Audiokit brings the classic digital synthesizer King of Digital to the iOS platform

AudioKit King of Digital is a new iOS AUv3 synthesizer that brings back the famous classic digital synthesizer sounds.

The digital age of synthesizers began in the 1980s. It was the era of the legendary Yamaha DX-7, Roland D-50 and Korg M1. They are also known as the “Legendary Three”. They make sounds that analog synthesizers can’t.

The timbres of these three products are very distinctive and are still highly recognizable today. In the 1990s and 2000s, more synthesizers based on digital synthesis appeared, such as FM, phase distortion or virtual analog.

Many musicians will recall this time fondly. This of course includes AudioKit developers. They’ve developed a new synthesizer app specifically for this era of digital synthesizers.

King of Digital is a new addition to the “King” family of applications. This app focuses on classic digital synthesizer sounds from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. It is also the successor to the Digital D1 app released in 2019.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This application is not intended to imitate or emulate a specific synthesizer. It’s more about honoring those synths with fun and playable synths.

The dual-layer core uses a combination of virtual analog synthesis and PCM sampling, and can play up to 64 voices.

5 PCM cards containing over 3GB of new original sample content (under 500MB compressed) from classic analog and FM synthesizers. Includes bonus PCM cards from previous D1 synthesizer applications.

Side note: the developers did not sample PCM from classic synthesizers. So don’t worry about Roland or Korg.

King of Digital has two layers per voice, and each layer can be loaded with a PCM sample. Each layer has its own shaping controls, including level, tuning, trim, and pan.

You can then also adjust the ADSR envelope of each layer and be able to create a perfect blend of the two sound sources. There are also three LFOs that can be freely mapped, and you can do crazier things. For example, you could use another LFO for modulation.

To add the finishing touches, King of Digital also features a multi-effects section with rich reverb, phaser, delay, distortion, flanger and more. Finally, it features a retro-style step sequencer that can be routed to specific layers.

It fully supports MIDI, has standalone applications and AUv3 plug-ins, and provides keyboard separation. This is a great addition for synth playing.

The app features tons of retro, catchy sounds that will keep you awake. It comes with over 900+ presets sourced from sound designers and beta testers in the iPad music production community.

Thanks to 5 PCM cards filled with sound sources, a world of retro digital synthesizers is open to you, allowing you to design endless new presets.

Audiokit King of Digital is available now for a promotional price of $3.99, originally priced at $19.99. Runs as a standalone program and AUv3 plug-in on iPhone and iPad.

App Store Purchase:
https://apps.apple.com/app/king-of-digital-hybrid-synth/id6467825289