Retromulator is a multi-core retro hardware emulation app and AUv3 plug-in that brings legendary synthesizer, sampler, and keyboard cores back to life through authentic low-level emulation. Each core runs its actual firmware, physical model, or sample data — delivering the unmistakable character of the hardware that defined electronic music from the early 80s through the 2000s.
— EMULATED CORES —
VIRTUAL ANALOG SYNTHS
Firmware-level chip emulation, enabled with the 56k cores option (requires M1 iPad or iPhone 15 Pro or newer):
• Access Virus A, B and C — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation
• Access Virus TI / TI2 / Snow — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation
• Clavia Nord Lead 2X — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation
• Waldorf microQ — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation
• Waldorf Microwave XT — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation
• Roland JP-8000 and JP-8080 — JE-8086 core by Giulio Zausa
ANALOG SYNTHS
• Oberheim Matrix-1000 — original firmware on an emulated Motorola 6809 board driving six CEM3396 voice models, with ROM banks 2 to 9 from the patch EPROM, a MIDI CC for each of the 96 patch parameters and LFO sync to the host tempo or MIDI clock
FM SYNTHESIS
• Yamaha DX7 — original chip set emulation, based on VDX7 by Charles Chiaccona
• Yamaha OPL3 — Nuked OPL3 cycle-accurate FM by Nuke.YKT
GM / GS SOUND MODULES
• 88emu — Roland SC-88, SC-88VL, SC-88Pro, SC-8850 and SC-55mkII boards, emulation by Giulio Zausa, with GS variation, map and rhythm handling, program and drum kit names read straight from the board ROM, 16-part multitimbral operation, and a Standard MIDI File player with offline rendering to WAV or AAC.
CHIPTUNE
• Commodore 64 SID 6581/8580 — based on reSID. 3-voice polyphony, 8580 chip model with high-quality RESAMPLE, GoatTracker .sng / .ins bank loading (GTS3/4/5, GTI3/4/5) and .sid file import (PSID/RSID), full macro playback engine (wavetable, pulsetable, filtertable, speedtable) and live MIDI control of cutoff (CC 74), resonance (CC 71), pulse width (CC 75), vibrato (CC 1) and pitch bend.
• Ayumi (AY-3-8910 / YM2149) — the PSG behind the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and MSX. Ayumi emulation by Peter Sovietov with the Ym2149Synth voice engine, 3-voice polyphony, switchable AY / YM engine, .ay patch loading, Factory and User banks, and 11 live CC controls.
ELECTRIC PIANO AND SAMPLER
• Wurlitzer 200A — OpenWurli physical modelling by hal0zer0 (Rust ported to C++ by discoDSP)
• Akai S1000 — SFZero sample engine by Steve Folta, with Bliss Sampler support and resampling engine by discoDSP (SF2 / SFZ / ZBP / ZBB)
— KEY FEATURES —
• Native AUv3 plug-in for AUM, Cubasis, GarageBand, Logic Pro and more
• Standalone app for iPhone and iPad
• Full MIDI control: CC, mod wheel, expression, pitch bend
• 8-point sinc interpolation for sample playback
• Auto-slice drum mapping and global retuning via MIDI
• ROM firmware loading from original hardware
• Background audio, iCloud and Files app integration
• Optimised interpreter compatible with the iOS App Store sandbox
I wish I had more completely read the information about the app before purchase. It’s simply unusable on my hardware.
Developer Response
Apple refunds App Store purchases at reportaproblem.apple.com. The JITless cores (OPL3, OpenWurli, S1000, DX7, ReSID or Ayumi) run on all supported hardware.
Shows Awesome potentials and possibilities!!!!!
EC0Sphere
I dunno about the other comments on here but i personally love this app and look forward to iap s for extra other platforms which ca emu,ate actual devices and thus handle those devices' native files and in turn use them to emulate the whole of any hardware within virtual space, not just sound like certain synthesizers,but BEactual virtually scaled software versions which results in taking those hardsynths up a notch and unifying those with other synth designs collectively having True access to what is otherwise imagination food...
Buyer Beware
Jyghyv*
App-waste. Does not work on my A14; constant dropouts and nothing even close to serviceable. I doubt this works any better on an M-class, but feel free to roll the diceRE: Developers ReplyI can now request a refund as you’ve processed payment; I await your approval given your reply.Your own description says a modern device like one with an A14 or M1 core is needed to run the DSP based cores, so change your copy.
Developer Response
Apple does refund App Store purchases, requested at reportaproblem.apple.com. Stating otherwise in a public review is misinformation.For context: OPL3, OpenWurli, S1000 and DX7 run flawlessly on A14. Performance on heavier cores (56k emulators) is constrained by JITless iOS and we disclaim this clearly before purchase. If you had reached us via web support first, we could have pointed you to cores that work on your device or helped you with the Apple refund.
?
Future Fenyx
Sounds? It doesnt have the sounds it says it has. So far about 1-2 sounds
Developer Response
The OPL3 core ships with around 2000 presets. The other cores emulate classic hardware (DX7, S1000, Wurlitzer, etc.) and are compatible with the original sysex/preset banks widely available online. This is by design, since users typically bring their own libraries.
DX7: the mod wheel, breath control, foot control and aftertouch now default to range 99 with pitch, amplitude and EG bias on, so the modulation set in each patch takes effect.
DX7: the bank menu has a setup entry for each controller, to set its range and turn pitch, amplitude and EG bias on or off. The settings are saved with the session.
Matrix-1000: the oscillators now restart on the edges of the emulated 8254 timers, as on the hardware, so the phase between DCO 1 and DCO 2 follows the firmware.
Matrix-1000: DCO sync follows the circuit in the schematic. Soft, Medium and Hard sync now work as on the hardware and sound different from earlier versions.
Matrix-1000: control voltages use the hardware's DAC ranges and sample and hold network, which rounds the steps in envelopes, filter sweeps and pulse width modulation.
Matrix-1000: pulse width 31 is an exact square wave.
Matrix-1000: the VCA curves follow the CEM3396 datasheet, filter FM comes from the DCO 1 wave without the pulse, and the filter adds a second harmonic at high resonance.
Matrix-1000: the output stage is linear and no longer compresses chords.
Matrix-1000: the core calibrates again the first time it loads after this update.
Fixed Matrix-1000 DCO 2 taking twice as long as the hardware to settle on a new pitch after a note change.
Version 1.9.1
The developer, DiscoDSP LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
DiscoDSP LLC
Size
83.4 MB
Category
Music
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 15.0 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.