XENON Synthesizer App Reviews

Great app! One thing though: I dont see a way to set a specific midi channel that this app will respond to. It seems to automatically respond to ALL incoming midi data. So when I have it attached to a midi sequencer, it plays the data from all 6 channels at once... !! A fix for this would be great!

Ive been using this app for 3 days straight and it continues to make my day exciting. The synth sounds you can coax out of the 3 included synths and their tweakability give you so much to dig in to, and the rest of the system is just icing. It would be nice if we could divide beats within a pattern more dynamically like Molten does, but Im also enjoying working within the restrictions. I really hope Icegears is working on another in the series that will have its own flavor.

very good electronic sounds, easy to play

Its really frustrating that my phone jeeps crashing in the middle of my download.

My problem with this app is the step sequencer is way too limited. I have the Akai Synthstation and had a simple idea to sequence. I wanted to get a melody down. First problem I had was there is no metronome click. Ok, I figure Ill start with a drum part so Ill know where Im at so I can play the melody. Then while playing the drum part I realized the pattern is too short and there is no way to lengthen patterns to fit my song. Ok, so Ill just have to use two patterns for the drum part. The problem is that you can only loop one pattern while recording so there is no way to get the feel right to get the idea recorded. I did manage to get the simple drum part sequenced using two patterns but it was a total pain to do something that should be so simple. Then I realized I was going to have to do the same sort of thing for the melody but using four patterns. I tried with the first pattern and realized some of my notes need to be held across patterns which I think is impossible. I waisted way too much time already and quit. Are the sounds good? Dont know, never really got that far. This app really seems geared toward those who just want to throw random notes together using the screen and patten editor and see what happens. Im not really interested in that. The company does have another synth which is great. Its called Argon.

They need to demonstrate in the videos how to save your songs , I pressed save , made a title , and it said saved , next day nothing ! Hours of work down the drain ! nowhere does it show how to retrieve your previous songs ! What the hell ?! Had I known I wouldnt have purchased it ! And of course they didnt give any easy contact info ! Hello ! Dont you think people will want to access the work theyve spent a lot of time to make ? Sorry to sound so negative here but Im really annoyed about , I had a really good song I made now it gone , Goddamit man ! Make it easier , thats one of the basic features of any music or creative app , too be able to easily save and access your work , Ill change my review if any one ever explains to me how to do this , if not screw it Ill use one of the many apps I have that are easy to save and retrieve work , like nano studio . All that work for gone ! And on top of all this it crashes every single time I try to open the sequencer now Im really annoyed if needs to be fixed or Im going get my money back from the AppStore and gave a worse review,

1) User manual needs better English translation. Hard to believe this is an issue in 2011; 2) Sequencer should include a metronome for recording; 3) Should be easier to save and export sounds, patterns and songs; 4) I use interface with iPad screen on negative setting, seems easier to work with; 5) with this level of sophistication, at some point there should be separate sends and returns, of course this is even an issue with GarageBand.

which makes it a complete waste of time. how do u not include that?

I REALLY like Xenon Groove Synth. The concept is great, and ts very good for fleshing out ideas. Id like to see some things added, though. Here is my presumptuous laundry list (features to make it a 5 star app, imho). GLOBAL (all modules): Modulate and pitch wheels on everything except drums Core and Wifi MIDI – controller, master and slave Expandable pattern sizes (ticks per beat and beats per pattern) All major time signatures Pinch zooming in pattern views and for keyboard keys Quick octave button Keyboard lock Wiggle finger for vibrato RYTHM SEQUENCER: Per beat flams Per drum (row) swing control Expandable number of instruments (rows) in both sequencer and drum pad. Slides to adjacent drum pads trigger sounds I realize Im asking a lot, but Im sure Im not the only one who would gladly pay more for these additional features.

Everything about this App is pure pleasure: the UI is beautiful - the multiple synths on offer will make you feel like a kid in a candy store - the size of the keyboard is wonderfully un-cramped - and the Sound: the sound of this thing blew me away: rich, full, shimmering and somehow miles away from previous App-based synths that almost had me lose faith in App instruments altogether. The presets are generous and inspiring: a true menu of this Apps capability. If you love making sound and youve read this far: buy it right now .. and bask in the glow.

Just bought a synthstation25 and its like I have an incredibly powerful synth that fits in my backpack! I cant believe its only $5. It sounds great! Worth it! Get a synthstation25 and youll like it even more!

Love this app. Quality sounds. SS25 compatibility. As of this writing though, it doesnt output any sound on my new iPad 3. Other synth apps work fine.

As said nice app but eats cpu like crazy . Could use some updates too

Some of the best synth sounds out there, wonderfully tweakable, fantastic overall sound quality. You cant export, you cant have a song with more than 100 bars (that gives you maybe 2 or 3 minute tracks) and you basically cant do anything with this that would equal production. Also, theres no warning button to let you know youre about to overwrite hours worth of work- I deleted a song in one fell swoop, something which would never happen in any other app. Its a shameful waste of a would-be excellent tool.

Worked great before the ISO update, uses a lot of CPU space, tons of creative ways to produce music. After ISO update program crashes too much, update needed to fix this problem.

Nothing too new or unique here. Sounds are ok, graphics are not too good. Just ok. It should be a $2 app. It crashes now and uses too much power. Not recommended. I will delete.

You ppl are idiots UI is great, only true limitation is 3:30 min songs but thats at 120 bpm but you can also loop parts to make a longer track or record it live with the little built in mixer and turn some knobs use your imagination go buy this app!!!! ICEGEAR WE NEED XENON HD at least 8 tracks and 200 bars to work with, you guys COULD be slaughtering the other crappy apps Sound quality is amazing for oldskool app no joke!

If it could have two drum machines layering each other, I would love it! Still have yet to sync it to my MPK25, but that experiment will happen soon!

One of my main beat-makers. Heavy bass. Wish there were more drum sounds since many sound similar. Worth a fiver any day.

Tight timing, nice piano roll for synth editing, tie feature works great for extending notes past the bar line. Exports easily to computer or other apps. The drum sounds could be better but Im using it for the synthy stuff anyway.