# Retromulator — Classic Hardware Emulator > Cycle-accurate emulation of classic hardware synths, samplers, and keyboards for iOS. (iPhone/iPad app by DiscoDSP LLC.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retromulator/id6764767449 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [DiscoDSP LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1465262828) - Category: Music, Entertainment - Price: $4.99 - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.0 · 59 MB - Released: 2026-05-01 - Data updated: 2026-09-06 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retromulator/id6764767449/reviews.md ## What is Retromulator? Retromulator is a multi-core retro hardware emulation app and AUv3 plug-in that brings legendary synthesizer, sampler, and keyboard cores back to life through authentic low-level emulation. Each core runs its actual firmware, physical model, or sample data — delivering the unmistakable character of the hardware that defined electronic music from the early 80s through the 2000s. — EMULATED CORES — VIRTUAL ANALOG SYNTHS Motorola DSP 56300 recreation (interpreter mode), built on the open-source Gearmulator by the dsp56300 team: • Access Virus A, B and C • Access Virus TI / TI2 / Snow • Clavia Nord Lead 2X • Waldorf microQ • Waldorf Microwave XT FM SYNTHESIS • Yamaha DX7 — original chip set emulation, based on VDX7 by Charles Chiaccona • Yamaha OPL3 — Nuked OPL3 cycle-accurate FM by Nuke.YKT CHIPTUNE • Commodore 64 SID 6581/8580 — based on reSID. 3-voice polyphony, 8580 chip model with high-quality RESAMPLE, GoatTracker .sng / .ins bank loading (GTS3/4/5, GTI3/4/5) and .sid file import (PSID/RSID), full macro playback engine (wavetable, pulsetable, filtertable, speedtable) and live MIDI control of cutoff (CC 74), resonance (CC 71), pulse width (CC 75), vibrato (CC 1) and pitch bend. • Ayumi (AY-3-8910 / YM2149) — the PSG behind the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and MSX. Ayumi emulation by Peter Sovietov with the Ym2149Synth voice engine, 3-voice polyphony, switchable AY / YM engine, .ay patch loading, Factory and User banks, and 11 live CC controls. ELECTRIC PIANO AND SAMPLER • Wurlitzer 200A — OpenWurli physical modelling by hal0zer0 (Rust ported to C++ by discoDSP) • Akai S1000 — SFZero sample engine by Steve Folta, with Bliss Sampler support and resampling engine by discoDSP (SF2 / SFZ / ZBP / ZBB) — KEY FEATURES — • Native AUv3 plug-in for AUM, Cubasis, GarageBand, Logic Pro and more • Standalone app for iPhone and iPad • Full MIDI control: CC, mod wheel, expression, pitch bend • 8-point sinc interpolation for sample playback • Auto-slice drum mapping and global retuning via MIDI • ROM firmware loading from original hardware • Background audio, iCloud and Files app integration • Optimised JIT-less interpreter compatible with iOS App Store sandbox — PLEASE NOTE — Apple's iOS App Store does not allow Just-In-Time (JIT) code generation in third-party apps. As a result, the DSP 56300 cores run in pure interpreter mode, which is significantly slower than the desktop JIT version. Expect higher CPU usage, reduced polyphony, and limited multitimbral capability compared to the desktop edition. A modern device (A14 / M1 or newer) is recommended for the DSP-based cores. Even on an M1 / A16-class chip, a high audio buffer size (high-latency setting) is required and polyphony remains very limited — these cores are not intended for low-latency live performance on iOS. The FM, chiptune, electric piano and sampler cores are far lighter and run comfortably on a much wider range of devices. ## Key features - Cycle-accurate hardware emulation - AUv3 plugin support - Standalone app functionality - Full MIDI control - ROM firmware loading - Background audio support ## Chart rankings - #200 in Top Paid · Music (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (6 of 6) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retromulator/id6764767449/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Shows Awesome potentials and possibilities!!!!! *2026-07-12* I dunno about the other comments on here but i personally love this app and look forward to iap s for extra other platforms which ca emu,ate actual devices and thus handle those devices' native files and in turn use them to emulate the whole of any hardware within virtual space, not just sound like certain synthesizers,but BEactual virtually scaled software versions which results in taking those hardsynths up a notch and unifying those with other synth designs collectively having True access to what is otherwise imagination food... ### 1/5 — Sadly Disappointed *2026-05-14* I wish I had more completely read the information about the app before purchase. It’s simply unusable on my hardware. ### 4/5 — Works okay iPad Pro latest *2026-05-05* The sounds work alright.Closed snd opened again. Menus are a little finicky and some menu items like key sizes wont work past default ,but it works poly and sounds pretty unique.for 5, cant beat with Auv3 inclusion ### 1/5 — Buyer Beware *2026-05-03* App-waste. Does not work on my A14; constant dropouts and nothing even close to serviceable. I doubt this works any better on an M-class, but feel free to roll the dice RE: Developers Reply I can now request a refund as you’ve processed payment; I await your approval given your reply. Your own description says a modern device like one with an A14 or M1 core is needed to run the DSP based cores, so change your copy. **Developer response:** Apple does refund App Store purchases, requested at reportaproblem.apple.com. Stating otherwise in a public review is misinformation. For context: OPL3, OpenWurli, S1000 and DX7 run flawlessly on A14. Performance on heavier cores (56k emulators) is constrained by JITless iOS and we disclaim this clearly before purchase. If you had reached us via web support first, we could have pointed you to cores that work on your device or helped you with the Apple refund. ### 5/5 — I TAKE IT BACK THIS APPS AWESOME *2026-05-02* Way too complicated to even get a sound out of this Also just loads presets Nothing tweakable really I’ve followed all the install steps and GitHub bs and it took forever to get a sound out of this FINALLY GOT IT WORKING **Developer response:** Thank you! We're glad you're having fun. ### 1/5 — ? *2026-05-01* Sounds? It doesnt have the sounds it says it has. So far about 1-2 sounds **Developer response:** The OPL3 core ships with around 2000 presets. The other cores emulate classic hardware (DX7, S1000, Wurlitzer, etc.) and are compatible with the original sysex/preset banks widely available online. This is by design, since users typically bring their own libraries. ## Frequently asked questions about Retromulator ### What classic hardware does Retromulator emulate? Retromulator emulates a variety of classic hardware, including Access Virus A, B, and C, Clavia Nord Lead 2X, Roland JP-8000, Waldorf microQ, Yamaha DX7, Commodore 64 SID, Wurlitzer 200A, and Akai S1000. ### Does Retromulator have ads? No, Retromulator does not contain advertisements. It is a paid application. ### What devices is Retromulator compatible with? Retromulator is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. ### How often is Retromulator updated? The latest version, 1.4.2, was released on May 13, 2026, indicating recent development activity. ### What is the price of Retromulator? Retromulator is available for a one-time purchase of $4.99. ### Can I use Retromulator with other music apps? Yes, Retromulator supports native AUv3 plugin functionality, allowing it to be used with DAWs like AUM, Cubasis, GarageBand, and Logic Pro. ### What are the performance limitations of Retromulator on iOS? Due to iOS sandbox restrictions, DSP cores run in interpreter mode, which is slower than desktop versions. This may result in higher CPU usage, reduced polyphony, and limited multitimbral capability, especially on older devices. A modern device (A14/M1 or newer) and a high audio buffer size are recommended for optimal performance. ### What is the age rating for Retromulator? Retromulator has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.5.1 — 2026-08-08 Redesigned pitch bend and mod wheels, fixed DX7 firmware not being detected after importing a backup, and fixed a crash when quitting. ### 1.5 — 2026-07-24 NEW AYUMI (AY-3-8910 / YM2149) CORE The chip that gave the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and MSX their voice, powered by Peter Sovietov's Ayumi emulation with the Ym2149Synth voice engine. 3-voice polyphony, switchable AY / YM engine, .ay patch loading, MIDI program change and 11 live CC controls. • Factory and User banks — imports always route to User, so Factory program change numbers never shift • Import, export and delete presets; export zips the whole User bank • Full state recall: engine, CC 1-11 and patch name all restore with your project DX7 FIXES • Corrected tuning — the playable range is now the full C2-C7, no longer silently dropping the top two notes • Mod wheel now adds vibrato instead of transposing the pitch up a semitone at full travel • Mod wheel, aftertouch, breath (CC 2) and foot (CC 4) controllers now respond out of the box OPL3 • Fixed patches not reloading from their .sbi file when reopening a project ### 1.4.2 — 2026-05-13 New SID GoatTracker .sid bank loading (PSID/RSID) — extracts instruments and macro tables from files packed by GoatTracker 2's exporter, with automatic detection of per-export feature flags (nopulse, nofilter, noinstrvib, fixedparams). Fixed SID program combo showing only the index (e.g. "001") with no instrument name after bank load — the patch-name update path was clearing the authoritative name from the bank file. ### 1.4.1 — 2026-05-11 Fixed DX7 core note tuning issues on project reload and instantiation. ### 1.4 — 2026-05-08 New Commodore 64 SID 6581/8580 core — cycle-accurate emulation via reSID with 3-voice polyphony, oldest-voice stealing, high-quality resampling, and a full 50 Hz macro playback engine driving wavetable, pulsetable, filtertable and speedtable per voice. Fixed DX7 master tuning offset — A4 now stays at 440 Hz on cleared battery RAM boot. Fixed resampler stale rate on synth swap — switching to a synth with a different native rate. Fixed OpenWurli tremolo depth/swing curve being non-monotonic at high settings. Fixed OpenWurli noteOff not clamping to the valid MIDI range, which could leave out-of-range notes unreleasable. ## More apps by DiscoDSP LLC - [OB-Xd AUv3 Synth](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ob-xd-auv3-synth/id1465262829) - [Scope AUv3 Visualizer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scope-auv3-visualizer/id1512571419) - [OPL AUv3 FM Synth](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opl-auv3-fm-synth/id1516617949) - [Schroeder AUv3 Reverb](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/schroeder-auv3-reverb/id1527402838) - [ThrillMe AUv3 Compressor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thrillme-auv3-compressor/id6633713618) - [OB-Xd 3 AUv3 Synth](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ob-xd-3-auv3-synth/id6654915211) All apps by DiscoDSP LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1465262828 --- *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 2026-09-06.*