By Francis Preve

LET’S GET THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OUT OF THE WAY. DOES IT SOUND like a Moog? Yes—Animoog is quite possibly the warmest iPad synth I’ve heard yet. The designers have done a brilliant job of capturing that creamy-yet-aggressive vibe that defines the Moog sound, but there’s so much more to this app than that.

As its name implies, Animoog specializes in animation. You can certainly play it as a straightforward lead synth, with static saw, pulse, square, and triangle waves running into its Moog-flavored multimode filter. There’s a tempo-syncable LFO and three envelopes: filter, volume, and an extra mod ADSR. Via the Unison parameter, you can create sounds with up to four oscillators, detuned narrowly for fatness or widely for chords. There’s even a cool oscilloscope that shows your everchanging waveform as you work. This is a great way for beginners to get a handle on analog synthesis, and I’m going to use it in my sound design classes.

Animoog’s X/Y pad delivers powerful performance possibilities. The vertical axis is divided into eight regions, each of which can have its own assigned timbre, letting you morph the sound in ways reminiscent of Native Instruments Massive or a PPG Wave. The results range from simple square-pulse-saw morphing to nasty stuff that’s extremely well suited to electro and dubstep.

Either axis can be assigned to useful parameters like cutoff , resonance, volume, detuning, drive, and several animation-specific destinations that rely on Animoog’s Orbit and Path functions. Which brings us to Animoog’s most unique feature: The ability to automate the X/Y position (where your finger would be) via an additional LFO.

The Orbit section uses three parameters— rate, X amount, and Y amount—to create a circular automation whose center you can drag around the pad manually. This is fantastic for evolving and rhythmic effects. Things get more interesting with the Path controls. They let you automate the motion of the X/Y cursor along a definable set of coordinates.

Sound complicated? It’s not, though in conjunction with the synthesis tools, the musical results can be mind-bogglingly complex. Animoog also includes distortion, bit-crushing, and delay, and can record your performances as audio files for cutting/pasting into other apps or exporting to your desktop.

If you’re an iPadder fiending for the Moog experience, Animoog is your gateway drug. Just be careful, because it’s so cool, there’s a good chance you’ll get a hankering for the real thing.

Snap Judgment

PROS Compelling emulation of the Moog vibe. Tons of performance features and programmability. Morphing and Orbit automation are a treasure trove of evolving and rhythmic sounds.

CONS None significant.

BOTTOM LINE One of the best iPad synths available.

$29.99 | moogmusic.com