Comparison

Viking Synth vs LRC5

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

About

LRC5

This audio unit provides a five-band equalizer for iOS devices. It features adjustable low shelf, high shelf, and three parametric filters with a boost/cut range of 24 dB. Designed for signal coloring, it can be used in mono or stereo configurations.

Highlights
  • Five-band equalizer
  • Low shelf and high shelf filters
  • Three parametric peak/cut filters
  • 24 dB boost/cut range
  • Adjustable Q factor
  • Mono-to-mono or stereo-to-stereo operation
Read full description

LRC5 is an Audio Unit, or AU, for iOS. This application is simply a container for the Audio Unit and serves only as the documentation. LRC5 must be used in some sort of Audio Unit host or DAW application. LRC5 is a five-band EQ. It includes low shelf, high shelf, and three parametric peak/cut filters. The filters can boost or cut by 24 dB. The frequency range for each of the filters is 10 Hz to 20 kHz. The filters aren't restricted to stay in any order. If a filter is set to a level of 0.0 dB it is turned off. You can also set the "Q" factor of each of the filters. The value ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. For the three peaking filters, a value of 1.0 gives a fairly narrow frequency band, but LRC5 isn't really designed for surgical frequency work. It is aimed primarily at coloring of the signal. LRC5 can be used in a mono-to-mono or stereo-to-stereo setting. Actually, it is only restricted to having the same number of input and output channels. The channels aren't independent. The controls and settings are applied the same to all channels. Editing of the control parameters is a bit different than is typical for an EQ. The intention is for it to be comfortable to use on a touch based interface. Please refer to the documentation in this App to learn how to control LRC5.

Screenshots

Viking Synth4 screens
LRC54 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LRC5 at Free against Viking Synth's $3.99. LRC5 also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (80% vs 69%). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

LRC5 is free to download; Viking Synth costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Viking Synth against 4.6 for LRC5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 42 and 46 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Viking Synth's written reviews are positive against 80% of LRC5's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Viking Synth ships an update every 4 months, LRC5 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Viking Synth versus LRC5: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterViking SynthLRC5
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (42 ratings) — better4.6 (46 ratings)
Positive reviews69.4% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4246 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlamsoft, Inc.Neon Silicon

Customer experience

Viking Synth

All ratings42 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive69.4%
Neutral11.3%
Negative19.4%

LRC5

All ratings46 ratings
Positive89.1%
Neutral2.2%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

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
Show 1 more
  • Saved presets not loading

Requested features

5 requests
  • More subtle drive mode
  • Categorized preset browser
  • Polyphony option
  • Dark mode
  • More apps from developer

LRC5

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Viking Synth

No in-app purchases

None

LRC5

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Viking Synth free?
Viking Synth costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LRC5 free?
LRC5 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Viking Synth or LRC5?
Viking Synth is rated higher. Viking Synth averages 4.7 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while LRC5 averages 4.6 from 46 ratings.
Do Viking Synth or LRC5 have ads?
Neither Viking Synth nor LRC5 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Viking Synth or LRC5?
Viking Synth ships an update every 4 months, and LRC5 every 2 months. Most recently, Viking Synth was updated on September 23, 2026 and LRC5 on June 2, 2026.

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