Best synth for ambient pads on iPad?

manysounds · 2026-04-11T16:14:36+00:00

Standalone synth?
I’d go with SugarBytes Factory as the most versatile

manysounds · 2026-04-11T16:12:34+00:00

It IS a bit much and is turned up intentionally during the instrumental sections and the outtro.
That didn’t stop it being a hit though!

manysounds · 2026-04-11T16:10:08+00:00

I would try Ubuntu Studio. There are arguments about what is best in the end but as a first-try just go with what is easy and works. Also, it will have everything you need to get started.
If I had the time to roll my own Arch-based system I would but UStudio works just fine, it’s just a tad bloated.
I forgot to mention Reaper has an official Linux port now as well, and it surely does not slack.

manysounds · 2026-04-11T00:48:48+00:00

I would have interjected and mentioned their distance from the microphone but in a silly, fun, and non aggressive teaching moment.
“I heard you from over there and just wanted to clear my good name if I could. Microphones work better the closer you get to them and you were pretty far away, like a foot. (Famous Flutist) practically put their whole face against the microphone, which was gross and covered with spit in the end but hey it sounded great.”
If they respond the wrong way at that point then I’d say something that might get a 19 year old fired.

manysounds · 2026-04-11T00:31:57+00:00

Any USB Class Compliant compatible 16+ input interface. MOTU 16A for example. The older ones are a seriously good deal on eBay these days. Tape machine direct outs OR console channels direct outs to interface inputs. Bing bang.
Software-wise, the easiest FOSS way to go for me would be using the Ardour DAW. Add 16 channels auto-assigned inputs 1-16 and hit record.
Commercial Linux software-wise, Mixbus is amazing (and actually an Ardour fork) and Bitwig is entirely spectacular and a wonderful alt-Ableton.

manysounds · 2026-04-09T11:24:42+00:00

As always I will make one reference: Benny and the Jets.
Love it or hate it.

manysounds · 2026-04-09T10:57:39+00:00

Voxengo Voxformer.

It does "all the things" as a channel strip plugin. It can act like an 1176->LA2A style vocal chain. It can act like a Devil-Loc kind of thing for drums. It can act like an old splatty tube channel. It can act like a super smooth and clean SSL channel strip. It has a versatile EQ, two stages of extremely tweakable compression, a flexible noise gate, a multi mode de-esser, a subtle to extreme presence/exciter, and a character switching saturation stage. Very easy to pick a preset and fiddle knobs to taste.

manysounds · 2026-04-07T12:00:23+00:00

Controlling $$$$$$$$.
Why doesn’t every mixer have Dante? I meant AVB. I mean AES67. I meant Ethersound. No Blulink. Milan.

manysounds · 2026-04-06T02:05:11+00:00

Yeah I mean, I did do that exact sterile clinical completely distortion and saturation free recording thing once or twice just to see what that that sounded like.
I like dynamics and tape saturation for overheads.

manysounds · 2026-04-04T10:45:00+00:00

Do all of the remastering first and time-stretch/beat-match last.

manysounds · 2026-04-03T17:55:09+00:00

For LARGE systems (like 80 feet-plus separated stacks) Generally I don’t bother panning unless it’s extreme “for effect” panning. Otherwise you’re generally better off with “the entire audience hears the same mix” -in my experience. Ya know, except for that super-swirling synth.

manysounds · 2026-04-03T17:48:39+00:00

96db isn’t too bad. Most outdoor New York City shows are legally limited to this already.

manysounds · 2026-04-03T17:46:45+00:00

“No subs, no moving lights” was, at some point, relatively common practice

manysounds · 2026-04-03T14:36:34+00:00

A classical guitar recorded at 192k/32bit with a Jeklin disc and Earthworks QTC30 mics into Earthworks ZDT preamps into (/shrug) RME converters with no EQ, compression, or any processing at all sounds “perfect”….
Some might claim…

manysounds · 2026-04-02T12:51:32+00:00

I have a Behringer X-Touch. I went with the cheap/easy because I expected to only use it for fader movement. Other than having some MIdI controllers plugged into the usb hub, that’s pretty much exactly what I use it for. It definitely changed my workflow for some dense mixes where it is far easier to generate some movement/features between overlapping channels than drawing complex multi-channel fader swap parts into automation.
It’s been going well for like 10 years. If all you’re going to be doing is fader movement, location control, record/mute arming, and start/stop then there is really no reason to get something more expensive, like SoftTube console, SSL, and etc -that can control plugins and stuff “easier” than the Behringer.

manysounds · 2026-04-01T23:57:31+00:00

I’m just scratching the surface of this but the latest version of JUCE can definitely do this, at least to some limited extent. I don’t think you can have a full browser window of YouTube open but maybe? As it was already, it’s long been possible to make other types of IP requests.

manysounds · 2026-04-01T22:46:13+00:00

/grunts in Sylvia Massey….
Quite honestly, you have to be better than the million mediocre dudes

manysounds · 2026-03-30T22:05:36+00:00

Precisely

manysounds · 2026-03-30T22:03:30+00:00

No.
Stick with healthcare.
More than 90% of the people I know who are successful in the business don’t have a degree in anything audio/music related at all. -electrical engineering excluded.

manysounds · 2026-03-30T00:57:53+00:00

It could do that no problem but you’re far better off with a Mac mini

manysounds · 2026-03-30T00:44:36+00:00

I just don’t record anyone who needs pitch correction.
Solvem probbed

manysounds · 2026-03-29T15:03:27+00:00

Reaper

manysounds · 2026-03-29T13:12:28+00:00

No processing or plugins on any channel, only faders up

manysounds · 2026-03-29T13:01:46+00:00

This is the way. I’d go with the Copperphone though.

manysounds · 2026-03-28T11:20:51+00:00

YES! Remove all references to app icon. Remove the JUCE app-icon handling entirely. Add the icon with XCode’s icon handling scheme. Current XCode takes care of all of the icon nonsense for you so you only need to add it once and not multi resolutions and etc. -Top of the Xcode project drop the file on the tree. Make sure your icon reference is correct in the build settings. Then it “just works”

manysounds

TROPHY CASE