resonance for Mac

User Reviews

• Great tool to create sonic landscapes and backgrounds

  SquareshotMarch 8, 2012

  Pros

  Extremely easy to use and understand. Built-in effects are separately applied to each of the 5 tracks, rather than to the final 5-track mix, so individual components can be specifically tweaked. I now spend a lot of time with Audacity, mixing background sounds from movies or ambient noise, creating soundtrack loops (up to an hour long) specifically for use in resonance. Then I turn resonance on, and play iTunes (or a different player) over it. For me, the resulting mix is something atmospheric, placing me within environment I'm trying to create. At the same time, I have many hypnotic, melodic mixes (including binaural beats) that help me relax, concentrate, or fall asleep. resonance does a LOT for me.

  Cons

  The sound file management functionality is clumsy, and an option to IMPORT sounds would be very helpful. Similarly, the preset (mix) management is very limited. Any changes made to your working mix are lost without warning if you accidentally switch to another preset. You cannot overwrite a preset that you have changed (for example, deciding on different effects or volumes). This can result in several versions (e.g. versions A through E) of a mix which might be redundant, but are nonetheless hard to delete, for fear of losing a favorable edit. It might be helpful to have easy access to summaries of presets (numerical values, etc.); currently, you have to go into the package resources to access the respective XML files. It would be nice to have the option of specifying start/stop times for tracks. The big con for me has to do with the Windows version: I cannot get it to run on my PC, and have repeatedly emailed the author (3 separate times), without getting a reply.

  Summary

  This is a great little program that does exactly what it is supposed to do, and does it well. But, perhaps more importantly, it does a great deal more! Find and/or create sound loops: some melodic, some atonal, some ambient, some atmospheric, etc. Play with resonance for a little while. You'll quickly find it enjoyable and rewarding, your sonic creations will multiply and you'll find new ways to add these textures to any part of your everyday life.

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• Intriguing, elegant, evocative -- and needs ...

  cbsoflaMay 30, 2009

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  ...couple<br />This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />In the last few days I've begun looking for some Mac-based ambient / relaxing resources. I've seen a few that all do pretty much the usual white/pink noise sounds (rain, streams, waves, fire crackling, etc.), and those can do well enough. Now I've found a couple of others that take an approach new to me: including miniature simple looping compositions (maybe 3-4 minutes long?) to blend with the noises. It amazes me how such threadbare patterns can create such a powerful, yet subtle effect. Two significant problems I had: (1) You're supposed to be able to drop your own soundfiles to add them to resoruce's library. (2) You can blend up to five tracks of your own, and the Help section says you can save them. I see where that SHOULD happen -- but resonance wouldn't do it despite my repeated tries. For these obvious flaws I gave "features" only two stars. Once they're fixed, I'd up that to four. Aura, from 3Zsoftware for $14.95, does much the same, while adding the flexibility of letting the user schedule different loops different intervals, even into hours. As best I can tell so far, resonance loops play only at their own pace, with no user input. Further, Aura includes user-adjustable pan. I'm quite content with resonance's settings, but Aura does have the advantage here for those substantial functions. The Help section is short but thorough. The UI may seem a little off-putting at first (white on black may add to that), but once you see the structure, it's all a simple, elegant operation. I haven't spent as much time with Aura yet, but so far I've found more of resonance's resources more enchanting and alluring. And given the purpose, that matters more to me. Give them both a try. Bottom line, for now, assuming a fix soon for the two evident glitches, I'm more intrigued by resonance. Watch this space.

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