Akai SynthStation Now Available

Akai Professional has released SynthStation (App Store link), a $9.99 music production app for iPhone and iPod touch:




  • Three virtual-analog synthesizers, each with three oscillators.
  • Range of drum kits and sequencer.
  • Create melodic and accompaniment parts using arpeggiator with preset patterns.
  • Unlimited creativity with effects and filters.

23 thoughts on “Akai SynthStation Now Available

  1. i can't help but wonder about the audio "quality" of these ipad/iphone apps … you definitely can't tell by a video but they all seem to sound poor to me

  2. I don't understand the idea behind all these companies preoducing
    apps for the iPad for like $10.00, but are turning their heads away from
    the PCs and Macs. Like the Korg Electibe…would LOVE to have the
    virtual version for my PC studio, why won't Korg make one ?

    I don't understand why the whole iPad thing is being concentrated on,
    it seems more of a novelty type thing than a serious music production tool.
    I wonder what the CPU hit is on the iPad while using these apps.
    I have a 3.0 Dual Core PC with 4 GB ram with the Presonus FP10
    audio interface and I get some CPU hits at 40+% if I have too much
    running, I just don't think that iPad could hold up to a serious project
    so AFAIC it's merely a toy…or something to fiddle around on.

  3. The iPad provides a mass-produced platform that's a good format for these types of apps.

    I'd like to see these on Mac/PC's, too, but there they'd be competing against all the drum machines and samples you've already got.

    The advantage of the iPad is that you can spend $10 and turn it into a hardware drum machine.

    The big gap is the lack of ability to sync this with other iPad instruments.

  4. The iPad has more power than most hardware groove boxes and many synths and can become an instrument synced by wifi midi. It is also a great control surface with touchosc etc. I also use it for guitar tab etc, not to mention browsing music sites whilst watching the world cup. I use cubase,pc, mixing desk.etc, but the pad has a place in my studio…..I have no doubt this is the first om many of this type of app….look out for official live and cubase apps soon (not to mention the inevitable GarageBand)

  5. Calling these things toys compared to “real” pc or mac applications is to miss the point. Music software buyers are an incredibly small niche market. This isn’t aimed at us. It’s aimed at growing the market by acting as a cheap, entry-level, gateway drug for the millions of people that like music, and would like to be able to participate. $1 or $2 is the magic price point for this space. Personally, I think it’s great that companies can produce these ipad apps with insanely low development and distribution costs, since we enthusiasts get the benefit. The more practice, imagination or talent you have, the more you’ll get out of a toy. It’s always been thus.

  6. i would say the main goal for these companies is to make money big time, with little funds. hire a couple cocoa programmers and then wait for the money to flow into your pockets…

  7. Believe me, this is not going to replace your PC/Mac DAW. It's just something you can keep in your pocket and play with when inspiration strikes and you're not near your computer.

  8. Saving in this app is pretty screwed up. You only can save a small number of "songs" and you can't create a new patch without overwriting a preset. Otherwise, it's probably my favorite music app on the iPhone/Touch

  9. Been playing around with it for a while on my Touch, the synth part is brilliant, but it keeps crashing it, saying "memory low"……which is a tad dissapointing, hopefully an update will fix this.

  10. I’m pretty impressed with it but don’t understand akai’s claim of being at the forefront of synth manufacturers… The truth is they now own alesis, and the synth engine if anything is based on the micron. I like the app, but would much rather have seen akai make a midi sequencer and drum sampler… The technology is there and they could make a killing with a 16 track mpc for iPad.

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