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.

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Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Recommend an AUv3 synth, stable, modern, good

I need a synth that "just works" and sounds good without a lot of fuss and muss. I've been working with Synth One, but it keeps crashing. So first requirement = stability. Second requirement = total modern -- i.e. plays nice with AB, AUM, and all the interactive features and parameter controls. Supported by a team that cares about updates. Polyphonic (I'm a piano player).

Sounds? Analog retro is always fun. So is DX digital. But I prefer wave-table synthesis for richness and variety. I prefer patches that sound good out of the box, though I know how to tweak if necessary. I don't need a drum machine.

FWIW, I started creating sounds on synths with the DX7 in the late 80s, and a long list of analogs, then digital-analogs (I still own my Alesis ION and a vintage TX 802). Then soft synths ACE, Zebra, Diva, Alchemy (before Apple bought it). Actually my first experience was an original Buchla, patch cords and all.

Of course I read all the "best" threads here, which are great. I'm ready for specific suggestions.

Thanks,

Steve
ThinAirX

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Comments

  • edited January 2020

    It seems to me that SynthMaster One ticks all your boxes: up to date, stable, crazy amount of patches, universal, great sound, same as desktop version (you can even try that out first), a variety of modes (including wavetables), routing, filter modes and effects.

    Alternatively, if you’re not strictly tied to AU, you can take a look at NanoStudio 2's Obsidian.

  • i was going to recommend Synthmaster One as well - but wasn't sure how stable it is after the update last week... I'm still on the older version and it's usually pretty stable for me.

    Maybe Pure Synth Platinum? (I don't own, so can't comment on stability - but I believe it's packed with presets that cover most of the modern synth sounds.)

  • edited January 2020

    Sugarbytes Factory synth is very nice. I recommend downloading it for free.
    Don't give up on Synthmaster One, the devs are responsive, send an email to the support . I don't have One , but the Player and there are very nice soundpacks (I'm more like a preset guy!)

    Edit: @ThinAirX ,with Synth One ,do you mean Syntmaster One ,or the old time classic Synth1 VST ?

  • Erm... Lots of potential options/preferences involved, but looking at the ones I have these come to mind :

    • DRC (analog)
    • iSEM (analog retro)
    • Electribe Wave (wavetable)
    • Factory (all sorts)
    • Spectrum synths (digital/modelling)
    • Viking (analog albeit mono)

    Several of those are either free or free to trial with IAP for full functionality.

  • edited January 2020

    If you want a modern, optimally laid out, flexible (modulate anything with anything), powerful, limitless, universal, thousands of presets (1285 currently with plans to release 5 preset libraries this year), desktop class app (ported as-is from desktop to iPad and iPhone), fanatic support, active development from a company with a track record... look no further - SynthMaster One - it does more than just wave table synthesis and it is dirt cheap for what is does. It's super cool and high quality presets speak for its power and capabilities!

  • @Halftone said:
    i was going to recommend Synthmaster One as well - but wasn't sure how stable it is after the update last week... I'm still on the older version and it's usually pretty stable for me.

    Maybe Pure Synth Platinum? (I don't own, so can't comment on stability - but I believe it's packed with presets that cover most of the modern synth sounds.)

    I like PSP too but it is not wavetable synthesis

  • Another vote for SynthMaster One/Player.. Amazing Sounds..

  • @ThinAirX said:
    I need a synth that "just works" and sounds good without a lot of fuss and muss. I've been working with Synth One, but it keeps crashing. So first requirement = stability. Second requirement = total modern -- i.e. plays nice with AB, AUM, and all the interactive features and parameter controls. Supported by a team that cares about updates. Polyphonic (I'm a piano player).

    Sounds? Analog retro is always fun. So is DX digital. But I prefer wave-table synthesis for richness and variety. I prefer patches that sound good out of the box, though I know how to tweak if necessary. I don't need a drum machine.

    FWIW, I started creating sounds on synths with the DX7 in the late 80s, and a long list of analogs, then digital-analogs (I still own my Alesis ION and a vintage TX 802). Then soft synths ACE, Zebra, Diva, Alchemy (before Apple bought it). Actually my first experience was an original Buchla, patch cords and all.

    Of course I read all the "best" threads here, which are great. I'm ready for specific suggestions.

    Thanks,

    Steve
    ThinAirX

    Based on what you've laid out, Synthmaster One seems like a perfect match. Both virtual analog and wavetables.

    Pick up KQ Dixie for your DX7 needs or Phasemaker.

  • edited January 2020

    You mention wavetable... all PPG stuff is great. Wavemapper is amazing. Infinite is well named. Here’s Doug to tell you more:
    (BTW, Korg iWAVESTATION is awesome, too. Though not AUv3).

  • Zeeon is my favourite virtual analog synth, and it supports all the latest iOS features.

    For Wavetable then Electribe Wave, which now supports AUv3.

  • @espiegel123 said:

    Pick up KQ Dixie for your DX7 needs or Phasemaker.

    +1 for KQ Dixie: Stable, Lightweight, Sounds great. Also, +1 for Phasemaker and SynthMaster One

  • I have far too many synths, but I keep returning to:

    • Zeeon (analog)
    • Mood (apesoft - what more do you need to know??)
    • Poison (super simple)
    • Kauldron (very powerful)

    • Animoog is a Moog-designed beast but it's not AU3. But a really cool synth that does something no others do and sounds absolutely amazing.

    Not a massive fan of emulator synths, prefer brand new systems that do their own thing. I haven't yet tried Synthmaster One simply because I have too many synths already and not sure why I'd need it. But I really like the look of it. Seems to do pretty much everything under one roof.

  • Wow! Thank you for all your suggestions. I'll check out a few of these and report back.

    To be clear, I'm not limited to wavetable. It's just that I'm way beyond the point where I care about emulating old synths and I'm not a purist about how the sound is produced. I just want great sounds. My workflow is to go through the pre-packaged patches, make a library of a few dozen I can use for my music (tweak if necessary) and then ignore the rest.

    I said AUv3 because I've been reading about the future of IAA being in doubt. I don't want to have to change synths the next time Apple updates ios. I did see Obsidian recommended in other threads, and that means. getting Nanostudio 2; I'll look into that.

    By 'modern' I don't mean new options for sound generation. I mean designed to take advantage of the iOS environment. I recently discovered AU parameter controls in AUM, and love it! I'll be using MIDI Designer too.

    'Stable' includes efficient CPU usage.

    And to add one more word: "elegant." Elegant interface (which usually means elegant coding too). AUM is elegant. I love working in AUM. Such intelligent design!

    Steve
    ThinAirX

  • @ThinAirX

    And to add one more word: "elegant." Elegant interface (which usually means elegant coding too). AUM is elegant. I love working in AUM. Such intelligent design!

    Steve
    ThinAirX

    +1

  • Another vote for DRC! So many options out there but DRC immediately jumped to mind for me as a very stable, modern, and inspiringly good Auv3 synth.

  • I don’t know, but when I hear “modern” I think about Aparillo from Sugar Bytes. Its UI takes advantages by the touchscreen, better than others do. And it sounds terrific.
    SynthMaster One/Player are great too, awesome synths indeed, but with a more conventional design.

  • About the "elegant" aspect, there's one caveat I should mention about Synthmaster One, even if I stand by my recommendation if you want just one synth: its interface is great, logical and clearly laid out, but interacting with it is not the best experience in iPad/iPhone in my opinion. It's as if the developer had to fight against whatever they used in the desktop version instead of using native options, resulting in some strange behavior with taps and scrolling.

  • @jipumarino Valuable point about the UI of Synthmaster One. That's exactly the kind of insight I was hoping for. It comes so highly recommended, though, I'm still going to check it out. I perform live, so I need to avoid scrolling and menus once I get rolling.

    So maybe I add elegant for performing.

    Steve

  • @ThinAirX it does support MIDI program change, and if you just need to change between pre-selected presets while performing live, maybe this is not that big of a deal

  • Kaspar from Yonac would be my suggestion. Lots of different Oscillators and Filters, very touch friendly, interesting concept, nice fx, arp and chordmode, lots of midi stuff I don’t get because I don’t have a midi keyboard (learn, save your own cc Maps etc.), ableton link, morph, stable etc.

    Check out the manual: https://www.yonac.com/kaspar/kaspar_manual.pdf

  • While Synthmaster is not a synth I use a whole lot, it does sound like what you're looking for. Alternatively you could get a couple of synths. While there are a bunch to recommend - all the Moog synths are good. Poison is great (and has lots of good presets if that's your thing). DRC is not only great, but the developers do sound design tutorials on youtube that are REALLY good. Layr is a fantastically powerful synth that's designed for playability, and sounds great. Zeeon sounds fantastic and is pretty easy to use if you get Analog synthesis. NFM synth is a well thought out FM synthesizer (though not many presets - but it uses the FM8 interface, so is quite easy to design sounds for).

    For wavetable my two favourite synthesizers (Scythe and Nave) don't support AU3. Which is sad. The PPG stuff does, but I've never really got on with them.

  • edited January 2020

    SynthMaster Player might be a good choice for you, as you like presets, there is room to modify sounds a fair amount, and a lot more sounds available for purchase. It's been stable for me. Nothing is truly stable on iOS though.

    I have been in the market for a go-to synth for a while now. I am picky, I guess. Here are some thoughts:

    • SynthMaster Player - Easy to modify, but limited as a preset player, has lots of IAP available
    • Viking - easy interface to navigate, auv3, but mono, you can instantiate multiple instances and route midi to them all, but it's a pain. It's the easiest to play with, though, and stable
    • Yamaha FM Essential - if you go to a music store and unlock it, this is powerful, has a lot of sounds, and stable
    • Nanologue - free, stable, not bad
    • SynthMaster One - good sounds, annoying to work with
    • Digital D1, good sounds, I take the presets pretty much as is, it's not hard to play with, but I can't seem to get much to change
    • Pure Synth Platinum - deep and powerful, annoying to work with, worse than SynthMaster One
    • Obsidian (in NanoStudio2) - easy to modify, powerful, stuck NS2
    • FM Player - taxing on CPU, good FM sounds, but not as aggressive or modern as FM Essential
    • Roli Noise - Relatively stable, very interesting sounds, expressive, can use 3D touch, MPE

    But, like I said, I'm still looking for a daily driver. I am considering Korg Electribe Wave, Zeeon, or PPG. It's a bit frustrating to keep buying and not using. But it's cheaper than VST/AU stuff.

  • My short list to try out, based on your suggestions:

    Synthmaster One
    Obsidian (and Nanostudio 2)
    Zeeon
    Poison
    DRC

    I'll research these, look at vids, and download a couple to try.

  • Bonus question: which of the iOS synths being recommended has a good built-in arp. Not a sequencer, but one that arpeggiates notes held on a controller keyboard in real time? And with the ability to set different rhythm patterns for the played notes.

    I loved the arp in Ableton and used it a lot (with Alchemy and Diva). Also the Alesis Ion has a unique arp with controls I've never found anywhere else.

    Steve
    ThinAirX

  • I quite like the Arp in SM1 - I think all the ones you listed above have an Arp except Obsidian. (Not 100% about poison..)

  • @ThinAirX said:
    Bonus question: which of the iOS synths being recommended has a good built-in arp. Not a sequencer, but one that arpeggiates notes held on a controller keyboard in real time? And with the ability to set different rhythm patterns for the played notes.

    I loved the arp in Ableton and used it a lot (with Alchemy and Diva). Also the Alesis Ion has a unique arp with controls I've never found anywhere else.

    Steve
    ThinAirX

    P-202

  • Lagrange by Icegear is a spectacularly versatile clean synth - all sorts of features under the hood.

  • SM1’s arpeggiator / sequencer is super.

  • LayR (a world class synth -- check out the YouTube video by Brice Beasley) has a pretty deep arpeggiator.

    It has some learning curve but is pretty stunning in what it can do.

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