Comparison

Viking Synth vs Thurston Wafflyzer

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

Thurston Wafflyzer

Explore unique soundscapes with a synthesized feline voice. Choose between gyroscope control for pitch modulation or a keyboard interface for melodic harmonies.

Highlights
  • Gyroscope pitch control
  • Keyboard mode for harmonies
  • Synthesized feline voice
  • Unique sound exploration
Features
Read full description

Use either "Gyro Mode" which uses your phone's gyroscope to change the pitch of Thurston's meow or "Keyboard Mode" for a standard keyboard layout of his angelic harmonies

Screenshots

Viking Synth4 screens
Thurston Wafflyzer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Thurston Wafflyzer at Free against Viking Synth's $3.99. Thurston Wafflyzer also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 71%) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). 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

Thurston Wafflyzer 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

Thurston Wafflyzer holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 41 and 24 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Viking Synth's written reviews are positive against 90% of Thurston Wafflyzer's.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Viking Synth versus Thurston Wafflyzer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterViking SynthThurston Wafflyzer
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (41 ratings)4.8 (24 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.2% of reviews90.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings41 — better24
Update frequencyEvery 4 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlamsoft, Inc.Jerome Pullen

Customer experience

Viking Synth

All ratings42 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive71.2%
Neutral10.6%
Negative18.2%

Thurston Wafflyzer

All ratings24 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%

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

Thurston Wafflyzer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Viking Synth

No in-app purchases

None

Thurston Wafflyzer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Viking Synth free?
Viking Synth costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thurston Wafflyzer free?
Thurston Wafflyzer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Viking Synth or Thurston Wafflyzer?
Thurston Wafflyzer is rated higher. Viking Synth averages 4.7 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while Thurston Wafflyzer averages 4.8 from 24 ratings.
Do Viking Synth or Thurston Wafflyzer have ads?
Neither Viking Synth nor Thurston Wafflyzer shows ads.

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