New AUv3 Plugins for iPad: NOODLERACK, SL DREAD, Kalimba Pocket Synth & Tresse 1.3
Our October 2026 roundup covered the month's headline synths and Serato DJ for iOS. A second wave of Audio Units landed in the same weeks, and four of them are worth loading into AUM, Cubasis, Logic Pro, or GarageBand: a patchable modular synth, a sound-design effect built for horror scoring, a kalimba-style instrument that doubles as a MIDI processor, and a multi-engine synth that just arrived on iPhone and iPad.
NOODLERACK — a patchable modular synth for iPad
Stetson Blake released NOODLERACK on the App Store on 11 October 2026. It's a cable-patching modular: drag oscillators, filters, envelopes, sequencers, random sources, and effects into a rack, then wire audio, pitch, gates, and modulation between them. The module list includes seven engines inspired by Mutable Instruments, and you can pinch to zoom around a big patch.
The important detail is that NOODLERACK is really two instruments in one purchase:
- Standalone rack: play from the touch keyboard or a USB MIDI controller, save and share patch files through Files, sample with the microphone, and record WAV audio.
- AUv3 instrument: 31 native module types, MIDI and clock from the host, and 16 automation macros. Each instance keeps its own rack, saved inside your host project.
The two modes use separate module sets and patch formats, so a standalone patch can't be imported into the AUv3 — plan your patches around where you'll use them. It's iPad-only, needs iPadOS 15 or later, and is a one-time purchase on the App Store. There's also a free browser version with a different feature set at noodlerack.com.
SL DREAD — horror atmospheres from your own audio
Sfoor Labs brought SL DREAD to iPhone and iPad on 12 October 2026, after it started life as a Mac VST3/AU. Feed it a melody, drum loop, vocal, synth, or field recording and it blends that source with one of 30 evolving horror scenes. Fusion makes the atmosphere respond to the incoming audio, and Age, Decay, Motion, Voice, Event, Space, and Mix shape the result, with separate drone, breath, whisper, and metallic layers. Transport Link follows playback in a compatible host.
It runs standalone or as an AUv3 effect, with a compact portrait layout on iPhone and the full interface in landscape or on iPad. There's no account or in-app purchase, and processing stays on the device. Version 1.2.3 (22 October) smooths control and scene transitions and fixes texture-loop clicks. Sfoor Labs' release note links a demo; get it on the App Store. The Mac edition is a separate purchase from the developer.
Kalimba: Pocket Synth — plucks, pads, and a MIDI processor
Ruben Terron Rodriguez's Kalimba: Pocket Synth arrived on 21 October 2026 (Sonicstate picked it up on the 26th). Instead of a keyboard you play configurable strips, each split into a pluck zone and a sustain zone. Three sound sources sit underneath: a physical-inspired E-Kalimba engine, a sampled kalimba, and wavetable pluck and sustain voices.
Four LFOs can be drawn directly onto each strip as a modulation area, and the arpeggiator, Auto Strum, Repeat, and a looper with count-in and quantise make it easy to build moving phrases while you play. You can change key and scale mid-performance. In a host it loads as an AUv3 instrument or an AUv3 MIDI processor, so you can also use its strips and arpeggiator to drive another synth. It needs iOS/iPadOS 26 or later and is free to download from the App Store; see the developer page for more.
Tresse 1.3 — a 39-engine synth comes to iPhone and iPad
Våld Labs' Tresse reached iOS with version 1.3.0 on 5 October 2026, alongside updated VST3 and AU desktop builds (KVR Audio). It's a two-layer polyphonic synth with 39 synthesis engines, from virtual analog, FM, and phase distortion to granular, physical modelling, resonators, and percussion. Each layer has up to eight voices and its own generative sequencer, with seven algorithms drawn from Våld Labs' Vekte system.
The 1.3.0 update adds two polymetric generative sequencers of up to 64 steps, three LFOs, two generative modulation lanes, SEM-style filtering, a new wavefolder, patch randomisation, and patch sharing through text keys and QR codes. On iPhone and iPad it runs standalone and as an AUv3, as a free download with optional one-time unlocks (App Store). Våld Labs also opened a public beta of Ravik, an eight-voice generative drum synth for iOS and desktop.
Hardware note: the new iPad mini
On 26 October Apple announced a new iPad mini with an 8.5-inch OLED display and the A20 Pro chip, running iPadOS 27. Pre-orders open on Wednesday, 28 October, with availability from Friday, 6 November. For music-making, the appeal is a faster chip in a size that sits on a desk next to a controller or fits in a gig bag. We haven't tested it yet, so treat any CPU-headroom claims for heavy AUv3 sessions as unverified until real-world tests appear.
Which one to try first
- You like patching: NOODLERACK, and decide early whether you'll work standalone or in the AUv3.
- Film, game, or dark ambient work: SL DREAD on a send or an insert.
- Playable melodic ideas on iPhone: Kalimba: Pocket Synth, also as a MIDI source for other synths.
- Deep sound design for free: Tresse 1.3, then unlock the parts you use.
If you'd rather build whole songs around samples and these plugins, the AUv3 host in Tracker Pro for iPad can load compatible instruments and effects on a tracker grid.
Browse more Audio Units, synths, and effects on iOS Musician.
App Store prices, in-app unlocks, and system requirements change often — check each listing before you buy.