It's been a while since I updated Caustic... I apologize. It's not that I haven't been working on it, it's just that most of the work isn't ready for release yet, little bits and pieces for the next BIG release.
Today, I put together a version of Caustic that includes a few tweaks but mostly two new export formats: Ogg Vorbis and MIDI.
Ogg vorbis is an MP3-equivalent compressed format compatible with most portable MP3 players and small enough to share from a mobile phone. Why not MP3? Because the licensing fees to offer MP3 encoding in Caustic would cost more than the app itself! Ogg is free and sounds just as good.
MIDI has been around forever and needs no introduction. It's still very useful for transferring musical data across apps. One of the original intended uses I had for Caustic was for people to create grooves on their phones or tablets while on the go, and then bring them into their favorite pro software later for completion. That's not to say cool tracks can't come out of the app itself, but I never intended to compete with studio rigs on powerful machines in terms of quality.
For now, only notes are exported, no controls. The beatbox is mapped to CH.10 with the two intensity levels mapped as velocity. The rest of the instruments are just sequential from Ch.1, no GM mappings (they play as pianos in Winamp). I tested importing a big track into Reason and it works well. Mapping the knobs to useful defaults (volume maps to volume pan to pan, etc.) is proving harder than I thought given my generic control ordering and setup. This feature might still come in later if I can clean things up.
You can choose these new export formats by clicking the textbox that currently says
"WAV" next to the filename in the "Export Song" dialog. It will cycle through the options and offer format-specific options like "quality" for Ogg.
For the next version, I'll be beefing up of the PCMSynth and Beatbox, as well as adding pattern editors to all machines to make it easier to design grooves in pattern mode. More on that later...
There's a work-in-progress user manual I need to finish, that will be released in the next version as well as on this blog as soon as it's ready.
I've also got a few other Android projects on the go, including a Caustic "Mini" for small screens and a couple of other really fun music apps I'll be showing off soon...
I just got the update :) Many thanks! You clearly have the best app in its class, and Midi export is going to be very useful.
ReplyDeleteMy one wishlist item in this superb app is that you eventually consider adding a primitive midi import as well, just so one can use e.g., a keyboard / other software to generate a couple of melodies and import into the sequencer to play with.
Anyway, keep up the awsome work. Thanks.
Awesome app. I started using it a week ago but was afraid to buy the full version because I hadn't seen an update in a while and was worried the project had been abandoned.
ReplyDeleteJust got the update and after reading this post saying there is more to come I'm buying the full version now! Thanks for the best music production app by far for android. I love this on my Motorola xoom.
Nice app. Lots of fun to use. Pattern editing mode for PCM synth will be welcome.
ReplyDeleteHow do I purchase the upgrade? Every time I try, it tells me "an error occurred while creating your order" with an "ok" button. I press the button, it dumps me back to caustic which says "error contacting your market server, please check your network connection"
ReplyDeleteI am posting this via my Motorola DROIDX running 2.3, so im pretty sure my network connection works.
Id love the ability to save and export!
Nothing on the (stupid, sorry) market gives me an incentive to get a prepaid credit card except this app. I would really prefer to shell out the 30 bucks to you instead of shelling out 30 bucks for that stupid credit card in order to pay you ridiculous 2.99€ for this.
ReplyDeleteIt's the app that saves android from being a total failure for musicians at the moment and if you love your fellow synthheads and your wallet, please consider a PayPal seller account and offering wire transfers (you just need a bank account for both) and feel free to put a price tag on that covers their ridiculous fees and your efforts. I'm sure other people wouldn't mind giving you more than 3 bucks as well.
Thank you very much for updating. First app I paid for. Caustic is my primary tool. Garageband comes second. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteJoining the small but mighty group here. Your droid App is a knockout and it's the first thing I've ducked into my wallet for since getting my new droid.
ReplyDeleteExcited to share some of my tracks with you. Your subsynth component in particular is stunningly easy to use and sounds great.
Don't sell this app short...I think it has the capacity to make some compelling and creative tracks, which I'll be trying to prove to you in the coming days!
If I had one thing on my wishlist it would be a sampling module (oh my god, what about an mp3/ogg/whatever slicer?).
Your tutorial vids are also top notch. Keep up the fantastic work and I'll continue to support this product. It's a steal at 5 times the price.
I´d like to see mic recording and a way to arrange songs easier with clustered portions for easier arrangement like is done in the caustic drum machine or on uloops. arrangement workflow needs a better design, i´m looking up for a solution and found that blog. Such a great app. Hope I don´t demotivate you at all. Adam Globalfirm
ReplyDeleteCheck my first caustic track on soundclick.com/globalfirm
ReplyDeleteit was hard to find out the ogg vorbis format is useless, besides playing in the direct device: couldn´t upload my track to soundclick. couldn´t open it in logic. but the wav file is better to work with in logic anyway. any how great app, hope you get in mic recording !!, M P 3and maybe an easier arrangement design. Thanks Awesome mixing options!
If no one has suggested this yet, loop (pattern) export would be fantastic. Thanks for all of your hard work.
ReplyDeleteTotally loving this app, but is there a way to record the subsynth 'live' and not just pattern sequencing? This is great though, like a baby Rason in my pocket!
ReplyDeleteOne feature I would love... a sample and hold for the subsynth. When combined with delay produces great rhythm tracks. Used to run the old micromoog through an analog delay and S/H to make great background rhythm/bass tracks.
ReplyDeleteYou still alive?
ReplyDeleteI sent a mail about a website to causticapp@gmail.com but I got it back as 'undeliverable'... :(
Still very much alive and still working on Caustic. I'll have some screenshots of the new 2.0 build up here soon.
ReplyDeleteNice update, great app! Also works well as a makeshift metronome for my guitar rehearsals. :)
ReplyDeleteOne feature I'd like to see is the possibility to add a sequence of chords to quickly set up a basic song structure (e.g. C G C Am F G...), without having to enter the notes one by one. That would make it a quick composing tool. But this is obviously just a humble proposal. Keep up the good work!
-Al
Getting really anxious to get a glimpse of 2.0.... What is the timeline? Will we be getting an early christmas gift?
ReplyDeleteCheers and thanks for creating Caustis,
Bousch
I mean Caustic of course.
ReplyDeleteBTW, not sure if this has been requested yet but it would be great to have a way to pan individual drum samples instead of the whole drumkit at once.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Bousch
Great app! Any news about development? Can you add one feature?
ReplyDeleteThere is no "search" button on my tablet, and so I cannot quick switch between instruments. Can you add button or gesture to qwick switch?
@Bousch: I'm hoping to have 2.0 for xmas, but I can't make any promises. Development is going well, but I won't push it until it's bug-free. I'll put up some teaser material here soon.
ReplyDelete@Dr.Cockroach: Yes, the next version will have a machine jump button in the bottom bar.
Any news?
ReplyDeleteI had to track through a handful of different so-so apps to get to this app, and when I opened it, I was VERY pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDeleteI TLDR'd your blog so far, but I have to say this is a really powerful app. I'm hoping that in the future there may be velocity sensitivity (depending on where you touch on the instrument button would be say, 5 levels of velocity?), export of said controls to MIDI, and additional stompboxes? Maybe the ability to use your own files in beatbox, generated in loopstack?
maybe a user debug/development package, for either devising one's own softsounds, or just porting over.
also, you can tell me to screw off. I haven't bought it yet, but I'm planning on it, as well as probably loopstack. I'd been eyeing budgerigar for a looooong time, but never saw any reviews or anything for it. WHen this came up, I had to find out more.
THanks for all of your hard effort in this venture! Really great stuff!