Mononoke vs Phonolyth Cascade
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Phonolyth Cascade
This app offers a versatile reverb and diffusion processor with an experimental edge. It allows for the creation of expansive modulated spaces, stereo widening, and hybrid delay/reverb effects. Explore unique sonic territories with a wide range of controls and randomized modulation.
- Expansive modulated supernatural spaces
- Stereo widening and transient smearing
- Hybrid delay/reverb effects
- Chorus, flanger, and resonator-like effects
- Randomized modulation
- Infinity and Freeze buttons
- Mix Lock for preset switching
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Cascade is a versatile reverb and diffusion processor with an experimental edge. Designed first and foremost with expansive modulated supernatural spaces in mind, it features an extensive set of controls to explore other sonic territories such as stereo widening, transient smearing, hybrid delay/reverb and chorus/flanger/resonator-like effects. Features: - Wide range of diffusion textures spanning from subtle smearing and widening to otherworldly reverberation - Lush randomized modulation - Infinity and Freeze buttons for never-ending reverb bliss - Mix Lock for switching presets while keeping the dry/wet mix constant - Freely resizable UI with light and dark color schemes - Cross-platform preset format for sharing across plugin formats and OSes - 30 factory presets to get you started - Includes an AudioUnit v3 plugin for use in host apps such as GarageBand and AUM, and a standalone app
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Mononoke at every 6 days against Phonolyth Cascade's every 7 months. Mononoke also leads on ratings volume (103 vs 30) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). Phonolyth Cascade's advantage is price ($7.99 vs $8.99). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
Mononoke costs $8.99 and Phonolyth Cascade $7.99 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 Mononoke against 4.9 for Phonolyth Cascade. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 103 and 30 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 92% of Mononoke's written reviews are positive against 100% of Phonolyth Cascade's.
Mononoke ships an update every 6 days, Phonolyth Cascade every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mononoke | Phonolyth Cascade |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | $7.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (103 ratings) | 4.9 (30 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 103 — better | 30 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #185 — better | #187 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bram Bos | Yuri Turov |
Customer experience
Mononoke
Phonolyth Cascade
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
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- 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
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- Random button for synth
Phonolyth Cascade
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Mononoke
No in-app purchases
Phonolyth Cascade
No in-app purchases







