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Chih Han Lin Updates Contour – Ambient Morph Synth

Chih Han Lin has updated Contour, available as a FREE download which unlocks the Pro version.

What’s new in version 1.0.4:

Exports from your DAW come out clean, and a MIDI keyboard plugged into the app finally plays it.

  • In the app
    • A MIDI keyboard plays Contour. It never did: every message from an external controller was misread and dropped.
    • Recordings play back at the speed and pitch you played them. On most iPhones they came out about three times slower and more than an octave and a half low.
    • Sound comes back after a phone call, Siri, an alarm, or plugging in headphones. Before, the instrument stayed silent until you quit and reopened it.
    • Stopping a recording no longer freezes the screen, and a recording that fails says so instead of doing nothing
    • One damaged sheet file no longer hides every sheet you have baked.
    • Previewing and baking a sheet takes about half the time.
    • With nothing playing, nothing recording and no keyboard connected, Contour no longer keeps running in the background, With a keyboard connected it plays on as before.
    • VoiceOver can buy Pro, restore a purchase, and close the Pro and Settings panels. None of their buttons could be reached before.
    • With a keyboard, in the app and in a host
    • Playing legato no longer cuts off the note you are holding when you lift the one before it.
    • Pitch bend returns to the note when the wheel comes back. In the app it used to climb further with every message.
    • In the plug-in, the sustain pedal, pitch bend and aftertouch all work, and stopping the transport releases every held note.
  • In a host
    • Exports and bounces are clean. A host renders an export much faster than real time and Contour could not keep up, so most of the file was silence broken by fragments of sound. It now renders at whatever speed the host asks, and the same project exports the same way every time.
    • Exports keep the release and the reverb tail instead of cutting them off where the region ends.
    • Notes land where the host places them. They were moved to the start of each buffer – up to 85 ms early in a large one.
    • Automation ramps sweep instead of jumping straight to the end.
    • Latency stays the same from the moment the plug-in loads, and long sessions over Bluetooth or USB audio no longer start to drop out.
    • Deleting a sheet you baked no longer silences the one that is playing, and a saved project always reopens on the sheet it was saved with.

Contour — Ambient Morph Synth offers an intuitive approach to generating evolving drones, deep atmospheric pads, and moving soundscapes directly on your mobile setup.

​Rather than focusing on rigid, step-based sequencing or complex menu-diving, Contour centers its workflow around movement and timbre-morphing. The core idea is simple yet generative: seamlessly transition between complex timbral profiles to create continuous, living sound structures.

Whether you are composing film scores, generating backdrop textures for lo-fi beats, or crafting long-form ambient soundscapes for relaxation or meditation, Contour provides an interactive visual workspace that turns patch design into a fluid experience

Features include:

Sound Engine & Synthesis

  • ​Morphing Engine: Advanced timbral interpolation for fluid sound-shaping between atmospheric states.
  • ​Ambient Sound Generator: Specialized for creating evolving pads, rich tonal drones, granular textures, and cinematic backdrops.
  • ​Custom Preset Library: A curated collection of factory presets tailored for ambient, experimental, and soundtrack production.

​Control & Modulation

  • ​Visual Interface: Clean, tactile control interface optimized for iPad and touch interaction.
  • ​Dynamic Parameter Shaping: Deep control over filter contours, modulation rates, and envelope dynamics.
  • ​MIDI Connectivity: Full MIDI input support, allowing you to play the synth using external MIDI controllers, touch keyboards, or host sequencers.

​Integration & System

  • ​AUv3 Plugin Support: Seamless integration as an Audio Unit v3 plugin in hosts such as AUM, BeatMaker 3, Cubasis, and GarageBand.
  • ​Standalone Mode: Run the app independently for quick design sessions, live improvisations, or ambient background generation.
  • ​Universal iOS/iPadOS Support: Designed natively for iPad with support across compatible iOS environments.
  • ​Lightweight Footprint: Fast load times with an app size of around 113 MB

For more information on Contour, click here: 

NOTE: Some of the links you click on may be affiliated. Clicking and purchasing using these links helps support and fund The Beat Community. Thanks for your support.

Tags: ambient, app, auv3, free, ios, ios app, ios music production, ipad, iphone, morphing, synth, synthesizer

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