Great Sounds, Bad GUI, no iOS support beyond 6.x – SynthStation Review

UPDATE 3: No update in years. Does not run on iOS versions beyond the last version of iOS 6. I never did get to try it on iPad. Now that I have an iPad Pro, Synth Station isn't functional on the OS that it runs. UPDATE 2: Version 3 on iPhone is absolutely the SAME as version 2 on the iPhone. Still a ridiculously ineffective GUI. These are professionals?? There are first time programmers and self-funded freeware authors who can devise interfaces for their iPhone software that work very well. Why can't Akai get it together?? [UPDATED Review: App LOSES one star because Akai "updated" it with almost no value. They did not change the GUI at all (except you can "audition" patches in the patch selector page). This is absurd. WTH, Akai??] This app is clearly intended to be used primarily with the SynthStation25 controller keyboard. The app is pretty much an advertising medium for the controllers as it even shows you a full-screen advert on app start. Standalone, the app is clumsy (at best). In fact, it's rather frustrating). Editing the synths is beyond clumsy. you are forewarned. About auditioning: There are no controls to go to "next" or "previous" presets/patches on the Performance screen. To change patches/presets, you must: 1. tap open the main menu 2. tap select sounds screen 3. tap select a different preset 4. tap open main menu again 5. tap select the performance screen again. That's FIVE actions, at different positions on the screen. All that, just to go to the next preset. Simple "<" & ">" buttons on the performance page would solve this!! There's room for such controls but they're not available. Clearly Akai had this app designed to operate with the keyboard controller's dedicated physical buttons. It's obvious that it wasn't meant to be a standalone app. Without the controller, simple actions are five times the effort in the on-screen GUI. For $2 (was on sale) this was an ok purchase, I guess [UPDATE: actually, no, it's not ok, because I never use it due to the horribly clumsy GUI]. The synth on this thing is quite powerful & i can imagine using it standalone just for sounds... But programming custom patches without having the keyboard present to audition changes [is utterly impossible and] I won't try. (There are six separate pages of controls & no way to audition your changes unless you *exit* the editing environment & re-enter the performance screen. There's no easy way to switch from page to page in the synth editing area, either) i definitely wouldn't have paid more than $2 for this thing. [since I don't use it, I wouldn't have paid $2 knowing how stupidly designed it is] After using it with the clumsy GUI, I can tell you that I wouldn't buy it a second time. I do have my eyes on the keyboard to see how it does in the market [but I don't need another controller & won't buy Akai's just to make this app sensible!] If the app is [totally] redesigned, it might be worth buying the keyboard (does it power the phone when hooked up through USB? very little info about the device is available). Still, even WITH the keyboard, I don't feel the design of the user interface is acceptable. There are far better workstation GUIs out there. This one requires far too many steps, touches, repeated menu actions, etc to do simple things that ought be much more accessible. It's not ugly looking, but it's not pretty either. More importantly, it could be *far* better at use of screen real-estate. Buttons are too small, sliders are too big & better overall design would allow for more important controls to be on each screen (to cut down on repeat actions). Really, Akai needs to redo this. It needs a *complete redesign* of the GUI.
Review by dysamoria on SynthStation.