Cheap Keys – Retro AUv3 Synth

Having come of age in the 70s, 80s, and 90s (hey, it took a while!), I well remember the sounds of these very keyboards! Case in point: the “My First Piano” patch — it reminds me so much of the late 1970s handheld Casio that was used in Trio’s song, “Dah, Dah, Dah.” I know that as I was scrolling through the patches, I was getting frustrated with, “Why doesn’t this thing sound even remotely like a violin/guitar/etc.???” Then I remembered: “The name of this app is ‘Cheap Keys,’ remember???” Then the smile came across my face, remembering that I griped about *exactly* the same thing with the synths in 1987! Haha! My only legit gripe is that the rhythms only play through one time, then stop. Is it because the patch is supposed to be put into a DAW as aMIDI sequence, then repeated? Maybe it’s time for this old geezer to finally sit down and learn how to program MIDI — after all, in one form or another, it’s been around for 40 years, right? It would also be nice if one could change the sounds within the pattern sequence, but that might be beyond the scope of this app. A few of the sounds are repeated within the subcategories (big deal), and some are misclassified, such as non-sustaining patches in the”Pads” section, for example. And one that gets me giggling is the “reed organ” with a Hammond-like punch to start the sound! I’m still trying to figure out how to better utilize the ADSR section, along with some of the other parameters, as I don’t typically hear a lot of variation in the sounds, but I’ve only had this for a couple of days as of this writing. The “keyboard is kind of inflexible (like I haven’t figured out how to get into different octaves), but it is also stated that this app is designed to be used by/with a MIDI keyboard, so be apprised. It is almost impossible to use on an iPhone without a keyboard. Be warned! In the end: Five stars for making me laugh at what I used to laugh at when these synths originally came out — and that for hundreds, and even thousands of dollars back in the day! Bravo, developers! And may I also suggest their other offering (as of April 2026), Fuego! You’re welcome.