Patch Base

This app is amazing. Great for programming synths that are heavy on the menu diving, and great for patch management. It supports a ton of synths and more are added all the time. Plus the new pricing structure is much better, it's a no-brainer for anyone with a couple of these synths. Seems like the price was an issue for people before but it makes more sense now and is very much worth every penny in my opinion. I use it regularly with the Roland D-05 and Korg Volca FM, both of which are currently pretty common and very accessible to the masses (they're cheap). They're also both very powerful but notoriously difficult to program from the front panel. Even just simple tweaks on presets can be a pain on the D-05/50 but with this I can easily build wild patches from scratch/init. One more thing, I couldn't figure out why something wasn't working but they got back to me and it was simply that the midi channel was reset during an update, they were very helpful in troubleshooting and answered other questions I had as well. They're doing good work!

Ok so when I was a teen in the 90s, I got my 1st synth (Roland D-10) not really understanding techno gear and what was really making the music I loved. Later I figured it out but I the meantime did my best with that D-10. I may not have ever made a decent sounding acid tracks but what I did do was learn to appreciate machines like that, to get creative, and certainly use them in ways their designers probably didn't intend. Since the first time I learned there was an iPad midi interface I've been waiting for someone to design an editor for some of these "ugly duckling" synths. Coffeeshopped has done it. These editors are amazing, cleverly designed and parameters thoughtfully arranged. So far every one I've tried works perfectly and immediately sent me down super fun new paths of sound design. I've read a few reviews balking at the prices. I don't agree with that at all. I don't feel those reviewers really appreciate what these tools unlock. Maybe it's the few decades I spent menu diving and button pushing on a TX-802 that have me convinced. But to me the value is in the access these editors give you to solid, professional, real vintage gear that can be had for tiny fractions of what more sought after vintage gear goes for. Thanks to Chadwick and I'm looking forward to more editors!

Honestly, it took me a while to warm up to this app. In the iOS world, it’s a bit on the pricier side, but compared to alternatives, it’s a great buy. Especially if you’re using synthesizers that require extensive navigation. And while the subscription prices seem like a ploy to nickel and dime people, it’s considerate of the developer to give users options to suit their budget/needs. I bought this for the Volca FM, and plan on getting the DX7ii editor very soon. The developer is responsive to inquiries, and constantly works to improve the app. Version 3 is a huge upgrade from the earlier versions. The new interface is a lot better, and specifically speaking of the FM editors, I particularly like that the per operator and global parameters are color coded differently (a feature not found in the older versions). I’m excited for what the future holds for this app.

I’ve collected a small stack of vintage rack synths and the latest release of Patch Base just added a whole new layer of happy creativity to my music. I’ve tried dedicated hardware and iOS editors as well as some MacOS-based options before, but the easy setup, clean interface and patch design features of Patch Base are fantastic — learn one interface, one workflow and keep creating. It did take a bit of troubleshooting and tweaking, but once I worked the out configuration it has been a charm to use. Now I can truly dig around in the settings of my Roland D-550 and Yamaha TX-81z and craft some unique vintage voices for my compositions with ease — in my living room, AirPlaying from Logic on my iMac to a HomePod controlling the D-550 from my iPad over WiFi in real time (admittedly, I did it because I could... 😎). Finally, I do appreciate the voting system for adding new gear. I’ve got a couple of synths that aren’t covered yet (Access Virus Rack and a Roland MKS-70), so I’ve voted them onto the list along with some others. Listening to customers is a good thing and I get a sense that the developers do care about vintage gear. If you’re a hardware synth person, don’t let the price get to you. It is worth it.

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Looks like this developer decided to adopt a subscription pricing scheme on an already overpriced app. But now you can’t even preview the program templates before you buy which is exactly why I decided against purchasing. I was about to buy the Mopho, volca fm, and jd xi program interfaces (used to be $20 and is now $30!! Lol) but I’ll look elsewhere as there are plenty of reasonable alternatives with better GUI and free (lemur, max4live, okdev for the jd xi which is free). I realize I could subscribe for a month and get all the templates for less but I would rather invest my time and money into something I plan on using long term without being billed monthly. If the pricing was reasonable like $10 per synth I probably would have bought all 3 even without being able to demo before buying like before the update and like the website claims you can do. 👎👎