Modular synthesizer for iPad, iPhone and Mac
Helin
Wire your own sound. Easy to start and fun to play, with all the depth you want for sound design.
Coming soon to theApp Store
What it is
A synthesizer you build by connecting nodes
Every part of the sound is a node on a canvas: the notes, the sound sources, the filters, the effects and the output. Draw cables between them and you hear the result at once. The cables hang between the nodes like patch cords and swing when you move them.
Add a sound source and it plays. Every source draws a moving picture of its sound that you can grab and drag, so you find good sounds by playing with them. When you want to go deeper, almost every control can be moved by envelopes, oscillators and macros.
Listen
From drones to keys, and everything in between
Layered drones and pads, electric piano keys and plucks, basses, bells and voices. Every sound here is played in Helin, with nothing added afterwards.
Airy
Sahinad, the Breath voice
Kuri
Sumin electric piano
Patch by Ed Labetski
Guitaridoo
Arp designer
Patch by Ed Labetski
Operaator klõps
Drive in Fuzz mode
Patch by Ed Labetski
Pihlakas
Klirin wind chime
Pilvepiir
Lained wavetable
Äike
Bass
Videvik
A pad through the Compressor
Vibrabell
Sumin, Lained and Klirin, played in AUM
Patch by Ed Labetski
Bouncy Tuba
Arp and Sumin through Reverb and a Compressor
Sound sources
Ten sound sources, each with a picture that moves
Basic
The classic oscillator: sine, triangle, saw and square, with the tools a sound designer reaches for first.
Lained
Eight wavetables of single-cycle frames, from glass and organ to vocal and metal.
Akord
Whole chords from one key: keys and a section of bowed strings, blended together.
Kõla
Two-operator FM with eight voicings, from warm and punchy to electric piano, reed, bell and tubular.
Sumin
A modelled electric piano with two instruments in one: Must, the tine piano, and Punane, the reed piano. Nothing is recorded; the hammer, the ringing metal and the pickup are worked out as each note plays.
Klirin
Struck bars and bells, modelled on the physics of real ones: sixteen ringing modes hit by a mallet.
Hääl
A singing voice and choir that glides through the vowels, with a blown pipe underneath.
Sahinad
Noise through a resonant filter that sweeps from low-pass to high-pass.
Mesila
A swarm of tiny voices and a spray of particles, wandering around the note you play.
Bass
A bass voice built for the low end: a main wave from saw to narrow pulse over a sub that never beats against it.
More in the guide: Sound sources
Modulation
Modulate almost anything
Oscillators, envelopes, an envelope follower, MIDI CC, the Note node and eight macros can be cabled into almost any control, switches and stepped controls included. A knob can take several cables, each with its own amount, and you see the movement on the knobs and in the pictures.
Shape and effects
Filters, drive and space
Filter
Low-pass, band-pass, high-pass and notch, with a 24 dB ladder.
Amp, Mixer, Pan
Every Amp has its own envelope and a Solo button.
Drive
Valve, Tape, Pedal, Fuzz and Fold, level matched.
Reverb
From a small room to an endless hall, with shimmer and freeze.
Delay and Chorus
Stereo echoes in time with the tempo, and a lush ensemble.
Compressor, Resonator, Frequency Shifter
From punch and squash to ringing strings and endless phasing.
Arpeggiator
A step arpeggiator built in
Live and Grid modes, six note orders, rates from 1/1 to 1/32 with dotted and triplet, swing, latch, and per-step velocity, length, ties and chords. Roll the dice for a new pattern, save your own, and cable its lanes to any knob. Up to four Arps can play different sounds at once.
Watch
See it played
Patches
Fifty sounds to start from, and room for yours
Factory sounds
Fifty sounds in Keys, Pads, Atmospheres, Bass, Leads and Plucks.
Guest artists
Sound folders from other musicians, with their name and website.
iCloud Drive
Your sounds on every iPad, iPhone and Mac on your account.
Share packs
Send one sound as a file or a whole folder as a zip.
Where you play
On its own or in your host
Standalone
Play the on-screen keys or a MIDI keyboard, plugged in or over Bluetooth. It keeps playing in the background.
AUv3 instrument
Load it in AUM and other hosts, with automation, tempo and transport.
Mac
Runs in Logic, GarageBand and MainStage on Macs with Apple silicon, and as an app in a window.
Expressive
Velocity, aftertouch, the mod wheel and the sustain pedal all work.
Guide
Learn Helin
Start with the introduction, then dip into whatever you need.
Helin
Support
Something not working, or an idea for Helin? Write to hello@teemusk.com.
Common questions
When is Helin out?
Soon. It is being tested now. This page will have the App Store link the day it is out.
Is it hard to learn?
No. Add a sound source and it plays, and every source has a picture you can drag to change the sound. The guide’s first page takes you from an empty canvas to a finished sound.
Does it work in AUM?
Yes. Helin is an AUv3 instrument, so it loads in AUM and other hosts on iPad and iPhone, and in Logic, GarageBand and MainStage on Macs with Apple silicon.
Can I play it with a MIDI keyboard?
Yes, plugged in or over Bluetooth. Velocity, aftertouch, the mod wheel, pitch bend and the sustain pedal all work.
Where are my sounds saved?
In a Helin folder in your iCloud Drive, so every device on your account has them. Without iCloud they stay on the device.
Also by Tanel Teemusk
