Arctic ProSynth vs MESA Synth AUv3
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Arctic ProSynth
Create bold and tough electronic music with a modern subtractive synthesizer. Explore rich sound design with powerful oscillators, dual filters, and versatile effects. Record and share your creations easily.
- HyperOscillators for fat sounds
- Dual multi-mode filters
- Master effects with adjustable order
- Integrated Vocoder
- 16x4 gated step sequencer
- Live audio and MIDI recording
- Preset and bank sharing
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Be rude. Be rough. Be bold. Be tough! Arctic Pro Synthesizer / Vocoder is a modern subtractive synthesizer. It does not aim to accurately model or re-create vintage synths of yesteryear. Instead Arctic Pro offers the contemporary synthesist a rude, rough, bold and tough palette of sound to get stuck into. Including two massively fat HyperOscillators, dual filters, and easy to re-order master effects. While the Vocoder, used in conjunction with a suitable microphone, adds an extra dimension to your musical performance. HyperOscillators =========== Combine two HyperOscillators and one Sub Oscillator for some seriously fat sounds. Layer up to 8 oscillators in unison to create very thick and powerful tones. Spread detune and Mix these separate oscillators in real-time. More than just a "SuperSaw" - it's also a Super-square and Super-triangle. Powerful Presets =========== Legendary sound designer John ‘Skippy’ Lehmkuhl has exclusively designed the factory presets. John has worked as a professional sound designer since 1988 for Korg - making patches, combinations, drum kits as well as creating the sample data for almost every synth Korg has released since the M1. If you have owned one of these historic synthesizers you have heard John's presets. Sharing ===== Arctic Pro includes everything you need to record and share your audio and MIDI with others. Live record to WAV and MIDI files. Use AudioCopy, open audio directly in apps, or share with Kymatica AudioShare. Presets and Banks can be emailed and transferred via Wi-Fi and iTunes Files Sharing. And of course we also support Audiobus. SPECIFICATION ========== • Synthesis: analog modelling • Polyphony: up to 4 voices • HyperOscillators: 2 per voice, alias free, saw, triangle and square with pulse width, hard sync, ring mod, noise generator, sub-oscillator • Filter: 2 multi-mode resonating filter with 4 filter types and variable routing • Envelopes: mod, filter and amp ADSR envelopes with adjust curve • Modulation: 2 LFOs with multiple wave shapes, sample and hold, 3 routable destinations per LFO, independently sync-able • Effects: stereo master effect processors with adjustable order: 3-band EQ, Distortion, Chorus, Phaser, Vocoder, Delay, Reverb • Arpeggiator: classic arpeggiator with octave shift, MIDI-sync-able • Sequencer: 16 x 4 gated step sequencer with multiple modulation destinations, MIDI-sync-able • Keyboard: glissando, scroll, multi-touch poly pitch bend and aftertouch • Works with Wizdom Music's Geo Synthesizer continuous pitch bend • Polyphonic Aftertouch for use with CME Xkey FEATURES ======== • Inter-App Audio for iOS 7 • Audiobus • AudioCopy 2.0 • MIDI Learn • Live phrase recorder with audio and MIDI export • File and patch sharing via iTunes File Sharing, e-mail and Wi-Fi • Supports external MIDI in and out via CoreMIDI Networking and USB with the Camera Connection Kit • Audio background operation • Virtual MIDI Ports • Open Music App Collaboration compliant Requirements: iPad 2 or later recommended iOS 7.0 or later
MESA Synth AUv3
This music creation tool transforms visuals into sound by rendering shaders and images into wavetables. It offers a powerful synthesis engine, extensive sound-shaping capabilities, and a full effects rack, all controllable through light and visual input.
- Visual-to-audio wavetable synthesis
- Unison oscillator stack with sub-oscillator
- Zero-delay-feedback filter
- Vision panel for sound shaping with light
- 26 stackable visual modifiers as audio effects
- 8-stage stereo FX rack
- Sampler mode with auto pitch-tracking
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MESA is a wavetable synthesizer unlike any other — it turns visuals into sound. Drop in a shader or a .vkograph and MESA renders it offscreen, reads the light across the image, and turns that into a wavetable you play. The picture literally becomes the oscillator — and the same visual keeps living behind your keys, reacting to every note. No other synth works like this. Behind the magic is a complete, serious instrument: THE ENGINE • 64-frame wavetables, FFT mip-banked for clean, alias-free playback everywhere • Unison oscillator stack with detune, spread, and a sub-oscillator • Zero-delay-feedback filter — cutoff, resonance, drive, self-oscillating • Full ADSR envelope, portamento glide, and a dedicated pitch envelope SHAPE THE SOUND WITH LIGHT • Vision panel: choose the scanline, weight color channels, bend the brightness curve, sweep time — one shader, a thousand timbres • 33 color palettes that reshape the tone, not just the look • VFX chain: 26 stackable visual modifiers, each one also an audio effect A FULL STUDIO • 3-slot modulation matrix with 2 LFOs, velocity, and mod wheel • 8-stage stereo FX rack: tape, wow & flutter, chorus, delay, reverb, lo-fi, tape-stop • Sampler mode — load any audio, auto pitch-tracked across the keys • Arpeggiator, Ableton Link, and MIDI Learn on nearly every control BUILT FOR YOUR WORKFLOW • AUv3 plug-in AND standalone app — one purchase, iOS + macOS • iCloud sync — build a patch on your Mac, it's ready on your iPhone • Categorized preset browser with import/export and full patch recall
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MESA Synth AUv3 at 5.0 against Arctic ProSynth's 3.3. MESA Synth AUv3 also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Arctic ProSynth's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.4). On 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
Arctic ProSynth costs $9.99 and MESA Synth AUv3 $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MESA Synth AUv3 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arctic ProSynth has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Arctic ProSynth's written reviews are positive against 100% of MESA Synth AUv3's.
Arctic ProSynth ships an update every 4 months, MESA Synth AUv3 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Arctic ProSynth | MESA Synth AUv3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $8.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | One Red Dog Media | Juan Maguid |
Customer experience
Arctic ProSynth
MESA Synth AUv3
In-app purchases
Arctic ProSynth
No in-app purchases
MESA Synth AUv3
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Arctic ProSynth free?
Is MESA Synth AUv3 free?
Which has better reviews, Arctic ProSynth or MESA Synth AUv3?
Do Arctic ProSynth or MESA Synth AUv3 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Arctic ProSynth or MESA Synth AUv3?
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