Comparison

Time Machine AUv3 Plugin vs TB ReelBus

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

Head to head
About

Time Machine AUv3 Plugin

This audio plugin emulates the warm, crackly sound of vintage vinyl records and tube amplifiers. Add nostalgic character, warp, dust, and hiss to your music. It's designed to enhance recordings with authentic analog warmth and saturation.

Highlights
  • Vinyl emulation with warp, dust, and scratches
  • Tube amplifier sound simulation
  • Adjustable saturation for harmonic richness
  • Smooth fade-in/out effect
  • Compatible with major DAWs
Read full description

This is an AUv3 compatible plugin which can be used with your favourite DAW such as Cubasis, Auria, Meteor or GarageBand. It does not function as a standalone program. Time Machine is a plugin that allows you to go back to the days of vinyl and tube amplification.  If you still long for those nostalgic days of warped records, worn needles, static laden, crackle ridden vinyl then this plugin is what you've been waiting for. It simulates the sound of early gramophones, radiograms, record players, through to late 80's turntables. You can either select an 'Age' or tweak individual settings to add warp, dust, scratches and good old fashion hiss to your recordings. The tube emulation mimics the old valve driven amplification which can be overdriven to add a nice warm tonal quality to your sound. It even allows you to add additional harmonics using the saturation knob to mimic the effect of tube amplification. It's a subtle but effective way of adding character and punch to thin sounds without changing pushing them in to the realms of distortion. When you turn on the Vinyl emulation you can choose to emulate the needle hitting the record, while the power button smoothly fades the effect in and out. We've all heard those great intros that sound like a blast from the past before diving into an aural onslaught. Well this might just be the tool to help lull your audience into that false sense of security! This is one of those playful fun effects designed to add a bit of spice into your songs and inspire ideas.

About

TB ReelBus

This audio plugin simulates the authentic sound of magnetic tape, adding warmth, saturation, and classic effects like wow-and-flutter and echo to your music. It offers a wide range of tape and saturation modes for professional-quality audio processing on iOS and iPadOS devices.

Highlights
  • Authentic magnetic tape simulation
  • Warmth, saturation, and wow-and-flutter
  • Tape flanger and echo effects
  • Tape start and stop effects
  • Drive EQ for frequency-specific saturation
  • Tape wear simulation
  • Input/output VU meters
Read full description

ToneBoosters ReelBus is a top-quality, authentic, versatile and accurate magnetic tape simulation AUv3 plug-in bringing warmth and excitement of tape to your iOS or iPadOS device! Instant gratification from 80s compact cassette sound to professional 30 IPS studio recorder simulation. Sweeten your mix with a touch of tape hysteresis, saturation and compression. Create that 'Boards of Canada' sound by adding a tad of wow-and-flutter. Top it up with tape flanging, echo and tape start/stop effects. The ToneBoosters ReelBus app captures the microphone (or external sound card) input and processes the signals in real time. To use it as a plug-in, use an AUv3-compatible host app such as Steinberg Cubasis, Apple Garageband, Audio Evolution Mobile Studio, Auria, AUM, or others. ToneBoosters ReelBus will appear in the list of Audio Unit extensions for effect plug-ins. Key features: - The same professional sound as the acclaimed desktop version - Wide variety of tape and saturation modes available - Saturation, hysteresis, wow and flutter, tape hiss, asperity noise controls - Tape speed and amount controls - Soft bypass - Unique drive EQ to drive certain frequencies harder into the tape model - Tape wear model for worn-out tape simulation - Tape flanger and dual tape echo modules, with beat sync functionality - Tape start and tape stop effect modules - Oversampling and anti-aliasing filters for top-quality output - Input and output VU meters showing peak and RMS levels simultaneously - Master Bus mode with analog VU meters and macro controls to get great results efficiently - Undo/redo, and A/B comparison - Color themes for the user interface - Max screen support in Garageband - Optimised for iPad and compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch What you should know: - Licenses acquired for this platform are not compatible with other platforms. - Audio Unit (AUv3) extensions require an iPad mini 2, iPad 4 or later models.

Screenshots

Time Machine AUv3 Plugin2 screens
TB ReelBus3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TB ReelBus at 4.9 against Time Machine AUv3 Plugin's 4.2. TB ReelBus also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months). 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

Time Machine AUv3 Plugin costs $9.99 and TB ReelBus $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TB ReelBus holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 47 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Time Machine AUv3 Plugin's written reviews are positive against 100% of TB ReelBus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Time Machine AUv3 Plugin ships an update every 11 months, TB ReelBus every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Time Machine AUv3 Plugin versus TB ReelBus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTime Machine AUv3 PluginTB ReelBus
Price$9.99$8.99 — better
Rating4.2 (14 ratings)4.9 (47 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1447 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1313.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer4Pockets.comToneBoosters

Customer experience

Time Machine AUv3 Plugin

All ratings14 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%

TB ReelBus

All ratings47 ratings
Positive97.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Time Machine AUv3 Plugin

No in-app purchases

None

TB ReelBus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Time Machine AUv3 Plugin free?
Time Machine AUv3 Plugin costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is TB ReelBus free?
TB ReelBus costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Time Machine AUv3 Plugin or TB ReelBus?
TB ReelBus is rated higher. Time Machine AUv3 Plugin averages 4.2 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while TB ReelBus averages 4.9 from 47 ratings.
Do Time Machine AUv3 Plugin or TB ReelBus have ads?
Neither Time Machine AUv3 Plugin nor TB ReelBus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Time Machine AUv3 Plugin or TB ReelBus?
Time Machine AUv3 Plugin ships an update every 11 months, and TB ReelBus every 2 months. Most recently, Time Machine AUv3 Plugin was updated on October 20, 2026 and TB ReelBus on October 24, 2026.

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