A co-worker showed me this a few months back and I just got around to playing with it now. Hobnox Audiotools is a virtual studio environment based around the classic Roland x0x series. It’s like the old app ReBirth but with the ability to add unlimited (?) x0x boxes and effects in a browser based Flash application.

I killed an hour or so playing around with it, and while it’s pretty limited compared to major sequencing apps like Ableton Live or Logic Studio, it is a lot of fun.

Setting up is simple. You start in the environment by choosing a blank template or some preset configurations. In the blank one, you’re given a master output. From here you can drag and drop the available equipment into the environment including the obligatory Roland TR-909 and TR-808 drum machines, TB-303 acid bassline synth, a grid based step sequencer, and an assortment of stomp boxes. You hook everything up by connecting virtual cables to the inputs and outputs of the devices and use the channel mixer, splitter and merger components to connect everything to the master output. For those who’ve used Propellerheads Reason, this virtual connecting business is familiar territory. Other nice touches include a ‘tape’ record that enables you to render your track to an audio file, the ability to resize your workstation, and undo/redo capabilities.

Once it’s all set up, hit play and start configuring the gear as you would with any other emulators of these classic boxes.

It’s definitely fun to play around with, but unfortunately the lack of some pretty basic features make it nothing more than a toy:

• Cannot save your environment. This is unforgivable. Unless I’m missing something, you have to set up your environment every time you access Audiotools, even if you register. Close your browser and kiss your three 909, five 303, 10 stomp box setup goodbye.

• No downloadable version. This is also pretty bad. I understand they probably want you to stay on the site, but what happens if your connection is lost, your browser crashes, etc. before you… oh that’s right, you can’t save anyway. Again, until the saving thing is addressed, this isn’t really anything to worry about since you’ll ultimately lose everything you’ve worked for anyway.

• No MIDI. This is not so much a deal breaker, but it would be cool if you could control some of these devices via external MIDI controllers. Then again, it may take away from the simplicity and ‘pick up and go’ feel of this app.

Hopefully Hobnox addresses the save session issue (I see a comment on their blog from January 2009 where they stated “”Saving” feature is coming soon.”, so I’m not holding my breath) because it’s preventing this awesome web app from being anything more than a novelty. Either way, it’s an interesting sign of things to come; being able to access your ‘studio’ from anything with a Flash-enabled web browser is pretty cool, not to mention the collaboration possibilities this could open up.