Zeeon synth 4+

Best sounding virtual analog

This one sounds real fat! Thank’s to the slight trapezoid saw waveform it really sounds analog and has a deep deep character...
Best analog at AppStore and my new favourite!

Top notch virtual analog

*Review has been edited from earlier versions and now covers version 1.40*

Great sounding synth, very affordable. Simple and clear to grasp, great for beginners but still deep enough for some pretty serious sound design.

Has some neat features like a 16 step note sequencer, bitimbrality which gives you two fully independent synth engines to program and layer as you wish, as well as 8 freely assignable modulation matrix slots per layer, mod slots can be routed to modulate each other as well, much appreciated! Unfortunately the sequencer always controls both layers so you can't have a sequence running on one layer while playing along with the other, as an example. I also haven't found a way to save the actual sequences, they are not stored together with the preset. Hopefully these are things that will be added in the future.

The synths themselves are your classic familiar analog subtractive layout but very quick and tidy to work with and the little extras like oscillator retrig and being able to run your LFOs in 1-shot mode as well as the classic free-run, bpm or keysync is greatly appreciated little features for programming geeks.

The sound is simply put great, an impressive digital representation of more classic analog sound, the oscillators are nice and beefy and the filters are just the kind of drippy, rubbery and fat tones you'd expect from their analog counterparts. As of the latest version (1.40) they've also added a Buchla-inspired wavefolder in the drive section which sounds great and adds a lot of new timbral possibilities, however, the drive parameter cannot be assigned as a mod destination in the matrix as of yet.

There's also a second page dedicated for voice and controller settings, a "vintage" mode for sloppying/noisy-ing up your oscillators further, a unison as well as chorus, phaser, delay and reverb, all independently programmable and usable at the same time.

Some minor nitpicks would be that you have to dial down the amplification quite a bit for the level indicator to not clip. This is fine soundwise but the level gets a bit low for the built-in oscilloscope (another appreciated feature!). It would also have been nice to see a fullscreen mode of the synth panel for easier tweaking on smaller devices.

It should however be noted that Zeeon is still a new product and based on my previous experiences with BeepStreet products such as Sunrizer, they have an excellent track record for supporting and improving their products down the line (I noted in the earlier review how I couldn't find oscillator FM and they responded and told me it works from OSC2>1 in the matrix). Just a lovely company who does things with great dedication.

Overall, its a killer synth and astonishing good value, if you have an iPad and like synthesizers its a no-brainer, one of the best synth apps out there from one of the best developers in its field. Just buy it!

Developer Response ,

Thank you. You can do FM: both linear and exponential. Use Oscillator 2 as a modulation source. (sources have its priorities and its mentioned in the manual). Other neat tricks are possible. e.g. modulate Mixer: osc by oscillator.