Synth pioneer Wolfgang Palm has introduced a new software synthesizer for iOS, PPG WaveMapper.

PPG WaveMapper expands on Palm’s work with wavetables and introduces a new synthesis system, which can be seen as a bridge between wavetables and samples. In wavetable systems you have great flexibility in controlling the sound, but sound material is limited to harmonic, noise-free waveforms. On the other hand there are samplers, which have very high sound quality, but very limited editing features.

In WaveMapper there is a new type, the “time corrected sample” (TCS). This can reproduce a much wider palette of sounds then classic wavetables, but still allows for a total control, for example with an envelope or LFO.

‘It is a completely different way of programming sounds,”  Palm says. “You do not start with a lot of detailed setting, but with a combined set of parameters which you can select with the touch and swipe of a finger. And the combination of those parameters belonging to a Module make sense of course, it gives the user (being experienced or not) a very fast way for creating unique sounds.”

Here are the details:

PPG WaveMapper

The Mapping window is the visualization of a pool of programs on which “modules” float. Those modules represent parameters of the synthesizer engine and each module can be placed on one of 32 programs. The moment an item is placed on map then the parameters of that module will take on the settings of those parameters in the underlying program on the Mapping window.

At a basic level, you can use this mapping technology as a starting point to create complex sounds. For example you can drag a string sound source onto a drum envelope, or a guitar sound onto a string envelope. Power users can delve deeper into the back end of any sound, using a full set of professional features.

Features:

• New Sound map concept – create new sounds playful and experimental
• 3 types of synthesis – the optimal type for kind of each sounds
• Classic wavetables – for the typical PPG sounds
• Time compressed samples – more authentic sounds, allowing analysis of
  user samples
• Pure samples – classic sample playback
• Analyzer – convert your own samples into the new format or into
  wavetables
• 3 oscillators capable for totally independent sound sources
• 90 sound resources – a huge sound palette, from real instruments to
  abstract wavetables
• 4 parameter editor pages – comfortable and detailed access to all the
  parameters
• 3 Noise generators, for audio and modulations
• Classic 24 dB Lowpass Filter, combined with an overdrive simulation.
• Dual amplifier, for versatile control of 2 audio signals as well as panning.
• 13 Envelopes, for independent control of pitch, waveform, filter and noise
  gain and panning
• 4 LFOs – with 5 waveforms
• Delay/Reverb effect
• Flexible Step Sequencer / Arpeggiator combination
• Schematic touch keyboard – Build your own keyboard, with the keys you prefer for your music.
• Powerful sound browser – sorting by category, bank management
• Virtual and Hard-MIDI in/out – sending/receiving keys and controllers.
• Audiobus support.
• 10 min audio recording and Audio copy.

PPG WaveMapper is expected to be released in February 2013, priced at $19.99.

You can listen to an audio demo of PPG WaveMapper at Palm’s site. [Synthtopia]