Viking Synth vs RRS Ivoks
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
RRS Ivoks
This app emulates analog synthesizers, offering a range of sound shaping tools including oscillators, filters, and amplifiers. It supports AUv3 hosting for integration with music production apps and provides extensive MIDI control.
- Analog Emulation
- AUv3 Compatible
- Dual Oscillators
- Filter Block with ADSR
- Amplifier Block with ADSR
- Modulation (LFO) Controls
- MIDI CC Implementation
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RRS Ivoks AUv3 instrument — comes as time-limited Demo-version for you to try. It gives you 5 minutes of Free play time. (You can reload the RRS Ivoks AUv3 instrument as many times as you want, thereby you get the Demo period again and again.) Unlimited version of RRS Ivoks AUv3 instrument comes as In-App Purchase. Features: • Analog Emulation; • Undo/Redo; • A/B comparison; • 2x/4x/8x Upsampling; • Macro controllers; • Scalable GUI. On the centre panel are located two audio-frequency oscillators: • OSC1 offers frequency Band regulator, five Waveforms and controls for LFO Modulation level plus OSC2 Cross-modulation; • OSC2 offers the same frequency Band and Waveforms, an independent control for Modulation depth, plus Detuning. Underneath these located the mixer, which offers level controls for the two Oscillators, the Noise generator, and Saturation Drive. To the right of these, located the filter block. The top half is a standard ADSR envelope — until you flip the switch «Envelope mode», when it becomes a repeating AD-envelope instead. The four controls at the bottom adjust Cut-off, Resonance, LPF to BPF switch, Modulation level and Envelope level. Next after the filter is the amplifier block, it also has ADSR envelope along with another Modulation level and Velocity sensitivity control. Again, the envelope can be switched to a Repeating Mode that generates a triangular waveform determined by the Attack and Decay settings, providing some of the instrument’s most distinctive effects. The leftmost panels house the Modulation (LFO) controls (top), Mode which offers four waveforms, including noise, and a stepped Function for sample & hold (S&H) effects, well as Speed control. And global settings such as the master Tune, master Volume, Legato mode, Monophonic and Duophonic operation and Unison switches, and the Glide control. To use Ivoks as an instrument, you need an AUv3-compatible host app like GarageBand, Auria, AUM, Cubasis and more — RRS Ivoks will appear in the list of Audio Unit instruments in the host app. MIDI CC Implementation Chart: • CC#003 => HQ • CC#009 => Saturation Drive • CC#014 => Modulator Speed • CC#015 => Modulator Mode • CC#020 => Filter Attack • CC#021 => AMP Attack • CC#022 => Filter Decay • CC#023 => AMP Decay • CC#024 => Filter Sustain • CC#025 => AMP Sustain • CC#026 => Filter Release • CC#027 => AMP Release • CC#028 => Filter Envelope Mode • CC#029 => AMP Envelope Mode • CC#030 => OSC1 Band • CC#031 => OSC2 Band • CC#085 => OSC1 Waveform • CC#086 => OSC2 Waveform • CC#087 => OSC1 XMod • CC#089 => OSC2 Detune • CC#090 => MOD to OSC1 • CC#102 => MOD to OSC2 • CC#103 => OSC1 Level • CC#104 => OSC2 Level • CC#105 => Noise Generator • CC#106 => Global Tune • CC#107 => Global Glide • CC#108 => Global Volume • CC#109 => Global Voice • CC#110 => Global Unison • CC#111 => Global Retrig • CC#112 => Filter Cut-off • CC#113 => Filter Resonance • CC#114 => Filter Mode • CC#115 => MOD to Filter • CC#116 => Filter Envelope • CC#117 => MOD to AMP • CC#118 => Velocity Sensitvity
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RRS Ivoks at Free against Viking Synth's $3.99. RRS Ivoks also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). Viking Synth's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and device support 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
RRS Ivoks is free to download; Viking Synth costs $3.99 up front. RRS Ivoks 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 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 41 and 46 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Viking Synth's written reviews are positive against 63% of RRS Ivoks's.
Viking Synth ships an update every 4 months, RRS Ivoks fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Viking Synth | RRS Ivoks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (41 ratings) — better | 4.4 (46 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.2% of reviews — better | 63.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 41 | 46 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blamsoft, Inc. | RRS, OOO |
Customer experience
Viking Synth
RRS Ivoks
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
RRS Ivoks
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Viking Synth
No in-app purchases
RRS Ivoks
- RRS Ivoks Unlimited$8.99









