# AudioKit Digital D1 Synth — 80s 90s Music Synthesizer

> Virtual analog and PCM synthesizer for iPad with 80s/90s digital sound inspiration. (iPhone/iPad app by Audiobus Pty Ltd.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiokit-digital-d1-synth/id1436905540 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Audiobus Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/672585101)
- Category: Music, Entertainment
- Price: Free with in-app purchases (on sale, was $19.99)
- Rating: 4.80/5 from 2,007 App Store ratings · 242 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 636 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2018-10-30
- Data updated: 2026-08-19
- Monetization: subscription
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiokit-digital-d1-synth/id1436905540/reviews.md

## What is AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?

Epic 64-voice Virtual Analog / PCM iPad Synth

Inspired by the Digital Synths of the 80s and 90s

- ** TOP 3 iOS MUSIC APPS OF 2018 *** - Music Radar Awards

(Computer Music & Future Music Magazine)

- * Featured By Apple in "New Apps We Love!" **

"Fans of the D-50, JD-990, 01/W, Wavestation... Rejoice!" - Music Radar

FULLY LOADED w/ 500+ presets by Brice Beasley, Matthew Fecher, Red Sky Lullaby, Jakob Haq, Dean Daughters (Electronisounds), Sound of Izrael, Brian Funk, and more

DIGITAL D1 is AWESOME:

- 64-voice Hybrid Digital Poly Synthesis.
- Full 1+ Gigabyte of original samples recorded from analog & fm synths over 30+ years old
- Stand-alone iPad Synth, plus IAA & Audiobus
- Basic AUv3 Plugin support. Works best with AUM. We're working on upgrading Audio Unit support.
- Space-saving Compression - The whole app is under 200mb!
- Dual layers per voice. Keyboard splits. Velocity Scaling.
- Vintage-style Arp/Step Sequencer that can be routed to specific layers.
- 3 LFOs. Fun Routings. LFOs can modify other LFOs.
- Dual Independent per-Layer filters
- Plus, per-voice Harmonic key-tracked Envelope filters.

"Digital D1 Sounds and plays AMAZING!" - The Sound Test Room

"Rad retro synth sounds" - Cult of Mac, App of the Week

"AudioKit Digital D1 is a beautiful Synthesizer app that recreates the spirit of legendary synths" - Synth Anatomy

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

- FX: Glorious Reverb, Phaser, Digital Delay, Distortion, Flanger, Chorus, Crush, and more.
- Perfect with a MIDI Keyboard
- Ableton Link
- All kinds of awesome stuff
- The Sound. Oh, the sound. You won't believe it.

"Digital D1 synth is pure ‘80s and ‘90s digital lushness" - Computer Music/Music Radar

"Beautiful. Lush. Modern and Amazing… An Instant Classic."

REQUIREMENTS:

Requires newer iPads for best performance. May be slow on iPad 4.

IAA is being deprecated by Apple in iOS 13. We're moving to AUv3 as well. Please replace IAA with AUv3 in your projects.

GarageBand Audio Unit (AUv3):

You can run one instance of D1 as an AUv3 in GarageBand. With a host like AUM, you can run 3 or more instances at once.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

For iPad 4 - Open the "Settings" button (to the upper left above the keyboard). Turn the buffer to 512 or above. And turn the "CPU Efficient" toggle to on. If still having trouble, try closing other music apps and/or rebooting your iPad. Thanks!

- * NOMINATED: Best iOS Music Apps of 2018 **

by Computer Music & Future Music magazine.

Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following:

- Length: weekly or yearly
- Free trial: only on selected subscriptions
- Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase
- You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase
- Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period
- The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period
- When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded
- Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription

Terms & Conditions:

[https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=21)

Privacy Policy:

[https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=21)

- * NOTE: This app has no official affiliation with AudioKit Pro, LLC. It was built using the free AudioKit source code.

## Key features

- 64-voice hybrid digital poly synthesis
- 1GB+ of original samples
- Stand-alone, IAA, and AUv3 support
- Vintage-style arp/step sequencer
- 3 LFOs with fun routings
- Dual independent per-layer filters
- Built-in FX suite

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly premium | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly premium | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Yearly premium | $9.99 | per year |
| Yearly premium | $9.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D1 PCM Expansion-01 | Free | one-time |
| Platinum Expansion PCM EXP-01 | Free | one-time |


## What do users think of AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🎨 Excellent sound quality
- 🎹 Versatile and inspiring presets
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💰 Great value for the price
- 🔥 Cutting-edge digital synthesis
- 🤖 Impressive modulation capabilities
- 🔊 Lush and immersive pads
- 🎨 Diverse and creative sound palette

**Cons**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Lack of Audio Unit (AUv3) support
- 🤔 Some presets not easily usable
- 🕰️ Slow loading times in certain DAWs

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Presets not loading correctly
- MIDI note dropouts and latency
- Crashes when used with certain DAWs
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

**Most requested features**

- Add Audio Unit (AUv3) support
- Improve MIDI integration and responsiveness
- Implement a built-in recording/sampling feature
- Expand preset library with more genres and styles
- Add more sound design controls and modulation options

## Recent user reviews (10 of 242)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiokit-digital-d1-synth/id1436905540/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Huge fan!

*2026-08-05, version 3.1.1*

Give me inspiration every time I turn it on. This is well worth the cost. Get it. Love it. Enjoy it. I do!

### 5/5 — Great love letter to the 80’s and 90’s

*2026-05-30, version 3.1.1*

In a world that has never been more topsy-turvy, where none of us can even agree on what the heck is going on… at least this exists.  Thanks. -Kenneth

### 5/5 — A virtual D50

*2026-02-28, version 3.1.1*

Captures the heart and soul of trhis great synthesizer

### 5/5 — Lush and deep

*2026-02-27, version 3.1.1*

So I wanted a synth sound for my song writing and adding pads etc as I’m not a keyboard player I wanted something that I did not have to work hard with to find interesting sounds and easy to manipulate them for certain projects. Well D1 does the trick! I have also purchased most of Audiothing synths and keys and they just keep getting better! Their reverb app is now my go to app with it’s high pass filter it just works. Thanks Audiothing keep up the great work. Would love to see a high end piano app to make all my keys complete?

### 5/5 — Amazing

*2026-02-24, version 3.1.1*

I love this app

### 5/5 — Dope sounds

*2026-02-16, version 3.1.1*

One of my favorite plugins to use

### 5/5 — Keenan KENLYLES

*2026-02-12, version 3.1.1*

It’s dope

### 1/5 — why would I pay three dollars a week for a synthesizer?

*2026-01-15, version 3.1.1*

illregardless of the actual product, renting for a digital synthesizer is just stupid; the app is designed to get people to pay more money than they would naturally want to. Paying $30 for the synthesizer upfront would be an ethical way to price a one-time product that does not get additional updates after a new X.0 version—much like how Renoise does it. But instead, a slimy popup tries to entice you to pay for a subscription, then hope you forget about it. This is an anti-consumer practice, and is a way for the Capitalist to extract more wealth out of an existing product by changing the terms of the "licensing agreement".

### 1/5 — bough these years ago and now want us to rent it, F%*F Y(*%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*2025-11-15, version 3.1.1*

not gonna happen

### 5/5 — Everything synth

*2025-10-13, version 3.1.1*

Great app does it all for me lots of interesting and useful sounds

## Frequently asked questions about AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

### What kind of synthesizer is AudioKit Digital D1?

AudioKit Digital D1 is a virtual analog and PCM synthesizer for iPad. It is inspired by the digital synthesizers of the 1980s and 1990s, offering a hybrid digital polyphonic synthesis engine.

### What are the key features of this synth app?

Key features include 64-voice polyphony, over 1GB of original samples, a vintage-style arpeggiator/step sequencer, three LFOs with flexible routing, dual independent filters per layer, and a comprehensive suite of built-in effects like reverb, delay, and distortion.

### How is this app monetized?

This app operates on a subscription model. Users can choose between weekly or yearly subscriptions, with a free trial available on selected plans. Subscriptions can be managed and auto-renewal turned off in the account settings.

### What are the system requirements for AudioKit Digital D1?

The app requires newer iPads for optimal performance and may run slowly on older devices like the iPad 4. It supports stand-alone use, Inter-App Audio (IAA), and Audio Unit v3 (AUv3) plugin formats, with AUv3 being the recommended integration method.

### What are some common use cases for this synthesizer?

This synthesizer is ideal for creating retro-inspired electronic music, particularly genres that utilize the distinctive sounds of 80s and 90s digital synths. It's perfect for producers looking for lush pads, sharp leads, and unique textures reminiscent of that era.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.1.1 — 2025-03-08

Bug fixing and improvements

### 3.1 — 2025-02-08

Bug fixing and improvements

### 3.0 — 2024-12-16

Stability improvements and bug fixes

### 1.9.2 — 2024-11-13

+ Updates for iOS 18

### 1.9.1 — 2022-10-25

+ Fixes some sounds not loading across the entire keyboard
+ Fixes more iOS 16-related things

## Apps similar to AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

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| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [King of Digital D1: Epic Synth](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/king-of-digital-d1-epic-synth/id6467825289) | 4.9 (1,245) | $7.99 | Music |
| [NERD Synth A2x + AUv3](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nerd-synth-a2x-plus-auv3/id6478898564) | 4.9 (1,332) | $5.99 | Music |
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| [DrumComputer - Synthetic Beats](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drumcomputer-synthetic-beats/id1502238351) | 4.8 (621) | Free | Music |
| [Factory - Modular Synthesizer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/factory-modular-synthesizer/id1458743434) | 4.9 (487) | Free | Music |

## More apps by Audiobus Pty Ltd

- [Audiobus Remote](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiobus-remote/id964755325)
- [Audiobus: Mixer for Music Apps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiobus-mixer-for-music-apps/id1129130361)
- [AudioKit FM Player 2: DX Synth](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiokit-fm-player-2-dx-synth/id1307785646)
- [LE01 \| Bass 808 Synth + AUv3](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/le01-bass-808-synth-plus-auv3/id1502480224)
- [AudioKit Retro Piano](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiokit-retro-piano/id1514017716)

All apps by Audiobus Pty Ltd: https://appshunter.io/developer/672585101

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-19.*