Another great app from one of the most consistent devs out there!It might not give you a “phat bass” sound, but there are hundreds of other apps that give you that. This is an app meant for generation of a specific kind of sound - one that isn’t easy to achieve with typical all-purpose synths. Mononoke exemplifies what I love about the iOS audio app ecosystem, which is the existence of niche apps, especially ones that make the most of the touch surface. It’s very expressive and something that you get better at playing as you spend more time with it. Something like this would probably be very expensive to develop as, say, a Eurorack module. I look at iOS devices as modular recording environments - each app its own module, everything tied together with Audiobus and/or AUM. I expect this app to get a lot of use.

Bram Bos has done it again. He always manages to come up with something different that richly expands horizons for those that are open to new ideas. Mononoke is no exception except in that it requires a much more open mind.This isn’t a traditional note-by-note synth where you get one patch going and play it up and down the keyboard. If that’s all your looking for you may be disappointed. It’s a feedback machine meant for producing excessive sounds by the way each “note” interacts with the others.Until I “got” the concept and was able to put my traditional mindset aside I really wondered what this was good for. But then it clicked and a whole new avenue of sound possibilities opened up. Now it’s one of my favorite instruments on iOS. Love it! Excellent work!!

As I learn my way around Mononoke, it’s become one of my favorite instruments. Its drones are so expressive, going from pure tones to howling nightmares as the wavefolder and feedback kick in. The multiple LFOs keep the sound in motion. And the pads let you change chords or add some melody during a performance.I’ve found Mononoke to be a perfect accompaniment to ambient guitar. It sets the key and mode for me to solo over, and it can match the sweetness or harshness of the guitar’s tone. It’s really been putting my creativity in high gear!I should note that I own a Lyra-8, the Russian synth that clearly inspired Mononoke. The Lyra-8 is a crazed beast I’m almost afraid to turn on. Bram Bos has caught its spirit but tamed it a bit, made it into something mere mortals can explore and live to tell the tale.

When I first bought this app, I didn’t know what to make of it. Then, I watched videos on the Lyra-8 and everything fell into place. This app masterfully recreates and improves on the original design. Not only does it have the crazy feedback modulations on the oscillators, it has added LFO waves, wavefolding, and MPE sensitive buttons with individual holds and velocity. This synth is worth every penny, and once you delve into modulating the voices and put the presets aside, you will find that this app is every bit as visceral and organismic as the Lyra-8. In my opinion, it is even more so.