iOS
Borderlands Granular 2.1
2025
Borderlands a musical instrument for the iPad
Borderlands Granular 2.1 is available now as a free update for all existing users! While this is technically a “point” release, it is packed with a ton of new features, bug fixes, and improvements that I have been chipping away at for the past 5 years.
Borderlands Granular is a new musical instrument for exploring, touching, and transforming sound with granular synthesis, a technique that involves the superposition of small fragments of sound, or grains, to create complex, evolving timbres and textures.
The software enables flexible, real-time improvisation and is designed to support interaction with sonic material on a fundamental level. The user is envisioned as an organizer of sound, simultaneously assuming the roles of curator, performer, and listener. Gestural interaction and visual feedback are emphasized over knobs and sliders to encourage a sculptural approach to making music.
Create, drag, and throw pulsing collections of grains over a landscape of resizable audio files, dynamically and polyphonically sampling the waveforms beneath your fingertips. The iPad’s built-in accelerometer may also be employed to shape the sound with gravity.
Borderlands comes ready to play with default sample content included, but you may also load and export your own sounds via Audiobus, AudioShare, and real-time input from the mic or external audio interfaces. Recordings made within the app may be imported on the fly for layers-upon-layers of granulation.
It is also possible to improvise alongside the app – touches and parameters may be recorded, looped, stored, and duplicated. Entire configurations of clouds, sounds, and automation can be saved into presets, or “scenes,” that may be recalled at a later time, allowing Borderlands to seamlessly transition between the studio and the stage.
Highlights include tempo-synced grains via Ableton Link, waterfall-style input and sound on sound recording with an overdub control, semitone pitch tuning, a new ADSR option, proper scaling at all iPad resolutions, and artist presets from Electric Indigo, King Britt, Mikronesia, Tom Hall, and Cristian Vogel. There’s a lot more – please have a look at the changelog to see what’s new.
Borderlands Granular Highlights
- Tempo synced grains with Ableton Link
- Semitone pitch tuning option per cloud
- New waterfall-style streaming input mode
- Overdub level control for real-time inputs
- ADSR mode with automatable trigger pad for each grain cloud
- Automate sound position, size, and rotation
- New ring modulation, vibrato amount, and probability controls per grain cloud
- Proper scaling on new, larger iPads and iPads with different aspect ratios
- Scene contributions from Cristian Vogel, Electric Indigo, King Britt, Mikronesia, and Tom Hall. Presets from Arovane coming soon.
Borderlands Granular 2.1 Changelog
Borderlands Version 2.1 was released on 02.02.2020.
- Tempo synced grains
- Ableton Link support for internal clock and tempo-sync with other apps. Clouds may now sync their grain triggers to a global tempo, with or without a connected Link client.
- Sync can be activated on a per-cloud basis, allowing the mixing of trigger modes when multiple clouds are present.
- Grain windows are offset so sync aligns with peak window amplitude (i.e. exponential decay window syncs to the start of the window, sinc function and raised cosine function sync the middle of the window, reverse exponential window syncs to the end of the window)
- New sync division (1/256th up to 4 bars), beat offset (triplet, dotted, and other ratios), and sync phase parameters when beat-sync is turned on for grain cloud.
- New parameters
- Semitone tuning option for grain clouds with a range from -36st and +36 st. This can be activated on a per-cloud basis.
- A new probability control determines the likelihood that grain will play on the next trigger.
- Ring modulation frequency and depth per cloud
- Ring modulation frequency and depth per cloud
- New envelope mode
- An additional envelope is now available to shape the output of each grain cloud. This can be activated on a per-cloud basis. A touch-trigger pad appears inside the grain cloud when this mode is activated.
- A second parameter page appears when this mode is activated, displaying Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release parameters.
- The placement of the trigger pad allows simultaneous envelope activation and movement/dragging of each cloud.
- The trigger pad and envelope parameters are fully automatable via the same gesture recording paradigm used throughout the app.
- Automation updates
- Sound file position, size, and rotation may now be automated with gesture recording.
- “Ghost clouds” now appear when touching clouds with position automation. The primary cloud remains stationary, making it easier to capture and edit clouds that are actively moving around the screen. The ghost cloud continues moving its grains down the automation path, merging with the primary cloud when editing is complete and/or the cloud is no longer touched.
- New “background touch modes” – touch the screen background to activate ghost clouds for all automated grain clouds, add a second touch to pause all parameter automation, add a third touch to pause all position automation.
- Global automation speed can be increased to 40x original speed. New automation speed is recorded relative to current global automation speed
- Input / Output updates
- New “Waterfall” input mode for real-time granulation of input, which streams into the sound quad from the right edge. This mode makes it easier to create real-time granular effects.
- Overdub level allows sound on sound realtime input recording
- Files support allows easy access to the Borderlands documents directory.
- New Audiobus record trigger allows quick capture of sounds when Borderlands is in the background.
- Additional Improvements
- Audiobus 3 support
- Solo one or more clouds by touching clouds while pressing the mute button. Soloed clouds can be returned to mute by pressing the mute button (in its muted state) while holding the clouds, or by touching a new cloud to be soloed while pressing the mute button
- Borderlands Presets section added to scenes browser with example content.
- Artist scenes from Electric Indigo, King Britt, Tom Hall, Cristian Vogel, and Mikronesia.
- 48 and 96 kHz sample rate options
- Longer max grain duration – 6 seconds. Older scenes will still load with 3 second max.
- It is now possible to drop folders of audio into the app’s documents directory and see the folder and its contents as a unique header in the recordings browser.
- Pitch, duration, vibrato, and volume now impact grains as they are playing (rather than being queued for the next grain), resulting in more fluid parameter changes.
- Input can be monitored anytime, not just when audio is recording.
- Realtime input buffers now use double buffering to reduce playhead conflicts with grain playback.
- Tempo and automation speed values are now saved/loaded with scenes Clouds can be rotated and moved simultaneously by touching and dragging with two fingers.
- Cloud position can now be automated while the cloud is in parameter edit mode.
- Parameter automation begins playback on touch release – it is no longer necessary to tap the record button a second time to stop recording (only for parameters).
- Two-finger touch of automated cloud pauses automation when the cloud is not in edit mode.
- “Open blank” preference in settings to load blank workspace rather than default sounds on launch
- Switched keyboard to dark gray
- Bugfixes
- Input recording from line in / mic is working again on iOS 12+.
- IAA loading issues fixed.
- Gravity / cloud edge mode functionality now works when app is in the background
- Fixed crash that could occur when deleting clouds while accelerometer is on.
- Pan automation values now update properly.
- Blank scene can now be saved without freezing the app
- Location services removed from app
- Removed repeated airplane mode notification
iOS
Nembrini Audio Chromatic Tuner Plugin – FREE Accurate Tuner Tool with a Big, Bright LED Display
2025
Looking for the perfect tuning tool? Look no further than the Nembrini Audio Chromatic Tuner! With a big, bright LED display, this tuner is perfect for use anytime, anywhere. And with the iOS version for iPhone/iPad, you can take it with you wherever you go.
The Nembrini Audio Tuner also features calibration to any pitch standard, Drop/Capo mode for auto-transposing notes up or down to one full octave, and ±0.01 cent accuracy for ultimate tuning performance. So whether you’re a beginner or a pro, the Nembrini Audio Chromatic Tuner is the perfect tool for all your tuning needs.
Nembrini Audio Chromatic Tuner Plugin
The Nembrini Audio Chromatic Tuner plugin is a fast, accurate, high-quality tuner tool with a big, bright, full-color LED display. It shows the current detected frequency and note and has an audio signal output that can be muted for silent tuning.
The ultra-precise tuner gives ±0.01 cent accuracy with calibration to any pitch – A=440 as default. Drop and capo modes are available and the Nembrini Audio Chromatic Tuner plugin allows users to transpose notes up or down up to one full octave.
Chromatic Tuner is a versatile tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. It shows the current detected frequency and note and has an audio signal output that can be muted for silent tuning. This makes it ideal for use in noisy environments, or when you want to avoid disturbing others.
Big, Bright Full Color LED Display
The iOS version can be used close to your instrument (like an guitar) and the easy to understand and read results help you in tuning your instrument.
The tuner can be calibrated to a variety of standards, making it perfect for use with a variety of instruments. Whether you’re a musician or a sound engineer, Chromatic Tuner is a valuable tool that will help you keep your instruments in tune. The best is that the tool is available for free: Chromatic Tuner if you are looking for the iOS version you can download it here.
iOS / iPadOS users rejoice! Baby Audio has just released their two popular free plugins, Magic Switch and Magic Dice, as AUv3 plugins. This means that they can now be used with all AUv3-compatible DAWs on iOS and iPadOS devices. These handy little plugins are perfect for anyone who wants to add a bit of magic to their music.
Magic Switch is a powerful tool for creating instant variations in your sound. With just a few clicks, you can add echo, reverb, modulation, and more to your audio. Magic Dice is perfect for adding randomization to your sounds. Simply roll the dice and see what happens!
Both plugins are available for free download on the App Store. So what are you waiting for? Go and grab them now! And if you like what you hear, be sure to check out Baby Audio’s other products. They’re sure to take your music making to the next level!
Magic Dice
The BABY Audio award-winning Spaced Out plugin is used to generate the dice. It is a complimentary echo/delay, reverb, and modulation plugin. It’s completely random with every new click and creates strange and dreamy wet-FX textures, so you’ll never hear the same effect twice. Using it to to muddle alien modulation effects, hazy space echoes, and lush reverbs into the final sound is a great way to add personality.
Every time you click, Magic Dice creates new and unique random echo/delay, reverb, and modulation settings. More than 50 distinct effects are built into the engine, providing an infinite number of possibilities. Pristine and modern-sounding algorithm – powered by BABY Audio’s Spaced Out plugin
Magic Switch
The Vintage Junos of the 1980s had a one-button chorus effect that was modeled after the classic Juno “one-button” chorus effects. Dark and out of tune, excellent for creating dimension, color, and depth to digital songs. To adjust the color, use the mix slider. The technology inside BABY Audio’s Super VHS 80s retro color plugin is utilized.
The Juno-chorus isn’t a complete copy of the original, but rather our own vision of the ideal one-button chorus for today’s DAW world, where clean sounds are simple to come by yet genuine color is difficult to achieve. The BABY Audio Super VHS plugin was used as a source for the Beautifully Detuned, Rich and Moody Filter in the Vintage Modulation section of the Viola presets. It’s gone farther than the Juno chorus in terms of vintage modulation.
BABY Audio is pleased to provide its items to the mobile music-making community. In 2021 alone, the downloads for Magic Switch and Magic Dice in their original desktop form numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Because of the high rate of popularity in comparison to other Baby Audio plug-ins, this distinction has made them the most utilized baby audio plugins ever.
You can find both plugins in the App Store:
SampleTron 2 for iPad
The counterpart for iPad of IK’s complete collection of vintage tape-based sampling instruments and industry-leading tape-modeling technology
IK Multimedia releases SampleTron 2 for iPad, combining the powerful sound engine of award-winning SampleTank with IK’s industry-leading tape modeling technology to recreate the distinctive, ultra-vibey sounds of tape-based samplers from the ’60s and ’70s, along with quirky early digital sample players and vocoders.
SampleTron 2 for iPad overview
- 2.5GB virtual instrument collection of sought-after vintage and tape-based samplers
- Over 400 tracks sampled from vintage Mellotrons, Chamberlins, Optigans and more
- Each preset can load 3 tracks to split, layer and solo from over 400 available
- Features 11 modern non-Tron and vintage digital sample-based instruments
- Import Sample function creates user Tron sounds with IK’s tape modeling DSP
- Includes the full content of IK’s original SampleTron updated for legacy users
- 11 selectable effects with Channel Strip, Tape Echo, Multimod, and new Vintage Plate
- Assignable MIDI continuous controllers for use with external controllers
- Works as an AUv3 instrument plug-in and as a standalone app
Ready for iOS 15 and designed to fit the form factor of the iPad screen, this comprehensive collection offers immediate support for all iPad model sizes and AU Host apps. The UI design is based on the desktop counterpart with a user-friendly approach that’s custom-tailored for mobile music production and performance on the iPad.
From gothic to gritty
SampleTron 2 for iPad comes with a vast library of over 400 “tracks” that can be loaded into any preset-up to 3 at once and then individually processed with IK’s cutting-edge tape modeling DSP for ultimate tone-shaping flexibility.
While an extensive collection of new, original samples of vintage Mellotron and Chamberlin are included, SampleTron 2 for iPad also shines where it processes non-Tron material. Here users will gain access to exciting new sounds with the choir, strings, brass, organ, piano, bass, and even synths and vocoders that all come included.
Also included are vintage digital sample-based instruments such as the Mattel Optigan, Vako Orchestron and 360 Systems Digital Keyboard for more creative options than any other Tron collection. In addition, users will find the full content of the much-revered original IK SampleTron product.
Authentic sound and feel
Sounding better than ever, SampleTron 2 for iPad looks the part with a gorgeous interface that’s true to the original instruments. All 11 models are gloriously detailed and designed to offer the immersive experience of using actual vintage gear right on an iPad, even to the point of exposing their inner workings, all while maintaining uniform ease of use and functionality across the board.
Unique to SampleTron
All controls are intuitive to use with old-school looks on top of some ground-breaking engineering. Like the original Mellotron hardware, there are three available tracks for each preset. Users can load any of the included tracks without having to fudge the track selector to combine them.
In addition to the included library, ‘Tron characteristics can be applied to any sound. User samples can now be easily loaded and mapped to take full advantage of the tape processing sound using IK’s tape modeling technology. A panel of global controls along with six tape controls let users dial in exactly the right mood.
All the right tools
To fine-tune the sound further, SampleTron 2’s edit mode lets users dive deep into the preset parameters with controls for volume, pan, fine-tune, transpose, and high and low note range for each Track. Additional synthesizer-style controls include a filter with selectable type and an amplitude envelope with velocity control for each track individually or all tracks combined.
Effects like no other
SampleTron 2 for iPad includes a powerful set of effects. Effects include a Channel Strip equalizer and compressor, Tape Echo, Multimod-with selectable chorus, ensemble, flanger, phaser, Uni-V and Rotary Speaker-and the new Vintage Plate Reverb that’s based on the Plate algorithm developed for AmpliTube 5.
Expansive versatility
SampleTron 2 for iPad works as a standalone app or as an AUv3 instrument plug-in. Use it with popular AU host apps such as GarageBand, Cubasis, AUM, Beatmaker, Auria and more. It also supports MIDI learn and standard MIDI keyboard control for nearly all its functions.
Take control of the SampleTron 2 app with any compatible MIDI controller and use an iPad as the brains of a portable Tron module.
Pricing and Availability
SampleTron 2 for iPad is now available on the App Store for a limited-time introductory price of $69.99 (regular price will be $99.99).
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