New AUv3 Plugin DynaSynth Brings Affordable Virtual-Analog Sound to iOS and macOS

DynaSynth is built around variable shaped dual analog-flavoured oscillators for each of its 8 voices, using its own output to modulate parameters dynamically. That feedback loop is what makes Rob Jackson's latest AUv3 release worth paying close attention to: it produces sonic results that would be very difficult, if not impossible to achieve using traditional fixed LFOs and envelopes, because as the sound changes, so does the modulation amount, which changes the sound, which affects the modulation amount.

DynaSynth features original variable-shaped analog-flavoured oscillators, and the dynamics indicator is essentially an envelope follower with variable damping, used as a modulation source for the oscillator shapes, vibrato, and filter cutoff. There is a dedicated shape control for each oscillator covering detune, spread, glide, and vibrato, plus a multimode filter with lowpass, bandpass, and highpass characteristics, complete with cutoff, resonance, velocity sensitivity, and volume controls. Alongside the envelope follower, it also carries a full ADSR envelope and an LFO with rate and depth control, routable to the shapes, vibrato, and filter.

DynaSynth is an 8-voice polyphonic velocity-sensitive MIDI instrument, playable over a keyboard range from A0 to C7 on any MIDI channel. A built-in classic delay with time, regeneration, and dry/wet mix rounds out the effects section, and built-in presets alongside a patch randomizer are on hand for instant new sounds. Full MIDI support covers mod wheel, expression (CC#11), sustain (CC#64), channel aftertouch, all notes off (CC#123), and pitch-bend.

DynaSynth is probably more capable of producing familiar analog synth tones than its sibling DynaSinth, and both synths are well-suited for those who like to experiment with outré, sci-fi type sounds. Jackson himself has described the onboard reverb as "very basic / CPU-lite," noting you can do interesting things by dynamically modulating the send level, with the implication that routing DynaSynth through a quality external reverb or delay will get the most out of it.

Jackson approaches iOS app development differently from most, keeping his apps focused rather than cramming in as many features as possible, and that ethos is consistent with a back catalog that includes ANALOGySAW, ANALOGySTR, and ANALOGyX1 at similarly accessible price points. The response from his existing user base has been immediate: comments on the Loopy Pro forum noted it as an instant purchase, with one user writing, "I buy all Rob Jackson plugins because at the price they're released at, it would be rude not to."

DynaSynth is available now for $2.99 on the Apple App Store, running as both a standalone app and an AUv3 plugin on iOS and macOS with native Apple Silicon support. For a virtual-analog instrument with a self-modulating dynamics architecture spanning 8 voices, that introductory price makes DynaSynth one of the more technically interesting bargains in the iOS synth ecosystem right now.