Comparison

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth vs Synth Modes

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

Head to head
About

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

This app is a virtual analog and PCM synthesizer for iPad, inspired by the digital synthesizers of the 80s and 90s. It offers a vast library of presets, advanced synthesis features, and built-in effects for creating rich, retro-inspired sounds.

Highlights
  • 64-voice hybrid digital poly synthesis
  • 1GB+ of original samples
  • Stand-alone, IAA, and AUv3 support
  • Vintage-style arp/step sequencer
  • 3 LFOs with fun routings
  • Dual independent per-layer filters
  • Built-in FX suite
Read full description

Epic 64-voice Virtual Analog / PCM iPad Synth Inspired by the Digital Synths of the 80s and 90s - ** TOP 3 iOS MUSIC APPS OF 2018 *** - Music Radar Awards (Computer Music & Future Music Magazine) - * Featured By Apple in "New Apps We Love!" ** "Fans of the D-50, JD-990, 01/W, Wavestation... Rejoice!" - Music Radar FULLY LOADED w/ 500+ presets by Brice Beasley, Matthew Fecher, Red Sky Lullaby, Jakob Haq, Dean Daughters (Electronisounds), Sound of Izrael, Brian Funk, and more DIGITAL D1 is AWESOME: - 64-voice Hybrid Digital Poly Synthesis. - Full 1+ Gigabyte of original samples recorded from analog & fm synths over 30+ years old - Stand-alone iPad Synth, plus IAA & Audiobus - Basic AUv3 Plugin support. Works best with AUM. We're working on upgrading Audio Unit support. - Space-saving Compression - The whole app is under 200mb! - Dual layers per voice. Keyboard splits. Velocity Scaling. - Vintage-style Arp/Step Sequencer that can be routed to specific layers. - 3 LFOs. Fun Routings. LFOs can modify other LFOs. - Dual Independent per-Layer filters - Plus, per-voice Harmonic key-tracked Envelope filters. "Digital D1 Sounds and plays AMAZING!" - The Sound Test Room "Rad retro synth sounds" - Cult of Mac, App of the Week "AudioKit Digital D1 is a beautiful Synthesizer app that recreates the spirit of legendary synths" - Synth Anatomy ADDITIONAL FEATURES: - FX: Glorious Reverb, Phaser, Digital Delay, Distortion, Flanger, Chorus, Crush, and more. - Perfect with a MIDI Keyboard - Ableton Link - All kinds of awesome stuff - The Sound. Oh, the sound. You won't believe it. "Digital D1 synth is pure ‘80s and ‘90s digital lushness" - Computer Music/Music Radar "Beautiful. Lush. Modern and Amazing… An Instant Classic." REQUIREMENTS: Requires newer iPads for best performance. May be slow on iPad 4. IAA is being deprecated by Apple in iOS 13. We're moving to AUv3 as well. Please replace IAA with AUv3 in your projects. GarageBand Audio Unit (AUv3): You can run one instance of D1 as an AUv3 in GarageBand. With a host like AUM, you can run 3 or more instances at once. TROUBLESHOOTING: For iPad 4 - Open the "Settings" button (to the upper left above the keyboard). Turn the buffer to 512 or above. And turn the "CPU Efficient" toggle to on. If still having trouble, try closing other music apps and/or rebooting your iPad. Thanks! - * NOMINATED: Best iOS Music Apps of 2018 ** by Computer Music & Future Music magazine. Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: weekly or yearly - Free trial: only on selected subscriptions - Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms & Conditions: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=21) Privacy Policy: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=21) - * NOTE: This app has no official affiliation with AudioKit Pro, LLC. It was built using the free AudioKit source code.

About

Synth Modes

Quickly access cheat sheets for your eurorack synthesizer modules. Search by text or mode type, favorite pages, and generate patch ideas with the built-in generator. Replaces binders of printed PDFs with a faster, easier-to-use digital reference.

Highlights
  • Cheat sheets for 45+ eurorack modules
  • Search by text or mode type
  • Favorite pages for quick access
  • Patch generator for module ideas
  • Supports multiple firmware versions
  • Replaces printed PDF binders
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Cheat sheets for your eurorack synthesizer modules, supporting 45 modules: Endorphin.es: Cockpit2 Godspeed Golden Master Milky Way Running Order Squawk Dirty Total Recall Two of Cups Expert Sleepers: - Disting mk4 - Disting mk3 Instruo - Arbhar Intellijel - Shapeshifter Make Noise: - Morphagene - Tempi Mannequins: - Just Friends - W/ Moog Audio: - Mother 32 Mutable Instruments: - Braids (stock and Renaissance firmware) - Clouds (stock and Parasites firmware) - Frames (stock and Parasites) - Marbles - Peaks (stock and Dead Man's Catch) - Plaits - Rings - Stages - Streams - Warps (stock and Parasites) Ornament & Crime: - Stock firmware - Hemisphere Suite Erica Synths: - Blackhole DSP 2 - Pico DSP - Pico Logic - Pico Seq - Pico Voice TipTop Audio: - ECHOZ - ONE - TG ONE - Z5000 - ZVERB XAOC Devices: - Batumi Search by text or mode type to quickly get the most out of your module. Favorite pages for quicker reference. NEW in 2.0 - Patch Generator! SynthModes can generate patch ideas by picking modes for each of your modules. Tap the "Generate Patch" button at the bottom of the mode list. Pull to refresh Patch Generator. Get rid of your binder of printed PDFs, SynthModes is faster and easier to use. Modes for iOS is not officially endorsed or supported by any modular manufacturer.

Screenshots

Synth Modes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AudioKit Digital D1 Synth at Free against Synth Modes's $3.99. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (2K vs 52). Synth Modes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence and iOS requirement 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

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth is free to download; Synth Modes costs $3.99 up front. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Synth Modes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AudioKit Digital D1 Synth has 2K ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of AudioKit Digital D1 Synth's written reviews are positive against 64% of Synth Modes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth ships an update every 3 weeks, Synth Modes every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth versus Synth Modes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAudioKit Digital D1 SynthSynth Modes
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.8 (2K ratings) — better4.0 (52 ratings)
Positive reviews76.1% of reviews — better63.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2K — better52
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionPaid — better
Best chart rank—#197 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size636 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAudiobus Pty LtdThomas Burns

Customer experience

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

All ratings2,007 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews243 reviews
Positive76.1%
Neutral7.4%
Negative16.5%

Synth Modes

All ratings52 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral7.7%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews58 reviews
Positive63.8%
Neutral20.7%
Negative15.5%

Bugs and requests

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Presets not loading correctly
  • MIDI note dropouts and latency
  • Crashes when used with certain DAWs
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Audio Unit (AUv3) support
  • Improve MIDI integration and responsiveness
  • Implement a built-in recording/sampling feature
  • Expand preset library with more genres and styles
  • Add more sound design controls and modulation options

Synth Modes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly premium$4.997 Days
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Yearly premium7 Days trial$9.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly premium$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • D1 PCM Expansion-01Free
  • Platinum Expansion PCM EXP-01Free
None

Synth Modes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AudioKit Digital D1 Synth free?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Synth Modes free?
Synth Modes costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AudioKit Digital D1 Synth or Synth Modes?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth is rated higher. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Synth Modes averages 4.0 from 52 ratings.
Do AudioKit Digital D1 Synth or Synth Modes have ads?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth shows ads; Synth Modes does not.
Which is updated more often, AudioKit Digital D1 Synth or Synth Modes?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth ships an update every 3 weeks, and Synth Modes every 4 weeks. Most recently, AudioKit Digital D1 Synth was updated on October 13, 2026 and Synth Modes on October 16, 2026.

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