Comparison

SynthShred vs SynthMaster One for iPhone

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

Head to head
About

SynthShred

This app is a virtual musical instrument offering a vast library of sound presets, including pianos, guitars, and synths. It provides customizable guitar tunings and a selection of musical scales with root key adjustments for easier playing. Enjoy expressive sound shaping with built-in effects and multiple playing modes.

Highlights
  • 139 sound presets
  • 29 guitar tuning presets
  • 14 musical scales
  • Diatonic surface option
  • Monophonic and Polyphonic Mode
  • Reverb and Echo effects
Read full description

SynthShred is musical instrument containing 139 sound presets including piano, guitars, ethnic instruments, chromatic percussions, strings, pipes, synth pads, reed instruments, brass, organs, ensemble, bass, synth leads and many more. SynthShred comes with 29 guitar tuning presets including standard guitar, all fourths, drop tunings, open tunings, major minor tunings and many more. SynthShred also contains 14 mostly used musical scales including Major, Minor, Harmonic Minor, Pentatonic and many more. SynthShred provides the ability to change the root key for the the selected scale to be in the key every time. The diatonic surface option will remove the notes from the surface that are not part of the scale. It's easier for the player to be in key. SynthShred features includes: - Expressive physical guitar surface - Monophonic and Polyphonic Mode - Diatonic surface - Adjustable string and fret counts - 139 sound presets - 29 unique guitar tuning presets - 14 commonly used scales - Modulation slider - On screen Reverb and Echo effects controls - Sustain button for acoustic instruments Available for iPhone, iPad and iPods for free. Minimum Requirements: iOS 9.0 or later.

About

SynthMaster One for iPhone

This powerful wavetable synthesizer app offers an intuitive workflow for creating new sounds. It features a rich library of wavetables, inspiring factory presets, and real-time modulation feedback for sound design.

Highlights
  • Wavetable synthesis
  • 300 factory presets
  • AUv3 support
  • Files App integration
  • Real-time modulation feedback
  • Semi-modular architecture
  • 32-step arpeggiator/sequencer
Read full description

SynthMaster One for iPhone is KV331 Audio's first full blown synth app for iPhone. It's a powerful wavetable synth with an intuitive workflow. With its simple layout, rich wavetable/waveform content and inspiring factory presets library, designing new sounds with SynthMaster One for iPhone is a joy. SynthMaster One for iPhone is feature wise identical to the desktop version except the following: * 8 voice polyphony (32 for the desktop version) * Comes with 300 presets (1250 for the desktop version) FEATURES * 300 Factory Presets: SynthMaster One iOS comes with inspiring factory presets from a world class team of sound designers: Arksun, Aiyn Zahev, BigTone Studios, Brian Transeau, Bluffmunkey, Bulent Biyikoglu, Gercek Dorman, Dejavu Sound, Fragment Audio, Kurt Ader, Mirko Ruta, Nori Ubukata, Rob Lee, Ufuk Kevser, Selcuk Ergen, The Machine, Vandalism Sound, Venus Theory, Vorpalsound and Xenos Soundworks * AUv3: SynthMaster One iOS supports AudioUnits V3, allowing multiple instances to run under supporting DAW apps like GarageBand, Cubasis or Beat Maker. * Files App Integration: Easily import/export presets, waveforms or scales using the common file browser UI (requires iOS 11+). * Real-time Modulation Feedback: See in real-time how modulation sources and targets change. This is a very helpful feature when designing sounds! * Cross Platform Cloud Synchronization: Easily synchronize your SynthMaster One related data across multiple platforms (Windows, MacOS, iPad, iPhone) * Semi-Modular Architecture: For each SynthMaster One instance, there are 2 oscillators with 2 sub oscillators, 2 Filters, 4 ADSR Envelopes, 3 LFOs, a powerful 16 step arpeggiator/sequencer and also 11 different effects that can be inserted on to 6 FX insert slots. The sub oscillators can be connected to the oscillators in 5 different modes which let you use it as a regular sub oscillator or do complex modulations such as ring modulation, amplitude modulation, phase modulation or frequency modulation. * 32 Step Arpeggiator/Sequencer: The arpeggiator in SynthMaster One features classic arpeggiator modes such as Up, Down, UpDown, DownUp, UpDown2, DownUp2, AsPlayed as well as Sequence, Chord and Arpeggiate modes. * Wavetable Synthesis: SynthMaster One implements true wavetable synthesis which opens up new possibilities for sound design. It comes with a rich content library with hundreds of waveforms and wavetables. * Stereo Oscillators with up to 16 voices Unison: Each of the 2 oscillators in SynthMaster One have stereo output, and can have up to 16 voices "unison". Using the "voices", "voices mix", "detune curve", "detune spread", "pan stread", "tone spread" and "phase spread" parameters, each oscillator can generate a rich "supersaw" type sound. * Zero Delay Feedback Filters: All of the 4 filter categories in SynthMaster One are developed using the zero delay feedback filter technology. With advanced filter parameters like input gain, drive, acid, filter nonlinearities and up to 4 times oversampling you can get that "analog" sound from the filters! * Rich Set of Effects: SynthMaster One features 11 different effect types: Distortion, LoFi, Ensemble, Phaser, 6 Band EQ, Compressor, Vocoder, Delay, Chorus, Tremolo, Reverb. * Microtuning: SynthMaster One supports Scala tuning, so tuning can be set either for each preset or globally by loading from a Scala tuning file. SynthMaster One comes with 300+ scales ranging from 5 note equal tempered scales to 12 note alternate tuning scales. * Preset Browser: SynthMaster One features a comprehensive preset browser with separate search criterias for instrument type, preset attributes, music style or preset author. SUPPORTS * All 64-bit iPad devices * AUv3 Audio Unit Extensions * Note-per-channel MIDI controllers (MPE) * Ableton Link * Interapp Audio and AudioBus * Bluetooth LE MIDI Controllers * AirDrop

Screenshots

SynthShred4 screens
SynthMaster One for iPhone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SynthShred at every 4 days against SynthMaster One for iPhone's every 2 months. SynthMaster One for iPhone's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (66% vs 55%). On price, 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

Both are free to download. SynthShred sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SynthMaster One for iPhone sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SynthMaster One for iPhone holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 205 and 331 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of SynthShred's written reviews are positive against 66% of SynthMaster One for iPhone's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SynthShred ships an update every 4 days, SynthMaster One for iPhone every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SynthShred versus SynthMaster One for iPhone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSynthShredSynthMaster One for iPhone
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (205 ratings)4.8 (331 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.7% of reviews66.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings205331 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better10.0
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB297 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYugal SharmaKV331 Audio

Customer experience

SynthShred

All ratings205 ratings
Positive84.4%
Neutral6.8%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive54.7%
Neutral7.5%
Negative37.7%

SynthMaster One for iPhone

All ratings331 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral6.0%
Negative28.0%

User reviews

SynthShred

From 205 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Incredible app for musical exploration
  • 🎶 Great tool for learning and making music
  • 👍 Smooth and soft playing
  • 🎵 Best music appreciation
  • 💡 Underrated app with good sounds

Room to improve

  • 👎 No in-app purchases
  • 🔇 Sound muted in the app
  • 💸 Shameful theft/knock-off
  • 🚫 Logic for iPad issue (AUv3 not working)
  • 📉 Limited usefulness without AUv3/IAA

SynthMaster One for iPhone

From 331 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Excellent sound quality
  • 🤩 Incredible features for free
  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • 🎛️ Versatile sound design capabilities
  • 🎵 Great for GarageBand integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔌 Issues with GarageBand integration
  • 💸 In-app purchase problems
  • 🔄 Presets not saving
  • 📉 App appears abandoned

Bugs and requests

SynthShred

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Sound is muted only in this app
  • Doesn't show up as available audio unit in Logic/GarageBand
  • Notes not sliding on the pad, sound individual notes
  • Issue with sustain option: some instrument notes never stop
  • Pop up to go pro comes up every minute
Show 6 more
  • No sound at all
  • Bug where trying an instrument makes the app stop making any sounds
  • Bug where some notes randomly sound modulated with pitch shift / vibrato
  • When a “Try Free” option is chosen for a patch the entire app goes silent
  • Asked for payment again after uninstalling and reinstalling
  • No restore purchase button

Requested features

20 requests
  • Add MIDI support
  • Add AUv3 support
  • Add IAA support
  • Add sliding option
  • Add velocity touch sensitivity
Show 15 more
  • Add pitch bend function
  • Add legato types
  • Add transpose button
  • Add dual tune mode
  • Add record option to wav
  • Add simple metronome with tempo
  • Improve slide feature smoothness
  • Improve mid wheel effect
  • Add chords/notes option
  • Add auto accompaniment & sound mixing
  • Add recording
  • Add manual, tutorial & support
  • Add feature to change note name font
  • Make a simpler version for iOS 8 & later
  • Add fretless patches to pro version

SynthMaster One for iPhone

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes when loading saved presets
  • App crashes when setting default sound
  • AUv3 option disappears in GarageBand
  • Inability to reload user patches without crashing
  • Inability to purchase certain IAP packs
Show 5 more
  • Cells don't save, revert to first synth
  • App doesn't function or open in GarageBand
  • Every note is 1 note or lower
  • GUI is cut off on iPhone SE
  • IAA not loading in FL mobile

Requested features

10 requests
  • Fix in-app purchase issues
  • Improve GarageBand AUv3 stability
  • Enable saving of custom presets
  • Address crashing when loading presets
  • Fix note pitch issues
Show 5 more
  • Ensure app is not abandonware
  • Improve UI scaling on smaller screens
  • Fix wavetable scrolling issues
  • Make IAA work properly
  • Allow recording of music

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SynthShred

One-time1
  • Full Upgrade to SynthShred Pro$3.99
10 purchases

SynthMaster One for iPhone

One-time10
  • BigTone Club Construction Set$4.99
  • True Trance Sounds Volume 1$4.99
  • Vandalism Future House$4.99
Show 7 more
  • NatLife Retrowave Sounds Vol.1$4.99
  • Demis Hellen Euphoric Trance$4.99
  • NatLife Progressive&Deep Vol.1$4.99
  • Vandalism Shocking Future Bass$4.99
  • Venus Theory Trap Sounds$4.99
  • Desktop Presets Upgrade$9.99
  • SM One Expansions Bundle$24.99

Questions

Is SynthShred free?
SynthShred is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SynthMaster One for iPhone free?
SynthMaster One for iPhone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SynthShred or SynthMaster One for iPhone?
SynthMaster One for iPhone is rated higher. SynthShred averages 4.4 out of 5 from 205 ratings, while SynthMaster One for iPhone averages 4.8 from 331 ratings.
Do SynthShred or SynthMaster One for iPhone have ads?
Neither SynthShred nor SynthMaster One for iPhone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SynthShred or SynthMaster One for iPhone?
SynthShred ships an update every 4 days, and SynthMaster One for iPhone every 2 months. Most recently, SynthShred was updated on October 20, 2026 and SynthMaster One for iPhone on October 22, 2026.

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