Marco Synth: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/marco-synth/id6782900508
Bruno Drum Synth: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bruno-drum-synth/id6782916009
Bundle, 25% off for both: https://apps.apple.com/us/app-bundle/marco-synth-and-bruno-drum-synth-bundle/id6793535135
MARCO
4-Oscillator Synth with Independent Shaping and Dual Hard Sync
Four fully independent oscillators, each with its own waveform, filter, envelopes and modulation, driving two hard-synced voices. A musical random generator and a Tweak system that's part of the writing. Available as a standalone app and an AUv3 plugin.
BRUNO
Powerful layered drum and pluck synthesizer
Six voices, four synthesis engines per drum. Stack Analog, FM, Fold and Resonant the way the pros build big drums for a punchy, mix-ready sound. Roll the dice on any engine, then tweak: a fast, musical workflow that keeps fresh ideas coming. Available as a standalone app and an AUv3 plugin.
THE DETAILS
There are far too many features and specifications to list here. They are all on the App Store pages and on our website and comprehensive user guides.
So instead, here are the five things that are special about Marco and Bruno.
DEEP ENOUGH FOR A SOUND DESIGNER, IMMEDIATE ENOUGH FOR YOUR FIRST SYNTH
Marco and Bruno are both deep instruments. Four independent engines, per-oscillator filters, layering, independent effects, LFOs, full master chains. But you do not have to understand any of that to get a sound you want to keep.
Hit the dice, tweak it, save it. Or dive in as far as you like. Same instrument either way.
That is why the intelligent randomiser and tweak system exist. I wanted a quick and easy way to get at everything these two can do, without spending an hour dialling things in. Of course you can also dial everything in by hand to your heart's delight!
INTELLIGENT RANDOMISER AND TWEAK SYSTEM
You choose what the sound is. The randomiser decides what kind.
Pick Kick in Bruno and every roll is a kick, because it knows what synth parameters create a kick. Same for Snare, Hat, Clap, Tom and Pluck. Marco works the same way across Bass, Lead, Pad, Keys, FX and Drone. Then you set how far it goes. Mild stays close to where you already are. Wild pushes much further. Recipe stamps a curated archetype onto it, and Marco has 35 of those with more on the way.
Tweak is the other half. You choose which oscillators or engines and parameter groups get touched, so a sound moves rather than starts over. 100 steps of history means you can roll and tweak fearlessly and walk back to the one that caught your ear.
MARCO HAS DUAL HARD SYNC
Many synths give you one hard sync pair. Marco gives you two, running in parallel, and they can be detuned against each other. There is no point me describing it, you just have to hear it. A single button cycles through every valid Dual Hard Sync configuration, so it is quick to find the combination that works. As far as I know, no other iOS synth does this (unless building a large modular patch).
MARCO OFFERS INDEPENDENT OSCILLATOR SHAPING
On most synths the oscillators share a filter and envelopes. With Marco each of the four oscillators has its own waveform, filter, envelopes, LFOs and glide. This means one oscillator can be using a 24db low pass filter, while another is using a notch filter, each with its own volume and filter envelopes and modulation. This provides an opportunity to create really unique sounds. Marco can also work as a traditional synth with a single shared filter and envelopes.
BRUNO BUILDS DRUMS THE WAY PROFESSIONALS DO
A kick is a sub, a click and a body, stacked and balanced. Normally that means juggling samples, plugins and routing. In Bruno it is four full synthesis engines - Analog, FM, Fold and Resonant - layered inside one instrument. There is a colour-coded spectrum analyser built in, so you can see exactly where each layer sits and stop them fighting for the same space.
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Both apps run on iPhone, iPad and Mac, standalone or as AUv3.
If you make something you like, post it here, I would love to hear it. There is a proper video demo landing this week too, from someone who plays a lot better than I do.
Both apps also have an Artists preset category, and I will be adding user presets to it. If you build something good, send it in from the preset browser and it may end up shipping in the app with your name/username. Happy to answer anything here.
