App Shopper: Orbital Guitar Plus (Music)

App Activity

Mar 11 '13	$.99 -> Free
Oct 14 '12	$1.99 -> $.99
Apr 20 '12	Version 1.0.2
Apr 09 '12	$4.99 -> $1.99
Apr 08 '12	Free -> $4.99
Apr 08 '12	$3.99 -> Free
Apr 03 '12	Version 1.0.1
Mar 29 '12	$6.99 -> $3.99
Mar 28 '12	New App: $6.99, v1.0.0

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Orbital Guitar Plus

iOS iPad

Orbital Guitar is now free, it was a cool idea that I've loved making tunes with but it hasn't gone down well, actually that's an understatement, it dived... I may update at some point, but for now it is free.

Orbital Guitar is not is a guitar simulator, it is it's own instrument. It is guitar like in that it has one voice per string, includes an entire fretboard; that is where the similarity ends though, it's beauty is in the ability to chose a chord to detune the guitar and then progress it up and down a fretboard, this way you can work out intricate classical pieces like Moonlight Sonata and Blue Danube just by experimenting with the right chords. The XY side pad can then apply a range of built-in effects and adds an extra degree of life to your sounds.

The fretboard is completely mapped onto a sphere which you can rotate with either buttons or accelerometers (this takes practice). You can use it straight out of the box with it's internal samples based synth, and then if you have MIDI devices to connect then get ready for a fiesta de carne. A chord selector allows you to strum and progress your chords with ease, making an extraordinarily simple way to make elaborate tunes that regularly sound good. If electronica is your scene then the XY pad next to the guitar allows you to apply a range of FX to your sound whilst you are playing.

The plus (or HD) version, is the first to make it's way through to the app store, there is an iPhone version on the way that is designed to consume fewer resources for the smaller devices, it contains lower res graphics, has fewer presets etc.

This comes with 15 preset sounds and you can use Audio Copy & Paste to bring in more sounds. There is a limited record functionality that grabs arounds 10 seconds of sounds so you can record riffs but not whole songs in this first version.

Although If you really want to make full use then you slip into the accelerometer mode and play solos as the guitar rotates in space, don't be under any illusion that this is simple, it takes practice and balance skills to get good at it. In this new version you are able to do a two finger swipe to rotate the orb, easier to start with; but less satisfying in the end.

Orbital Guitar is ready to go as a samples triggering instrument; but when you use it as a MIDI instrument you will realise it's true power, to facilitate this Orbital Guitar supports both coreMIDI and DS MIDI WIFI so you can support hard wired iPad connections with the Camera Kit and have two mechanisms by which you can set up network midi sessions.