KORG iWAVESTATION 4+

I am actually well versed in synthesis and sound design, but this app is like a mind bending riddle to me. It is SO DIFFERENT from the typical analog, analog/digital hybrid, or digital FM based synths I am used to working with. The loops, the mixing, filtering, envelopes and effects chains concept seems so simple when you consider that these are all factors of a normal synth workflow, but with the different loop combinations and vector morphing considered, there are probably a billion different sounds you could program this to make, and not even be halfway to the bottom of the river of potential. I know this is going to take me a while to master, but I also know it will be worth it. Thanks Korg for putting this on sale! $15 was a pretty good deal for such an incredibly deep sound synthesis application.

When Korg came out with keyboards that had menus you had to navigate thru, it was a little off putting compared to their analog synths that had all the knobs and sliders at your fingertips. The wavestation, while rich sounding and sonically opening new doors, it had menus to dig thru and wasn't the most intuitive for a lot of people. This offering is so much easier to tinkle with and tweak and get some cool results. Although it does have a bit of a learning curve should you decide to delve deeper, once you conquer some of its deeper features you can really see how this can take you really far and take you places a lot of iOS synths just can't go. I hope they add more user sound cards because I see myself building up a nice preset library. And speaking of libraries, Korg could stand to make improvements to all their iOS synths in terms of giving us a more organized browser, making it easier to find the sounds we're looking for faster.

I’m really confused as to why this has such a low score, not only is this a 1-1 port in terms of sonic quality compared to the VST but the devs also crafted a gorgeous, totally custom UI for iOS to help edit patches and navigate modulation options. It’s also worth mentioning that unlike the lauded Odyssey, the Wavestation synth is an original Korg product whose design has always been digital, thus you are getting essentially the same product people payed lotsa $$ for in the 90’s.

No it’s not the same as programming the subtractive synth, but it’s meant to be a unique way of combining/layering preset synth samples over time. Complaints that the WS presets are dated is understandable but since you can edit each sample/layer’s level, pitch,asdr,lfo mod, built in fx and more, I don’t see what’s got people convinced that this is a Seinfeld music machine only.

Take some time to read the manual and expand yr mind past Moog clones.