Photophore User Guide

Version 2.0 · © 2026 Taika Systems LLC

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Concept

If you've ever used a classic analog synth, you know that these instruments have a certain warmth and richness that can be difficult to recreate using a computer-based synthesizer. Many software instruments aim to emulate the special, organic qualities of analog synthesizers by painstakingly modeling the analog circuits found in decades-old instruments. When done correctly, this can lead to great results. However, Photophore works in a totally different way. The concept for Photophore came about when we asked a simple question:

How can we make a warm, organic-sounding synthesizer without simply copying a decades-old analog instrument?

Photophore uses a completely different approach to creating warmth and character. Instead of modeling circuits, we modeled animal behavior. Photophore's sound engine is made up of flocks of oscillators (sound generators) which move through a virtual three-dimensional environment. The flocks' motion is controlled by a special behavioral algorithm which keeps the oscillators in tune with each other, but allows for a certain amount of natural drift and detuning. This creates rich and complex timbres due to the waveforms interacting with each other in interesting and unpredictable ways. This is similar to what happens in a choir of singers, or in an orchestra, where musicians are never precisely in tune with each other. Photophore is capable of producing unique analog-like timbres that can sound like a choir of synthesizers, or at more extreme settings, a swarm of angry insects.

Thank you for buying Photophore! We hope it will inspire you to think about synthesis in a slightly different way.

What's New in 2.0

Photophore 2.0 is a substantial rebuild of the original instrument. If you're coming from version 1, here's what's changed:

  • Plug-in support. Photophore now runs as an Audio Unit v3 (AUv3) instrument inside GarageBand, Logic, AUM, Cubasis, Loopy Pro and any other AUv3-compatible host — on iPad, iPhone and Mac. See Using Photophore as a Plug-in.
  • iPhone support. The interface now adapts to phone-sized screens as well as tablets. See Photophore on iPhone and iPad.
  • Predators. A new class of creature that hunts the oscillators, scattering the flock and reshaping the sound as it goes. See Predators.
  • Control over touch response. Scattering the flock with your finger now has controls: the Fear and Recovery knobs on the Predators tab set how hard the oscillators flee and how quickly they settle. In Photophore 1 this response was fixed. See Playing With the Flock.
  • Stereo width. The oscillators' positions in space can now be mapped to the stereo field, so the flock's motion becomes an audible sense of place. See Out Panel.
  • A redesigned interface. New controls throughout, a redesigned particle renderer, and a layout that responds to the size of the screen it's given.
  • Host tempo sync. The arpeggiator locks to your host's tempo when Photophore is running as a plug-in.

Your Photophore 1 patches still load. Photophore 2.0 reads the original patch format alongside the new one.

Features

  • Unique behavioral synthesis
  • Polyphonic operation (up to 6 voices)
  • Monophonic glide and legato
  • 12 oscillator waveshapes (saw, square, pulse and more)
  • Up to 100 oscillators per patch
  • Predators — a hunting behavior that disrupts and animates the flock
  • Direct touch interaction with the oscillator flock
  • Low pass / high pass filter with resonance
  • Amplitude and filter envelopes
  • Position-based stereo width
  • Echo effect
  • Arpeggiator with host tempo sync
  • Factory and user presets

Formats

  • Standalone app for iPad, iPhone and Mac
  • AUv3 instrument plug-in
  • Audio Unit (AU) instrument plug-in on Mac

MIDI support

  • Use any compatible MIDI keyboard as a controller
  • Control the flock using your MIDI controller's modulation wheel
  • Control Photophore from other apps using background MIDI support
  • Use network MIDI to control Photophore from your computer or another device

Overview

[Screenshot: full interface with numbered callouts]

  1. Main menu — switches between the control panels
  2. Control panel — the controls for the selected part of the synth
  3. Oscillator flocks — the particle view
  4. Preset bar — shows the current preset; opens the preset browser
  5. Settings and help
  6. Keyboard

Presets

In Photophore, a preset is a file that holds all of the instrument's performance settings for easy recall. You can choose from a range of included presets, as well as save your own so that you can use them later.

(Presets were called "patches" in Photophore 1. They're the same thing, and your old patch files still load.)

The Preset Bar

The preset bar sits along the top of the interface and shows the name of the preset you're currently playing. The arrows on either side step forward and backward through the presets in the current category, which is the quickest way to audition sounds while you play. Tapping the preset name itself opens the full browser.

The Preset Browser

The browser has two columns: categories on the left, and the presets within the selected category on the right. Tap a category to see what's in it, then tap a preset to load it.

Loading a preset while you're holding notes will restart those notes with the new sound, so you can keep playing as you browse.

Factory Presets

Photophore comes pre-loaded with a variety of presets in different categories:

  • Ambient — a range of "pad" and other textural, atmospheric sounds
  • Bass — deep, rich bass sounds useful for adding low end to your compositions
  • Arp — showcases Photophore's arpeggiator with a range of preset patterns
  • Chordal — polyphonic presets that are useful for chordal keyboard parts
  • Lead — presets that are great for melodic playing

Your own presets are saved into a sixth category, User.

Saving and Removing User Presets

Saving a new preset. If you want to save your current settings, open the browser and tap the save icon. Enter a name for your preset and tap Save (or tap Return on the on-screen keyboard). Your preset will now appear in the User category.

User presets are shared between the Photophore app and the Photophore plug-in on the same device. Save a preset in one and it shows up in the other.

Removing a preset. You can delete presets you no longer need by tapping the trash icon in the browser. Next, tap the name of the preset you want to remove, then tap the "X" that appears next to it to confirm that you want to permanently delete it.

Note: Factory presets cannot be deleted.

Importing and Exporting Presets

In the Photophore app, the browser has an import/export icon between the save and trash icons. Tap it and you'll see two buttons, Import and Export. (The plug-in doesn't have this icon. It shares the app's User presets, so do your importing and exporting in the app.)

Exporting your presets. Tap Export. Photophore copies all of your User presets into a folder called Exported Presets. You'll find it in the Files app under On My iPad (or On My iPhone), in the Photophore 2 folder. From there you can copy the presets to iCloud Drive, AirDrop them to a friend, or keep them as a backup.

Each export replaces what was in the folder before, so it always matches your User category as of the last time you tapped Export. Your presets stay in Photophore. The folder only holds copies, so changing or deleting files there doesn't change anything in the synth.

Note: Deleting the Photophore app also deletes the Exported Presets folder. For a backup, copy the folder somewhere else, like iCloud Drive.

Importing presets. Tap Import, choose the preset files (.patch) you want, and tap Open. To bring in a whole folder at once, tap Select in the picker, then Select All. The presets are copied into the User category. If you import a preset you already have, it's skipped.

Bringing over your Photophore 1 presets. Photophore 2 can open presets made in Photophore 1. Photophore 1 keeps its presets inside the app, so first copy them somewhere the file picker can see:

  1. Connect your iPad to a Mac (or a PC with iTunes).
  2. In Finder, select your iPad, open the Files tab, and open Photophore.
  3. Drag the .patch files to your computer. Then AirDrop them back to your iPad, or copy them to iCloud Drive.
  4. In Photophore 2, tap the import/export icon, tap Import, and choose the files.

Photophore 1 keeps its own copies.

The Keyboard

Photophore features a 2-octave on-screen keyboard for quickly playing melodies, auditioning presets, and trying out ideas.

Latch Button

The keyboard has a latch mode which allows notes to continue playing indefinitely without being held. Latch is enabled by pressing the padlock button to the upper right of the keyboard.

In Latch mode, pressing a key once will turn a note on; pressing it a second time will turn the note off. This can be a useful tool for trying out different settings without having to keep your hand on the keyboard. Latch also works particularly well with the Arpeggiator, letting you repeat a rhythmic pattern while enabling and disabling different notes.

Latch is also the easiest way to get your hands free for the flock — hold a chord down with the lock, then use both hands to scatter the oscillators. See Playing With the Flock.

Changing Octave

The keyboard itself does not have control over what octave range it covers. This can, however, be changed using the Octave parameter in the Voice panel.

Using External MIDI Keyboards

For performance and recording we strongly recommend using an external MIDI keyboard controller. Using a hardware keyboard makes it much easier to play Photophore, especially for chords and complex parts. While the touch interface is fantastic for controlling other parameters, it's hard to recreate the playability of a keyboard using a touchscreen because there is no tactile feedback. Using an external keyboard also adds pitch bend support to Photophore for even more expressive playing.

Photophore works with any class-compliant MIDI keyboard your device can see — USB controllers connected through the USB-C or Lightning port (with a camera adapter where one is needed), Bluetooth MIDI controllers, and network MIDI from a computer on the same network. On Mac, any MIDI device your system recognises will appear in the input list.

Playing With the Flock

The particle view isn't just a visualisation — you can reach into it.

Tap or drag anywhere in the flock and the oscillators will flee from your finger, exactly as they flee from a predator. Let go and they gradually calm down and regroup. Because the oscillators' motion is the sound, scattering them is a performance gesture: you'll hear the pitch spread widen and the timbre roughen as they scatter, then settle as they recover.

New in 2.0: how the flock reacts to your touch is now up to you. In Photophore 1 the response was fixed; two controls on the Predators tab now shape it:

  • Fear — how hard the oscillators flee from your finger
  • Recovery — how quickly they calm down once you let go

These are the same two controls that govern the flock's response to predators, which is why they're drawn in blue on that panel: blue controls affect both predators and your touch, while the red controls affect predators only.

The Control Panels

Along the top of the screen you'll find Photophore's main menu. Tapping these labels brings up control panels for different parts of the synthesizer: Voice, Flock, Env, Filter, Echo, Arp and Out. Tapping the selected label again puts the panel away so you can see the whole flock.

Voice Panel

[Screenshot: Voice panel]

Waveshape

A waveshape is the fundamental sound used by each of the oscillators. Tap the waveshape button to open the selector, then choose one of 12 shapes:

Waveshape Character
Analog Saw A classic analog shape, ideal for strings, basses and beyond
Vintage Square A powerful analog waveform, great for basses, leads and more
Pulse Another classic analog synth shape with a thinner, colorful tone
Organ A soft but harmonically-rich waveform, ideal for organ-like sounds
Step A square wave with a strong octave overtone, perfect for sounds that cut through
Ragged A gritty, lo-fi digital oscillator with interesting resonant characteristics
Sine Just the fundamental! A clean waveform with no additional harmonics
Pinch Sine A sine-like waveform that provides more high-frequency color
Hard Lead Combines solid bass and aggressive overtones
Stack A saw wave with a strong fifth, great for house and techno "stack" sounds
Vocal Ensemble A voice-based waveform with an "ahh"-like timbre
Vocal Bass Another voice-based waveform, lower and with a strong fundamental

Changing the waveshape while you're holding notes will restart those notes with the new shape.

Oscillators

Sets the number of sound generators — oscillators — used for each synthesizer voice. You can have up to 100 oscillators in a Photophore preset.

As you add more oscillators, the sound will become richer, louder and noisier. This can be a great effect for pads, leads and basses. Use fewer oscillators when you want a punchier, more pure tone.

Octave

This control sets the base octave of the synth. So, for a bass sound for example, you might set Octave to a low value such as −1 or −2. A higher-pitched lead sound might use a setting of +1.

Polyphony

Polyphony controls the number of notes that can be played simultaneously. This is also known as the number of "voices" available. A preset with only one voice will only let you play one note at a time. Setting Polyphony to 1 makes Photophore into a monophonic synth. Adding more voices lets you play chords, or lets notes decay without being stopped when new notes are played.

The Polyphony control will also limit the number of oscillators used per voice so that there are never more than 100 oscillators in a preset. That means if you have 5-note polyphony, for example, you will only be allowed to set the Oscillators control to a maximum of 20 (5 × 20 = 100).

Monophonic Features

When Polyphony is set to 1 (monophonic mode), two additional controls are revealed.

Glide. Glide, also known as portamento in some synths, lets you smoothly transition from one note's pitch to a new note's pitch. If you press a new note while you're holding another note, the pitch will change gradually to the new note.

Gliding will also happen if a note has been released but is still decaying, so the Amplitude Envelope's Release control influences when Glide is triggered.

The glide control can be set from zero seconds (no glide) to five seconds. Note that the glide control is not linear — the first half of its travel covers zero to half a second, and the remaining half covers half a second to five seconds. We found during testing that adding this precision to the lower range made it easier to dial in more musical glide settings.

Legato. Legato affects how the synthesizer behaves when a playing note is interrupted by a new note. For smoother transitions between notes, turn Legato on.

When Legato is on, the voice's amplitude and filter envelopes don't restart when a new note is played unless you have stopped playing the previous note. This creates a smoother transition. If Legato is off, the voice will always restart itself when a new note is played, often leading to a more abrupt transition.

Flock Panel

The Flock panel controls the motion of the oscillators in their three-dimensional environment. As the oscillators move closer to or farther from one another, their pitch and volume change. By adjusting the Flock controls you can change the behavior of the oscillators in order to create more stable or more chaotic timbres.

The panel has two tabs: Prey, which controls the oscillators themselves, and Predators, which controls the creatures that hunt them.

Prey

[Screenshot: Flock panel, Prey tab]

Speed. Controls the overall maximum speed of the oscillators as they move through space. Of the Flock controls, Speed often has the most dramatic effect on how your preset sounds. Faster Speed settings generally create more noticeable modulation effects, while slower Speed settings tend to sound more stable or smooth.

Turbulence. Turbulence controls an invisible current that moves through the environment. By adding some turbulence, you can break up the orderly motion of the oscillators and create randomness. If you set Turbulence to a high value, oscillators may even get caught in vortices that can create rotating-speaker-like effects. Experiment with Turbulence to find the right balance of order and randomness for your preset.

Attract. The higher the value of this control, the more oscillators will try to move toward other oscillators that are close by. This parameter also influences how much the oscillators will tend to move toward the center of their flock. At its lowest value, oscillators will not try to stay together at all.

Align. This knob controls how much an oscillator tries to move in the same direction as its neighbors. With Align set to a high value, oscillators will try to mimic neighboring oscillators' direction and speed. Higher Align settings tend to make more stable-sounding presets, while lower Align settings can lead to buzzing clouds of insect-like oscillators.

Repel. When an oscillator comes too close to another, Repel controls how strongly the two will try to stay separated. With the control all the way down, oscillators ignore each other's "personal space."

Predators

[Screenshot: Flock panel, Predators tab]

New in 2.0. Predators are hunters that live in the same space as your oscillators. They chase the flock, and the flock scatters to escape them. Because the oscillators' positions determine their pitch and level, a predator passing through a flock produces a swell of detuning and movement that you can hear as well as see — a kind of modulation you can't dial in any other way.

Predators are a single global pool shared by the whole instrument, not one set per voice. Add two predators and there are two predators in the world, whichever notes you happen to be playing.

The controls are colour-coded by what they affect. Red controls affect predators only. Blue controls affect the oscillators' fear response, which is shared between predators and your own touch (see Playing With the Flock).

Predators (red). The number of predators in the world, from 0 to 8. At zero there are no predators at all, and the flock behaves exactly as it did in Photophore 1. Start with one or two — a single predator through a large flock is already a strong effect.

Hunger (red). How aggressively the predators pursue their prey. At low settings they drift and take an occasional interest in the flock. At high settings they hunt relentlessly, and the flock rarely gets a chance to settle.

Fear (blue). How strongly the oscillators flee from a predator — and from your finger. High Fear values throw the flock apart dramatically; low values produce a gentler swerve.

Recovery (blue). How quickly the oscillators calm down after being frightened. Fast Recovery settings give you a sharp scatter that reassembles quickly, which reads as a rhythmic gesture. Slow Recovery leaves the flock unsettled long after the predator has moved on.

Tip: Predators cost some processing power, and each one adds work for every voice. If you're running Photophore on a phone or alongside other plug-ins, keep an eye on the count.

Envelope Panel

The envelope of a sound is its shape over time. Like many analog synthesizers, Photophore provides two separate envelope generators: one for the amplitude (volume) of the sound, and one that controls the filter. The envelope generators are triggered when a note is played, and enter their release phase when a note is released.

The panel has two tabs, Amp and Filter, one for each envelope.

[Diagram: envelope timeline — attack, decay, sustain, release]

Attack. The time it takes for the first part of the envelope to complete after a key is pressed.

Decay. How long it will take the level to fall to the Sustain level once the Attack phase is completed.

Sustain. The level the envelope will hold (after the decay phase) while a note is held.

Release. The time it takes for the envelope to return to zero after a key is released.

Amount (filter envelope only). Adjusts how much the envelope affects the filter cutoff. With Amount all the way down, there is no effect on the filter.

Filter Panel

[Screenshot: Filter panel]

Photophore includes a dual-mode filter for further shaping the sound produced by the instrument.

Mode switch. The filter can be set to either of two modes. LP (low pass) filters out high frequencies, letting low frequencies pass. HP (high pass) filters out low frequencies, letting high frequencies pass.

Cutoff. Sets the frequency at which the filter begins to shape the signal, from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.

Resonance. Resonance boosts the signal at the filter's cutoff frequency. This emphasis can be useful for creating more dramatic effects when the filter is swept up and down, or moved by the filter envelope.

Echo Panel

[Screenshot: Echo panel]

The Echo panel lets you add a stereo (or mono) delay effect to your preset.

Time. How far apart the echoes will be, from 1 to 2000 milliseconds.

Feedback. How long the echoes will continue. At the lowest setting there will only be one echo. At the highest setting, echoes will continue for a very long time.

Mix. Blends the echoed signal with the original signal. At its lowest setting you will hear no echo, only the "dry" signal.

Stereo. When Stereo is enabled, echoes bounce back and forth between the left and right channels, creating a stereo effect. With Stereo off, the delay sounds the same in both channels.

Arpeggiator Panel

[Screenshot: Arpeggiator panel]

The Arpeggiator is a real-time rhythmic pattern generator. By holding down one or more notes, you can create rhythmic patterns that step through each of the held notes, across one or more octaves. Use the toggle at the top of the panel to switch it on and off.

Tempo. Sets the speed of the arpeggiator in beats per minute. Drag the number to change it, or tap it to type a value. You can also tap the Tap button repeatedly and the tempo will be set from the time between your taps.

When Photophore is running as a plug-in, the Tap button is replaced by a Host indicator. With Host sync engaged, the arpeggiator follows your host's tempo and the value is shown in red and can't be edited. Tap Host to disengage and take manual control — your own tempo setting is preserved and reappears exactly as you left it.

Direction. Controls the direction the arpeggiator steps through the held notes. Up moves from the lowest note to the highest. Down moves from highest to lowest. Up/Down moves from lowest to highest then back down again. Play Order plays the notes back in the order you held them.

Octaves. Adds transposed copies of your held notes to the pattern. With Octaves set to One, only the notes you hold are played. Two adds notes one octave above. Three adds one more octave on top of that.

Note. Sets the rhythmic note value based on the current tempo, in 4/4 time: 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 or 1/32. For example, the 1/4 setting will play a note four times per measure.

Simple / Dot / Triplet. Modifies the chosen note value. Simple is the plain value, Dot is the dotted version (one and a half times as long), and Triplet fits three notes into the space of two. Any note value can be dotted or tripleted.

Out Panel

[Screenshot: Out panel]

The Out panel holds the instrument's final output stage.

Output. Sets the overall output level of Photophore. This is completely separate from the volume control provided by your device or your host.

If you add more and more oscillators to a preset, or if you use some extreme filter settings, you may hear some distortion. Photophore includes a soft saturating output stage, so turning the output all the way up will not create harsh digital clipping — but it will create a grittier, more saturated sound. If that's not an effect you want, set Photophore's Output lower and turn up your device's or host's volume if you need more overall gain.

Width. (New in 2.0.) Spreads the oscillators across the stereo field according to where they actually are in space. With Width at zero, every oscillator sits dead center and the output is mono — identical to Photophore 1. As you turn Width up, the flock's motion becomes an audible sense of place, with individual oscillators drifting between the speakers as they move.

Flock / World. Chooses how each oscillator's position in space is translated into a position in the stereo field.

  • World places the listener outside the scene, looking in. Oscillators are panned by where they appear on screen, so the stereo image matches what you see — a flock drifting to the right of the view is heard to the right.
  • Flock places the listener inside the flock, travelling with it. Panning is relative to the flock's own heading rather than the camera, so you hear the oscillators moving around you rather than across a stage. This tends to give a more enveloping, less predictable image.

Tip: Width is most dramatic with a high oscillator count and a fast flock Speed, and it interacts strongly with Predators — a scatter throws the sound wide open.

Using Photophore as a Plug-in

New in 2.0. Photophore installs an AUv3 instrument plug-in alongside the standalone app, so you can run it inside a host on the same device. On iPad and iPhone that means hosts like GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, Loopy Pro and BeatMaker. On Mac, Photophore is available as both an AUv3 and a standard Audio Unit, so it appears in Logic Pro, GarageBand, Ableton Live and other AU-compatible DAWs.

You do not need to do anything to install the plug-in — it arrives with the app and your host will find it the next time it scans.

What's different in the plug-in

  • Your host manages MIDI. The Global MIDI section of the Settings menu is hidden in the plug-in, because the host decides what MIDI reaches Photophore. Route MIDI to the Photophore track in your host as you would for any other instrument.
  • The arpeggiator can follow the host. Host sync is on by default, so a fresh instance locks to the session tempo straight away. See Arpeggiator Panel.
  • Presets are saved with your session. The host saves Photophore's complete state — including the name of the preset you last loaded — as part of your project, so reopening the session restores exactly what you had. The preset browser still works normally, and any user presets you've saved are shared between the standalone app and the plug-in.
  • Automation. Every Photophore sound control is exposed to the host as an automatable parameter, so you can record and edit knob movements from your DAW. The MIDI settings (mod wheel and pitch bend) are saved with your session but aren't automatable.

Running more than one instance

Each instance of Photophore runs its own complete flock simulation and its own particle view. That's a real amount of work per instance, especially with a high oscillator count or several predators. If you're running several instances at once, or working on a phone, it's worth watching the Oscillators, Polyphony and Predators settings.

Photophore on iPhone and iPad

New in 2.0. Photophore's interface adapts to the screen it's given. On an iPad you get the full layout, with the flock filling the screen and control panels alongside it. On an iPhone, the same controls are rearranged into a more compact form — panels lay their knobs out in rows instead of columns, and the navigation tightens up so all seven pages still fit.

Everything on a phone is the same instrument, with the same presets, the same parameters and the same sound. The same is true inside a host: the plug-in view uses the same responsive layout, so Photophore stays usable even in a small plug-in window.

Because a phone has less processing power than an iPad or a Mac, a preset that's comfortable on a tablet may be more demanding on a phone. If you run into audio glitches, the settings with the biggest impact are, roughly in order:

  1. Oscillators — the single biggest factor
  2. Polyphony — every extra voice is a whole extra flock
  3. Predators — each one interacts with every particle
  4. Width — the stereo panning stage costs a little per oscillator

The Settings Menu

The Settings menu, opened with the ⚙ button, offers several advanced options and utilities.

Global MIDI

Global MIDI settings are saved with Photophore's global settings, which means they will not change when you load a new preset.

This section appears in the standalone app only. In the plug-in, your host manages MIDI input.

Input. The MIDI Input list lets you control Photophore from external devices or from other apps that support background MIDI. For example, you could connect a MIDI controller to your device's USB port, or use a step sequencer app to control the synth. One input device may be selected at a time. Choose All Devices to listen to everything that's connected. Choose Ignore to turn off MIDI input completely. This is handy if another app is sending MIDI that you don't want Photophore to play.

Channel. Selects which MIDI channel Photophore will "listen" to. If you are using MIDI to control a number of different apps or devices, this lets you choose a unique channel for Photophore. By default this is set to All, which will let Photophore listen to any incoming MIDI messages, regardless of their channel.

Stop All Notes. This button resets all MIDI notes. It's provided in case you get into a situation where there is a "stuck" note that will not stop playing. This might happen if you connect or disconnect a controller, have a bad connection to a controller, or if another app loses its connection to Photophore.

Preset MIDI

Preset MIDI settings are saved with each preset, so these settings can be different for every sound.

Mod Wheel. If you're using a keyboard with a modulation wheel (or an app that sends mod wheel information via MIDI), this setting chooses which Photophore control the mod wheel affects: Flock Speed, Turbulence or Filter Cutoff.

The mod wheel will not totally override whatever control you choose. Instead it offsets the control's value temporarily. For example, if the Flock Speed knob is already set to 50%, moving the mod wheel up will move the value from 50% toward 100%.

Invert. Reverses the mod wheel's direction, so that moving it up moves the target control down. With the example above, an inverted mod wheel would move Flock Speed from 50% toward 0%.

Pitch Bend. Controls how much the MIDI pitch bend wheel changes Photophore's pitch. You can choose a range of one whole step or one octave, up and down.

Other

Run in Background. By default, Photophore will stop running when you leave the app or your screen locks. This is so the synth won't drain your battery when you're not using it. When the app is suspended it keeps all of your current settings and restores them when you reopen it, but it won't produce sound in the background.

If you want to connect to other apps using background MIDI, or otherwise want audio to keep playing while the interface is hidden, enable Run in Background. In this mode you'll need to quit Photophore manually when you're done using it.

This setting applies to the standalone app. When Photophore is running as a plug-in, your host controls whether audio keeps running.

Additional Help and Resources

Thank you for reading the Photophore User Guide. We hope you enjoy experimenting with Photophore as much as we enjoyed making it.

If you need additional help, please visit us at taikasystems.com/photophore. There you'll find answers to frequently asked questions as well as information on contacting technical support.

You can also reach the guide and support pages at any time from the ⓘ button inside the app, which also shows the exact version and build you're running — useful information to include if you write to us about a problem.

Acknowledgements and Thanks

*v. 2.0 | © 2026 Taika Systems LLC.