Euclidean Instruments LKC have released Microton Bass, (preciously desktop only), available for $2.99.
For decades, modern Western music has been largely restricted to 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET)—the standardized tuning system that dictates the twelve notes on a standard keyboard. While 12-TET built the modern music industry, it also locked us into a specific set of tonal rules.
If you’ve ever felt that traditional synthesis is running out of new territories to explore, it might be time to look between the keys.
Microton Bass is a virtual analog monosynth designed for iPad and desktop app that offers a fresh, highly visual approach to microtonal synthesis, aiming to make microtonality accessible, intuitive, and deeply inspiring for electronic music producers.
Most software synthesizers treat alternative tunings as an afterthought—hidden deep inside submenus as obscure .scl (Scala) files. Microton Bass puts tuning at the very core of its design.
At the heart of the interface is the monochord: a touch-sensitive line segment representing the synth’s current tuning. Instead of dealing strictly with abstract numbers or confusing frequency charts, you can visually see the mathematical relationships of your scale’s elements.
- Drag-and-Drop Tuning: Move elements along the monochord directly using touchscreen controls to instantly shape your scale by ear.
- Math-Driven Precision: For the music theory purists, the built-in Element Editor allows you to type in custom mathematical expressions to define exact frequency ratios.
- Custom Visual Keyboards: You can personalize your virtual keyboard by recoloring keys, renaming notes, and reorganizing key ranks to match your custom tuning system.
- Global Musical Traditions: It comes loaded with built-in tunings spanning ancient music history, regional non-Western scale systems, and modern 21st-century microtonal experiments.
A synth can have the most innovative tuning engine in the world, but if it doesn’t sound good in a mix, it won’t stay in your workflow.
Euclidean Instruments intentionally paired their microtonal engine with a fat, 1980s-inspired virtual analog architecture. Designed to deliver the low-end punch that defined house, acid, hip-hop, and electro, the audio engine features:
- Wave Blending: Smoothly blend between punchy square and rich triangle waveforms.
- Resonant Filter Envelope: Sculpt the low-end from deep, chest-rattling sub rumbles to squelchy, croaking acid basslines.
- Psychedelic Character: When applied to microtonal scales, classic analog-style warmth creates lush, shimmering beating frequencies and unusual harmonic overtones impossible to achieve in 12-TET.
One of the biggest hurdles with experimental iOS instruments is getting them to play nicely with a standard DAW setup. Microton Bass solves this by supporting AUv3.
Whether you’re producing inside Logic Pro for iPad, GarageBand, AUM, or Cubasis, you can host Microton Bass directly as a plugin inside your mobile session or desktop workflow, complete with full automation and recall support.
Microton Bass is available to Windows, Mac and iPadOS users (VST3, AU and AUv3).
For more information on Microton Bass, click here:
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