Comparison

S vs JAX ESSENTIALS

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

Head to head
About

S

This semi-modular synthesizer app for iPad offers a hands-on sound design experience with a single-screen interface for intuitive patching. It delivers a warm, vintage sound inspired by 1970s synthesizers, featuring dual oscillators, resonant filters, and multiple modulation sources.

Highlights
  • Single-screen interface
  • Fast, hands-on patching
  • Vintage 1970s synth sound
  • Dual oscillators
  • Resonant ladder filter
  • Multiple modulation sources
Features
Read full description

S-Modular is a semi-modular synthesiser for iPad, designed for fast, hands-on patching without clutter. Everything is presented on a single screen, making sound design immediate and intuitive. Simply drag from one jack to another to create connections. S-Modular delivers a distinctive vintage sound inspired by classic 1970s synthesis — warm, rich, and full of character. Features Dual oscillators 24 dB/oct ladder filter Resonant high-pass and low-pass filters Two LFOs Four-step CV sequencer Four-track mixer Audio and CV splitter Two AHR envelope generators Delay effect

About

JAX ESSENTIALS

This audio effect plugin offers a multi-stage phaser modulation with allpass filters for dynamic soundscapes. It's compatible across Apple devices and integrates with popular music production software.

Highlights
  • Multi-stage phaser modulation
  • Allpass filter design
  • LFO for depth and speed modulation
  • Cross-device preset sharing
  • Includes ~200 factory presets
  • Resizable and adaptive interface
Features
Read full description

( THIS IS AN AUDIOUNIT. AudioUnits are app extensions, requiring any audio host application to perform. ) Use the same AudioUnits across all modern Apple devices, including the iPhone and the Mac (Apple Silicon). Native MacOS apps like GarageBand, MainStage 3 and Logic Pro X are fully supported. Any 3rd-party AUv3 supporting host should be able to host the plugin too. The JAX ESSENTIAL SERIES Phaser is a multi stage phaser modulation effect that uses multiple allpass filters, to produce all kinds of the famous phaser effect. A low frequency oscillator modulates depth and speed of the filter modulation on both stereo channels for various living and moving sound nuances. Make static sounding voices more interesting or create sweaping special effects. You may share the presets for this effect across all your supported devices. Around 200 factory presets are included, you can make and export/import your own. The complete manual is included and can be previewed on our support website: https://audio.digitster.com For advanced usage (i.e. mastering and exciting), we recommend to select the phaser from our SELECTIVE RANGE SERIES, which allows to limit the frequency range for processing. This build is truly 'universal', meaning, the audio unit is available for: - iOS (all actual iPhones) - iPadOS (all actual iPads) - macOS (Apple Silicon) - visionOS (Apple Vision Pro) Requirements: MacOS 11.0++ iOS 14.0++ Behaviour on all devices is identical. The parametric interface is resizeble and adopts to any screen size and orientation. This especially applies to Logic Pro X and all hosts with adjustable window sizes on all platforms. Display contrast can be adjusted freely and is now saved with each preset.

Screenshots

S2 screens
JAX ESSENTIALS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: JAX ESSENTIALS at 5.0 against S's 2.6. JAX ESSENTIALS also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 7 months). S's advantage is ratings volume (11 vs 1) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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

S costs $2.99 and JAX ESSENTIALS $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

JAX ESSENTIALS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: S has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

S ships an update every 7 months, JAX ESSENTIALS every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
S versus JAX ESSENTIALS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSJAX ESSENTIALS
Price$2.99 — better$4.99
Rating2.6 (11 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings11 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPaul BetowskiJens Guell

Customer experience

S

All ratings11 ratings
Positive27.3%
Neutral27.3%
Negative45.5%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive31.3%
Neutral25.0%
Negative43.8%

JAX ESSENTIALS

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

S

No in-app purchases

None

JAX ESSENTIALS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is S free?
S costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is JAX ESSENTIALS free?
JAX ESSENTIALS costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, S or JAX ESSENTIALS?
JAX ESSENTIALS is rated higher. S averages 2.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while JAX ESSENTIALS averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do S or JAX ESSENTIALS have ads?
Neither S nor JAX ESSENTIALS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, S or JAX ESSENTIALS?
S ships an update every 7 months, and JAX ESSENTIALS every 2 weeks. Most recently, S was updated on October 7, 2026 and JAX ESSENTIALS on October 4, 2026.

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