BITWaves vs Waverley XL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BITWaves
Record sounds from your environment and transform them into unique musical compositions. This intuitive tool requires no prior knowledge, making creative audio exploration accessible to everyone. Developed by a leading contemporary orchestra, it's ideal for educational purposes.
- Record environmental sounds
- Manipulate audio
- Create unique compositions
- Intuitive interface
- No prior knowledge required
- Educational tool
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Gjør lydopptak og skap din egen musikk med BITWaves! BITWaves er et lekent og enkelt verktøy for kreativ lydskaping. Med appen kan du ta opp lyder, manipulere dem og sette dem sammen til unike komposisjoner. Lyden av en dryppende vask, nabohunden som bjeffer eller kanskje knaset fra et eple som blir tygd? Det intuitive grensesnittet gjør lydfangsten til en lek, og du behøver ingen forkunnskaper. Appen er utviklet av BIT20 Ensemble – Nordens ledende samtidsorkester. Appen brukes primært av BIT20 i undervisning og formidling rettet mot barn og unge. Finansiert av BIT20 Ensemble med støtte fra Kulturrådet og Bergen kommune. Idé: Ole André Farstad Videreutvikling: Håkon Skjæret Design og programmering: Stian Remvik Programmering: Sindre Sørensen
Waverley XL
This app provides a collection of 50 high-quality, sample-based instruments for music creation. It offers sound-shaping options and is designed for use within AUv3 compatible hosts like GarageBand or AUM.
- 50 multi-sampled instruments
- 10 sound-shaping parameters
- AUv3 compatible
- Velocity-sensitive timbre
- Sustain pedal support
- Instrument categorization
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Please note: Waverley XL has been designed as an AUv3 (Audio Unit v3) instrument and does not run as a standalone app. It needs to be used inside an AUv3 compatible host such as Apple’s GarageBand or AUM shown in the screenshots. What is Waverley XL? Waverley XL is a sample-based instrument, or “ROMPLER”. It is not a synthesiser that allows you to create your own instruments. Instead, the instruments have already been created. You also have some additional sound-shaping options accessible via 10 parameters. Where did the sounds come from? The instruments have been created using my favourite virtual-analog hardware synthesiser with additional processing using its own effects engine. I designed all the patches from scratch, specifically for Waverley XL. Is this the same as MU Waverley in moodunits? Not exactly. Waverley XL uses similar sampling technology under the hood but has been developed in response to requests and suggestions from moodunits customers. The main difference is really the instruments themselves. Instruments for moodunits are designed to take up as little space and memory as possible and be relatively light on CPU. Waverley XL is “Xtra Large” in both name and nature! While this means Waverley XL takes up considerably more storage space, it also means that instruments can be more complex, evolving and also more interesting to play. A big design goal for XL was that the playing experience should “feel” and sound more like real instruments when played with a velocity sensitive keyboard and sustain pedal. Instruments There are currently 50 different instruments, each with 4 sets of parameter presets giving 200 patches in total. Instruments are categorised as “sustained”, “keyed”, “lead” or “departures” and this is shown in the central display panel. Sustained instruments will sustain until you release a key, whereas keyed instruments have a natural, more piano-like decay. Lead sounds are monophonic with a little legato glide and have less dynamic range. Departures are no holds barred sound design extravaganzas designed to take you on an atmospheric sonic journey! There are also a selection of 50 “components” taken from 25 of the main instruments for your own sound design experiments (*) Parameters Waverley XL has ten parameters that can be used for additional sound-shaping. The AMP envelope and FILTER in particular can be used to significantly change the character of an instrument. If you’re familiar with traditional synthesisers, these parameters should be immediately recognisable. Technical specifications • 50 individual high quality multi-sampled instruments designed specifically for Waverley XL • 50 additional "components" from the main instruments for sound design experiments (*) • 16 note polyphony (except lead sounds which are monophonic) • Note range C0 - C6 (Apple standard C3 = middle C) • Velocity-sensitive timbre changes with 30dB dynamic range (15dB for lead sounds) • Pitch bend range +/- two semitones (a whole note) • Modulation wheel is mapped to filter cut-off (note this will override filter envelope and vice versa) • Lead sounds have a fixed 100ms glide accessible via legato playing (*) Please note to mix and match components, you need to create multiple instances of Waverley XL in your AU host. This is described in more detail in the user guide accessible from the main Waverley XL app. *** Please note that this app is now in maintenance / bug fixes only mode ***
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: BITWaves at Free against Waverley XL's $1.99. BITWaves also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Waverley XL's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On ads and in-app purchases 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
BITWaves is free to download; Waverley XL costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Waverley XL holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waverley XL has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
BITWaves ships an update every 3 months, Waverley XL weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BITWaves | Waverley XL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) | 4.8 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 10 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 968 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stiftelsen BIT20 Ensemble | Rob Jackson |
Customer experience
BITWaves
Waverley XL
In-app purchases
BITWaves
No in-app purchases
Waverley XL
No in-app purchases




