Comparison

BandShift vs Phosphor 3

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

BandShift

This app offers a unique approach to manipulating sound by splitting audio into 27 bands and applying individual frequency shifts to each. It allows for precise pitch adjustments of complex sound sources in real-time, ideal for altering drum sounds or exploring new sonic territories without introducing unwanted distortions.

Highlights
  • Multi-band Bode frequency shifter
  • 27-band linear phase filter bank
  • AUv3 compatible
  • Inter-app audio compatible
  • Audiobus 2 compatible
  • Apply effect to iTunes library songs
  • MIDI Learn for X/Y Pads
  • Low latency live usage
Read full description

BandShift is a multi-band auditory filter and frequency shifter taking a new approach to manipulate the pitch of complex sound sources in realtime. The well know analog Bode frequency shifter shifts all frequencies in an input up by the same amount and thereby alters their harmonic relation and tends to produce inharmonic results. But it's perfect in dealing with transients and sounds smooth even with high amounts of down pitching. BandShift splits the spectrum in 27 bands and applies a different amount of frequency shifting to each band emulating a harmonic pitch shifting. This gives you perfect pitch shifting for all kind of drum sounds over a vast shifting range of +/- five octaves without disturbing the transients or introducing metallic distortions. The extreme range of shifting gives you access to a vast field of unknown sonic territory. The possibility to apply different shiftings on each band gives you exciting possibilities: Suppose you have a drum loop which is perfect, but the bass drum is a bit too high or too low to fit in your mix then you can easily get the bass drum shifted a bit down and the rest of the spectrum remains unchanged. But it’s applications are not limited to drum sounds, they’re only limited by your imagination. Features: • Multi band bode frequency shifter • Linear phase filter bank with 27 bands • AudioUnit for AUv3 compatible hosts. • Inter-app audio compatible effect. • Audiobus 2 compatible with state saving. • Apply effect to any song in your iTunes library. • MIDI Learn for X/Y Pads • Low latency live usage with mic and headphones. • Audio recorder

About

Phosphor 3

This app recreates a vintage digital synthesizer, offering a faithful emulation of a classic sound engine. It includes modern features like MPE, extensive modulation, and a new UI for sonic exploration.

Highlights
  • Vintage digital synthesizer emulation
  • Additive synthesis engine
  • MPE support
  • Extensive modulation routing
  • Preset manager
  • Tuning tables
Read full description

Glow in the dark synthesis. Phosphor 3 is a dual-oscillator additive synthesizer that puts the raw building blocks of sound at your fingertips. Draw, randomize, or select up to 64 harmonics per oscillator, then shape them with envelopes, LFOs, cross-modulation, and a flexible mod matrix. Originally inspired by the alphaSyntauri, a rare digital additive synth from the early 1980s, Phosphor 3 takes that concept far beyond its origins with modern MPE expression, polyphonic modulation, and a full effects engine. --- Additive Oscillators Two identical additive oscillators, each with up to 64 individually editable harmonics. Start from classic shapes: sawtooth, triangle, square, or draw your own harmonic spectrum directly in the partial editor. The intelligent randomizer generates musically useful timbres with variable rolloff, density, and formant peaks, so every click produces something worth exploring. Choose 16, 32, or 64 partials per oscillator to balance complexity against CPU. Each oscillator has independent level, pan, transpose, fine tune, a noise generator with lo-fi downsampling, and cross-modulation (FM) for pushing timbres into harsher, more complex territory. Modulation Two ADSR envelopes with adjustable attack, decay, and release curves. Two LFOs with four waveforms (pulse, sine, saw, random), tempo sync, and the option to run polyphonically, a separate LFO per voice, or globally. An 8-source modulation matrix routes velocity, pressure, pitch bend, mod wheel, CC 74, triggered random, and both LFOs to destinations across the oscillators and effects. Effects Stereo delay with independent left/right time, feedback, and cross-channel feedback for ping-pong and rhythmic patterns. Tempo sync locks delay times to your DAW. Dual band-pass filters after the delay let you carve the wet signal into resonant, frequency-specific textures. Expression Full MPE support with per-note pitch bend, pressure, and slide across 16 polyphonic voices. Mono legato and mono retrigger modes with adjustable portamento. Unison mode for thick, detuned stacks. A scrollable 128-key on-screen keyboard with velocity from touch position, pitch bend from horizontal drag, and channel pressure from vertical drag, no hardware controller required. Tuning MTS-ESP client support for real-time microtuning from any MTS-ESP master. TUN file import for custom scales. Standard 12-TET with adjustable A4 reference. Supports AUv3 for use in GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, and other AUv3-compatible hosts.

Screenshots

BandShift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Phosphor 3 at 4.7 against BandShift's 3.5. Phosphor 3 also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 50%). BandShift's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months) and price ($3.99 vs $5.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

BandShift costs $3.99 and Phosphor 3 $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phosphor 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of BandShift's written reviews are positive against 79% of Phosphor 3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BandShift ships an update every 2 months, Phosphor 3 every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
BandShift versus Phosphor 3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBandShiftPhosphor 3
Price$3.99 — better$5.99
Rating3.5 (4 ratings)4.7 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews78.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings49 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHarry GohsAudio Damage, Inc.

Customer experience

BandShift

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Phosphor 3

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative7.1%

In-app purchases

None

BandShift

No in-app purchases

None

Phosphor 3

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BandShift free?
BandShift costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Phosphor 3 free?
Phosphor 3 costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BandShift or Phosphor 3?
Phosphor 3 is rated higher. BandShift averages 3.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Phosphor 3 averages 4.7 from 9 ratings.
Do BandShift or Phosphor 3 have ads?
Neither BandShift nor Phosphor 3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BandShift or Phosphor 3?
BandShift ships an update every 2 months, and Phosphor 3 every 11 months. Most recently, BandShift was updated on September 27, 2026 and Phosphor 3 on July 6, 2026.

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