Virtual ANS 3 vs GlitchScaper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Virtual ANS 3
This app simulates a unique photoelectronic musical instrument, allowing users to draw music as spectrograms. It functions as a graphics editor to convert sound to images and vice versa, enabling the creation of atmospheric sounds and microtonal music.
- Unlimited pure tone generators
- Sonogram editor for drawing and playing spectra
- Convert sound to image and vice versa
- MIDI device support
- Polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping
- Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) and Audiobus support
Read full descriptionHide full description
Virtual ANS is a software simulator of the unique Russian synthesizer ANS - photoelectronic musical instrument created by Evgeny Murzin from 1938 to 1958. The ANS made it possible to draw music in the form of a spectrogram (sonogram), without live instruments and performers. It was used by Stanislav Kreichi, Alfred Schnittke, Edward Artemiev and other Soviet composers in their experimental works. You can also hear the sound of the ANS in Andrei Tarkovsky's movies Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker. The simulator extends the capabilities of the original instrument. Now it's a full-featured graphics editor where you can convert sound into an image, load and play pictures, draw microtonal/spectral music and create some unusual deep atmospheric sounds. This app is for everyone who loves experiments and is looking for something new. Key features: * unlimited number of pure tone generators; * powerful sonogram editor - you can draw the spectrum and play it at the same time; * any sound (from a WAV file or a Microphone/Line-in) can be converted to image (sonogram) and vice versa; * support for MIDI devices; * polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping; * supported file formats: WAV (only uncompressed PCM), PNG, JPEG, GIF; * Audio Unit Extension (AUv3), Audiobus; * many new features compared to version 2.3; see the full list: https://warmplace.ru/soft/ans/changelog.txt Homepage, user manual and versions for other systems: https://warmplace.ru/soft/ans
GlitchScaper
Create unique glitchy patterns and soundscapes with a rhythm machine featuring six sound generators and a two-layer cycle sequencer. Explore random sequence and tone generation, advanced effects, and spatial audio processing.
- Six sound generators
- Two-layer cycle sequencer
- Random sequence and tone generation
- Advanced effects and envelopes
- Spatial audio processing
- MIDI support
Read full descriptionHide full description
GlitchScaper is a rhythm machine with six sound generators, each controlled by a two-layer cycle sequencer, designed to easily create glitchy patterns and scapes. To quickly find new ideas, each generator has separate options for making sequences and tones. The parameters of the new sequences and tones are set randomly, but are guided by several user-defined options, which in outline define the steps of the sequence and the type of tone or noise. This allows you make a quick draft of a pattern and then simply tweak it to get the final sound. The advanced copy function gives you ability to quickly make a new preset by copying sequences and tones from existing ones. The tone generator makes bright and rich sounds based on 12 complex waveforms or various types of noise, and can also use an external input as a signal source. Effects transform the tone from smoothly varying to full of squeaks and rattles. Each effect is modulated by a special envelope generator with different shapes that change throughout the sequencer step. The sound generators have individual spatial effects, as well as a common reverb space for all generators that adds an ambient layer to the final mix. The final mix can be even brighter and heavy or pumping with the built-in harmonic exciter and bass enhancer. The intuitive interface and powerful sound design features make this application super convenient for creating your own, unique sound. GlitchScaper is great for creating simple beats with an interesting and unusual sound, but it was originally designed for digital distorted patterns with longer steps that blend perfectly with the rhythms of classic drum machines and sequencers. GlitchScaper is a universal application for iOS and macOS. It can work on iPhone and iPad as well as Mac / MacBook with M1 chip (and later). GlitchScaper works on iPhone and iPad standalone, as an Audio Unit or Inter-App Audio module, and supports Audiobus and Ableton Link. On MacOS, GlitchScaper can works both as a standalone application and as an Audio unit (AUv3) with DAWs and other hosts that support AUv3 plugins. All application features are available on iOS and macOS, including MIDI support (with a MIDI learn option) and audio unit parameters. GlitchScaper has a built-in detailed description of all parameters also available as PDF file on the application site. A brief overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T50WVIPUPQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeF3oBoXp80 You can find more information on GlitchScaper and other experimental audio processing apps at: https://motion-soundscape.blogspot.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Virtual ANS 3 at $5.99 against GlitchScaper's $15.99. On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Virtual ANS 3 costs $5.99 and GlitchScaper $15.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Virtual ANS 3 against 4.8 for GlitchScaper. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 57 and 22 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Virtual ANS 3's written reviews are positive against 91% of GlitchScaper's.
Virtual ANS 3 ships an update every 3 months, GlitchScaper every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Virtual ANS 3 | GlitchScaper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 — better | $15.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (57 ratings) | 4.8 (22 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 57 — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alexander Zolotov | Igor Vasiliev |
Customer experience
Virtual ANS 3
GlitchScaper
In-app purchases
Virtual ANS 3
No in-app purchases
GlitchScaper
No in-app purchases









