Caveat: For musicians only – Geo Synthesizer Review

Five stars because this is a musical instrument of great sophistication and endless potential. I just noticed that Rob Fielding (who developed and literally gave away the mind-boggling Mugician) was involved in this along with Rudess and other geniuses, all folks who spend a lot of time thinking about how to revolutionize music by harnessing the power and features of mobile devices. GS is either for like-minded musicians or other more conventional synth players who want to see what the fuss is about and maybe get on board the music o' the future train. The overall design is truly cheesy and, for just one example of U/I weirdness, the keyboard's display of a bunch of criss-crossing lines, which I think has to do with microtonality features--looks almost alarmingly complicated. Most of us are going to need guidance with this, and in spite of what other reviewers say, there is definitely a decent manual on the app's site, but I can't find a link to it from within the app, which goes along with some of the other almost passive-aggressive nature of the menus and buttons. The site offers some tutorials on how to play the instrument, with very helpful fingerings and scales. These tutorials were made by Rob Fielding, who, based on Mugician and these lessons, is obsessed with playing very fast, as if that were the main point of music. Also, these tuts, plus the very prominently displayed whammy features on the first menu, also can give the impression that GS is primarily a guitar emulator, which it is so clearly not. I've griped a lot, but that's because I would hate for a beginner to be put off from synth apps because they grabbed this one first. I also think Rudess et al should be more forthcoming about the fact that this is not the way to acquaint yourself with music making on the iPad. But, five stars based on the fact that it is a truly amazing, mind-boggling creation that will reward a knowledgeable musician looking to take part in the future of music.
Review by Jareditor on Geo Synthesizer.