Borderlands Granular

A steal at any price, and a touchscreen legend. Borderlands was the first app - and still the most unique IMO - that really took the touchscreen concept and its capabilities and transformed the iPad into an actual musical instrument. I jumped on board v1.0 in 2012 and never looked back. A bit of history - in 2012 the very new community of iPad musicians totally fell for this app, and when it became apparent that real life had slowed the apps development after its initial release, the community of Borderlands users not only maintained their enthusiasm but also continued to grow the user base despite the "advanced beta" characteristics of v1.0. It reached legendary status as the oldest app in the App Store that you absolutely could not do without, and every iOS update would be quickly followed by a chorus of "yeah OK but does Borderlands still work on it?" When the update dropped years later, minds were blown everywhere. As the greatest iOS app ever to be rescued from history by its own developer, even an Alchemy iOS update would not touch this - as great a synth as it is, Borderlands was pioneering AND legendary AND is still the most unique instrument on a touchscreen. Bar none.

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Borderlands is a great granular synthesizer. But given that it's entire purpose is to work with samples, the sample management options are frustratingly limited. In order to load a sample or save a recording from within Borderlands, one must use AudioShare, an additional $5 app. Thankfully Borderlands does support AudioBus, but that's quite a roundabout approach, because it requires a sample playback app, routed into borderlands for recording, then yet another app for recording the output from borderlands yet again. This is not ideal when working with long samples, nor is it ideal given notoriously unstable iOS app reliability when working with large samples in small device memory capacities, nor is it ideal when there may be any number of different sample rates or bit-depths between apps, resulting in questionable audio quality. Supporting an industry standard file management solution like Dropbox or even the freely available (and industry standard to a lesser extent) AudioCopy would cure a major headache.

I’ve been hesitating to write a review because it will be my not-so-secret weapon now, but I’ve been able to create a lot of very useful material with this app. I’ve been creating sound for video, stage, and environmental applications, and I’m always surprised how I’m able to generate fresh new sounds from any recordings I put into the app. Once you get the hang of the workflow with Audioshare, it’s a snap to get the output up to Dropbox (or elsewhere) and over to my laptop or other devices. I hope they keep updating this app. Adding some nice reverb, delay, and compression effects would be great.

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This app is amazing, but it’s getting less amazing as annoying bugs are starting to show up. Looks like it’s been about 4 years since the last update and I think it’s high time... I use it all the time for creating rich textures and soundscapes, but lately it freezes and crashes on my iPad 6 (iOS 13) and several files have been corrupted. There’s really nothing else quite like Borderlands though. It’s a deep, fun, and tactile experience, and I would be very sad to see it fall by the wayside. It’s absolutely one of the most creative music tools ever made, but I unfortunately can’t give it a high rating when I’m losing my work due to lack of development. I’m greatly looking forward to a future version so I can give it 5 stars again.

Borderlands Granular has a reputation amongst the iOS music production community for being one of those 'must buy' apps like Samplr and the utility apps AudioShare & Audiobus. Just a piece of essential kit that you hear nothing but good things about. Granular is that in spades and it has become a favorite of mine to just experiment with, with no project or sound I'm chasing in mind. How would a Wurli sound? How about a bongo loop? There's just so much you can throw at Borderlands Granular and it will continue to amaze and surprise. I recommend it big time.