BlueBeast

What it does

A sampled recreation of the Yamaha EX5, a 1998 workstation that mixed analog modelling, virtual acoustic modelling and sample playback. A patch holds up to four sound slots, each with its own sampled wave or raw oscillator, tuning, pan, unison and detune, amp and filter envelopes, LFO, and poly or mono mode with glide. After them come five effect inserts, a reverb section with Impulse Station and CloudVerb, and a master limiter, EQ and compressor.

In the demo

Jade runs it next to Pure Synth in AUM and Logic, driving both from Piano Motifs and Zoa so the preset banks play themselves. She builds a four-slot patch from a saxophone, brass and a bass, then strips one slot back to a saw edge to use as a plain oscillator.

Worth knowing

The sample set downloads at 16 GB and unpacks to around 30 GB, so Jade keeps it on an external drive. It is iPad only, and the standalone app and the Pure Synth in-app purchase are sold separately at the same price, so buying one does not unlock the other. A Mac and Windows version is sold directly by the developer.