If you’re looking for an app to break from the generic, tried-and-tested mold, you needn’t look much further than Compasso Synth by Rubyjock, which turns your iPhone’s compass into a synthesizer. By tweaking the three main options – resonance/cutoff, LFO Rate, and oscillator detuning, you can produce some epic sounds, and each depends on which way you decide to tilt your device.
In a world in which many developers are, perhaps logically, basing their ideas for new apps and around the booming photography industry or the physics-based puzzler, it is becoming increasingly rare to find an app with a truly unique agenda. However, Compasso Synth falls under this umbrella, and simply encapsulates everything that’s good about software development. It’s simple, interesting, quirky, and although one might argue there is little skill involved, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
While it’s true that the random movements you make somewhat reduce the intricacy of the sounds produced, one can actually ‘learn’ how to make sounds from some sort of structure, and much like picking up a new instrument at a time, can result in hours of fun or ultimate annoyance.
Not only do I like Compasso Synth – which, by the way, is absolutely free of charge – but I like what it stands for. It’s not afraid to be different, and considering the compass is a rarely-consulted commodity in the days of 4G LTE and GPS, it has found a role for an old technology spanning centuries.
Naturally, the free apps tend to be more appealing than the paid versions, but in this case, Compasso Synth is worth a download on merit alone. If you’re bored, and feel like making a little whimsical music, I urge you to give Compasso Synth a try by clicking on the App Store link provided below. Having played around with it for quite a while now, I do believe it could benefit from one or two other sound options, but on the whole, it’s a well-crafted, fun little app.
(Source: Compasso Synth for iPhone on App Store)
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