Theremins are cool.
That’s not just my opinion either. From popular songs, to TV shows and even video game soundtracks, it seems like we’ve been hearing the sounds of the century old instrument everywhere lately.
It’s surprising then that there hasn’t really been a decent Theremin app on iOS. Enter Yonac’s Thereminator 2, an AUv3 compatible instrument app that serves as a sequel to one of the first ever instruments made for iOS: the infamous “pocket theremin”.
Also available for Apple Silicon powered Macs, Yonac state that Thereminator 2 “comes with over 50 factory presets to start you off on your Sci-Fi sound track, as well as many other advanced features like patch save/share, MIDI learn, and more. Built-in custom chorus and tape delay FX help fatten up those smooth theremin tones, while the touch controller’s vertical expression options add dimension to your playing.”
Full specs for the App below:
Overview
- Touch-controlled Virtual Theremin
- AUv3 instrument plugin included
- Compatible with DAWs that are MPE friendly, including GarageBand, Logic, and Cubasis
- Works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon powered computers
- Over 50 factory presets
Sound Engine
- 8 waveforms, including the original, unique Thereminator waveform
- 8 octave frequency range
- Special drive stage for fattening up the sound
- Virtual-Analog resonant filter
- Dedicated vibrato and tremolo operators with adjustable rate & amount
- Adjustable Portamento
- Custom chorus / expander effect for big stereophonic sounds
- Modeled tape delay capable of self-oscillation — plenty of vintage mojo
- Vertical touch control for volume, filter, vibrato and tremolo
Built-in Touch Controller
- Horizontal pitch and vertical expression control
- 51 musical scales
- Selectable musical key
- Note Snap feature that can dial in amount of glide between adjacent notes
- Lock feature to preserve scale/snap setting during preset changes
- Scrollable control surface with adjustable key size
MIDI / MPE & Other
- MIDI Learn
- MPE
- Can be used with regular MIDI keyboards on MIDI channel 1 (channels 2-16 are optimized for MPE)
- Save & share unlimited banks and presets
- Standalone app includes virtual “Tapedeck” for recording & sharing your creations
Sound Design Possibilities
Whether you want to add a little sci-fi flair to a track, or a full on spooky lead sound, Thereminator 2 sounds fantastic.
Its MPE style play surface gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to performance. Sliding your fingers up the on screen ‘keys’ will increase the velocity of the note being played, while sliding down to the bottom will reduce it.
Thereminator 2 also offers a surprising amount of sound design possibilities. The combination of 8 selectable waveforms along with it’s good selection of on board effects mean that you can create everything from a straight up recreation of what a real Theremin sounds like, to wacky, tremolo laden oddities.
I’ve personally been on the lookout for a decent Theremin app on iOS for ages and the fact that Thereminator 2 also works with Apple Silicon Macs is a bonus. If you’re after an authentic sounding recreation of one of the most unique instruments ever (or just want to create some weird and wonderful FX), you won’t find better than Yonac’s Theremionator 2!
Thereminator 2 is available at a special intro price of £3.99/$3.99 for a limited time here.
