Every Commentary for 1.7.5 worldwide

Apple's interface makes it really, really hard to read all comments from all over the world; especially if including comments for any older versions. Non-US comments go unnoticed by me for a very long time. I am missing historical version comments (all the "bad" ones were for 1.6, but in the US most bad comments also mentioned that this was used on stage for 1.5). I care to some degree what others think, but judge based on my own results, the skill level of the people who do like what I am doing, and their results. This is my own playing, 4 overdubs:

Overdub1 by rrr00bb

Also note that this instrument came out in late April. Many thousands of people have Mugician and commented on it a long time ago in previous versions. These comments below don't even start until September.

The comments don't capture the uncommented ratings, which tell a more mixed story. I know all of the flaws in a deep way, so I have a love/hate relationship with my own instrument. If you look at most apps, they are a pretty good mix of good and bad written ratings. Unless there is something seriously wrong with the app, the unwritten ratings are usually significantly lower; possibly signifying the number of people who just don't understand the app and rated it upon an unceremonious uninstall. Bad written ratings seem to signify not just a dislike, but some actual anger at the developer, which is sometimes an otherwise happy user who feels broken by an upgrade.

Ironically, 1.7.5 is the buggiest release in some ways, but got the best response. I never found or heard about any real bugs from the time 1.7.5 was released for iOS3.2 until upgrade. Obviously 1.7.5 was only tested on iOS3.2 because of when it came out. But iOS4.2 causes bugs that never manifested before, probably related to the underlying environment supporting multi-tasking now. But here are all written 1.7.5 comments good and bad for the whole world, with ratings:

France:

Excellent - ★★★★★

by Frushtuk - Version 1.7.5 - 23 January 2011

Perso j'adore le genre! Merci car en plus il est gratuit.

Waouh - ★★★★★

by M.arie. - Version 1.7.5 - 31 December 2010

J'aime beaucoup. C'est une super application !

Superbe. - ★★★★★

by Rogntudjuuuuuuu - Version 1.7.5 - 09 October 2010

Superbe.

Germany:
Es ist ein echtes Musikinstrument - ★★★★★

by life's so dutyful - Version 1.7.5 - 01 February 2011

Mugician ist eine der wenigen Apps mit der es wirklich möglich ist Live-Musik zu machen! Die meisten Musik-Instrument-Apps scheitern daran dass sie versuchen wie bekannte Musikinstrumente auszusehen und dabei komplett auf einen praktischen Nutzen verzichten. Es gibt z.B. einige Rythmusmaschienen bei denen es leider nicht möglich ist das Tempo in Echtzeit anzupassen (um zu einer Band oder CD zu spielen). Sämtliche Trommelapps sind nicht einmal als Spielzeug geeignet da die Anschlagsverzögerungen viel zu gross sind. Mugician geht da einen anderen Weg und ist ein echtes Musikinstrument. Es reagiert sehr schnell und nutzt die gesamte Oberfläche zum polyphonen spielen. Chromatisch oder Microtonal (Glissando). Es ist neben Gitarre, Keyboard und Bass mein viertes Hauptinstrument geworden. Ich übe fast täglich darauf zu spielen und ganz nebenbei verbessert sich dadurch auch noch mein Gitarrenspiel. Wegen dieser App alleine hat sich der Kauf des iPad gelohnt! DANKE!!!

Pompeii - ★★★★★

by Gust@v - Version 1.7.5 - 27 January 2011

Pink Floyd let's greatings. Or Jean Michel Jarre at the Docks of London. Painted Music by Fingers. Fantastic.

Cooler Synthesizer - ★★★★★

by Danny the Fool - Version 1.7.5 - 27 December 2010

Die Bedienung ist zwar gewöhnungsbedürftig... aber das ist bei allen Musikinstrumenten so. ;-) Hier wird einmal nicht versucht, ein ungeeignetes Bedienkonzept auf den Touch Screen zu bringen, sondern es werden die Möglichkeiten des Interfaces mit etwas eigenem ausgenutzt. Tipp für Leute, die zu faul sind, die Doku zu lesen: Rechts unten den Finger über das Vorhängeschloss nach unten ziehen, um die Einstellungsmöglichkeiten freizuschalten. Die sind sinnvollerweise sonst gesperrt, damit man nicht aus Versehen seinen Sound komplett umstellt. Wer da mal ein weig rumgedreht hat, merkt schnell: Ein Spielzeug ist das hier nicht, jedenfalls nicht mehr als eine E-Gitarre eins ist.

super instrument - ★★★★★

by Pitsoft - Version 1.7.5 - 14 November 2010

sehr intuitiv spielbarer Synthesizer, bin noch am Entdecken -hierfür hätte ich auch bezahlt! Danke!

Italy:

Fantastico! - ★★★★★

by ghiekorg - Version 1.7.5 - 25 September 2010

Assolutamente da avere. Iper consigliato a chiunque suoni!

Russia:

the best - ★★★★★

by zvukofor - Version 1.7.5 - 09 October 2010

the best live performing instrument in a class, especially for guitar players

Spain:

A musa! - ★★★★★

by Openmusicspain - Version 1.7.5 - 25 September 2010

This is the kind of app that adapte perfectly to the iPad surface. I play the recorder and use different devices to colour the sound, I will definitely use this great musical instrument in my concerts. Very glad to have stumbled upon it. And wath a pleasure being able to slide smoothly from one sound to another really understanding that music is a question of hearing a not a mechaniccal pressing of keys. Thank you very much for all your efforts.

UK:

Effort = rewards - ★★★★★

by Number 452 - Version 1.7.5 - 12 February 2011

Worth the cost of the iPad alone (ish). This is a great instrument and totally suited to the iPad. I love it. Like any instrument, you have to practice a bit, give it some time but has great potential. Coming to a stage near you soon no doubt.

Totally awesome - ★★★★★

by Zebs22000 - Version 1.7.5 - 12 February 2011

Words fail. Just download it if you have the slightest musical bone in your body. Can I press the 5 stars twice to give it 10 :-)

Top marks - ★★★★★

by - Version 1.7.5 - 21 January 2011

Support page explain the controls, just had a quick five minutes playing with it after that....which turned into an hour. This app and Morphwiz are amazing. Enough of typing this review im having another blast on the app! Dp

One Of The Best - ★★★★★

by Peri Urban - Version 1.7.5 - 04 December 2010

I love this app. Given the multi-touch capabilities of the iPad, there are precious few apps that make full use of them. I love the facility to alter timbre within each cell as you play. And it's astoundingly easy to create great sounding lead lines. This is one of the very few apps that responds to the human touch convincingly, and that makes it a precious gem amongst dull pebbles.

Yup, that's fixed it! - ★★★★★

by Rymix - Version 1.7.5 - 25 September 2010

Mugician has been through several iterations now, some for the better and others...less so. I think this latest update is the best yet. A wide range of sounds is possible, and best of all for me: the latency is down. I tend to play this instrument like a lead synth, so lots of fast, funky solos with a clean voice and not that much polyphony. This update makes my style of playing better and easier than ever. I don't go in for the ambient thing, so I can't really comment on all the sweepy, swoopy sounds this thing can make, but I expect that they're as brilliant as everything else. I think the only thing I'd like from a future update is finer control over volume/articulation/attack. It can be difficult to achieve expressive playing at times. Excellent fun, but beyond that Mugician is an extremely capable, serious music-making app. Try it today!

USA:

Fantastic - ★★★★★

by µαяί ♪ - Version 1.7.5 - 27 December 2010

Really great effects, fun, and a true iPad instrument with lots of potential, unlike the tiny keyboards that can only play a few notes.

Awesome music app - ★★★★★

by Legion303 - Version 1.7.5 - 25 December 2010

This app sounds amazing and is actually very intuitive if you take the time to play around with the various settings.

So Cool! - ★★★★★

by audio-addict - Version 1.7.5 - 14 December 2010

This is such a great app! Lightning fast, stable, and can be used in so many ways. I definitely would like to use this live once I'm more proficient. If you're not familiar with synths and stuff I imagine it'd be a little hard to understand. But with a little experimentation it's quite easy to figure out.

A 'real' iPad instrument. - ★★★★★

by Earl C Grey - Version 1.7.5 - 01 December 2010

I'm reminded of The Chapman Stick. You can try and describe Mugician as a cross between a keyboard and a string instrument, But that's not entirely accurate, and doesn't do it justice. Mugician is it's own musical animal, and as with picking-up anything beyond a Kazoo, it can bring you joy, as well as frustration. But with patience and persistence, you can make Mugician your own. You can solo around on the thing like Keith Emerson, do fretless arpeggios till the cows come home. The possibilities are literally endless. It's my favorite music app. Nothing else touches it. And it's free! But if you expect it to sound good without spending time practicing, it will sit on your iPad gathering dust, taking up room like grandpa's vintage Strat in the closet. Personally, I hope you don't download Mugician. I want it to be 'my' secret weapon in my musical arsenal. ...Why don't you just download one of the pretend iPad instruments instead, like 'Seline', and leave the practicing and headaches to crazy anal-retentive players like myself? (While were at it, I'll give you a few bucks for that vintage Strat, and take it off your hands too!). ;) An amazing instrument, not a toy. Thank You so much. I love it! Earl Grey ;{D>

Incredible - ★★★★★

by Mr. Wannabe - Version 1.7.5 - 27 November 2010

This is one of the coolest apps I've seen yet. Once I installed it, I couldn't quit playing with it. This has opened up a whole new world of electronic music for me and I'm looking forward to seeing more from the developer.

Very Impressed.. - ★★★★★

by fishanderson - Version 1.7.5 - 20 November 2010

I'm very impressed wtih this interface.. It's versatile, and fun to play with..

One word for this app - Superb - ★★★★★

by DnzDM - Version 1.7.5 - 18 November 2010

I play the guitar and this is something that caught my attention immediately. It's amazing in the revs that it produces, the best part, it's on a touch screen. Thanks Rob !

cool - ★★★★

by jonzo - Version 1.7.5 - 10 October 2010

I got the app and spent a long time on it. I tried to play the final countdown. it would be better if it had more instruments to use

Nice Update But Missing The Organ Sound! - ★★★★

by pran1 - Version 1.7.5 - 25 September 2010

Very nice update, but in 1.7 the organ sound u got when both the purple sliders were full and the red slider on zero were absolutely amazingly fantastic! Missing that great tone when both purple sliders r on full and red is zero on 1.75! Apart from that nice update!

Bravo! - ★★★★★

by salo - Version 1.7.5 - 25 September 2010

I've been a happy user of this app since way back on the day it was released (could see immediately it was an insta-buy) but this latest version is the best yet. I guess it's the latency difference, it feels even more responsive and musical to me now. Love it, thanks to Rob Fielding for creating a cool new instrument.

Mugician Used On Gorillaz "The Fall"!

It's definitely in "Revolving Doors" (track 2). I suspect it's in track 3 and 10 as well. Somebody with better ears or inside knowlege could fill me in better. Many of the apps in the list aren't even instruments, and most of the other instruments are classic piano-style synths. So, I feel really good about this development. Validated.

http://thefall.gorillaz.com/

I'm sticking to my story that the layout is the keyboard layout of the future. I'm pretty sure of it. Most musicians are guitarists, but all current electronic instruments are written for pianists. This layout is chromatically and microtonally "isomorphic", which means that it has as much symmetry as you could ask for to simplify the instrument. It also gives a very wide octave range for the very tiny iPad surface without creating other problems as a side effect.