A $20 Music Production Suite? The Korg iMS-20...One Of The Best iPad Synth To Date.

An iPad synth app was obvious. But the quality of the synths have blown me away. I thought the apps were going to be people in their bedroom knocking out so-so productions. However, it is a sign of the times that big companies realise the importance of these players- iPad, iPhone etc. So now we get quality productions, for very little money.

Let me show you a little demo:

Step forward the Korg iMS-20 virtual synth app for the iPad.

The Korg iMS-20 is a virtual version of their MS-20 analogue synth of yesteryear. However this little iPad synth has some other pretty coll features:

SQ-10 16 step-sequencer

Six part drum machine

Seven channel mixer

Built-in effects processing.

The mono synth, the MS-20 is a pretty decent machine initially, with a pair of oscillators, filters, LFO and envelopes to name but a few techy music things attached to the synth. You may see cables (just like Reason and other who copied them), but fear not, just like the original synth this iPad synth doesn't mind if you do not use them.

You may also note a virtual keyboard, which is perfectly demonstrated by this awesome video:

What is also helpful with this little gem of an iPad app is the pair of Kaoss Pads which bring an amazing greatness to the Kog iMS-20 (Youtube Kaoss Pad to see what I mean).

Everything is touch control, from the sequencer which can be brought down with a flick of the finger. Through to the drum machine that provides six-part rhythm sequencing with each sound coming from a dedicated MS-20. And most things can be sequenced.

Once you do have a tune, from the collection of sequencer patterns, you can throw them into iTunes or down the Soundcloud button.

Here is a great, basic tune:

Gain by Denkitribe. Uploaded with KORG iMS-20

Some Korg iMS-20 synth tips

Remember that each drum machine channel is occupied by a fully fledged MS-20 synth. So that means you can get synth sounds as well as drum. Meaning that you can get 7 part synth arrangements (6 drum, 1 normal synth).

To get chords out of a monosynth use the drum machine. Use the MS-20 that hibernates within the drum channels to create chords- assigning the same sound to 3-4 drum channels.

Check out more free virtual synths here: Free VSTs for the computer and maybe an iPad synth.