Comparison

TB ReelBus vs BLEASS Compressor

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

Head to head
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.

About

BLEASS Compressor

Achieve professional-sounding mixes with powerful and intuitive dynamics processing. This tool offers flexible compression, dual filtering, and visual feedback for precise control over audio.

Highlights
  • Pro-grade dynamics control
  • Flexible compression engine
  • Variable ratio up to 60:1
  • Dual resonant low-pass and high-pass filters
  • Frequency-dependent dynamics effects
  • Intuitive graphical interface
Read full description

Controlling the dynamics of your parts and recordings is an essential step towards a professional sounding mix. With BLEASS Compressor’s powerful performance and intuitive user interface, such pro-grade dynamics control has never been easier. BLEASS Compressor’s flexible dynamics engine makes it an ideal choice in many different situations. With compression ratios of up-to 60:1, a variable knee, and flexible attack and release stages, BLEASS Compressor can deliver a wide range of different response characteristics. The plug-in’s flexibility is further enhanced by a powerful dual filter that operates on the analysed signal, providing both low-pass and high-pass filtering. The filters work on both internal and sidechain signals, and are resonant too, making it easy to create dynamics effects that are highly frequency dependant. Despite its versatility and power, BLEASS Compressor is simple to setup and work with. Compression and filter curves are set using tactile graphical widgets, whilst you receive constant easy-to-read visual feedback about how the plugin is operating. Perhaps best of all, BLEASS Compressor is ultra-efficient, so you can include its intuitive dynamics control to any-and-every part that needs it. Also available for Desktop (VST3 / AU / AAX) Tech specs, tutorials and more info available on https://www.bleass.com/compressor/

Screenshots

TB ReelBus3 screens
BLEASS Compressor3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: TB ReelBus at 100% against BLEASS Compressor's 67%. TB ReelBus also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 19 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). BLEASS Compressor's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $8.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

TB ReelBus costs $8.99 and BLEASS Compressor $4.99 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 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 27 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of TB ReelBus's written reviews are positive against 67% of BLEASS Compressor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TB ReelBus ships an update every 2 months, BLEASS Compressor every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
TB ReelBus versus BLEASS Compressor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTB ReelBusBLEASS Compressor
Price$8.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.9 (47 ratings) — better4.7 (27 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings47 — better27
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 19 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperToneBoostersBLEASS

Customer experience

TB ReelBus

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

BLEASS Compressor

All ratings27 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral7.4%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

TB ReelBus

No in-app purchases

None

BLEASS Compressor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TB ReelBus free?
TB ReelBus costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BLEASS Compressor free?
BLEASS Compressor costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TB ReelBus or BLEASS Compressor?
TB ReelBus is rated higher. TB ReelBus averages 4.9 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while BLEASS Compressor averages 4.7 from 27 ratings.
Do TB ReelBus or BLEASS Compressor have ads?
Neither TB ReelBus nor BLEASS Compressor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TB ReelBus or BLEASS Compressor?
TB ReelBus ships an update every 2 months, and BLEASS Compressor every 19 months. Most recently, TB ReelBus was updated on October 24, 2026 and BLEASS Compressor on October 25, 2026.

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