Comparison

Mononoke vs lo

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

Head to head
About

Mononoke

This app is an unconventional synthesizer designed for creating evolving soundscapes and musical textures. It features feedback routing between voices and two independent engines, allowing for complex and expressive sonic manipulation. Performance pads enable live modulation and MPE/MIDI output for recording.

Highlights
  • Feedback routing between voices
  • Two independent synthesizer engines
  • 8 performance pads for live modulation
  • MPE and MIDI input/output (AUv3)
  • Expressive soundscape composition
  • Scalable universal design
Features
Read full description

Mononoke is an unconventional synthesizer, designed to compose evolving soundscapes and musical textures. Feedback routing What sets Mononoke apart from other synths is that its voices (4 in each section) can be routed back into each other in multiple ways, creating all sorts of overtones and pulsating resonant frequencies. Sometimes harmonic, sometimes weirdly atonal. Sometimes clear and delicate as icicles, sometimes harsh as metallic blades, sometimes soft as fresh snow. This interaction between voices helps fuse all layers together into a coherent musical landscape. A tale of two engines The synthesizer engines (each of the two sections has its own independent engine) have relatively simple controls, which influence a complex system of many invisible, interconnected LFOs. But this is not your bread-and-butter general purpose synthesizer: think of Mononoke as one huge FM synthesizer where each voice is an independently playable operator. Together all operators contribute to a single soundscape. Expressive pads Complex soundscapes can be created live, using the 8 performance pads which let you modulate each voice independently in several dimensions. Your interactions with the pads will also be sent out as MPE/MIDI (when loaded as an AU plugin in a compatible host) so you can record and tweak your session. The onscreen pads can be latched individually so some voices can be used as drones, while others as can be added and removed as extra sonic layers. The pads are fully integrated in the Audio Unit plugin. Connectivity Mononoke is designed as an AUv3 plugin, with advanced Audio Unit features such as MPE input and output (!), a fully exposed array of AU parameters for automation and all the connectivity and scalability you can expect from modern plugins.  The standalone mode is basic (just meant for jamming and creating presets) and does not offer any connectivity, so if you want to use Mononoke in conjunction with other apps and effects you'll need to load it into a host, such as Garageband, Audiobus, AUM or Cubasis. Summary: - Audio Unit (AUv3) plugin - 8 voice polyphony, 2 independent engines with 4 voices each - Compatible with MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) and MIDI - MIDI Input and Output (only available when used as an Audio Unit plugin) - Limited standalone mode for jamming (full screen, no connectivity) - 8 independently tunable performance pads for expressive interaction - Universal, fully scalable to any screen size, supports fullscreen mode in AU hosts - Freely tunable voices, or quantized to semitones (with overall finetuning) - iOS10 (MIDI/MPE output from the plugin requires iOS11) or higher Also contains Mononoke Pads: an extra AUv3 MIDI controller plugin for playing MPE compatible synths using Mononoke's pads. Note: this is a separate plugin which will be installed in your MIDI Plugin collection. Mononoke Pads requires iOS 11.

About

lo

This app offers a versatile toolkit for manipulating audio with a variety of lo-fi effects. Explore historical audio degradation, modern digital artifacts, and analog warmth to transform your sound.

Highlights
  • Convolution reverb with unique impulse responses
  • Spectral processing for MP3 simulation and pitch shifting
  • Digital section with bitcrusher and CD stutter
  • Analog section with tape saturation and noise generation
  • Rearrangeable processing sections
  • Dozens of presets for sound warping
Features
Read full description

"LO‑FI‑AF is a very capable lo‑fi toolkit capable of surgically targeted destruction and it could easily find applications in just about any musical genre" -SoundOnSound Unfiltered Audio's lo-fi-af is now available on iOS as a Standalone app or AUv3 plugin! lo-fi-af takes your sound on a journey of artifacts and noise throughout recorded history, from tape warbles and vinyl noise to MP3 chirps and cell phone speaker chatter. lo-fi-af's many sections and versatile algorithms can place your sound in a different decade, or give it a thoroughly modern spin through compound processing. The first section is a convolution reverb preloaded with impulse responses from broken microphones, toy speakers, cell phones, and more. With this section alone, you can place your sound into an entirely different space. The Spectral section then splits your sound into thousands of frequencies before reconstructing it with a twist. Here you can reproduce the sound of a pirated MP3 or pitch shift your signal with clean perfection. Your signal then takes a trip through the digital section. All sorts of hazards are present here, from a skipping CD stutter effect to a multimode bitcrusher. Finally, the rich, colorful analog section adds that vibe that you crave. A maximizer, a tape saturator, a noise generator, an analog-style filter, a pitch warbler, and a radio demodulator all work together in harmony to toss your sound into the past. But wait! That's only one possible signal chain. The Convolution, Spectral, Digital, and Analog sections can be completely rearranged in any order. Dozens of presets will get your started on your sound warping adventure. As an AUv3 plugin, lo-fi-af has been tested to work perfectly with Garageband, Drambo, AUM, Cubasis, Beatmaker, Nanostudio, apeMatrix, Loopy Pro, and more! Additionally, with its clear layout and smart resizing, lo-fi-af can be used on tablets and phones with ease. (Note for Drambo users: Drambo does not yet have automatic Plugin Delay Compensation for managing plugins with latency. As a result, tracks with lo-fi-af will not line up properly with other tracks. An upcoming patch for Drambo will add this feature in.)

Screenshots

Mononoke2 screens
lo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mononoke at 92% against lo's 67%. Mononoke also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly) and ratings volume (103 vs 29). lo's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). 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

Mononoke costs $8.99 and lo $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

lo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 103 and 29 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 92% of Mononoke's written reviews are positive against 67% of lo's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mononoke ships an update every 6 days, lo fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mononoke versus lo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMononokelo
Price$8.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.8 (103 ratings)5.0 (29 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.1% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings103 — better29
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBram BosUnfiltered Audio

Customer experience

Mononoke

All ratings103 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.3%

lo

All ratings29 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Mononoke

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Notes hang when pressing more than one on MIDI controller
  • No aftertouch
  • Crashes frequently
  • Sound cuts off after a few minutes
  • App not appearing as Inter-App or AUv3
Show 1 more
  • App opens and freezes, does not load

Requested features

6 requests
  • More pads or a play surface page
  • Add on top of current features
  • More tone shaping controls
  • Built-in delay with modulation
  • Random button for pads
Show 1 more
  • Random button for synth

lo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Mononoke

No in-app purchases

None

lo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mononoke free?
Mononoke costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is lo free?
lo costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mononoke or lo?
lo is rated higher. Mononoke averages 4.8 out of 5 from 103 ratings, while lo averages 5.0 from 29 ratings.
Do Mononoke or lo have ads?
Neither Mononoke nor lo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mononoke or lo?
Mononoke ships an update every 6 days, and lo fortnightly. Most recently, Mononoke was updated on October 24, 2026 and lo on October 23, 2026.

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