One of the more prolific Caustic users doing a lot of tutorials is S. Fleks.
The tutorials are okay and well worth a look for anyone wanting to learn. Also the only music tutorials that I‘ve seen presented with a joint in hand which makes me smile each time.
Maybe because seeing “professional” Youtube videos far too much it is nice to see something more to the left hand of things!

In either case the music he makes have high caliber written over it and now he gone done a music video to one of his pieces.

​Like that Caustic have taken on a life of its own and this is the first music video that is on this level made that is based on an app for Android. (That I am aware of…).

Have to write it again as he is kind of M.I.A, that I really hope that the developer of Caustic is aware that there is a lot of new young users that have taken his creation to their hearts and are digging deep into it. Hope that he sees that there is a lot of love for what he has done and that he has set a lot of people’s creativity in motion that in many cases will influence them for life! As an artist there is not much else too hope for.

​Fame and fortune is passing, the only worthwhile endeavor is to make sure that something got made that impressed and influenced people to take your inspiration onto higher levels and many may think an app made for mobile phones is not, but in this case it is influencing people and it is making waves that will reverberate for a long time to come.

The interface is sparse and to get to grips with the functions should not take more than around ten minutes or so. The results are kind of what could be imagined as drones reminiscent of a sitar. It does not sound as a sitar but very easily falls into the same drone-like qualities.

One of three different synthesis engines can be chosen with not much parameters to change the sound.

Classic- Saw/Sine/Square/Noise
Additive- Three harmonics
FM- With four levels to adjust.

So all that can be done to change the sound is changing the volume of each parameter. Like more Sine wave etc.
It may sound sparse but it fulfills the function of the app, of course it would be fun to have more options so hopefully it will get developed further.

There is no sequencer but 16 different tracks that can be adjusted as mentioned above and set to one pitch and each track higher in octave. Each track get one bar that either go in one direction or bounce back and forth depending of preference.
The sound becoming louder the higher up on the screen for each bar and you can set the speed for each one.

That’s it. No recording, no effects.

Reading this it may sound like a pretty useless application but personally it is a unique idea and I do not mind to sit and record things into a DAW (or something) using effect boxes and manipulate the sound live and I know there is a contingent of music creators that will use and appreciate this application for what it is. There is a free version (missing the my favorite synthesis engine of the three) but it is not expensive so if making more experimental music or want another tool to create rhythmical soundscapes with it may well be worth your time.

​Lately I am glad to see these kinds of apps pop up again as there was more of an experimental side to Android music apps before that tapered off but is coming back!
Bring out the uniqueness and lets break the monotony of the blandness that pervades today’s music making!

P.S this new developer have also made one Delay VST that looks good for free plus a Music program for ZX Spectrum!

Playstore:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.DecadeBridge.ToneBarsFree

The new update of Noise Machine is not the biggest but an interesting one.

To pay for the premium version you do to get rid of the ever so annoying publicity that are a regular feature of many free apps but it also gives access to a sequencer.

If this would have been a more standard music app it would not have been too exciting, but Noise machine being focused on getting synthesized noise out of it. Being able to set different types of noisy oscillators, Lfo (different types) modulation, filter, delay and distorted ring modulation it can bring forth a whole lot of different flavors of noise.

This may not be obvious at first glance as the interface appears simple but rewards tweaking, with all kinds of goodness for musicians that are willing to step out of the comfort zone of commonly accepted norms.

Ahh so back to the sequencer… It is a simple sequencer but very useful as each of the sixteen steps can be programmed with one setting of noise. Making it possible to build rhythms of noise that would be hard to achieve without much more work in other ways.
There is also the added bonus of randomization of each step for the lazy ones. Giving way to unexpected surprises of course.

There is griones, always griones knocking at the door of perfection!

The most obvious one being that there is no way to save the sequenced pattern steps. So once the app is turned off… But it comes with internal recording for further chopping in an audio editor or for importing into other apps/programs.

Another thing that could be nice is to be able to see what Bpm the sequencer is set to.
So that is something that has to be set by ear or retro fitted later into wherever the recordings go later, if wanting to use it within music set to a specific beat.

Would love to see this concept taken farther with more tracks, effects etc as it is unique to be able to noise things up on an even deeper level!
Maybe the closest to (but not limited to noise generation) that is Grainstorm which I also recommend to check out. Grainstorm can also load sounds so it is a nice companion to Noise machine…

The man behind this album have released a decent amount of music on I think two labels. Using D.N.P as a name. The things released earlier have mostly been dark ambient music and some experiments like using just samples from the original DOOM game, some of it I like a lot and recommend that anyone into the darker side of things search it out.
 
In either case now D.N.P is spreading the wings to include Dub music under the name Dub Not Pop (Shortened D.N.P as well) which was unexpected.
Reading about it was expecting something Dub influenced and more in line with earlier productions but got surprised when listening and the sounds were traditional taking its cue from the seventies/eighties. Bigger surprise yet was that outside of mixing it was made using Caustic!
Just showing once again that there is big things that can come out from something so small and portable. It is one good sounding Album/E.P`s (There is even Viny to buy!!!) to take a listen/ buy go here:

romeda.bandcamp.com/album/explosive
​
​romeda.bandcamp.com/album/bass-aggrovator

https://romeda.bandcamp.com/album/in-session-on-phantom-circuit​

Regarding the release of one earlier album also made using Caustic.
There is a short interview here:

​www.musicalandroid.com/articles/dnp-writes-about-using-caustic-3-for-his-latest-release

​Dreamed about mobile music making in the late 90’s when Yamaha released their battery powered portable small but chunky QY 100 General Midi multi track Sequencer. It was way too expensive for me though, going for about 600$.

Years passed by with me interested in electronic music making and dabbling occasionally with some programs but essentially more painting than anything else.
Then a Sony mobile came into my possession around nine years ago and it had a small app that could be installed with General Midi and multi track. My excitement spiked and did a lot of fighting to get anything out of it taking care of one lovely newborn daughter with one hand and pushing buttons with the other. God damn it was not easy going!
No touch screen so arrows+buttons and having put in some notes you had to skip out of that to listen to how it sounded with the rest of the tracks… God Damn it was not easy going!
After a month of fighting realized that it was tooo hard to get anything going…

But a beautiful thing happened, got an HTC for free with Android 2.2. The problem was of course that the only decent app that worked was Nanoloop which is not bad just that app in itself as a standalone hardware is worth a lot and it is unique in all kinds of goodness.
But it had less functions than today and not enough for what I wanted to do even though people create all kinds of beauty with it. (Do love the sound of Nanoloop it can sound like nothing else and have a strange digital mystery to it in a very good way).

Luckily enough a month or two later the phone got upgraded to 2.3 and it still was not enough for using Caustic or G-Stomper which to be honest were in their infancy and not too exciting but SunVox that was already a full blown monster…  worked!

Ahhh SunVox with its intriguing tracker interface, modular setup and general esoteric attraction. I was in love and it did not hurt that it was working for PC as well being able to move files back and forth… Yes my real journey into electronic music making had started!

After a slight steep learning curve it is one of the coolest pieces of music software that you can get into if you never tried it take some days with it and be blown away by the experimental possibilities that does not exist on any other apps for Android. It is a gift that keeps on giving if given attention and could talk about it for many pages.

And now here we are with SunVox turning ten and it have just been getting better and better and better with each update.

SO HIPP HIPP HOORAY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNVOX!!!

MAY YOU LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!!!

THANK YOU MR NIGHTRADIO FOR SUNVOX AND YOUR OTHER UNIQUE APPS!!!

To read what CDM have to say about SunVox'es birthday go here:
cdm.link/newswires/sunvox-10-truly-something-worth-celebrating/

And finally a music/video that Pavel Ti made for the birthday. Pavel Ti being one of the most prolific SunVox users with videos appearing regularly showing all kinds of things that can be done and steady stream of compositions that are good and well worth a listen!

The Caustic Famiy Youtube channel have really put in their work over the last year and anyone working with Caustic should go subscribe now!
Hope that Rej the developer have noticed how many people are using his app to make real high quality music with his creation.
God damn how soo many people have proved that you do not need expensive programs etc to make something as good with next for nothing (or int he case of Caustic on PC for nothing) money wise.

Have nothing against Mixvibes that released the application as they are making quality apps but...
Have never liked the loop based music making that is pervading electronic music making.
Buy some packs and sound like this, just put one loop together with some other loops in the style of... Ahh yes forgot the creative part... here we have put some fx to create originality...
Ohhh listen as the filter sweeps on a loop or two and as a delay trail down another sound and there it is, another song made that brings absolutely nothing to the table except an empty ego boost!

Maybe it is on my mind lately as my brother just started making music with such an app.
He is super excited showing me the music he is "making" and it sounds well produced but it brings absolutely no excitment or anything that resembles originality in any way form or shape.
The worst thing is that he is a pretty decent guitar player and knows some music theory etc. 

As popular music gets more and more mediocre for each passing year (this have been studied and proven analyzing popular music over the last fifty years) these types of apps just makes people create even more mediocracy to torture friends and family with!

Create any music in any style is the idea as he tortured me with his latest opus, explaining that he wanted to see if he could make a latin influenced track. Trying to be encouraging and awake all I can say is that the sound is good but maybe you could try to make your own melody and chord progressions. Knowing that he can do it but alás laziness and instant gratification is the name of the game. 

Something that is obvious is the contradiction that have arisen over the digital era of music making is that the more freedom and the easier it is to make music we definitvely is not gunning for new heights but have settled for excruciatingly bland music and each year more young ears thinks that it is normal and scoff at music that is alive and have some soul!

P.s
​Have nothing against music using a loop or two and there is a deep love and respect for Hip hop/rap (being a constant in my life) which is something different. 
The reaction to this way of music making is the pre-packaging and killing of creativity.
Also totally aware that it is not wrong that people enjoy themselves thinking that they are doing something creative and the ego feelgood that comes as a reward,
​but do believe that it is creating an environment for the future where that is more important than actually taking the human spirit to new levels of real beauty and broadening of our soul!

Google Play:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixvibes.beatsnap

Looking for a fun and inspiring way to make your own beats? Incredibly intuitive and powerful enough to keep you playing for hours, Beat Snap is your new tool of choice.
Pick your favorite style among a catalogue of packs inspired by tracks that shaped pop culture, from Hip-Hop to Rock or Electronic music.
Record sequences in a few taps by playing with sounds made by international producers. Easily visualize instruments on each pad.
Give it a try and you'll make amazing beats before you know it!

FEATURE HiGHLIGHT
• Jam on 32 pads. 
• Record up to 4 sequences to make beats step by step. 
• Get inspiration from a large catalogue of sound packs*.
• Shape your sound with 6 live-controllable FX.
• Send tracks to your friends or play them live. 

MAKE BEATS, PLAY LIVE
• 2 grids of 16 responsive pads each.
• 35 kinds of instruments. 
• Make beats in seconds thanks to an intuitive design.

RECORD YOUR OWN BEATS
• Record up to 4 sequences, one at a time. 
• Use the metronome to play on beat. 
• Loop sequences or play them one after another.

POWERFUL LIVE FX 
• 6 live-controllable FX, including Delay and Reverb.
• Launch two FX simultaneously - one on each grid. 
• Activate each FX from the grid.

ENTER A WORLD OF SOUND
• Pick your favorite styles among 40 packs (more to come)*.
• Features packs inspired by popular songs. 
• Create pro-sounding tracks with high-quality sounds.

SHARE WITH THE WORLD
• Record your tracks in M4A.
• Share your tracks to SoundCloud, or via email, cloud or messaging apps. 
• Get tips to build your skills in the News section.

*requires a subscription

PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION PLANS
The app offers weekly and yearly subscription plans to unlock all sound packs. 
Please note that subscription will auto-renew unless cancelled. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period at the cost of the chosen subscription plan. 
To stop your subcription, go to Account Settings and turn off Auto Renewal at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. 
Even if Auto Renewal is cancelled, currently active subscription will continue until the end of the current billing period.
Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. 

Please go to our website for more information:
Terms of use: http://www.mixvibes.com/terms
Privacy policy: http://www.mixvibes.com/privacy

Follow us for the latest product news and updates:
www.facebook.com/mixvibes
www.youtube.com/user/mixvibesWHAT'S NEW
- Fix Pixellated instrument icons in android 7 for when viewing BPM view
- Fix several crash when trying to record sequences
- Add a menu button for each pack in pack library
- Add a button to clear sequence when recording it
- Force the repeat mode when recording sequence
- Other minor UI improvements