Cryptoclash vs Sylvaris Sapling

Cryptoclash is a strange generative synthesizer, which translates letters into sound. By typing in a string of up to 20 letters (a-z), you set up the states of the sound engine, which are represented as roaming particles. Every time they collide, things can change! Use the accelerometers to change gravity, and tap on a ball to give it a velocity boost. Each time you choose the source string, you create a new sounding patch. Some sounds are noisier, and others more meditative; keep exploring and you'll hear interesting new tuning systems (such as 26 notes per octave), and different amounts of synthesizer feedback. The central idea behind this work is that of the musical cryptogram, where letters are turned into notes; but the sound engine here avoids such a direct and obvious mapping for a combination of physics engine (thank you Box2D), live coding, sonification, finite state machines, Markov models and feedback FM. Download Cryptoclash if you are open to stranger computer music sounds, and avoid it if you just want diatonic melodies and piano sounds! If you like this, or want a free starting point, you may be interested in the other two in an accessible live coding triology; TOPLAPapp and RISCy, already available on the App Store.

Sylvaris Sapling is a synthesizer for iPhone and iPad that you can play the moment it opens. Two big pads play chords in a key you choose, or single notes in a scale, so every touch sounds musical. Slide a finger on a pad and the sound moves with it: filter, pitch, delay, reverb and more answer to your hand. WHAT YOU GET • Twelve synth voices: analog, FM, wavetable, strings, chords, modal bells, chiptune and more • A filter and effects section with nine modes, including low-pass, high-pass, tape, chorus, phase, tremolo, doubler and crush • Delay and reverb • SEEDS, a phrase maker that turns the chord you hold into a flowing line. Hold it, or latch it and let it run • A one-button looper: record a part, play it back, and play over the top • Sixteen ready-made sounds. Save your own, and import and export them • Play it with a MIDI keyboard over USB or Bluetooth • A guided tour of 24 short steps that shows you how to play, one action at a time • Built for touch, in landscape, with big controls FREE, WITH NOTHING IN THE WAY No ads, no account and no in-app purchases. The app asks for an email address in one place only, and only if you want to hear when the full Sylvaris launches. ABOUT SYLVARIS Sapling is the starter edition of Sylvaris, a larger instrument from Greenlit Audio. Sounds you save in Sapling open in Sylvaris. Best on iPhone 13 or later, and on iPad mini (6th generation) or newer. Questions or feedback: chris@greenlitaudio.com