TB ReelBus vs BLEASS Compressor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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 descriptionHide 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.
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.
- 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 descriptionHide 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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | TB ReelBus | BLEASS Compressor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (47 ratings) — better | 4.7 (27 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 47 — better | 27 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 19 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ToneBoosters | BLEASS |
Customer experience
TB ReelBus
BLEASS Compressor
In-app purchases
TB ReelBus
No in-app purchases
BLEASS Compressor
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TB ReelBus free?
Is BLEASS Compressor free?
Which has better reviews, TB ReelBus or BLEASS Compressor?
Do TB ReelBus or BLEASS Compressor have ads?
Which is updated more often, TB ReelBus or BLEASS Compressor?
Other comparisons















