Sugar Bytes Dialekt, groovebox plugin with 27 synth engines and deep sequencing capabilities, now for iOS

Sugar Bytes Dialekt is a new creative groovebox plugin with 27 distinct synth engines and deep sequencing capabilities.

Sugar Bytes’ new groovebox Dialekt is also now available for iOS. Interesting, there are two versions, one for PadOS with AUv3 plugin support and the other for iPhones. 

Both versions are available for free download from the Apple App Store in the demo version but you can unlock the full version via an in-app purchase. They differ in price. The iPadOS version costs $24,99 and the iPhone version $9.99. If you want to play with both versions, you need to buy both—a strange decision.

Article from April 17, 2025

Grooveboxes are often found in hardware and are all-rounders. They are complete synthesizers, samplers, effects processors, and sequencers, and combine everything into one big instrument. Grooveboxes are also available as software, but in fewer models.

The market has grown by another software groovebox today. Sugar Bytes is back and has released Dialekt, a playful groovebox with many features. Good, it’s not just a macOS and Windows plugin but also, very soon, an iOS (iPad/iPhone) app and AUv3 plugin.

Sugar Bytes Dialekt

Dialekt is a new, playful groovebox for macOS and Windows. Coming soon to iOS. As always with every Sugar Bytes release, Dialekt is packed with classic features but also elements that take the composing component to a crazy level. 

Sugar Bytes Dialekt offers eight independent tracks, each powered by a distinct synth/sound engine. In total, you can find 27 engines to choose from, including synths, drum synth engines, and a sampler with slicing and recording capabilities. The latter is only possible in the standalone version.

From classic oscillators to dynamic, physical tones like piano, organ, string, flute, vocal tones, as well as percussive elements and naturalistic kicks, Dialekt offers endless sound possibilities for any genre and creative endeavor.

As you can see in the examples in the attached photos, these are complete synth engines with oscillator parameters, filters, LFOs, envelopes, effects, and more.

Playful Sequencing

Without a sequencer, there’s no groovebox. This is also the case here. At the heart of Dialekt is a powerful sequencer with some neat goodies, allowing you to trigger and sequence sounds in creative ways. It offers adjustable length and tempo per track, rolls, trigger conditions, and more. 

A playful feature in Sugar Bytes is the sound per step functionality, where each synth parameter is saved to individual sequencer steps. Also better known as parameter automation. You can set parameters manually or use the built-in randomizers for unpredictable, often crazy results.

Another powerful feature is the song sequencer that lets you create more extended compositions. In addition to sequencing different parts, you can also work with modifiers like pattern repeats, FX, track mutes, and the mighty song randomizer.

The song randomizer is also a neat element of the Sugar Bytes Dialekt world. It’s a song-making tool that creates single tracks, parts, or whole songs using a randomization algorithm. Part of this generation are patterns, new sounds, chord progressions, fills, mutes, and FX sequences in various genres.

It is nice that you can adapt this process and apply it to individual elements like sounds, patterns, pitches, or the global parameters.

To simplify the overview of patterns and sounds, Sugar Bytes has created the Memory Page that summarizes all the data from these parts and lets you make changes on the fly, including setting the randomizers.

Colorful Effects

To give the sounds the final touch, there’s also a powerful multi-FX section. As usual with Sugar Bytes plugins, the Dialekt FX section isn’t relatively standard. Instead of a classic multi-FX, the developers decided on an FX sequencer with eight touch-controlled effects. 

It includes the following algorithms: Tape Stop, Filter Delay, Reverb, Looper, Phaser, Chorus, Low Pass, and Lo-Fi. You can trigger these effects on the fly with the controls or with the FX sequencer. On top of that, you can record and modify the triggers and parameter changes in the sequencer.

 

This way, you can use the FX to add one or more layers of complexity to your compositions. The effects selection is a bit too classic for Sugar Bytes’ standards for me; I would have liked to see something a bit crazier.

First Impression

I’m happy to see that Sugar Bytes is back with a new instrument after a long hiatus (2023 Effectrix 2). At first glance, it appears to be a fun, powerful groovebox plugin. Plus points for the soon-to-be-available iOS port. 

However, a direct comparison with Drambo, the king of grooveboxes on iOS, will be difficult; it offers even more options with its modular engine. Nevertheless, I like the range of possibilities and the way it looks. 

Sugar Bytes Dialekt is available now for 99€. It runs as a standalone plugin, as well as VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX plugins, on macOS (native Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows. A demo version is available.

More information here: Sugar Bytes

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