NAMM 2017: Audio Analysis And Instrument Tuning For iPhone

US IrcamLab releases The Snail advanced tuner app 18/01/17

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IrcamLab has introduced The Snail, described as an advanced audio analysis and instrument tuning application for iPhone. Here's a description in their own words...

As an analogue of the human cochlea where the different frequencies are split-up and analyzed, The Snail for iPhone uses a snail grid to visualize root note and overtone structures of an incoming sound very precisely via the integrated iPhone microphone. The Snail is based on newly developed audio technology making instrument tuning easy and audio analysis musical and fun to watch.

There are two visualization modes. One is the snail grid, a complete musical overview of the audio spectrum. The other one, the diamond view, is especially designed to focus on the root note for tuning purposes. In both views there is a sine tuning oscillator available which is controlled simply by touching the desired note on the iPhone display. There are a lot of customizable parameters. No problem if you would like to tune transposing instruments or if you need a tuning reference other than 440 Hz.

The well-known Ircam institute for acoustic and music research in Paris is responsible for the new technology of detection and visualization. It is a patented invention by Thomas Hélie, CNRS researcher at the Sciences and Technologies for Music and Sound (STMS) Laboratory (IRCAM/CNRS/UPMC/French Ministry of Culture and Communication). Berlin-based company SKYLIFE is responsible for the iOS port of this Ircam technology. The Snail is also available for Mac and PC distributed by Plugivery.

Key features

Precise audio analysis and instrument tuning in two modes.
Snail view for a sophisticated visual representation of root note and overtone structures.
Diamond view to tune instruments and to control pitches of voices and other sources.
Visual gain and mic gain controllers.
Switchable auto detection.
Touch sine tuning oscillator.
4 color modes: coherency index, magnitude, phase, phase-tuner.
Adjustable grid range (octaves).
Setup for transposing instruments.
Many customizable parameters like tuning reference, frequency tracking and audio window size.

System Specifications