KORG Gadget 3 vs SynthMaster 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KORG Gadget 3
Create music with a comprehensive suite of over 40 virtual instruments and effects. This powerful yet intuitive ecosystem allows you to quickly turn your musical ideas into finished tracks, offering a vast sound library and flexible workflow for various genres.
- Over 40 virtual instruments and drum machines
- New Santa Ana (Guitar) and Sydney (Sampler) gadgets
- 5 new insert effects (IFX)
- Intuitive user interface and workflow
- Genre select system for songwriting
- AUv3 support for iOS integration
- Extensive sound library with 6,000+ programs
Read full descriptionHide full description
More Powerful Than Ever, Quickly Turn Your Ideas Into Music KORG Gadget 3 - A Complete, Seamlessly Integrated Music Production Ecosystem KORG Gadget has received numerous awards from around the world: • Apple: "App Store Best of 2014" in Japan • #1 in the Top Paid Music iPad App category* • TECH AWARD 2015 "Best Music Production App" • MusicTech's "Gear of the Year: Best App" Gold Award • “Musikmesse international press award 2016” Mobile Music App * USA, UK, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and much more! KORG Gadget is the ideal all-in-one music production software and plug-in suite featuring over 40* small synthesizers/drum machines (“gadgets”), which can be freely combined to create music driven by a powerful yet intuitive user interface. The range of products includes the award-winning iOS version, a Mac version that includes all functions and plug-ins, and a plug-in version that can be used with your favorite DAW on Mac/PC. Now in its third generation, more powerful than ever, the workflow is now more intuitive and easier to use than ever before and there are plenty of new features and new gadgets. KORG Gadget 3 offers an expanded variety of even more features to quickly turn your ideas into music, including two new gadgets, five insert effects (IFX), a new genre select system, and AUv3 support. In addition, the user interface has been brushed up to make the Gadget Browser, IFX page, and Play page even more intuitive. KORG Gadget 3 is the perfect tool to quickly turn your ideas into music. What's New in KORG Gadget 3 • Gadget Instrument Collection with a total over 6,000 sound programs • New gadgets: Santa Ana* (Guitar) and Sydney* (Sampler) • Improved user interface, making the workflow more intuitive than ever • A genre select function that allows you to create songs from your favorite patterns • 5 new IFX including an 8-Band EQ, Transient Shaper, Stereo Image, Auto Pumper, Pitch Shifter • The Play page: easy arpeggiator use and chord entry • A whole new sound browser that lets you select gadgets by the timbre you want • AUv3 support on iOS, allowing gadgets to be used in other music apps like Garageband, Logic Pro • A huge collection of over 40* gadget instruments Overwhelming sound. Immersive, intuitive and powerful user interface. Unprecedented and innovative quality. KORG Gadget 3 is a collection of over 40* gadget instruments, including compact synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, and audio and MIDI utilities. It has sophisticated parameters that make it easy for you to get to the sound they want, so you can create your own sounds instantly. The new Sound Browser allows you to get to your favorite sounds in the quickest time possible. It is perfectly suited for dance music as well as rock, pop, jazz, and other music sounds and genres. • Get your songwriting ideas with Genre Select The new "Genre Select" feature allows you to select your favorite genre and sound, and then start songwriting by freely combining patterns. 5 x 5 pads are all assigned with phrases created by gadgets, so you can start songwriting by freely combining your favorite patterns. You can start creating a song from a project in which each track's gadgets and scenes have been developed. Choose from the standard genre packs and enjoy a different approach to music production. • Tons of sounds readily available with the New Browser To make it easier than ever to find the desired gadget instrument, we have revised the Gadget Browser and added various functions. New features include displaying gadgets by instrument category, a Favourites function that allows you to group your favorite gadgets, and a search function that allows you to freely search for sounds in each gadget. Using the program search function, it is now possible to quickly and easily preview and search for the sound you wanted from a vast array of sounds. * Some gadgets are available as in-app purchases (IAP) or by purchasing other KORG apps. More info at korg.com
SynthMaster 2
This powerful software synthesizer offers a vast array of sound design capabilities, including multiple oscillator modes, extensive modulation options, and a wide selection of filters. Explore over 1000 factory presets or create your own unique sounds. Available as a standalone app or AUv3 plugin.
- Multiple oscillator modes (Basic, Additive, Wavetable, Vector)
- Extensive modulation architecture
- 6 filter categories
- Import custom wave files
- 1000+ factory presets
- Standalone app and AUv3 plugin
Read full descriptionHide full description
KV331 Audio is proud to announce the availability of their award winning software synthesizer SynthMaster 2.9 on iOS platform. As being the first app developed using KV331 Audio’s new cross-platform UI framework, SynthMaster 2 runs as a standalone app or AUv3 plugin on iPads with iOS 11 and above. SynthMaster 2 supports native resolutions of various iPad devices. User interfaces are provided for 9.7, 11 and 12.9 inch iPads in 4 different skins (Blue, White, Dark, Proto). Separate interfaces are provided for the AudioUnit plugin as well. SynthMaster 2 comes with 1000 factory presets designed by world class sound designers such as BigTone, Nori Ubukata, NatLife and Yuli Yolo. Thanks to the comprehensive preset browsing features, users can easily filter presets by author name, bank name, instrument type or preset name and find the sounds that they are looking for. There’s also an IAP Shop, which lets users purchase additional sounds: 1. "Desktop Presets Upgrade": This IAP adds all factory presets in SynthMaster 2.9, increasing the total preset count to 2000. 2. "All Expansions Bundle": This IAP adds all current 38 SynthMaster preset expansion banks. Sound Engine: At the heart of SynthMaster 2’s powerful sound engine lies its oscillators, modulators, and filters. Oscillators: The oscillators can operate in 4 different modes to generate sound: 1. In Basic mode, the oscillator plays single cycle waveforms or samples. With the Oscillator Unison turned on, up to 8 voices per oscillator can be played. 2. In Additive mode, 8 Basic oscillators can be stacked up to create richer tones. 3. In Wavetable mode, the oscillator can play wavetables with up to 256 frames. 4. In Vector mode, 4 Basic oscillators are mixed in 2 dimensions. Modulators: Modulators are simply basic oscillators that can be added to other oscillators or modulate other oscillators’ or modulators’ phases. By connecting modulators to other oscillators or modulators, complex FM tones can be synthesized. Importing Wave Files into SynthMaster: While designing sounds, users can easily import wave files into SynthMaster 2. SynthMaster 2 can categorize those files into waveforms, wavetables or multi samples and import them accordingly. Filters: Once the sound is generated by the oscillators it goes through SynthMaster’s filters, which can operate in 6 different categories: Digital, VAnalog, Ladder, Diode Ladder, State Variable and Bite. Custom distortion can be applied before or after the filters as well. Modulation Architecture: SynthMaster 2 features a comprehensive modulation architecture with a wide range of modulation sources: 1. MIDI controls 2. Macros controls 3. 4 ADSR envelopes per layer 4. 4 Multisegmented envelopes per payer 5. 4 LFOs per layer 6. 4 Sequencers per layer 7. 4 Keyscalers per layer There’s real-time visual feedback that lets users see how modulation sources and targets are changing when a note is being played. This is extremely helpful when designing sounds with SynthMaster 2. New modulations can be created easily by dragging and dropping a modulation source onto a knob or slider control. Users can easily see which controls are modulated by a modulation source by clicking on that source. Controls that are being modulated by that source will display modulation amounts. By long pressing a control, the modulation amount can be edited without the need to go through the mod matrix. Arp/Sequencer: SynthMaster features a comprehensive arpeggiator / sequencer with 32 steps. Users can easily create sequences by recording steps one by one. Effects: Each of the 2 layers in SynthMaster has 5 insert effect slots. 13 different types of effects can be instantiated in any of those slots. There are also 2 global effect send busses which can be used to create more complex effect routings.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: SynthMaster 2 at $14.99 against KORG Gadget 3's $39.99. KORG Gadget 3's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.9K vs 451). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence 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
KORG Gadget 3 costs $39.99 and SynthMaster 2 $14.99 up front. KORG Gadget 3 sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and SynthMaster 2 sells 32 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for KORG Gadget 3 against 4.8 for SynthMaster 2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KORG Gadget 3 has 2.9K ratings behind it against 451, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of KORG Gadget 3's written reviews are positive against 68% of SynthMaster 2's.
KORG Gadget 3 ships an update monthly, SynthMaster 2 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KORG Gadget 3 | SynthMaster 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.99 | $14.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.9K ratings) — better | 4.8 (451 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.0% of reviews — better | 68.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.9K — better | 451 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.9 GB | 918 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KORG INC. | KV331 Audio |
Customer experience
KORG Gadget 3
SynthMaster 2
User reviews
KORG Gadget 3
From 2.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great for creating rave and dance music
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🎨 Powerful sound design capabilities
- 💡 Useful for live performance
- 👍 Excellent workflow for sketching ideas
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 💰 Expensive with many in-app purchases
- 🔀 Randomized saved project order
- 🔍 Difficult to precisely control zoom and note editing
- 🔓 Issues with restoring purchased content
SynthMaster 2
From 451 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best synth on iPad
- 👍 Delicious sound
- 👍 Tremendously powerful synth
- 👍 Great synth with complex possibilities and great sound(s)
- 👍 Perfeito
Room to improve
- 🐛 Auswahl der Modulationsquellen funktioniert nicht richtig
- 🐛 Echt schlecht
- 🐛 Broken Preset System for a powerful synth
- 🐛 Please fix the OSC behavior on Square and Saw
- 🐛 Preset issues
Bugs and requests
KORG Gadget 3
Reported bugs
4 issues- Playback issues with latest update
- Imported samples limited to 5 seconds
- Bilbao sampler crashes when importing WAV files
- Gadget instruments not showing up in AUv3 lists
Requested features
8 requests- Add more acoustic drum and bass sounds
- Implement MIDI out functionality
- Allow customizable scales and tunings
- Add a proper sampler with more advanced features
- Improve copy/paste and track management capabilities
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Implement a linear song mode for non-grid-based compositions
- Add more effects like halftime, sample degrader, etc.
- Allow using AUv3 effects within Gadget
SynthMaster 2
Reported bugs
4 issues- Presets not loading correctly
- Modulation not working after loading project
- Skin resets to default
- App crashes frequently
Requested features
2 requests- Pitch bend/glide for imported samples
- Integration with AUM audio mixer
In-app purchases
KORG Gadget 3
- Bilbao$6.99
- Abu Dhabi$6.99
- Madrid$9.99
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Gladstone$9.99
- Kamata$9.99
- Lisbon$9.99
- Vancouver$9.99
- Stockholm$9.99
- Otorii$9.99
- Santa Ana$9.99
- Ebina$14.99
SynthMaster 2
- BigTone Tableworks Vol.2$1.99
- Burak Yeter Synth Sounds Vol1$1.99
- Aiyn Zahev Expansion 1$1.99
Show 29 moreShow fewer
- BigTone Tableworks Vol.1$1.99
- Michael Kastrup Expansion$1.99
- EDM Stars Volume 1$1.99
- Nori Ubukata Pop Hits Vol.4$1.99
- Rob Lee EDM Expansion Vol.2$1.99
- Alonso Sound Future Rave$1.99
- Nori Ubukata Pop Hits Vol.1$1.99
- BigTone Techno Bits Vol.1$1.99
- Club Sequences Vol.1$2.99
- Historical Synth Giants Vol.3$2.99
- Dawn of Electronic Music Vol.2$2.99
- Nori Ubukata Art Rock Basics$2.99
- BigTone Analog Basics 02$4.99
- BigTone Analog Basics$4.99
- BigTone Signature Sounds Vol.1$4.99
- NU Sounds of the World$4.99
- Historical Synth Giants Vol.4$4.99
- Historical Synth Giants Vol.1$4.99
- Historical Synth Giants Vol.2$4.99
- Japan Vintage$4.99
- NatLife Future Bass Sounds$4.99
- Danyella EDM Expansion Vol.1$4.99
- Dawn of Electronic Music Vol.1$4.99
- Dawn of Electronic Music Vol.3$4.99
- Rob Lee EDM Expansion Vol.3$4.99
- Natlife Disco Funk$4.99
- Insigne Essentials 4 Clubbin$4.99
- Desktop Presets Upgrade$9.99
- All Expansions Bundle$49.99
Questions
Is KORG Gadget 3 free?
Is SynthMaster 2 free?
Which has better reviews, KORG Gadget 3 or SynthMaster 2?
Do KORG Gadget 3 or SynthMaster 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, KORG Gadget 3 or SynthMaster 2?
Other comparisons















