Jam Synth vs Overdrive Synth
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Overdrive Synth
Explore unique synth sounds processed through classic guitar overdrive pedals. This app offers professionally recorded samples with multiple keyboard layouts and AUv3/MIDI support. Unlock over 100 additional instruments to expand your sonic palette.
- Vintage synths re-amped through guitar pedals
- Multiple keyboard layouts
- AUv3 and MIDI support
- Professionally recorded samples
- Expandable instrument library via IAP
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What does a synthesizer sound like through an overdrive pedal? To answer this great mystery, I visited NightSound Studio to re-amp a plethora of synth tones through various classic guitar pedals. The results are now available for your ears in Overdrive Synth! FEATURES: • Vintage Synths Re-amped Through Guitar Pedals • 3 Keyboard Layouts (Piano, Guitar & Scaled) • AUv3 & MIDI Support • Professionally Recorded Samples • 10 Instruments (+100 more with IAP) • Proudly Built With AudioKit The app comes with 10 default instruments, and If you like the starting sounds, unlock the full version (+100 instruments) and become a turbo-powered crunch synth master! I'm also EXTREMELY excited to bring you the full video development story on how this app was made! If you're curious to see what all went into making this app including the recording process, follow the behind-the-scenes link in the app! Special thanks to Nightsound Studios where the samples were recorded, AudioKit for providing the tools to build this app, the amazing open source synth community, and you for supporting indie developers. Thank You & Enjoy! Nick Culbertson MobyPixel.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Overdrive Synth at monthly against Jam Synth's every 4 months. Jam Synth's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Jam Synth sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Overdrive Synth sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Jam Synth against 4.9 for Overdrive Synth. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28 and 34 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Jam Synth's written reviews are positive against 79% of Overdrive Synth's.
Jam Synth ships an update every 4 months, Overdrive Synth monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Jam Synth | Overdrive Synth |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (28 ratings) — better | 4.9 (34 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.2% of reviews — better | 79.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 28 | 34 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 247 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Derek Mesecar | Moby Pixel |
Customer experience
Jam Synth
Overdrive Synth
In-app purchases
Jam Synth
- Intelligent HarmonizerFree
- Rotary VibeFree
- RainbowsFree
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- Time StopperFree
Overdrive Synth
- Unlock Full Version$4.99








