Mononoke vs OtherDesertCities

Mononoke is an unconventional synthesizer, designed to compose evolving soundscapes and musical textures. Feedback routing What sets Mononoke apart from other synths is that its voices (4 in each section) can be routed back into each other in multiple ways, creating all sorts of overtones and pulsating resonant frequencies. Sometimes harmonic, sometimes weirdly atonal. Sometimes clear and delicate as icicles, sometimes harsh as metallic blades, sometimes soft as fresh snow. This interaction between voices helps fuse all layers together into a coherent musical landscape. A tale of two engines The synthesizer engines (each of the two sections has its own independent engine) have relatively simple controls, which influence a complex system of many invisible, interconnected LFOs. But this is not your bread-and-butter general purpose synthesizer: think of Mononoke as one huge FM synthesizer where each voice is an independently playable operator. Together all operators contribute to a single soundscape. Expressive pads Complex soundscapes can be created live, using the 8 performance pads which let you modulate each voice independently in several dimensions. Your interactions with the pads will also be sent out as MPE/MIDI (when loaded as an AU plugin in a compatible host) so you can record and tweak your session. The onscreen pads can be latched individually so some voices can be used as drones, while others as can be added and removed as extra sonic layers. The pads are fully integrated in the Audio Unit plugin. Connectivity Mononoke is designed as an AUv3 plugin, with advanced Audio Unit features such as MPE input and output (!), a fully exposed array of AU parameters for automation and all the connectivity and scalability you can expect from modern plugins.  The standalone mode is basic (just meant for jamming and creating presets) and does not offer any connectivity, so if you want to use Mononoke in conjunction with other apps and effects you'll need to load it into a host, such as Garageband, Audiobus, AUM or Cubasis. Summary: - Audio Unit (AUv3) plugin - 8 voice polyphony, 2 independent engines with 4 voices each - Compatible with MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) and MIDI - MIDI Input and Output (only available when used as an Audio Unit plugin) - Limited standalone mode for jamming (full screen, no connectivity) - 8 independently tunable performance pads for expressive interaction - Universal, fully scalable to any screen size, supports fullscreen mode in AU hosts - Freely tunable voices, or quantized to semitones (with overall finetuning) - iOS10 (MIDI/MPE output from the plugin requires iOS11) or higher Also contains Mononoke Pads: an extra AUv3 MIDI controller plugin for playing MPE compatible synths using Mononoke's pads. Note: this is a separate plugin which will be installed in your MIDI Plugin collection. Mononoke Pads requires iOS 11.

Other Desert Cities, named for a famous sign on the I-10 highway leaving Los Angeles, is a workshop for creativity. As its namesake implies, there are many strange and wonderful things lurking inside. With six delay algorithms, each with its own personality, and extensive modulation, Other Desert Cities covers everything from basic stereo dual delays to never-before-heard granular pitch-shifting chaos. ALGORITHMS 01 Desert Shores Stereo Delay. A standard dual delay, with basic EQ, saturation, crossfeed, and spread. 02 Mecca Reverse Delay. A normal dual delay, except the repeats play backwards, with smooth crossfading and an optional Reflect mode that alternates direction on each repeat. 03 Cactus Dual-Delta Delay. More like a pair of tape decks in use, with individual speed controls from zero to 2x in either direction, and pitch quantizing to octaves, fifths, or semitones. 04 Thermal Multi-Tap Delay. A dual multi-tap with sixteen taps per side, spread, crossfeed, and basic EQ. 05 Mirage Multi-Head Delay. Imagine a tape delay, but the head is the rotating head of a VCR. Experimental, strange, and wonderful. 06 Sky Valley Granular Delay. A pitch-shifting granular delay, with control over grain size and scatter, and EQ. TEMPO Sync to your host, or don't: set the sync source to Tap and everything synced follows the tap button instead. Tap on screen, or assign a MIDI note or CC and tap from your controller; the AUv3 accepts MIDI input directly. MODULATION Other Desert Cities includes a full suite of modulation. Two tempo-synced variable-waveshape LFOs and an envelope follower, sourced from the main input or a sidechain, can modulate nearly every control in the user interface. DIFFUSOR A built-in diffusor smears the feedback path, pushing Other Desert Cities toward reverb territory, especially with the Thermal algorithm. LEVELS The secret superpower is I/O control. Every aspect of the signal chain's gain structure can be controlled and modulated: ducked, panned, oscillated, and enveloped to your heart's content. Mute and Input Level feed only the delay block, not the dry signal, so you get natural tails and send-style behavior from an insert. PRESETS A full factory bank, plus designer presets from Matthew Lyon, Red Means Recording, and Time Rival. Presets are cross-platform (patches made on the desktop version work on iOS, and vice versa) and appear in your host's own preset list, so you can change sounds without opening the UI. FEATURES - AUv3 plugin and standalone app - Delay times up to 2 seconds free, 10 seconds tempo-synced - Tap tempo from the screen or MIDI - Resizable, scrolling user interface - Cross-platform XML preset manager Also available for macOS, Windows, and Linux in CLAP, VST3, AAX, AudioUnit, and LV2 formats at audiodamage.com.