SynthDrum Kick vs Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SynthDrum Kick
Create unique kick drum sounds using synthesis rather than samples. This lightweight, fast plugin offers extensive controls for EDM genres and integrates seamlessly with iOS DAWs. Get the perfect kick sound quickly without relying on presets.
- AUv3 AudioUnit plugin
- Synthesized kick drum sounds
- Pitch and Amp envelopes
- Delayable LFO for AM/FM
- Dual parametric EQ
- Soft clipper
- Velocity sensitive
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AUv3 Drum Synthesizer for iOS SynthDrum Kick is a fast, focused Audio Unit plugin for designing punchy, modern drum sounds—fully synthesised, no samples required. Create kicks from scratch in seconds. No digging through sample packs. No compromises. Just direct control over your sound. Load multiple instances in your favourite AU host like GarageBand, Cubasis, AUM, or BeatMaker 3 to build full percussion setups with ease. Go Further with the Included Sequencer App Load up to 8 Audio Unit SynthDrum Kick instances into the included app and drive them with a powerful 64-step sequencer. Independent channel lengths for polyrhythms Built-in mixer Integrated FX: reverb, delay, compressor, limiter Create evolving patterns and complete rhythmic ideas—all in one place. Sound Design Without Limits From tight, punchy house kicks to deep, tuned trap bass, SynthDrum Kick gives you everything you need to shape your sound. All sounds are 100% synth-generated, giving you total control and a unique result every time—no recycled samples. A streamlined interface and purpose-built DSP engine keep everything fast, focused, and musical. Designed for Percussion Unlike general-purpose synths, SynthDrum Kick is built specifically for drum synthesis: Fast workflow Focused controls No unnecessary parameters Everything is tuned for creating powerful, mix-ready kicks quickly. Features AUv3 (Audio Unit Extension) Lightweight and efficient Multiple instances supported Sound Engine Oscillator: Sine, 909-style clipped triangle Pitch Envelope (retriggered for percussive shaping) Amp Envelope (optimised for drums) LFO (with delay, AM/FM modulation) Noise generator Processing Dual parametric EQ Soft clipper Velocity sensitivity Preset system
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin
This audio plugin is a dynamics and transient processor for fine-tuning drum sounds within DAWs. It allows users to shape and boost drum kits for better punch and clarity without clipping, offering features like saturation, EQ, and filtering.
- Dynamics and transient processing
- Saturation control
- 8-band graphic EQ
- LP/HP filtering
- Attack & Hold controls
- Intensity control up to 200%
- Limiter/clipper
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DrumSurgeon is an AUv3 plugin designed for use in your favourite DAW such as AUM, Logic, Loopy Pro, Cubasis or GarageBand etc. Drum surgeon is a dynamics / transient processor specifically designed for fine tuning your drums. So your drum sounds are lacking punch and lost in the mix? This is where Drum Doctor can really help by allowing you to literally shape and boost your kit to break through the mix safetly and without clipping. The attack or onset of a sound is known as its transient. By controlling the level, shape and duration of these sounds, you change the dynamics of a drum track to achieve that perfect tightness, while boosting them to give your kick the right punch and snare the right amount of bite. Use the saturation to overdrive your mix prior to shaping. This can drastically change the character of some drum sounds at the filtering stage. The single LP/HP filtering knob lets you quickly find the tone that suits combined with the 8 band EQ to define your sound. Finally the intensity knob allows you to control the level of dynamics applied to your mix. Automate this in real time when you want to relax or accentuate your drum track during your song. Features: ○ Supports factory and user presets. ○ Add bite using the Attack & Hold controls. ○ Use the Release to get extra dynamic range. ○ Both Attack and Release can be inverted to transform the dynamics. ○ LP/HP filtering. ○ Saturation control. ○ 8 Band Graphic EQ. ○ Real-time gain display. ○ Intensity control to amplify the effect up to 200%. ○ Limiter/clipper for driving your sound to the max. ○ Auto ranging option for graphing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SynthDrum Kick at 4.9 against Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's 4.6. SynthDrum Kick also leads on update cadence (every 9 months vs every 29 months) and price ($2.99 vs $5.99). Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 71%) and iOS requirement (13 vs 15.6). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
SynthDrum Kick costs $2.99 and Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SynthDrum Kick holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 11 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of SynthDrum Kick's written reviews are positive against 80% of Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SynthDrum Kick ships an update every 9 months, Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SynthDrum Kick | Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (19 ratings) — better | 4.6 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months — better | Every 29 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Paul Betowski | 4Pockets.com |
Customer experience
SynthDrum Kick
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin
In-app purchases
SynthDrum Kick
No in-app purchases
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SynthDrum Kick free?
Is Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin free?
Which has better reviews, SynthDrum Kick or Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin?
Do SynthDrum Kick or Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin have ads?
Which is updated more often, SynthDrum Kick or Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin?
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