Throughout this article I refer to the app with it's original name.
Just by looking at the GUI of this app you can tell that it's designed to be used as a no-nonsense tool for music production and sound design. There's no unessicerry gimics that are often found in most iOS music apps. It's a synthesizer designed to be used like a synthesizer.
If you're new to synthesizers then this is definitely a good place to start. The app is mostly based around the single interface and all the knobs and buttons are all layed out in a sensible manner. You'll be making high quality usable sounds in no time.
If you're like me and already know quite a lot about synthesizers then you will quicky see that this synth is a brilliant piece of software capable of a wide range of sounds. It's simple interface doesn't get in the way of your creativity and that hiding underneath that flashy interface there is a really powerful synth engine.
My favourite feature of Horizon has to be the onboard arpeggiator. It's more or less basically a sequencer capable of creating some really nice patterns. It's perfect for making melodic parts or even just for a basic up/down arpeggio. Tapping on the hold button with the arpeggiator on gives you the freedom of tweaking the perameters of the synth with out having to hold down any keys.
The sounds that this app can produce are phenomenal; there are some high class VST instruments that don't sound any where near as good as this. Most of the presets provided are suited more to electronic dance music and trance but it's pretty easy to create a vide verity of sounds to suit near enough any genre of music that you can imagine.
Horizon is a perfect example of what can be done with the iPad and it definitely shows that the iOS music apps are progressing in both quality and usability. A few years ago I would never have thought that I'd be using such high quality instruments on a multiple touch device. I really think this is a huge step forward both in technology and music creation.
the app itself is currenty on sale for an introductory price of £2.99 which is a steal considering that you get a high quality synthesizer capable of such amazing sounds. If your an iPad owner and share an intrest in synthesisers and music creation then I highly recommend buying a copy of this app. You can't really go wrong, it sounds amazing, it looks amazing and it's just a truly awesome piece of software to add to your line up.
Below is an audio demo from Horizon, tweaking the perameters in real time.
Horizon synth test by Dan303-iPad
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