Horizon Synth – The First Mature Polyphonic Synth For The iPad?

iPad Music Software: Horizon synth –  a new virtual analog synthesizer for the iPad is now available in the App Store for $4.99.

Here are a few of the highlights of Horizon’s features:

  • True SuperSaw sound emulation, first found in the legendary Roland JP-8000 synthesizer. SuperSaw is a layered waveform consisting of multiple saw waves which are detuned to create an extremely full and epic sound. It’s possible to use 2 supersaw oscillators per voice * 7 polyphony = 98 saw oscillators playing the same time.
  • Two independent filters per voice with configurable routing. You can select between various filter types including classic resonant LP, HP, BP, Notch and less common like Comb and Formant.
  • The Morph Group function lets you continuously morph of up to 30 parameters in a sound (including effects), using only the modulation wheel.

Synthesist and author Mark Jenkins calls Horizon ‘the first truly mature polyphonic synth for the iPad’. And early reviewers in iTunes have given Horizon synth a 5-star rating and have called it ‘an instant classic’.

Is it Horizon synth really all that?

We’ll let readers be the judge of that – but the deep synthesis options, support for both CoreMidi and MidiMobilizer and the $4.99 price made it a no-brainer purchase for us.

Check out the unofficial preview video and specs, below, and let us know what you think of Horizon synth for iPad. 

OSCILLATORS

  • 2 warm-sounding analog modelled oscillators per voice + 2 sub-oscillators (except SuperSaw). Available waveforms: Saw, PWM pulse,Triangle, SuperSaw.
  • Oscillator 2 hard-sync and configurable routing
  • Osc-mix, ring modulator
  • White noise oscillator

FLEXIBLE MULTI FILTERS

  • Two independent filters per voice with configurable routing. You can select between various filter types including: resonant LP,HP,BP,Notch, Comb and Formant.
  • Configurable routing: serial or parallel with bypass option.
  • ADSR envelope, keyboard tracking and full LFO control

MODULATION

  • Two LFOs per voice. It’s possible to assign each LFO to almost any parameter. 3 LFO running modes: trigger, 1 shot, global. 6 waveforms, phase and fade-in knobs
  • The Morph Group function lets you continuously morph of up to 30 parameters in a sound (including effects), using only the modulation wheel.
  • Two Modulation ADSR Envelopes for amplitude and filters cutoff
  • Pitch and modulation wheels

EFFECTS

  • A number of effects are built in: distortion, chorus, equalizer, stereo delay. All parameters can be modulated using mod-wheel.

ARPEGGIATOR

  • Horizon incorporates very powerful programmable arpeggiator. You should think of it more like a small step sequencer.

OTHER FEATURES

  • Over 200 presets
  • 7 voices polyphony
  • Playback modes: poly, solo, arp
  • Built-in recorder supporting AudioCopy and iTunes file sharing.
  • Supports CoreMidi and MidiMobilizer. MIDI key velocity can affect up to 3 parameters.
  • Configurable piano keyboard size
  • Hold button allows you to to keep notes sustaining until you play new notes.
  • With Chord Memory function you can play the chord by only pressing single keys.
  • Tube soft saturation on output

More details at the Beep Street site.

29 thoughts on “Horizon Synth – The First Mature Polyphonic Synth For The iPad?”

  1. I'm more of an old-school hardware synth fan, but this does look and sound pretty hot.

    I'm also impressed at their pricing. I can remember paying over $100 for a virtual analog that doesn't do any more than this.

  3. This does look slick. And cheap.

    I really wish there was a universal way to bring patches from a synth like this on an iPad to something on my desktop (Massive, Operator, Virus TI). While I understand there are a lot of variables, the basics are still the basics…..

  4. Just downloaded it and checked out the presets.

    Really a great sounding synth!

    I’m looking forward to digging in deeper.

  10. I just spent about an hour with Horizon, and it's really a cut above. Don't let the audio quality of the little out plug fool you. I recorded a bunch of stuff and played it back through a proper sound system and it sounds really, really good! The default FX are usually way to wet though.

  11. Billr "2 supersaw oscillators per voice * 7 polyphony does not = 98 super-saw oscillators. 7 x 2 = 14." * 7 cause each supersaw consits of 7 saw oscillators 🙂

  17. Pretty simple. Pretty useless on the go. If we just could have enough horse power to get some real sound designing on the go, I would be very happy iPadist. I hope, that Apple skips dual cores and jumps straight into 4 core processors with iPhone 5 and release iPad3 pretty soon after that, and STAYS there for two years to give time to developers to make more ambitious software.

  21. I wonder how many of you actually used this synth or actually producing music. As a professional electronic music producer this app is like a rubbish. Too many bugs in filter, lack of legato mode, cheap sounding LP and FX, pops & clicks etc. You might say 'oh this is cheap synth bla bla… ' I support these kind of apps because I love to use iPads and iPhones in professional music production. I already have reported bugs to its maker. But it is clear that many of you have not even used thus synth yet and saying 'this is good'.

  22. I have sintetizers since many years, this module is very good, there is only ONE things
    I mees it is a PAD Chores player, press the keys is very dificult for the iPad size.

    Eduardo

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