What You Need
- An iPhone or iPad on iOS 15 or later, a Mac on macOS 12 or later, or an Android device on Android 7.0 or later. The patch-of-the-day widget needs iOS 17 or macOS 14.
- Nothing else. Every voice plays on the built-in engine, with nothing plugged in.
- Optional: a MIDI keyboard, over USB or Bluetooth MIDI.
- Optional: an Audio Unit host, such as GarageBand on iPad or Ableton Live on the Mac, to use Rithmatic as a plugin.
- Optional: a Korg volca FM2 (firmware 1.10 or later) or a DX7-family synth (DX7 mkI or mkII, TX7, TX802, or the original volca FM), over a class-compliant USB-MIDI or Bluetooth MIDI connection. On phones and tablets, USB may need an adapter.
Getting Started
- On Patches, press CHANGE PATCH. Start with Essentials, the famous DX7 sounds, or browse by family or character, or search by name.
- Play from the on-screen keys, a computer keyboard, or a MIDI keyboard. Drag the handle on top of the keys to make them taller or shorter; double-click or double-tap it to reset.
- Add the sounds you like to your bank, then drag pads to reorder them. The pad toolbar slides back as soon as you scroll up anywhere in the grid.
- Open the Patch Builder to see how a patch is made and change it. Every edit can be undone.
- Press Record in the header, play, and press it again to stop and share the take as a WAV.
Keys and Shortcuts
On the Patches screen and in the Patch Builder, the letter keys on a computer keyboard play the patch, one octave starting at the on-screen keys' lowest C. The arrows beside the on-screen keys move that octave.
A S D F G H J K: the white keys, C to C.W E T Y U: the black keys.← → ↑ ↓: choose the next pad.Esc: close the search, or leave a full-screen canvas.
On the Mac, the menus carry the rest: ⌘1 and ⌘2 for
Patches and the Patch Builder, ⌘, for Settings,
⌘L to change the patch, ⌘D for the patch of the day,
⌘B to add the patch to your bank, ⌘Z and
⇧⌘Z for undo and redo, ⌘O to open a bank or patch,
⌘E to export the bank, ⇧⌘S for Share / Import, and
⇧⌘I to import a patch from a code. ⌘/ opens the full
list, under Help › Keys and Shortcuts. On every device, the
same list is in Settings › Help & support, beside
Synth terms, which explains the FM words in plain ones.
Where Things Are in Settings
- Pay what you like, at the top: optional tips that unlock nothing.
- Sound: volume, key velocity, aftertouch, mono or poly, glide, and tuning (equal, just, or Wendy Carlos's Alpha, Beta and Gamma scales).
- Library: hide near-duplicates, load factory ROM banks you own, and choose which patch sets appear.
- Look: Light, Dark, or follow your device, and the waveform colours. The black screen at the top looks the same either way.
- Hardware: choose None, Volca FM2 or DX7 family, and its output and MIDI channel.
- MIDI control: which keyboard plays the app, its channel, and MIDI learn for the transport, tempo and undo.
- Help & support and About: email, keys and shortcuts, synth terms, the privacy policy, and the app's version.
Using the Plugin
Open the Rithmatic app once first. On iPad, in GarageBand, add a track and choose Audio Unit Extensions › Rithmatic. On the Mac, Rithmatic is listed under Best Practice in your host's Audio Unit instruments.
The plugin window is the app's own Patches screen and Patch Builder, with your library. Your bank appears as the plugin's presets, and Brightness, Attack, Decay, Release and Feedback can be automated. The patch is saved with your project. To record, record the track in your host.
Connecting a Synth
Only if you have one. Rithmatic is a synth on its own.
- Power on the instrument and connect it over USB, or pair it over Bluetooth MIDI first.
- Open Settings › Hardware and choose Volca FM2 or DX7 family.
- Pick the Output port and press CONNECT. Set the MIDI channel to match the synth.
- If the synth isn't listed, check the cable and the power, then press LOOK AGAIN. On Android this asks for the nearby-devices permission Bluetooth MIDI needs.
With a volca FM2 chosen, the Patterns and Snapshots tabs appear: read its current patch, write to any of its 64 memory slots, back up and restore its 16 sequencer patterns, and capture the whole instrument to a snapshot. A DX7-family synth takes patches and 32-voice banks one way, over standard Yamaha voice dumps.
Troubleshooting
I can't hear anything.
Check the speaker key in the header, which sets the volume and mutes everything at once, and Volume in Settings › Sound. With a synth chosen, Keys play appears there too: APP is the built-in engine, VOLCA the instrument alone, and BOTH sounds them together.
My MIDI keyboard doesn't play.
Every MIDI input plays by default. Pair a Bluetooth keyboard in your device's settings first, then check Settings › MIDI control: the Keyboard picker, and a Listen channel of ALL.
The app can't find the volca FM2 or synth.
Confirm it is powered on and connected with a data USB cable rather than a charge-only one. In Settings › Hardware, choose the synth, pick the output port, and press CONNECT. Some USB hubs are unreliable; try a direct port.
There are no Patterns or Snapshots tabs.
They appear once you choose Volca FM2 in Settings › Hardware. A DX7-family synth sends nothing back, so reading, capturing and restoring are for the volca FM2 only. If an FM2 doesn't answer, check that its firmware is 1.10 or later and that the MIDI channel matches.
Patches didn't import.
Make sure the files really are DX7-format SysEx (.syx), or a
.zip of them, and that you picked the right files when asked.
Rithmatic always opens files through a picker, or from Files, Mail, AirDrop or
the Finder, and never scans a fixed folder. Files that aren't valid DX7 data
are skipped.
A restore warned me before running.
That is deliberate: restoring overwrites all of the instrument's programs and sequences. Capture a fresh snapshot first if you want a way back.
The plugin doesn't appear in my DAW.
Open the Rithmatic app once, then look for it again in your host's instrument list. The plugin is on iPad and Mac only.
Frequently Asked
Do I need a synth?
No. The library, the built-in engine, the Patch Builder, Blend, recording and the plugin all work with nothing plugged in. Leave Settings › Hardware on None.
Does Rithmatic send my patches anywhere?
No. Rithmatic works fully offline, with no accounts, analytics or tracking. Your patches stay on your device, go to your instrument over MIDI, or go wherever you choose to share them. The only network use is an optional tip, which goes through the App Store or Google Play, and the links you choose to open. See the Privacy Policy.
What file formats can I open and save?
Yamaha's DX7 voice format, single voices and 32-voice banks alike, in both the
packed 128-byte form and the 155-byte expanded one, as .syx files
or a .zip of them. Your bank exports as standard DX7
.syx under the names you gave your patches; a bank of more than 32
goes out as a .zip of 32-voice files.
How do I share a sound?
Use SHARE / IMPORT. Sound sends a short clip of the patch playing, with its card and code. The card carries a QR code, and the patch code brings the patch into anyone's Rithmatic.
Is there anything to buy?
No. Every feature is free. Pay what you like, at the top of Settings, is a few optional one-time tips that unlock nothing. There are no ads and no subscriptions.
Still Stuck
Write in. Rithmatic is made by one person, and email is the only channel: there is no ticket system and no account you need in order to ask. Contact explains what to include so it can be answered in one reply rather than five.
Not Affiliated with Korg or Yamaha
Rithmatic is an independent app. It is not made, endorsed, or supported by Korg Inc. or Yamaha Corporation. For problems with the instrument itself (firmware, hardware faults, warranty) please contact Korg, Yamaha or your retailer.