Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Your Favorite Auv3 Synth and Why?!?
I'll start.
iDensity - just absolutely crazy sounds. Love the ambient soundscaping stuff, and the fact you can still play it like a synth, i Love it!
FM Player - if this were a little bit more stable, i would love it even more. Great sonic quality, wide variety of patches. Easy to tweak!
Tardigrain - Quirky and fun granular synthesis that is still musical. Very simple to use, less of a learning curve than other granular synths.
of course it all depends on what im after and when, but these have been my favorite lately.
Comments
Audiokit D1. Just got this and only used presets but it sounds incredible.
Drambo. Also just got this one. I don't have any experience with modular but I've just been experimenting building instruments and having hours of fun.
Zeeon - sounds huge and filters are sweet. If I only needed one synth this would be.
Model D and Continua are excellent aswell but I could never compare them to the great zeeon.
Short list:
Aparillo, Factory (Sugar Bytes)
Lagrange (Ice Gear)
Phase84 (Retronyms)
but my favorite is whatever was released most recently: Phosphor3, BLEASS alpha, Mononoke, Stria
in matters of AUv3 synths, there is no singularity
no doubt allmighty miRack !! (i know, it's still beta, but it can easily replace for me literally ALL plugins)
Bleass Alpha, for the moment.
Too much... but on the top level of that list
Factory (SugarBytes), zeeon and ______ nah I don’t want to choose
I would say Drambo but I don't think it counts. That would be like saying 'eurorack' is my favourite modular synth.
So... Zeeon is probably the synth I've used the most. It sounds brilliant, super simple, and reminds me of Korg Minilogue which I can't afford!
I'm also getting into Erik Sigth's apps. There's something unique and super special about them, clearly the 'teenage engineering' of the iOS world.
Plus I can't NOT mention the bloody miraculous TAL-U-NO-LUX because the Juno 60 is probably my favourite synth of all time.
Electribe Wave
I like lightweight synths ,such as Viking synth ,Spacecraft & Phasemaker
It took some time to find out why I don't like some of the synths and why I do like others.
I don't like tweaking oscillators, filters, etc. to generate sounds from scratch. I like synths with wide selection of patches out of the box. Maybe I slightly modify their ADSR parameters, add some effects, but that's it. I want to focus on the melody, the chords, drums and the little nuances. I like to browse hundreds of patches to find out which ones suit the best for the song I want to write. Or I simply browse the pathces until I find an interesting one from which I got inspiration for a song.
I don't like some analogue synths which offer thin pathces that sounds like a C64 back in the 80's. We got fantastic hardware that is very capable, but getting cheesy sounds out from it is very disappointing for me.
I see videos on youtube demoing a synth app by generating poor sounding, harsh saw waves that I could generate even on a C64... I don't get it...
So I came from the opposite direction why I don't like some, but finally let me name the ones I like because they deliver what I expect, what inspires me. Lot of built in patches, interesting, exciting sounds out of the box or via IAP.
So my favourites are:
Synthmaster One - tons of sweet highly tweak-able presets and has recently been optimized allowing me to run a lot more instances. It just keeps on getting better.
Sound wise I love a lot about Factory and Aparillo but unfortunately there is a preset recall bug that keeps me from using them much.
Pure Synth.
Drambo! I suspect that's cheating though.
Tera Synth: Extremely flexible modular/semi modular architecture. Like the other Virsyn apps, sounds just plain good.
Strng: I’m a sucker for Karplus-Strong and physical modeling. What I love about this synth is how easy it is to get usable and expressive sounds that are unlike other apps. From silk to grime with minimal tweaking.
DRC: One of my go to's for analog sounds because of its immediacy. Architecture is tastefully limited like a Juno or 101 - but it’s basically a giant sweet spot synth. Hard to make a bad sound.
FRMS - the combination of FM, Subtractive and Granular is unique. Any of the engines alone sound great, but when combined, you can make sounds like no other synth can. Combine that with Imaginando’s immediate interfaces and a flexible mod matrix. I find that programming it is a real joy. It’s also an audio effect which is my favorite use for it.
iVCS3 - Very very high quality sound. Sounds like something that should be expensive. With a purchase of the app, many of the 'modules' in it's signal path become available as their own AUv3. That inclueds a VCO AU, Noise AU, ENV/amp AU, Spring Reverb AU, and the Filter. I wish the ring modulator got that treatment too. So, in addition to being a great sounding instrument in it's own right, it's also an incredible utility with the breakout AUv3's.
Disclaimer: I haven’t tried any of the Bram Bos synths. I’m very interested in Ruismaker Noir though. Additionally, I don’t yet own Zeeon. I’m sure if I did it would be up here though, as everything I’ve heard from it sounds fantastic. Shockwave and Model 15 would be other notable mentions.. that I also don’t have but know are worth it.
I interpreted the question in terms of which AUv3 synth do I end up using the most?
For me, I find the creative use of effects to be the most interesting aspect of synthesis. Trying out various new and old effect apps on sound sources has become an obsession. Consequently I end up returning to a synth that has a wide variety of timbres which are amendable to post processing effects, requires little of my device’s CPU and storage plus can be an audio source amendable to post effects as it can have minimal effects of its own to interfere with my own effects explorations/exploitations.
🥁🧻✉️🙏🏼🏆:
KQ Dixie
Moog Model 15 - sounds incredibly good. Love the Animoog keyboard (I want a real life hardware one!)
Poison-202 - Again, sounds great, and very easy on the CPU.
Aparillo - Instant soundscapes and texture. Always interesting and inspirational.
Lots of honorable mentions:
miRack - So CPU efficient its scary (especially since VCV kills my super duper desktop☠️)
iVCS3 - very convincing sound wise
Infinite - RIP PPG 😰
Sunrizer - Classic.
Pure Acid - funnest groove box on iOS
Ripplemaker - like having an iOS Make Noise 0-Coast.
And of course DRAMO. Gamechanger for me.
I think like many here I have many many iOS synths. I just counted 123. On my iPhone ffs...
So I don’t have a favorite, I have favorites and would make a list like some friends above, rather than pick just one.
But if I’m honest I’d say that in any given project I often pick an instrument semi randomly.
Flick the pull down list, quick scroll, scan what’s in the window when it stops and select with only a half/formed intention, then do the same in the preset list. Sometimes digging into the params for sound design sometimes not.
(I use an equivalent process choosing samples clips loops)
I do have a few synths that I choose on purpose. These tend to be the rare birds (Phoneme, Mersenne, Stria) rather than bread and butter powerhouses like SynthMaster One.
(When I think about synths like SM O, I know in the back of my mind that if I was the boffin I wish I was I could do everything I wanted in just that One)
When I was a teen in the seventies doing art, hanging with artists, there was a type called a “schlock artist” (not shock, those were my college pals in the eighties) Schlock was not a pejorative term in this usage. It meant that the artist would have a big random pile of materials and media, pick up one and apply it, then working off that pick up another then another, each time adding, maybe changing course, maybe taking something away, while also injecting some blind random choice mechanism, while looking at what was there. narrowing things down until a course became clear then there would be some kind of arrival. There were some Duchamp games to use if ennui set in. Weed sometimes as well.
Wow that was quite a treatise. And before coffee. If I’d had my coffee I’d have already deleted this shit.
Really varies. I love the Iceworks synths, they have such a special sound and feel. I badly wish they were MPE mind you. Shockwave is very different, and I like the semi-modular aspects even if I don't fully understand them. Stria I have a lot of love for. That's just something completely different from any other iOS synth I have tried. Frms is a great granular, super easy to use, love the live mode. Synthmaster One is a favourite for its variety. I'm really liking the sound of phosphor 3, good leads, pads, bells Looking forward to mpe getting fixed in that.
Model D because they got the saturation right for me.
Zeeon would be my next choice.
I wish Alchemy would be an AUv3 on iOS because it was always my favorite and was by far the most inspiring synth ever with the best synth presets ever. This thing could tell stories within a preset, especially with the morphing pads.
I liked the good old app much more than what we have now in GarageBand iOS.
Otherwise also no AUv3 but Obsidian is really great.
But many synths sounds good. More creative and unique FX is what i would buy because good FX makes almost all sounds good. No need for new synths anymore
Poison-202:
Powerful, versatile, lightweight.
Shockwave: Sounds phenomenal, pretty flexible. Use it for bass and leads.
Lagrange: Incredibly flexible and unique sounds. Use it for leads and pads.
Obsidian: Best native DAW synth in my opinion.
BASS-model d,zeeon ,tal uno
PADS sunrizer, phaze84,samples, soundfonts.
drums - noir, drambo, samples. soundfonts.
have to work lagrange and continua mirack, tardi, in my style more.. well see
I’m thankful you didn’t delete this post as it turns out being a Schlock artist describes my art supply hoarding and process of using them. I’m glad weed was described as an optional component as I struggle enough with my own inherent brain biology which churns out plenty of pseudo random impulses despite considerable effort on my part and to the frequent frustration of mental health professionals. Coffee would have had the opposite effect upon me as it leads to a running chain of tangent thoughts as I march off on a crusade to save the multitudes from something rather than any sort of urge to restrain myself to protect my dignity.
As with many aspects of life, it’s nice to appreciate that one’s own proclivities can be directed towards positive pursuits when so often the focus of others and yourself can be on reining it in.
iSem is my favourite soundwise, but I almost never use it for some reason… of the ones I actually use, Poison 202 is just fun to throw into the mix. Sometimes I do dabble in Model D, which sounds amazing, but it's such a resource hog.
I don't really use many AU synths because I can usually get the sound I want quicker from Obsidian.
No favorites here either but use according to the moment.
Animoog, not AU but keep using it. I suspect that as long as they stay on top of the sales list they aren’t doing anything with it.
Model 15, I swear every time I open it because I can’t have an overview but damn how good it sounds.
Zeeon and Ripplemaker in combo. Sometimes just Ripplemaker with Alteza.
I should stop there.
Magellan 2 is also pretty amazing
DRC, Bass 808 and Ravenscroft find their way into many mixes. BeatHawk is increasingly becoming my favorite drum machine as many other options that I have have great kick sounds but for whatever reason they tend to clip/click or make some weird interference sound that takes a lot of time with EQ adjustments to make them useable in my mixes. Beathawk just works out of the “box.”
Tal-U-No-Lx Is my favorite. It sounds like a hardware Juno.
so true and familiar.
many times I describe my "process" and I'm told its actually a "symptom"...
but then they praise the product...hm
sunrizer.
zeeon.
alpha.
ripplemaker.
factory.
quanta.
model 15.
spacecraft.
Syntronik is versatile if you buy the whole enchilada for a preset lover (40+ classic synths are modeled).
Europa embedded in Reason Compact has some nice Sound Packs for the non-programer.
The AudioKit Synths are great: D1, 808, FM.
Poisson seems to have some of the low end Roland Mojo.
KQ-Dixie makes the whole Yamaha DX7 catalog of presets available on IOS.
Continua, Factory, Aparillo, Shockwave add lots of sequencing and FX extras that put them in a class of IOS workhorses.
TAL-You-Know-(the Juno-60) LX (roman numerals LX = 60)
and still a great bundle of sounds: Roland SoundCanvas
Korg's catalog of emulated hardware synths - iWaveStation has some wonderful layered Presets - Module has a Triton Sound Pack.
I didn't buy enough storage to keep them all on my iPad but my iPhone does better... but some are not universal.