ID700

A lot of iOS/iPadOS instruments I’ve purchased feel a bit like toys. This one immediately joins the ranks of the few that feel like, and have, the utility of real instruments. Some really fantastic sounds can be achieved and experimentation really pays off. Excellent work on the presets, by the way. They really do a good job of conveying the possibilities of this synth. I agree with some of the other comments about the interface: it would be nice to see even more use made of the touch interface wherever possible, and the smaller text and size of the items in the preset lists can negatively affect read/tapability. I also found some of the rotary knobs to be a little fiddly, but I’m getting the hang of them. Might be nice to be able to double-tap to zero things too. However, none of these things is standing in the way of my enjoying this wonderful instrument. It’s really something already, and it’s just been released! I’ll be looking forward to whatever refinements come over time. In the meantime, I’ll just be busy making music with it. 🍻 Update: This is still a fantastic synth and I’ve been super impressed with how much work the developer has done since its release to improve on the finer details and address concerns people posted in these reviews. I’m always happy to see a new update. Thanks and keep up the good work!

What is great about the id700 is that it has the ability to coax out sounds similar to a classic Buchla style synth. Start with a simple wave (tri or sine) and use stuff like fm, am, ring mod, sync, etc. to remove or add harmonics and you get amazingly creative sounds (especially if you modulate envelope times, filters, VCA, etc.). This synth app sounds great without effects. Add a quality reverb or delay to the sound and the possibilities for inspiration are immense. With id700 and Moog’s Model 15 app I feel like you can cover a vast sonic palette of high quality vintage and experimental synth sounds on the iPad that can rival many hardware setups. Kudos to the developer!

Finally, after all these years, an iPad synth that is as interesting, inspiring, and as much fun to program and play as my hardware Buchla 200e setup. The developer has kept it real and was not seduced by all the possible and unnecessary bells and whistles a touchscreen can bring. Every layer of this dream machine is well thought out, allowing the user to go as fast or as deep as they want. I thought my old eyes would have trouble with how dark the coloring is, but after hours of looking at it, I was thankful for how easy it is in the eyes. And the sound quality is excellent! I’m looking forward to putting together any array of midi controllers to make it a playable, physical instrument. Ah, I just thought of an improvement. There is already excellent stereo panning control. The possibility of having four outputs with circular spatialization would be a fitting tribute to Don. (Probably a bit too much to ask for at this point.)