# Virtual ANS 3

> Software simulator of the Russian ANS photoelectronic musical instrument for drawing and playing spectral music. (iPhone/iPad app by Alexander Zolotov.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-ans-3/id1465860248 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Alexander Zolotov](https://appshunter.io/developer/324462547)
- Category: Music, Photo & Video
- Price: $5.99
- Rating: 4.80/5 from 57 App Store ratings · 32 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 31 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2019-06-03
- Data updated: 2026-09-09
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-ans-3/id1465860248/reviews.md

## What is Virtual ANS 3?

Virtual ANS is a software simulator of the unique Russian synthesizer ANS - photoelectronic musical instrument created by Evgeny Murzin from 1938 to 1958. The ANS made it possible to draw music in the form of a spectrogram (sonogram), without live instruments and performers. It was used by Stanislav Kreichi, Alfred Schnittke, Edward Artemiev and other Soviet composers in their experimental works. You can also hear the sound of the ANS in Andrei Tarkovsky's movies Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker.

The simulator extends the capabilities of the original instrument. Now it's a full-featured graphics editor where you can convert sound into an image, load and play pictures, draw microtonal/spectral music and create some unusual deep atmospheric sounds. This app is for everyone who loves experiments and is looking for something new. 

Key features:
 * unlimited number of pure tone generators;
 * powerful sonogram editor - you can draw the spectrum and play it at the same time;
 * any sound (from a WAV file or a Microphone/Line-in) can be converted to image (sonogram) and vice versa;
 * support for MIDI devices;
 * polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping;
 * supported file formats: WAV (only uncompressed PCM), PNG, JPEG, GIF;
 * Audio Unit Extension (AUv3), Audiobus;
 * many new features compared to version 2.3; see the full list: https://warmplace.ru/soft/ans/changelog.txt

Homepage, user manual and versions for other systems:
https://warmplace.ru/soft/ans

## Key features

- Unlimited pure tone generators
- Sonogram editor for drawing and playing spectra
- Convert sound to image and vice versa
- MIDI device support
- Polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping
- Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) and Audiobus support

## Recent user reviews (10 of 32)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-ans-3/id1465860248/reviews.md

### 5/5 — I love this synth

*2026-04-05, version 3.0.4*

Really interesting experimental image-audio synth. Wonderful otherworldly sounds.

### 5/5 — Amazing simulator!

*2025-11-03*

Works great on a Mac M4 with a DAW. Thanks to the author for recreating the legend. Endless possibilities.

### 5/5 — Brilliant App Expanding on the Singular ANS Synthesizer

*2025-06-11, version 3.0.3*

Russian audio engineer Yevgeny Murzin’s 1958 ANS synthesizer, there is only one, as a frequently updated tastefully expanded multi platform app/software. Thank you, thank you, thank you Alexander Zolotov!

### 5/5 — innovation by design.

*2025-05-04, version 3.0.3*

it took me a while to form a cohesive project with this, i'll admit. however, once I did, it was incredibly satisfying. i'd like to conclude that the best usage for this app is forming unique soundscape with a darker sci-fi appeal. making use of all the tools—unique brushes, different gradients, and otherwise—you can make quite a bit of complex tracks with an otherwise "simple" interface.

### 5/5 — Ambient ready

*2025-04-11*

Macht Spaß, die Sounds sind gut für Ambient Musik.

### 5/5 — A ‘No Brainer’!

*2024-12-18, version 3.0.3*

Update: Oh my gosh, you really don’t know much about iOS! Use hot-key’s how? With what keyboard? iOS doesn’t have a control key nor an escape key. Are you saying I need to buy an external keyboard since iOS only opens it’s virtual keyboard when in a text field? Rescaling the Font isn’t designed correctly. You’re using a reference point on the right side of the letter so as you increase the Font size, the note labels go off screen to the left. Looks sloppy. It wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t charging customers again for virtually the same product, it really is just an update, and giving us ‘beta ware’ on top of it. Tell us so in the app’s description. I found an app to created a PDF of you online manual since you were too lazy to do that for your customers. —- I can’t close the synth controls (which are WAY to small, unnecessarily). It won’t toggle off. Touching outside of the control window won’t close it like other windows do. The synth controls for ADSR and volume do not work. User manual should be available as a PDF, not just a web page. Why is it so hard for developers to get through their heads that not everybody always has excess to the Internet! The app’s manual says VA3 will crash if you attempt to load the wrong type of wave file! It should never crash. That’s just bad coding. The manual says that Start/Stop AU doesn’t work yet. And actually, the manual is foe Windows and Macs. The developer just inserted a few lines for the iOS version, leaving all the Windows/Mac Hot-keys! My gosh it only would take 10 minutes to revise the manual for iOS. How disappointing. 5-stars to 1-star. —- I still have/use version 2.3b so when I saw the enhanced version, I bought it, again. 🤓 It’s has always been the only music app that drawing forms by your finger really worked. I know, other apps have the feature but they usually impossible to really draw waves accurately. Virtual ANS 3 is perfect to go along with Mood, Spacecraft and OuttaBass. I still do not use SunVox as it’s an eye test, the text is too small to deal with.

### 5/5 — Really interesting way of generating sounds

*2024-11-29, version 3.0.3*

Really interesting way of adding spectral or microtonal information as sound generation by using an image for creating that information — much like a wavetable, but using the pixel rgb information.  In a weird way it’s an interesting experiment on leaving ‘pictures’ in a piece of music; I’d love for something similar to allow a video input for changing information over time — or a strange loopback from his Quantum VJ — video from that as input to Virtual ANS which in turn feeds back to Quantum VJ…hmmm

### 5/5 — Just brilliant

*2024-05-31*

All of this developer’s apps are fantastic. This is absolutely priceless for emulating those “Forbidden Planet” vibes. There is nothing else like it on the App Store.

### 5/5 — Фантастический АНС

*2024-04-02*

Купил в знак признательности разработчику все его проекты. Любимый голос не смотря на то что имею большое количество синтов и еврорек

### 5/5 — AWESOME AND BEAUTIFUL

*2024-02-28*

This is amazing and I will be using it a lot. If you are into ambient textures then you should get this.

## Frequently asked questions about Virtual ANS 3

### What is Virtual ANS 3?

Virtual ANS 3 is a software simulator of the historic Russian ANS photoelectronic musical instrument. It allows users to create music by drawing spectrograms, effectively turning sound into visual art and vice versa.

### What are the key features of Virtual ANS 3?

Key features include an unlimited number of pure tone generators, a powerful sonogram editor for simultaneous drawing and playback, the ability to convert any sound to an image and back, MIDI device support, and polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping.

### How much does Virtual ANS 3 cost?

Based on the provided information, Virtual ANS 3 is a paid application. It does not have in-app purchases or ads, indicating a one-time purchase model.

### What kind of music can I create with Virtual ANS 3?

You can create microtonal and spectral music, as well as unusual and deep atmospheric sounds. The app's unique approach allows for experimental compositions that were pioneered by Soviet composers.

### What file formats does Virtual ANS 3 support?

The application supports WAV (uncompressed PCM), PNG, JPEG, and GIF file formats for image conversion. It also integrates with Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) and Audiobus for broader audio workflow compatibility.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.0.4 — 2025-10-03

* improved quality of export to 32-bit WAV;
* when loading JPEG, the orientation of the image is now taken into account;
* new files: projects/swamp.ans, synths/air.ans;
* bug fixes.

### 3.0.3 — 2023-10-23

* iOS 11 support has been dropped; now the minimum is 12;
* now you can load audio files in the following formats: WAV (PCM, uncompressed), AIFF (PCM, uncompressed), OGG (Vorbis), MP3, FLAC;
* auto-repeat in the virtual (on-screen) text keyboard;
* bug fixes.

### 3.0.2d — 2023-06-28

* iOS 9 support has been dropped; now the minimum is 11;
* bug fixes.

### 3.0.2c — 2020-04-12

bug fixes

### 3.0.2b — 2020-03-17

bug fixes.

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## More apps by Alexander Zolotov

- [SunVox](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sunvox/id324462544)
- [PixelWave](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixelwave/id447318771)
- [SpectrumGen](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spectrumgen/id455656272)
- [PixiTracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixitracker/id480082201)
- [PixiTracker 1Bit](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixitracker-1bit/id548659499)
- [PixiVisor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixivisor/id601279460)

All apps by Alexander Zolotov: https://appshunter.io/developer/324462547

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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 2026-09-09.*