Comparison

CV Mod vs ShowMIDI

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

Head to head
About

CV Mod

This app provides two LFO/VCO oscillators for modular and semi-modular synthesizers. Connect your device's headphone output to your hardware to add modulation and sound sources. Create custom waveforms and control parameters via MIDI.

Highlights
  • 2 LFO/VCO oscillators
  • Custom drawable waveforms
  • MIDI CC control
  • Tempo sync
  • Envelope generators
  • XY pad control
Features
Read full description

CV Mod is a 2 LFO/VCO Oscillator Module meant to be used with modular or semi-modular synth hardware. Simply connect the headphone output of your iPhone or iPad to one or more CV or audio inputs on your hardware. To get the most out of this module, use a stereo breakout cable to separate the left and right audio channels. Just like that, you now have 2 additional LFOs or full range oscillators added to your rig! CV Mod can also send out signals via a connected DC-coupled audio interface. With Audiobus 3 and Inter-app audio support, you'll have an easier time routing CV Mod's outputs to wherever you need them to go. In the spirit of modular synthesis, you have complete control over each oscillator’s parameters via external MIDI. You can also modulate one oscillator’s frequency and phase with the other oscillator’s rate and depth controls. With two drawable wave table editors, you can create whatever crazy wave forms you like, unleashing a vast sea of possibilities. Instant grit! Intuitive controls via the main faders, XY pad, or MIDI CC make this an incredibly easy way to add more modulation and sound sources to your gear. Download now and have some good old-yet-new-fashioned creative fun! Key Features: 2 Oscillators that function as LFOs or sound sources with 5 frequency ranges: 1 Hz, 4 Hz, 40 Hz, 120 Hz, and VCO mode (full range). This wide set of ranges allows for ultra slow ambient filter sweeps and rip roaring ring-mod madness Choose from 8 different waveforms: Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth, Reverse Sawtooth, Square, Random, and two user defined shapes Wave Table grid editor allows you to draw 2 custom waveforms Each oscillator has its own envelope generator, which can be synchronized to subdivisions of the current tempo or the rate of one of the oscillators Multi-touch control of each oscillator’s rate, depth, and phase with easy to use faders Fine tuning control of each oscillator, + or - one octave Separate glide controls for each oscillator, with a configurable maximum glide time of 120 seconds! MIDI Keyboard control of an oscillator’s frequency allows you to play notes and use this app as an additional sound source in VCO mode Duophonic mode allows you to play two notes at once when both oscillators are controlled by MIDI keyboard in VCO mode XY Pad allows you to control up to 3 parameters, with the Z-axis mapped to touch pressure (if your device supports it) Tempo Sync feature that constrains each oscillator’s rate to subdivisions of the current tempo, when operating in one of the LFO modes Rich MIDI implementation allows you to control all oscillator settings via MIDI CC with MIDI learn. In addition, you can control each oscillator’s rate and the overall depth via pitch wheel, mod wheel, velocity, aftertouch, and note values (key tracking) Cross modulation capabilities allow you to modulate one oscillator’s phase and frequency with the rate and depth of the other oscillator Turn either oscillator into a trigger pulse, which can be synchronized to subdivisions of the current tempo or the rate of the other oscillator Ability to save presets and wave tables Other settings include: Tempo override from external MIDI clock or via Ableton Link Ableton Link integration Pitch bender range control (maximum of 2 octaves) Background audio mode Oscillator pan controls: each oscillator can be panned to the left channel, right channel, or center Aftertouch sensitivity control (allows you to take it easy on those older keybeds) Bit depth resolution reduction controls for each oscillator, which opens up even more possibilities

About

ShowMIDI

This application provides a real-time, glanceable view of all MIDI activity on your computer. It visualizes various MIDI messages and allows you to pause the flow for a data snapshot. It can be used as a standalone tool or an AUv3 plugin within your DAW.

Highlights
  • Real-time MIDI visualization
  • Auto-hides irrelevant messages
  • Pause and snapshot data
  • Standalone application
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • Supports MPE configuration
Features
Read full description

ShowMIDI is an open-source multi-platform GUI application to effortlessly visualize MIDI activity. Instead of wading through logs of MIDI messages to correlate relevant ones and identify what is happening, ShowMIDI visualizes the current activity and auto-hides what you don't care about anymore. It provides you with a real-time glanceable view of all MIDI activity on your computer. ShowMIDI is designed to be always on, using the spacebar or play/pause button you can pause the flow and focus on a data snapshot with the latest state of any MIDI entity. ShowMIDI can be ran as a standalone application that automatically detects all your MIDI devices, or as an AUv3 plugin in your DAW or host to visualize MIDI data in your sessions. ShowMIDI visualizes: * MIDI ports * channels * program change * note on/off * channel pressure * polyphonic pressure * continuous control change * pitchbend * RPN and NRPN * MPE configuration and channel modes ShowMIDI supports: * themes * standalone operation * AUv3 operation

Screenshots

CV Mod1 screens
ShowMIDI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ShowMIDI at Free against CV Mod's $1.99. ShowMIDI also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0). CV Mod's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ShowMIDI is free to download; CV Mod costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShowMIDI holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of CV Mod's written reviews are positive against 88% of ShowMIDI's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CV Mod ships an update every 3 weeks, ShowMIDI every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CV Mod versus ShowMIDI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCV ModShowMIDI
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (8 ratings)4.8 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings818 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteven ConnellyUwyn, LLC

Customer experience

CV Mod

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

ShowMIDI

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral5.6%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

CV Mod

No in-app purchases

None

ShowMIDI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CV Mod free?
CV Mod costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ShowMIDI free?
ShowMIDI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CV Mod or ShowMIDI?
ShowMIDI is rated higher. CV Mod averages 4.0 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while ShowMIDI averages 4.8 from 18 ratings.
Do CV Mod or ShowMIDI have ads?
Neither CV Mod nor ShowMIDI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CV Mod or ShowMIDI?
CV Mod ships an update every 3 weeks, and ShowMIDI every 2 months. Most recently, CV Mod was updated on September 8, 2026 and ShowMIDI on September 5, 2026.

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