Comparison

JP vs Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth

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

Head to head
About

JP

Features
Read full description

An iPhone app that recreates the legendary analog polyphonic synthesizer. [Key Features] 8 Analog Synth Voices: JP-Brass / JP-Strings / JP-Warm Pad / JP-Choir / JP-Saw Lead / JP-Square / JP-Bass / JP-Bell Authentic VCF Control: Manipulate Cutoff, Resonance, and ENV in real time. Shape your sound freely by sweeping the filter. ADSR Envelope: Intuitively control Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release via sliders. Arpeggiator: 5 patterns (Up, Down, U&D, As Play, Random) with adjustable BPM and octave range. Split Mode: Split the keyboard into two zones to play two different sounds simultaneously. Solo Mode: Monophonic operation tailored for searing lead lines and solo play. Reverb & Chorus: Add depth and space to your sound with built-in spatial effects. Pitch Lever: Perform expressively with real-time pitch bends. LFO / VCO Control: Create rich, evolving textures with modulation. [Recommended For] Fans of iconic '80s synth sounds. Music producers and DTM creators. Anyone looking to enjoy synthesis on the go. Those who love the signature "JP voice" sound. *This app contains ads. *Using headphones or external speakers is highly recommended for the best sound experience.

About

Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth

Shape the overtone series directly to create unique sounds. This additive synthesizer allows real-time manipulation of harmonics, LFOs, and envelopes. Explore sound design and synthesis on your device.

Highlights
  • Additive synthesis engine
  • Overtone series shaping
  • Live waveform and spectrum response
  • Modulation matrix with LFOs and envelopes
  • AUv3 support
  • On-device processing
Features
Read full description

BKS Harmonic is an additive synthesizer that builds sound from individual overtones, then gives you tools to shape, scan and filter them by harmony. Load it as an Audio Unit v3 inside AUM, GarageBand, Cubasis, Loopy Pro or any AUv3 host, or run it standalone. A TUNER THAT KNOWS ABOUT STRETCH Tune mode turns the scope into a tuner: it names the note it hears and shows how far sharp or flat it is in cents, with a ring that closes as you land on the pitch. It tunes against the stretch curve rather than equal temperament, so it follows a real instrument. Stretch shapes the overtones inside a note; Key Stretch makes the keyboard follow it, so octaves widen the way a piano's do. FOURTEEN TUNING SYSTEMS, AND A TEMPERAMENT EDITOR Equal and Just, five historical temperaments, and six from outside the European tradition including Maqam Rast, Turkish Rast, Slendro, Pelog and the Harmonic Series. The Temperament slider is a morph, not a switch: fully left is Just, fully right is whichever you chose. Twelve bars show any system as cents away from equal; drag one to make the tuning yours, then copy it out as plain text. Tunings save with the preset. FIVE HUNDRED SCALES Searchable by alternate name: malkauns, nikriz, bhupali and freygish find the right set. THE PARTIALS ARE THE INSTRUMENT The partials display shows every overtone in your sound, and four tools work on it directly. FOLD sweeps upper partials below the fundamental, redistributing energy across harmonic layers — not a filter. The OVERTONE SCAN steps a spotlight through individual partials with triangle, saw or random patterns, and can visit only partials in the active scale. The HARMONIC GATE reinforces partials whose pitch class matches your chord and suppresses the rest: capture a chord, follow MIDI, split the keyboard, or pick the notes on the gate's own keys. SCULPT draws the level and pan of every partial, slides the curve up the grid as a formant, and locks partials in place while the rest moves. THE HARMONIC VOCODER Pass live input or a sample through the synth as an effect. Your sound travels through a bank of tuned peaking bells rather than being replaced by filtered noise: open the Air and the source stays dry, tighten it and the bands resonate into it. Key Track is the mode switch: on it plays as an instrument, off it is a fixed filter you can sweep. Aimed at a sample, the bands track that sample's spectrum as it evolves. One level-matched Blend control crossfades it against the oscillators. PULSE-WIDTH MODULATION Set the core to a saw and Source 2 to a saw: the two ramps subtract, which is what a pulse wave is, and the phase between them sets the duty cycle. Modulate it and you have PWM. A preset in the Utility folder is ready to play. MODULATION A cog on almost every control, so the synth's own engine can drive nearly anything in the interface, including the display. Sources include velocity, envelopes, LFOs, how many notes you hold, how many oscillators sound, the synth's own output level, and Atmo, a shape driven by 84 years of barometric weather data from the Beat Kitchen Weather Sonification Project. Rates run from audio rate down to cycles that span years. THE SCOPE A stereoscope, oscilloscope, spectrum and a live per-partial display. Glow takes the trace from a hard line to a diffuse bloom, Colour sets the hue, Trace Speed and Dot set how it draws — and every one is a modulation target. Route velocity to Colour and the trace shifts as you play. LIVE INPUT A headphone button passes the side-chain straight to the output, so you can hear and see your input with nothing held: green when signal arrives, amber when a bus is connected but silent, red when nothing is. Resynth Speed locks a sample's playback speed to pitch, tape-style, or keeps them independent. Every control has a tooltip, presets work offline, and a harmony wheel follows what you play. One purchase, every update. Made by Beat Kitchen, a music production and teaching community.

Screenshots

JP4 screens
Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth at 4.8 against JP's 1.0. Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (12 vs 1). JP's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. JP asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

JP ships an update every 2 weeks, Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
JP versus Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJPBeat Kitchen Harmonic Synth
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.8 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings112 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.516.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKouki YoshimotoBeat Kitchen LLC

In-app purchases

None

JP

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth

One-time1
  • Full Unlock$14.99

Questions

Is JP free?
JP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth free?
Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, JP or Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth?
Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth is rated higher. JP averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth averages 4.8 from 12 ratings.
Do JP or Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth have ads?
Neither JP nor Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, JP or Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth?
JP ships an update every 2 weeks, and Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth every 3 days. Most recently, JP was updated on October 24, 2026 and Beat Kitchen Harmonic Synth on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons