Comparison

Jam Synth vs Viking Synth

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

Head to head
About

Jam Synth

Transform your guitar into a synthesizer with this app. It accurately tracks pitch and amplitude to control digital oscillators, offering unique synth leads and effects. Go beyond MIDI with expressive, organic sounds and advanced modulation options.

Highlights
  • Monophonic guitar synthesizer
  • Pitch and amplitude tracking
  • Multiple oscillator wave shapes
  • Dynamic filter tracking
  • Advanced FX section (LFO, Delay, Harmonizer, etc.)
  • MIDI output for external synths
  • High-accuracy pitch tuner
Read full description

Jam Synth is a fully featured monophonic guitar synthesizer / multi FX for iOS. It tracks the pitch and amplitude of an incoming guitar signal and uses this information to control digital oscillators, adding a unique guitar infused edge to your synth leads. Unlike typical pitch to MIDI converters, Jam Synth forgoes MIDI altogether when producing sounds internally because it is impossible to shoehorn the expressive pitch and dynamics of a stringed instrument into the MIDI standard. Jam Synth can accurately track string bends and vibrato with the extreme accuracy of a strobe tuner (1/10 of 1 cent) to produce much more organic synth sounds than other guitar to MIDI converters, including its own MIDI output (though its MIDI output still creates quite a unique guitar / synth hybrid sound because of its pitch bend abilities). It also features some of the most esoteric and unique FX you can get for your guitar. Features: • 3 Phase Distortion Oscillators (4 on iPad) with 8 different wave shapes: Saw, Square, Pulse, Double Sine, Saw-Pulse, Resonant 1, Resonant 2, and Resonant 3 • Filter can be set to track picking dynamics • Input section with Gate, Compressor, ADSR, and Input Filter • FX section - A fully featured LFO with 5 wave shapes and an invert switch for a wide range of pulsating effects - Stereo Delay with a stereo width control for ping pong effects and a filter for emulating analog delay - 3D Chorus, a classic "motionless" chorus that adds a stereo DIMENSION to the synth - Intelligent Harmonizer: This creates musically correct harmonies based on the key you are playing in. The harmonies can be altered by choosing a specific interval and one of the seven musical modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. It works on MIDI output using multi-channel pitch bending for synths that support such fancy things. It also works on your dry guitar output using high quality formant corrected pitch shift. It is just the best. - Rotary Vibe: This recreates the swirling psychedelic sounds of the 1960's by combining a thick 12-stage stereo phaser with a 3D rotary panning effect. Create anything from a slow stereo swirl to a futuristic synth organ with this. - Rainbows: Adds analog modeled auto rainbows to your sound. Adds extra rainbows when used with the harmonizer. - Time Stopper: Freezes time... • LFO / Stereo Delay / Rotary Vibe can be synced to tap tempo or incoming MIDI clock sync / Inter App Audio sync • Highly accurate pitch tracking and tuner, accurate to 1/10th of a cent • MIDI OUT and guitar to MIDI conversion for controlling other MIDI synths with your guitar through Core MIDI accessories and Virtual MIDI • string bends and vibrato are converted to MIDI pitch wheel data • picking dynamics are converted to MIDI volume expression data • compatible with guitar and audio interfaces made for iPhone and iPad • detailed user manual • Fat Bass • Super Chip Leads • Beagle Time • Little Cesars Jam Synth is designed to be easy to use even for users who don't have a lot of experience programming or playing synthesizers. When in doubt, just press buttons and turn knobs while plucking a string until you find a sound you like! J a m S y n t h 2 coming soon ---------------- http://www.facebook.com/PrimitiveDigitalSoftware

About

Viking Synth

This app emulates a classic monophonic analog synthesizer with advanced DSP technology. It features three variable wave oscillators, dual ladder filters, an LFO, and two modulation busses for versatile sound design. An intuitive interface and extensive preset library make it ideal for creating thick bass and rich lead sounds.

Highlights
  • Three continuously variable wave oscillators
  • Dual ladder filters (Lowpass/Highpass)
  • Multi-wave LFO
  • Two modulation busses
  • Intuitive user interface with expandable controls
  • 228 presets including Bass, Lead, and Synthwave
  • State-of-the-art DSP for authentic sound
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Viking Synth is an authentic emulation of a classic monophonic analog synthesizer. It has three continuously variable wave oscillators, two ladder filters with a Dual Lowpass or Highpass/Lowpass configuration, a multi-wave LFO, and two modulation busses. Viking Synth uses state of the art DSP technology to accurately reproduce the sound of the hardware. You get a desktop quality plug-in at an iOS friendly price. Viking Synth is an Audio Unit Extension Instrument (AUv3) that works as a plug-in inside host apps. Just open up your favorite host that supports Audio Unit Instruments and select it from the list of available Audio Units. Compatible with GarageBand, Cubasis, Auria, BeatMaker, AudioBus, AUM, Modstep, and more. The user interface of Viking Synth is designed for quick and intuitive control. Knobs and sliders expand during tweaking and are designed so the current value isn't hidden below your finger. The six pages divide the synth into logical sections that can be accessed quickly. The filter display acts as an XY pad for controlling cutoff and resonance. Simply double tap a knob or slider to reset it to its default value. Presets Viking Synth comes with 228 presets in the categories Bass, Bright Lead, Electro Bass, FX, Percussive Lead, Soft Lead, and Synthwave. The synth excels at thick bass and rich lead sounds. The 50 Electro Bass and 50 Synthwave presets were designed by renowned sound designer eXode. Presets work perfectly with GarageBand, Cubasis, and AUM. Oscillators At the heart of Viking are three adjustable wave oscillators. The continuously variable waveform knob gives the oscillators a unique sound that can’t be achieved with the fixed waveforms found in most synths. A noise oscillator provides three types of noise, one specifically modeled after the hardware. Modulation Two modulation busses and an LFO provide flexible modulation capabilities. All of the options hidden deep in menus on the hardware are immediately accessible with one tap. Filters The filters are classic transistor ladder filters modeled meticulously. Two DSP varieties are available allowing for either reduced CPU load or soft clipping plus three additional overdriven modes. The number of poles is adjustable for a wider range of filter sounds. Compare Viking to other synths: – Viking’s oscillators are free running, not sampled, wavetable based, or generated from a zero point – Viking’s oscillators use advanced techniques to avoid aliasing – Viking’s oscillators have instability, which is controllable through the tuning drift control – Viking’s nonlinear filter uses circuit modeling and provides soft clipping

Screenshots

Jam Synth4 screens
Viking Synth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Jam Synth at Free against Viking Synth's $3.99. Jam Synth also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (84% vs 71%). Viking Synth's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

Jam Synth is free to download; Viking Synth costs $3.99 up front. Jam Synth sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Viking Synth asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Jam Synth holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28 and 42 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Jam Synth's written reviews are positive against 71% of Viking Synth's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Jam Synth versus Viking Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJam SynthViking Synth
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating5.0 (28 ratings) — better4.7 (42 ratings)
Positive reviews84.2% of reviews — better71.2% of reviews
Number of ratings2842 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDerek MesecarBlamsoft, Inc.

Customer experience

Jam Synth

All ratings28 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral10.5%
Negative5.3%

Viking Synth

All ratings42 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive71.2%
Neutral10.6%
Negative18.2%

Bugs and requests

Jam Synth

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Viking Synth

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Presets not showing up
  • Presets disappear
  • App not showing in AUv3 menu
  • Settings not saving after iOS 14 update
  • Crashes when opening presets browser
Show 1 more
  • Saved presets not loading

Requested features

5 requests
  • More subtle drive mode
  • Categorized preset browser
  • Polyphony option
  • Dark mode
  • More apps from developer

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Jam Synth

One-time4
  • Intelligent HarmonizerFree
  • Rotary VibeFree
  • RainbowsFree
Show 1 more
  • Time StopperFree
None

Viking Synth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Jam Synth free?
Jam Synth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Viking Synth free?
Viking Synth costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Jam Synth or Viking Synth?
Jam Synth is rated higher. Jam Synth averages 5.0 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Viking Synth averages 4.7 from 42 ratings.
Do Jam Synth or Viking Synth have ads?
Neither Jam Synth nor Viking Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Jam Synth or Viking Synth?
Jam Synth ships an update every 4 months, and Viking Synth every 4 months. Most recently, Jam Synth was updated on October 6, 2026 and Viking Synth on October 12, 2026.

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