Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A Bug Gives RS4000 Synthesizer Away (to some)

Well, we made a little mistake. Some existing Tabletop users will get the new RS4000 Synthesizer for free. For that lucky group, we hope you enjoy it! For those who purchased it for the intended price of USD9.99, thank you. It's with your support that we're able to continue making great additions to Tabletop. The 1.3 update is already looking killer.

As for this latest update, I'm hoping I can clear up some of the confusion.

Here's what happened
We had hoped to include the RS4000 Synthesizer in the 1.1 update of Tabletop, but in order to submit our iOS 5 compatibility update on time, we had to remove the RS4000 from 1.1. Unfortunately, some development code granting ownership of the RS4000 remained. Effectively, those who purchased Tabletop 1.1 now owned the RS4000 even though it didn't exist in the app yet! Fast-forward to today, and some of these users magically own the new synth when they download the latest version of Tabletop.

What next?
We'll be fixing this issue in the next release, so upgrade now to find out if you get a free RS4000! Don't worry, anyone who gets a free RS4000 will get to keep it. Enjoy it with our blessing! All we ask in return is that you have fun with it (and maybe post something to soundcloud using the new feature in the Recorder M2 :)

I can't wait to hear what people create with Tabletop and the RS4000!


  1. I really think the rs4000 is the only real instrument in tabletop to date...so if someone pays 9.99 or whatever you charge for tabletop...they should get it free...in fact its the only instrument that allows real user patches. Keep the real instruments coming to tabletop... If yall could have a reason like setup before prop heads put one out...might benefit u!

    I can list for you a great many turn offs about your app
    I can also do the same for things that are good
    I have been using gear since 1983 and have owned several hundred pieces of hardware...so i have some decent insight.

    Fb: Mike George

  2. That's great news for users that have owned tabletop from day one and bought all your stupid add ons. Not. Terrible. Screw you and screw your app

  3. Agreed with Rs4000 being the only decent instrument...

    This is still a toy...

    Need to find some artists that will make something decent to showcase the software, instead of the crap we have on there now.

  4. Thanks for a great synth. It brings tabletop to a whole new level.

  5. overall TT is nice, but ur pricing model sux. needs to sound like sunrizer or animoog or ims-20 for the $ u imagine.

  6. @Anonymous: So your buddy got it for free but you didn't and now you're sulking petulantly? Grow up and get over it, it's only a synth and more than worth the money anyway.

  7. I had the same version of TT on both my iPads' but only got the RS4000 free on one. Was that because one has iOS5, and the other hasn't?
    Good update anyway. Very happy that there is a performance improvement on iPad1.
    Is there any chance that future updates will improve the reverb performance for iPad1?
    Thank you for making TT better and I will probably end up buying it on my other iPad as I think it's well worth it.
    Can't wait to see what else you have planned for the future.

  8. App and In-App purchases are tied to your Apple ID. If you are using it on both iPads, you should be able to get the same stuff. If you see an IAP with a lock on it but you've already purchased it, click the button and you'll get a notice that either confirms a new purchase or tells you already bought it.

  9. @over 13

    Yeah I'm sulking, because I've supported this app since the day it was released, standing by its pricing methods and all, but this company is screwed. If you think that the synth is worth 10 dollars then fine, but you wouldn't have paid that much for it as a standalone, no way. I've wasted enough money on this app, waiting for it to do something that any other epsequencer on the iPad can't do but it never will. It looks fancy but it pretends to be something it most definitely is not. It would have been great as a free update but no way is it worth 10 bucks

  10. You should play Peer Gynt in the background. It would go with all the trolls you have posting here.

  11. I'm happy for the performance increase on the ipad 1, fact I got the synth for free is the icing on the cake, covering a thick layer of marzipan. If I didn't get the synth and others did I'd be a bit miffed maybe even gutted as it does open the app up. So can I make a suggestion if this is even possible, could you give the synth to all your v1 customers in an amnesty for the unlucky, as some of the people who will wake up tomorrow with wet pillows, will grow to love you again.

  12. Thanks mister-rz!

    We worked extremely hard on performance, bug fixes and general tabletop features. There were some long frustrating nights. I really happy to see you noticed the performance upgrades.

  13. I agree, I bought this app on day one and have purchased many of the IAPs. I feel let down that others get this for free while some have invested some real money in this only to get a slap in the face for what seems like a roll of the dice. I'm not sure if I will be supporting this app anymore as I feel what I've invested is not what ive received. Lesson learned.

    Ipad1 user

  14. The new synth is ok, not as good as it could be and I'd say it's overpriced, especially as its an in app purchase, from what I see on various blogs is that tabletop has somewhat of a divided opinion base with the disgruntled being in the majority. In order for retronyms to ensure they keep selling the app, I strongly suggest ( dan/ Rebekah) they listen closely to suggestions and feelings.

    I think with every major update, one fx unit should be given free to make up for others being sold, and also the cost of in app purchases should be reduced a bit too.

    Sometimes less is more..

    I was lucky in that I got this new synth free when I updated and I am glad I did because if I would have spent ten dollars on it, I would have been disappointed.

    It's an OK synth, but when compared to sunrizer et all...it is about a year behind

    I do say in retronyms defence, is that they are trying very hard to offer a unique product actually and I do feel it is a pro tool, as long as you use it right. The fx are actually very good on my ipad1, I don't know why some say the reverb is bad, it's not, it's good and as long as you disable background apps and perhaps restart device then the CPU holds good. Actually I can have lots on the table and no sound clipping or crashing actually.

    And I did try out the update and it's a lot smoother.

    I guess we are all learning from this and should give retronyms the benefit of the doubt. Tabletop is likely the most ambitious app out there and it's also an experiment in trial and error. I think those that stick with this app will be rewarded.

    Overall, good job retronyms:)

    Zac Laurent www.evolutionaryarts.org

  15. Zac,

    Your feedback really resonates with me. We are trying to figure out a pricing model that allows us to keep adding free and paid features for each update. We are going to make mistakes along the way.

    I like what you are saying about a free module with each update. We have talked about things like that here. I think everyone at Retronyms wants to ship free features and improvements to Tabletop with each release (so far we have done this). Free modules are a more sensitive subject. We do intend to ship updates as often as possible.

    Furthermore I hope we can work to collaborate with other apps and other app developers. We have worked hard to co-develop and promote inter-app standards such as AudioCopy,AudioPaste and WIST. We know people will love, own and use many wonderful apps on their iPad. I absolutely *love* Sunriser. Garage Band is incredible. ReBirth is amazing. Just like many musicians we want to collaborate with other amazing elements in any way we can.

  16. Cheap ass clowns the lot of you...
    Great app getting better with every update. If you use the app on a daily basis, the $10 is a more than fair price for what it adds. Some of you ass clowns have nothing to do but come on here and say nasty shit hidden by the walls of the internet... $10? lulz,.. that's half the price of a lunch. Do you people even have jobs?
    As for the synth... sounds great butI have to sample the synth's output cause after 4 notes I get pops and drop outs. Guess I need to upgrade to ipad2. In the future I'd love to see a simple sample module with more parameters than gridlock. It would also be great if you could connect the gate output of the M8RX to any of the other devices to use as a step seq. Last thing if there was a bounce to gridlock pad feature on the recorder2 it would save a lot of time. thanks for the synth...

  17. I've supported this app since day one and now you treat me like I'm a thief and stole your synth, not nice at all.

  18. no, not at all! you are completely welcome to it.

    Write some music! Share a song! Let's have some fun.

  19. Purchased App yesterday (nov.15) but no free Synth. If I try to purchase it I’m asked to buy RS-4000 for € 7,99. Is it right?

  20. I see some of the lower species end up on this forum too...

    Anyone who Posts anonymously is a coward basically, jump on someone's blog and trash the place with your foull tongues...

  21. I like TT. There you go I said it. I like the workflow. I like the absense of a piano roll and the immediacy of it all. The gear paradigm is proven and possibly best suited to a tablet experience - 'moving' around and pressing, pulling, turning... many things at once. I'd like it to sound better but the iap complaints seem silly. I've only bought what I needed to polish work that I'd created in tt that showed promise. ie the app had already shown me its value. If the work flow hadnt worked for me then Retronyms would have just sold me an entry ticket. At a lot lower price than some other studio apps want from the outset.

    Now it's got soundcloud then I suggest some kind of regular popularity competition for free modules. Maybe even 'my track desperately needs/deserves compression/echo/crushing/...' categories...
    Perhaps a web based collaboration system too, one that had audio of the track and the tt files to open in tt and resubmit remixes/progressions. Never used Audiotool but I'm guessing that's part of their model.

    IE it's a creative tool, market it and its iap based on the creativity it can demonstrate.

  22. @sync

    Agree with you mate..I also like the workflow, a certain dynamic happens when one is not forced to sequence. I load a few things up, press record and do the whole thing live.

    I used to do that with reason. Most of my pre iPad tracks were done in this way actually and it makes for an interesting experience both for the producer and the listener. Tweaking effects live and all that


    Thanks for your humble reply, don't get me wrong, the new synth is a great addition to an already great set up. I think what you will find, is that if you balance the pricing with the ocassional free feature each update then that will appease some. However, you can't please everyone and likely those that grumble the most are school kids who have to harasss their parents for add ons. I say to such people, go look at the price of software and make a comparison. It's a fact that apps are a lot cheaper.

    Point being is that tabletop is kind of like reason, where you can actually choose specific set ups and that's wonderful. Also I find that I can have three reverb units, a delay AND a low pass filter set up between mixer and the audio out. And this is on my ipad1

    Those that complain about CPU are clearly not disabling apps that are multitasking.

    So yeah, good stuff. And yes we all make mistakes, part of being human. Just like Peter who did arctic keys synth. There were bugs, so he went and fixed them AND added requested features and now the app is great

    We must ultimately remember what the word developer means...haha. Constantly developing apps..a never ending job

    And finally, this app development is still in a pioneering stage, developers don't yet know fully what they can get away with, thus retronyms must be praised for their risky endeavours which thus far, are paying off!

    Great stuff indeed

  23. Can someone, anyone please tell me what xpndr does? Dan, Rebekah,?

  24. Expansion increases dynamic range. In other words, the range between the loud and quiet parts of a mix gets increased.

    In addition, you can use the sidechain to create gating effects (the asynthronous demo song uses this in conjunction with output 2 of the gridlok).

    The user guide has more details - take a look, and let us know if it helps: http://retronyms.com/userguide/xpndr.html

  25. Anybody defending the pricing model needs to go away and have a look at audiotool, and come back and tell me what their developers are doing so differently to Retronyms. I agree that developers need to eat, but it's getting to the point where the pricing is becoming cynical. I do admire what Retronyms are attempting with tabletop and do love the app, but standalone, there is simply no wayvyou'd pay £7 for that synth