SynthStation app for iPhone and iPad
Low $1.99 price extended!
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 to iOS 6.1.3
Features
• Three virtual-analog synthesizers, each with three oscillators
• More than 50 drum kits, plus a built-in sequencer
• Create melodic and accompaniment parts using arpeggiator with preset patterns
• Core MIDI-compatible: works with any Core MIDI device as a synth module on your iOS device
• Real-time recording
• Unlimited creativity with effects and filters
• Compatible with iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
• Requires iOS 4.3 or later
Transform your iPhone into a music production studio. SynthStation transforms your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a portable music production studio for mobile music creation. SynthStation gives you three powerful synthesizers for creating and modifying sonic textures used for melodies, chords, and bass lines. Built around Akai Professional’s history in synthesis and drawing on the newest MINIAK synth, SynthStation sounds great and offers wide-ranging sonic flexibility with its virtual analog synthesis.
From the moment you start SynthStation, youll know your way around. It is jam-packed with tools to help you create music with the convenience of your touch screen and each section works the way you work. With SynthStation, you can create and save sequences and complete songs. The app contains three different three-oscillator synths and a range of drum kits you can sequence and mix right in the SynthStation. For creating melodic and accompaniment parts, the SynthStation contains an arpeggiator with preset patterns, built-in effects and filters, and an XY touch control interface for expressive control of key parameters.
PERFORM
Play with keys, XY and arpeggiator controls. This is perfect place to make magic happen because it gives you access to all the common controls you’ll need in a performance or creation setting.
SYNTH
Complete synthesis controls from oscillators to LFOs, envelopes, and more. You can control a wide range of filters to dial in exactly the sound you need. Choose from Sine, Triangle, Square or Sawtooth on your VCO and start creating your own signature sounds from scratch. Filter Cutoff and Resonance are just two taps away.
DRUMS
In addition to SynthStations three synthesizers, weve included drum kits and a visual representation of the most iconic beat making tool in the world - MPC pads. Just pick your kit and start tapping beats anywhere, anytime. Includes:
Drum Kit – select the drum kit and play it with onscreen pads.
Drum Edit – tune, mix, and customize your drums.
SEQUENCER
Keyboard grid – see your keyboard sequencing and edit notes easily.
Drum grid – build and modify drum tracks with a visible sequencer grid.
SONG/SEQUENCE
Select and save your Song/Sequence projects. You can recall your Songs and work on them later, and even export them for further editing in your desktop audio applications.
CONTROL
XY – two axes of control for hands-on, real-time control. Just like a joystick, the XY controller can snap back to the zero point.
Tempo – control tempo and even tap in the tempo you want.
MIXER
The Mixer in SynthStation includes touch-controlled faders for each of the three synthesizers and the drum section as well as FX send for each.
Mixer – mix all the levels of the parts and effects. Just like a hardware mixer, there are faders, mutes, and effect routing.
Effects – select and control FX type and parameters.
SynthStation Studio enables you to create and produce music anywhere on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.
Pros and cons of SynthStation app for iPhone and iPad
SynthStation app good for
Fantastic synth. For anyone having problems at launch, just delete and reinstall. Works like a wet dream. I am now hard.
Ive written before that the app doesnt work. But I simply had to close all other apps because its a big program. It works very well, especially with the SynthStation synthesizer. The only fault of Akai, is that they should have warned people that they should close all other apps before opening SynthStation.
I think comparing this to Beatmaker is something of a false positive. They strike me as very different implementations of composition tools - I like the fact that SynthStation lets me play instruments, rather than working with pre-determined collections of sounds. I think this is a good 1.0 release and I hope that future releases will let us play our parts "live" on the mini-keyboard / pads rather than writing them in on the grid editor. I also think the sounds and editing functions are pretty good.
Love this app, I also have the 25 key SynthStation controller which really makes this powerful.
Synths sound great, love the drums, love everything...EXCEPT - would love it if the arpeggiated synths could retrigger at the selected BPM every time you hit the key. It almost sounds like the arpeggiated synth is connected to an always-running, silent beat, and sometimes when you hit the key (with arpeggiator ON) it doesnt always trigger right away - as if its in the middle of the beat.
I realize that when the sequence is playing youd probably NOT want this feature, but when the sequence isnt playing and youre in performance mode, Id love the ability to have the arpeggiator re-trigger whenever a new key has been played.
A lot of the reviews on this really dont take into account that the app is made to compliment the controller.
As a guitar player, I wanted something to help write songs without being bogged down by trying to learn the ins and outs of a synth. The app AND controller made it easy to delve in as a casual player to get great sounds right away.
The app makes total sense when paired with the SynthStation 25 controller, and if you read the reviews with anyone who has it, it looks like they would agree.
I havent used it during a live performance yet but as I get better I wouldnt hesitate to try it out with my band The Live Amps.
This app should be free for those who bought the SynthStation 25, since it already cost 70 dollars. That being said.
This app along with the machine is a wonderful portable synthesiser, it takes some fooling around to understand the app, but once you do, everything is programmable! you can edit parameters on individual drum keys, or you can go through a huge selection of synth levels. there are 3 oscillators, you can change levels on each of them. then theres many other parameters for controlling the final sound to the most minute detail.
this is a legitimate synthesiser, if you have the synth station 25 to go with it. I cant wait to record with it!
You should not use this app as a standalone synthesiser, it lets you change all those levels in real time with the machine, without the machine you need to switch back and forth to the "perform" selection, but its not meant to be used like that, dont give it a review if you dont have the machine.
This is very nice
Some bad moments
This software is not stable, so it is useless! Please fix the bugs
It doesnt open in Ipad 4, what can you do for me? Give me the money back? Offer me another app?
Badly advertised as deceptive to work, yet you find out they do not give a warn that it would not work on your hardware! Fail big time for me! Thats all I can say.
The sequencer on the Akai SynthStation is very basic. I was quite disappointed.
There is no control of the volume of individual drum hits, kits are not customizable and there is no audio import or export.
This product is not very well thought through. Id recommend waiting for an update to see if more basic features are added. For 10$, there are much better synth products for iOS.
Ive bought an apc40 and lpk25. So I was inclined to trust akai. But for 10$, this is a very disappointing app.
BEATMAKER blows this out of the water. Thats worth $10, this is not.
I was extremely excited at the prospect of a mobile studio made by Akai, and this was a huge let down. Nearly everything about this is poorly thought out, the layout is completely unintuitive, and frankly there was no room for creativity left in my brain after struggling to figure out the logic of how this works. My guess is that Akai didnt make this app, they probably licensed their name to a third party. Anyway, I hate to say it, but not worth the wait or the price. If you are looking for a comparable app that is really good, check out NanoStudio. It is what this should have been, and more.
