Viking Synth vs BASSalicious
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Viking Synth
This app emulates a classic monophonic analog synthesizer with advanced DSP technology. It features three variable wave oscillators, dual ladder filters, an LFO, and two modulation busses for versatile sound design. An intuitive interface and extensive preset library make it ideal for creating thick bass and rich lead sounds.
- Three continuously variable wave oscillators
- Dual ladder filters (Lowpass/Highpass)
- Multi-wave LFO
- Two modulation busses
- Intuitive user interface with expandable controls
- 228 presets including Bass, Lead, and Synthwave
- State-of-the-art DSP for authentic sound
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Viking Synth is an authentic emulation of a classic monophonic analog synthesizer. It has three continuously variable wave oscillators, two ladder filters with a Dual Lowpass or Highpass/Lowpass configuration, a multi-wave LFO, and two modulation busses. Viking Synth uses state of the art DSP technology to accurately reproduce the sound of the hardware. You get a desktop quality plug-in at an iOS friendly price. Viking Synth is an Audio Unit Extension Instrument (AUv3) that works as a plug-in inside host apps. Just open up your favorite host that supports Audio Unit Instruments and select it from the list of available Audio Units. Compatible with GarageBand, Cubasis, Auria, BeatMaker, AudioBus, AUM, Modstep, and more. The user interface of Viking Synth is designed for quick and intuitive control. Knobs and sliders expand during tweaking and are designed so the current value isn't hidden below your finger. The six pages divide the synth into logical sections that can be accessed quickly. The filter display acts as an XY pad for controlling cutoff and resonance. Simply double tap a knob or slider to reset it to its default value. Presets Viking Synth comes with 228 presets in the categories Bass, Bright Lead, Electro Bass, FX, Percussive Lead, Soft Lead, and Synthwave. The synth excels at thick bass and rich lead sounds. The 50 Electro Bass and 50 Synthwave presets were designed by renowned sound designer eXode. Presets work perfectly with GarageBand, Cubasis, and AUM. Oscillators At the heart of Viking are three adjustable wave oscillators. The continuously variable waveform knob gives the oscillators a unique sound that can’t be achieved with the fixed waveforms found in most synths. A noise oscillator provides three types of noise, one specifically modeled after the hardware. Modulation Two modulation busses and an LFO provide flexible modulation capabilities. All of the options hidden deep in menus on the hardware are immediately accessible with one tap. Filters The filters are classic transistor ladder filters modeled meticulously. Two DSP varieties are available allowing for either reduced CPU load or soft clipping plus three additional overdriven modes. The number of poles is adjustable for a wider range of filter sounds. Compare Viking to other synths: – Viking’s oscillators are free running, not sampled, wavetable based, or generated from a zero point – Viking’s oscillators use advanced techniques to avoid aliasing – Viking’s oscillators have instability, which is controllable through the tuning drift control – Viking’s nonlinear filter uses circuit modeling and provides soft clipping
BASSalicious
A monophonic synth bass synthesizer designed for urban music production. It offers unique wavetable synthesis and analog-modeled filters for an organic sound. The app functions as an AudioUnit plugin for iOS DAWs.
- 21 VA Wavetable Waveforms with PWM
- 4 Oscillators
- AMP with 4 Modulators
- Circuit Modeled Filter Section
- LFO with Aftertouch
- AudioUnit Version 3 plugin architecture
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Dedicated monophonic synth bass synthesizer featuring the NEW iOS AudioUnit Version 3 plugin architecture. - 21 VA Wavetable Waveforms with PWM - 4 Oscillators - AMP with 4 Modulators - Circuit Modeled Filter Section with Velocity - LFO with Aftertouch BASSalicious is a dedicated monophonic synth bass plugin with a single focus on sound. All of the synthesis and filters are custom tweaked with our own personality and our urban ear. When we first set out to produce BASSalicious, it came from a need we had. All of our plugins come from a musical need first. We noticed that there were a ton of synth bass libraries out there that focused solely on dubstep and wobble bass sounds, but not that much out there for the urban community and that pure synth bass classic sound. Sure there are the sample based ones, but you run into problems with samples when trying to produce a realistic glide effect that is so essential to urban synth bass music. The other thing we were dissatisfied with were the oscillators themselves. You see, in order to reduce aliasing, most wavetable synths reduce the bandwidth and filter out frequencies so it doesn't alias. The problem with this is that you filter out the good stuff along with it. We figured out a unique compromise, where we can give you the full band of the wavetable, while at the same time reducing aliasing. Our method is very unorthodox, but it works, because the technology will always take a back seat to the sound, and not the other way around: "If it sounds good, then it is good." Furthermore, we used an analog modeled filter that was approximated using real circuit designs. The complete topology was modeled with all of the aspects of the electronic components involved, and then converted over to source code. The result is a very organic sounding synth bass plugin, which has no hint of that cold digital wavetable sound. This is what we mean when we say it has an “organic sound.” This is what you hear in urban music. Each key piece has it’s own sound, color, and character to it. It’s not trying to be something else. It’s it’s own individual and we achieved this with BASSalicious. Remember the first time you heard Neo-Soul Keys® and your ears were suddenly opened to the sound you always wished you had, but could never achieve. IAP: The first oscillator is free. You will have access to all of the synth functions. After you purchase, you will get access to the other 3 oscillators as well as the 63 high quality custom synth bass presets. AudioUnit Plugin: As an added bonus, we have adopted the new AudioUnit standard, so now you can seamlessly use BASSalicious inside of your favorite iOS DAW as if it was apart of the sequencer. Presets that you make in the app and/or the plugin will be shared automatically. The recommended iPad devices are the iPad 4th generation and higher, with the exception of the iPad 3.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: BASSalicious at Free against Viking Synth's $3.99. BASSalicious also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). Viking Synth's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 3.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
BASSalicious is free to download; Viking Synth costs $3.99 up front. BASSalicious sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Viking Synth asks for nothing beyond the download.
Viking Synth holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 41 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Viking Synth's written reviews are positive against 38% of BASSalicious's.
Viking Synth ships an update every 4 months, BASSalicious every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Viking Synth | BASSalicious |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (41 ratings) — better | 3.2 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.2% of reviews — better | 37.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 41 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blamsoft, Inc. | MIDIculous LLC |
Customer experience
Viking Synth
BASSalicious
Bugs and requests
Viking Synth
Reported bugs
6 issues- Presets not showing up
- Presets disappear
- App not showing in AUv3 menu
- Settings not saving after iOS 14 update
- Crashes when opening presets browser
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- Saved presets not loading
Requested features
5 requests- More subtle drive mode
- Categorized preset browser
- Polyphony option
- Dark mode
- More apps from developer
BASSalicious
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Viking Synth
No in-app purchases
BASSalicious
- BASSalicious Sounds$7.99









