SynthMaster Player vs MidiQuesti
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SynthMaster Player
This mobile synthesizer app provides a vast library of sounds for music production. It allows users to play presets, make limited edits, and access additional sound banks through in-app purchases. It integrates with other music apps and offers a built-in keyboard for immediate playability.
- Preset-based sound library
- Limited parameter editing
- XY pads for modulation
- AUv3 and InterApp Audio support
- Audiobus integration
- Built-in keyboard with pitch/mod wheels
- Scales functionality
Read full descriptionHide full description
SynthMaster Player for iOS received "2016 Editor's Choice Award" from Electronic Musician Magazine! SynthMaster desktop version is voted as "The Best VST/AU Synth Plugin" by MusicRadar readers and also received "Gear of the Year" award from MusicTech Magazine for "Best Software Instrument" category. SynthMaster has received very positive reviews from acclaimed music technology magazines: "SynthMaster: The most powerful softsynth you may not have heard of" Keyboard Magazine "If ever there was a desert island synth, SynthMaster is it, covering all sonic bases with authority and a superb tone" Computer Music Magazine "Many developers say that they've produced the one and only synth you'll ever need, but we've always felt that was a dubious claim. In SynthMaster’s case, though, it’s one that rings true" MusicRadar INTRODUCTION SynthMaster Player for iOS is the MOBILE PLAYER VERSION of the award winning SynthMaster software synthesizer. It is targeted towards users who prefer to use presets rather than designing their own sounds during music production. Although it is a preset based player, users can edit the following preset parameters: 1) 8 easy parameters assigned by the sound designer 2) 2 XY Pads assigned by the sound designer 3) Effect bypass states and send amounts 4) Layer bypass states and volumes 5) Master volume, polyphony The free app comes with 100 factory presets. When users complete registration by entering their names and email addresses they receive another 100 factory presets as a bonus! After completing registration, users can upgrade to the Pro version of the app by purchasing the "Factory Presets" bank via In-App-Purchase (IAP). With the Pro Upgrade all of the 800 factory presets are loaded and also the following features are unlocked: 1. Users can save the changes they have made to the presets. 2. Users can purchase additional preset banks via In-App-Purchase (IAP). We currently have 28 additional preset banks that contain 1750 presets for various genres/styles. 3. Existing SynthMaster users can download their previously purchased SynthMaster preset banks inside the app, so that they don't have to purchase them again. 4. Existing SynthMaster users can export their own presets in SynthMaster v2.x and import them into SynthMaster Player for iPad using iTunes. AUv3 SynthMaster Player for iOS supports AUv3, you can add multiple instrument instances to your tracks. INTERAPP AUDIO SynthMaster Player for iOS acts as an source/instrument in InterApp Audio. We demonstrate in our user manual how to connect it to InterApp enabled DAW apps. AUDIOBUS SynthMaster Player for iOS acts as a source/instrument in AudioBus, with state saving enabled. We demonstrate in our user manual how to connect it to AudioBus enabled DAW apps. BUILT-IN KEYBOARD The built-in 2 octave keyboard with pitch and modulation wheels lets users play notes without having to connect an external MIDI controller to their iPad. With its Scale functionality, it shows the users the notes on the scale, and with its Chord functionality the user can play a certain chord by pressing a single note. MIDI SETTINGS SynthMaster Player for iOS supports CoreMIDI and also virtual MIDI. It acts as a virtual MIDI destination for other DAW apps. Midi input device, midi input channel, and receive midi beat clock settings can be adjusted from the MIDI Settings window. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Minimum Operating System Supported: iOS 9 Minimum Hardware Supported: iPad4, iPhone 5 and above Recommended Hardware: iPad Air and above, iPhone6 and above
MidiQuesti
This app is a comprehensive MIDI SysEx editor and librarian for managing and organizing patches, banks, and other data from a vast array of MIDI instruments. It offers advanced editing capabilities, real-time parameter control, and the ability to manage multiple devices simultaneously.
- Supports 900+ MIDI instruments from 50+ manufacturers
- Store, organize, and edit banks and patches
- Multi-instrument and multi-port support
- Real-time parameter editing
- Drag and drop bank editing
- Import/export .syx and .mid files
- Block Copy/Swap for parameter groups
Read full descriptionHide full description
Unparalleled SysEx Management for MIDI Hardware... Midi Quest supports 900 of the most popular MIDI instruments and other devices from over 50 different manufacturers including Korg, Roland, Yamaha, Kurzweil, Alesis, Waldorf, Kawai, Akai, and E-mu.. Store, organize, and edit banks and the individual patches, combinations, multis, performances, drums settings, and other SysEx loaded from your MIDI hardware. Midi Quest is a true multi-instrument editor/librarian designed from the ground up to effectively support multiple MIDI ports, multiple manufacturers, and multiple MIDI devices. Midi Quest "talks" to each MIDI device individually so it can simultaneously send SysEx to as many as 250 different instruments and still edit another instrument - all at the same time. Try doing that with any other editor/librarian... Midi Quest is not a panel editor. Midi Quest is a professional, integrated system capable of fully managing, editing, and organizing the simplest to the most complex workstation class MIDI devices and hardware synthesizers such as Korg's flagship workstation, the Kronos. Midi Quest natively reads and writes industry standard .syx and .mid files so that you can easily take advantage of SysEx downloaded from the internet or received from a friend. Midi Quest for iPad imports Set, Collection, individual Patch, and individual Bank files from Mac and Windows versions of Midi Quest so existing SysEx can easily be stored and edited on an iPad. Midi Quest can store an entire studio configuration - in a single file. First, what every editor/librarian should have (but may not)... Midi Quest will easily handle all of your bank editing tasks. Copy and Paste, Swap, or Insert single or multiple patches within the same bank or with other banks using menu commands or drag and drop. Along with a dozen other standard commands to rename, sort, shift patches, and so on. 1-tap audition automatically sends selected patches. Midi Quest's unique and powerful bank editing capabilities are highlighted in multi-timbral instruments with parent/child linked editing and display. Just like its bank editors, Midi Quest's parameter editors cover all of the basics with the features you expect - multiple ways to edit each parameter: grab and drag editing, extended popup editing, and true rotary knob editing. Unlike most panel editors, Midi Quest can retrieve and display all of the current values of all parameters. Of course, Midi Quest performs edits in real time so the instrument immediately reflects the changes made on screen. It also offers a range of both manual and automatic auditioning options. Scale each editor to a customizable size (up to 3X) so editing is fast and easy. Along with the editor's many features, take advantage of the Block Copy/Swap options which allows for the selection of a logical group of parameters such as an envelope, oscillator, effect, or LFO and copy/swap them within the same patch, or a different patch. Midi Quest is not just for the patch tweaker. Midi Quest has many users who have never created a new patch by editing individual parameters. Their secret is Midi Quest's five different patch generators: Mix, Blend, Mix All, Morph, and Gen 4. Each takes existing sounds and combines them in different ways to create entire banks of new sounds in a matter of seconds. This type of experimentation, without Midi Quest, would require days but with Midi Quest there are results in seconds. Looking for new inspiration? Looking for a sound but no time for programming? Midi Quest has the answer for you. Sound Quest's latest patch collection contains over 180,000 unique patches and is now accessible to everyone with Midi Quest using the unique Patch Zone view. This context sensitive view tracks the instrument and type of SysEx and automatically lists the available patches. For more detailed information on Midi Quest for iPad, visit Sound Quest's web site at www.squest.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SynthMaster Player at 4.4 against MidiQuesti's 1.5. SynthMaster Player also leads on review sentiment (52% vs 10%) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid). MidiQuesti's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. SynthMaster Player sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and MidiQuesti sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SynthMaster Player holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SynthMaster Player has 55 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of SynthMaster Player's written reviews are positive against 10% of MidiQuesti's.
SynthMaster Player ships an update every 3 months, MidiQuesti weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and June 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SynthMaster Player | MidiQuesti |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (55 ratings) — better | 1.5 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.1% of reviews — better | 10.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 55 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 10.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 308 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KV331 Audio | Sound Quest |
Customer experience
SynthMaster Player
MidiQuesti
Bugs and requests
SynthMaster Player
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes on startup
- Purchased presets not loading
- Stuck notes
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
- Audiobus and IAA issues
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to edit and create own sounds
- Improved preset management
- Better integration with DAWs and Audiobus
- Background playback support
- Larger on-screen keyboard
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- More customization options
MidiQuesti
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SynthMaster Player
- Historical Synth Giants Vol 1$1.99
- BigTone Signature Sounds Vol1$4.99
- MK Expansion 2$4.99
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Nori Ubukata Art Rock Basics$4.99
- Sounds of the World$4.99
- Factory Presets (PRO Upgrade)$4.99
- SynthMaster 2.7 presets$4.99
- SynthMaster 2.8 Presets$4.99
- Extra Factory Presets Bundle$9.99
- SynthMaster EDM Bundle 1$13.99
- Dawn Of Electronic Bundle$13.99
- Synth Giants Bundle$13.99
- Rob Lee EDM Bundle$19.99
MidiQuesti
- Yamaha Reface CP$35.99
- Yamaha Reface CS$35.99
- Yamaha Reface DX$35.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Yamaha Reface YC$35.99
- Akai Pro EWI4000S$49.99
- Korg DW-8000$49.99
- Waldorf Blofeld$49.99
- Waldorf Blofeld Keyboard$49.99
- Korg M3/R$89.99
- MQi v1 All Instrument License$249.99
Questions
Is SynthMaster Player free?
Is MidiQuesti free?
Which has better reviews, SynthMaster Player or MidiQuesti?
Do SynthMaster Player or MidiQuesti have ads?
Which is updated more often, SynthMaster Player or MidiQuesti?
Other comparisons















