The 13 greatest mobile synths
The synths are often the stars of any show, especially so a mobile one. Here we have several categories including emulations, oddities and these, the 13 most powerful mobile synths out there. Load ’em up, take ’em out…
01 AUDIOKIT SYNTH ONE £FREE AUV3 (COMING)/AB/AL/IAA | iPAD/iPHONE | 300+PRESETS, 6-VOICE, SEQUENCER This synth is, as they say “completely free, fully functional, and ad-free – the ultimate free iPad music instrument app”. Synth One was designed as an open source tool for users to take and develop how they please but actually stands up as not only one of the best freebies out there but one of the best synths full stop. It has a character all of its own, a unique and flexible UI and a great overall sound. Of all the apps in our 100, download this one now! audiokitpro.com
02 BEEP STREET SUNRIZER $9.99 AUV3/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | 380+PRESETS, 6-20-VOICE, PHRASE SEQUENCER
Virtual analogue synths are becoming as common to mobile music making as they are on your desktop but if you were to ask for just one, this could well be it. It features ‘True SuperSaw sound emulation’ – that’s the kind of fat trance lead capability as made ubiquitous by the Roland JP-8000 and used on dozens (hundreds!) of dance and trance tunes over the years – so you know this synth wears its EDM credentials without any embarrassment. Add in flexible effects, modulation and an arpeggiator, and this could well be seen as the Massive of mobile in years to come. beepstreet.com
03 ICEGEAR INSTRUMENTS LAPLACE $7.99 | | AUV3/ AB/AL/IAA iPAD/iPHONE 64 PRESETS, 24-VOICE, ARPEGGIATOR
This is a little different to most other synth offerings here as it uses physical modelling to create sounds which could imitate strings, plucked instruments, metallic sounds and the like. As with classic hardware like Yamaha’s VL1, physical modelling is best explored when you push its parameters into other sonic realms and that is the case here. Indeed IceGear suggest “it is designed not to reproduce real acoustic instruments but to create new synthesizer sounds in different new ways”. And in that sense will offer completely new sonic journeys, so if you want something a little different this could be eight bucks very well spent. icegear.net
04 GREEN OAK CRYSTAL $4.99 AB/IAA | iPAD | N/S PRESETS, N/SVOICES, SEQUENCER
The original Crystal synth is one of the legends of the freeware world, an instrument that will not die and has many thousands of users worldwide. It is looking a bit clunky these days (although still sounds great) and thankfully this iOS update not only refreshes the UI but does the original justice in terms of its sound and ease of use. You can get some lovely evolving sounds, dreamy pads and analogue classics and the touch control really does add a new dimension in playing and programming. And at just $499, why not do a favour back to
05 MIRACK $9.99 AUV3/AL/AB/IAA | iPAD/iPHONE | 500+ MODULES, SEQ AND OTHER MODULES Thought you wouldn’t be able to get a full mobile modular synth experience? Think again. miRack has 500 modules created by modular experts like Mutable Instruments. It also features multichannel audio and will support interfaces by the likes of Expert Sleepers so will integrate with hardware Eurorack gear. mifki.com
the developer that has given us such a great freebie over the last couple of decades? greenoak.com
06 KLEVGRAND ENKL $5.99 AUV3/IAA,/AB | iPAD | 93 PRESETS, MONOPHONIC, CHIPTUNE-STYLE ARPEGGIATOR
Klevgrand have scored some major successes over the years with a variety of desktop plugins and this maintains their ethos of producing great quality plugins at very attractive prices. It might well be a monophonic synth, but don’t think that it’s in any way ‘just’ intended for bass, as it does a great job of creating huge leads, glitched-up noise, percussive hits and chiptune effects. There’s a flexible oscillator section, EQ and delay and a welcoming interface that makes the synth look and feel a lot simpler and easier to use than it sounds (a good thing!). A proper bargain too… klevgrand.se
07 KV331 AUDIO SYNTHMASTER ONE IOS $19.99 AUV3/IAA,/AB/AL | iPAD/iPHONE | i650+PRESETS, 16-VOICE, SEQUENCER
KV331 Audio’s synths are regular end-of-year gear winners and this brings some of their glamour and rich sound to iOS. Featuring a semi-modular architecture, 11 effects and wavetable synthesis, this is about as fullyfeatured as most desktop synths get. It’s expensive compared to some others but a) there are often deals to be had, b) the iPhoneonly version costs a penny, and c) it’s about the richest synth experience you can get. A beaut! kv331audio.com