Viking Synth vs RoughRider3
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
RoughRider3
This audio effect plugin offers advanced compression with new features like external sidechain input and a sidechain HPF control. It allows for cleaner sound with full bandwidth control and includes input/output level adjustments for easier tuning.
- External Sidechain Input
- Sidechain HPF control
- Input and Output level controls
- FULL BANDWIDTH control
- AUv3 and Standalone
- Inter-App Audio support
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With almost a quarter million downloads, the free Rough Rider compressor from Audio Damage is one of the most popular plugin effects on the planet. RoughRider3 expands on the original RoughRider and RoughRider2. New features: • External Sidechain Input in hosts that support it. (Currently only AUM) • Sidechain HPF control (works on both normal operation and external sidechain, for removing the low end from the compression algorithm.) • Input and Output level controls, for easier level tuning. • FULL BANDWIDTH control removes the warming features and high end attenuation from the original RoughRider, for a cleaner sound. All this in addition to the original RoughRider compression you know and love. RoughRider3 installs both an AUv3 and a standalone with Inter-App Audio.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RoughRider3 at Free against Viking Synth's $3.99. RoughRider3 also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (87% vs 71%). 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
RoughRider3 is free to download; Viking Synth costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Viking Synth against 4.6 for RoughRider3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 41 and 76 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Viking Synth's written reviews are positive against 87% of RoughRider3's.
Viking Synth ships an update every 4 months, RoughRider3 every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Viking Synth | RoughRider3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (41 ratings) — better | 4.6 (76 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.2% of reviews | 87.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 41 | 76 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blamsoft, Inc. | Audio Damage, Inc. |
Customer experience
Viking Synth
RoughRider3
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
RoughRider3
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Viking Synth
No in-app purchases
RoughRider3
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Viking Synth free?
Is RoughRider3 free?
Which has better reviews, Viking Synth or RoughRider3?
Do Viking Synth or RoughRider3 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Viking Synth or RoughRider3?
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