhone, not just an iPad.  There aren't so many good sounds available for the iPhone.  I did find that I had to play with the breath control settings to get comfortable with it.  I found it worked best with less sensitive breath control that other programs.  It's the only program I'm using that is an actual MPE midi program.  Everything else I'm using just uses the global wind control settings.  So it's a little different.

Check for an update on it someday this week and the update that came out last week is 5.804.1.  So if you don't have that one already be sure to update to that.

I love the tenor sax sound and the violin and cello sounds are the best I've found anywhere.  You do have to work with Echo, vibrato and reverb settings in the  SWAM program to get them where you like them. The only problem I have with it is the size of the controls on the iPhone.  But once set, it works great.  If you do find you lose the sounds just restart the program.  They are working on that.   

Doug Tanner

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Douglas Tanner

978-544-2067

dtann...@gmail.com

[spaka...@gmail.com]

Tanks for your helpful comments Doug. Great you have addressed the 'playing in the background' issue with the developer - I also found it was not as good as my other synths in that respect. 

I have Tenorsax and Flute so far, might try the Cello. 

On that note, I have a query: the flute patch only goes down to C4, which is as it is on the acoustic instrument. I know I can play it an octave or more lower by using the DM48 menu, but because I'm using an alternate tuning with a different breathing pattern in the lowest octave I'd prefer to be able to leave it as-is, and just choose a lower range in the app that allows me to go below C4. By that I mean use the bottom two holes on the DM48, which at present make no sound with the Flute SWAM patch in the tuning I'm using. That's possible in many iOS synth apps, but I can't see how to do it for the SWAM sounds in Geoshred. I would go for the Violin SWAM sound but, from my Flute experience, I assume that one will only go down to G3. For the tunings I'm using, I want to go down to D3. Hence I assume I'd need to choose Cello...

The settings I use for most synths in my iPad are:

Breath Sens: 7; Curve: 1; Trig Level: 1;  Velocity Sens: 0

However, the SWAM sounds in Geoshred don't respond well unless Velocity Sens is 5 or above. Erik's standard settings are:

Breath Sens: 8; Curve: 0; Trig Level: 1;  Velocity Sens: 8  

I've tried them, plus many tweaks, but so far don't get quite the smooth, easy, granular level of breath control I'm used to with my other iOS apps, with the Geoshred SWAM patches. They seem a bit more of a struggle to control on a really fine level, no matter how I tweak. That's a pity, because the sounds are awesome!  Would you mind sharing your settings?

Cheers, Brendan

[Douglas Tanner]

I discovered that the SWAM midi doesn't support the last couple of notes that would be on a tenor or 64 hole chromatic. As far as I could tell that limitation was on all of the instrument patches, but I didn't actually test them all.  I just put a tenor chromatic tuning on the DM48 and tried a few different patches and the ones I tried were all the same.  They do work with other programs, like garageband and heavy brass.  So it's not the DM48.  I don't have a problem with that myself as SWAM  does support the lowest notes that would be on 14 hole harp.

Unfortunately I don't keep notes on the setting I use, but I probably should. So I can't comment about that right now.  However, that said, I learned from Slim Haprin that patches have different response patterns due to electronic components I don't understand.  So oddly, I found that with heavy brass the patch that responds the best, i.e,, quickest and easiest, is the solo trombone sound.  So I tend use that if I'm trying to play anything that requires quick response.  The SWAM tenor sax sound and the Cello seem to be most responsive in that system, but I haven't spent significant time on enough of them to be sure yet.  Because of the difference in patch response there may not be one set of breath settings that will work on all of them in the same way.

Doug Tanner

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dm48-digital-chromatic-harmonica/1e3190d6-fe2c-4142-98e6-30b58a80c312n%40googlegroups.com.

[Scotty D]

I'm thinking of grabbing the Geoshred app and maybe the Sax IAP to go along with it. Hoping they do a Black Friday sale. If not, I'm just gonna grab it. The app alone looks worth it even without playing with the DM48.

Scotty D

[H M]

The GeoSWAM Flute is the best responding app sound I have found so far for the DM.  

[Douglas Tanner]

I had good luck with the cello and violin sounds - especially in terms of tone and texture.  I might agree  that the flute is the most responsive though. I am always surprised at how much variation there is in terms of response between one sound as another.  A friend once explained to me why that is but it is way over my head in technical terms.

dt

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dm48-digital-chromatic-harmonica/36f29264-2821-4223-8133-b20eaee7e7f9n%40googlegroups.com.

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Douglas Tanner

978-544-2067

(mobile) 413-896-1110

dtann...@gmail.com