Comparison

Phosphor 3 vs VAPolyWest

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

Head to head
About

Phosphor 3

This app recreates a vintage digital synthesizer, offering a faithful emulation of a classic sound engine. It includes modern features like MPE, extensive modulation, and a new UI for sonic exploration.

Highlights
  • Vintage digital synthesizer emulation
  • Additive synthesis engine
  • MPE support
  • Extensive modulation routing
  • Preset manager
  • Tuning tables
Read full description

Glow in the dark synthesis. Phosphor 3 is a dual-oscillator additive synthesizer that puts the raw building blocks of sound at your fingertips. Draw, randomize, or select up to 64 harmonics per oscillator, then shape them with envelopes, LFOs, cross-modulation, and a flexible mod matrix. Originally inspired by the alphaSyntauri, a rare digital additive synth from the early 1980s, Phosphor 3 takes that concept far beyond its origins with modern MPE expression, polyphonic modulation, and a full effects engine. --- Additive Oscillators Two identical additive oscillators, each with up to 64 individually editable harmonics. Start from classic shapes: sawtooth, triangle, square, or draw your own harmonic spectrum directly in the partial editor. The intelligent randomizer generates musically useful timbres with variable rolloff, density, and formant peaks, so every click produces something worth exploring. Choose 16, 32, or 64 partials per oscillator to balance complexity against CPU. Each oscillator has independent level, pan, transpose, fine tune, a noise generator with lo-fi downsampling, and cross-modulation (FM) for pushing timbres into harsher, more complex territory. Modulation Two ADSR envelopes with adjustable attack, decay, and release curves. Two LFOs with four waveforms (pulse, sine, saw, random), tempo sync, and the option to run polyphonically, a separate LFO per voice, or globally. An 8-source modulation matrix routes velocity, pressure, pitch bend, mod wheel, CC 74, triggered random, and both LFOs to destinations across the oscillators and effects. Effects Stereo delay with independent left/right time, feedback, and cross-channel feedback for ping-pong and rhythmic patterns. Tempo sync locks delay times to your DAW. Dual band-pass filters after the delay let you carve the wet signal into resonant, frequency-specific textures. Expression Full MPE support with per-note pitch bend, pressure, and slide across 16 polyphonic voices. Mono legato and mono retrigger modes with adjustable portamento. Unison mode for thick, detuned stacks. A scrollable 128-key on-screen keyboard with velocity from touch position, pitch bend from horizontal drag, and channel pressure from vertical drag, no hardware controller required. Tuning MTS-ESP client support for real-time microtuning from any MTS-ESP master. TUN file import for custom scales. Standard 12-TET with adjustable A4 reference. Supports AUv3 for use in GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, and other AUv3-compatible hosts.

About

VAPolyWest

This app is a polyphonic synthesizer inspired by 1960s California west coast synthesis. It features wave folding, lowpass gates, and step sequencers for generative music creation. It functions as a standalone app or an AudioUnit Extension across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog west coast style polyphonic synthesizer
  • Wave folder and lowpass gate
  • Step sequencer and envelope generators
  • Up to 8 voice polyphony
  • Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) support
  • MIDI 2.0 support
  • Audio export options
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

VAPolyWest is inspired by synthesizers developed in California in the 1960’s. VAPolyWest features wave folder and lowpass gate, which are key components of the west coast synthesis. VAPolyWest also features 5 step sequencer and envelope generators which are designed to create generative music. VAPolyWest works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It operates as a stand alone or as an AudioUnit Extension (AUv3). Stand Alone supports Ableton Link, MIDI and audio file export. - Main Features - Virtual analog west coast style polyphonic synthesizer. Maximum 8 voice polyphony. it depends on performance of the device it is running. Wave folder and lowpass gate for West Coast Synthesis. Step sequencer and envelopes designed for generative music. Support MIDI 2.0 Built-in Sequencer. 16 bar patterns per clip. Total 8 clips. Piano Roll and Parameter automation. Support Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Support iCloud Drive to share project files between the platforms. Audio Export. Linear PCM format (AIFF, WAV and CAF) and compressed format (AAC) Support Ableton Link, Bluetooth MIDI, MIDI In / Out. - System Requirements - A13 Fusion or above is recommended. AudioUnit Extension (AUv3) requires host application which support AudioUnit Extension. AudioUnit Extension is supported by Apple Logic and Apple Garage Band on iOS and macOS. For any other DAW, it depends on the application and some of them don’t support AudioUnit Extension. Sound may be distorted if CPU of the device doesn't have enough power. If it happens reduce number of voices.

Screenshots

VAPolyWest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Phosphor 3 at $5.99 against VAPolyWest's $14.99. Phosphor 3 also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). VAPolyWest's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and chart position (#191 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Phosphor 3 costs $5.99 and VAPolyWest $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VAPolyWest holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 5 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Phosphor 3's written reviews are positive against 75% of VAPolyWest's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phosphor 3 ships an update every 11 months, VAPolyWest every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on July 6, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Phosphor 3 versus VAPolyWest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhosphor 3VAPolyWest
Price$5.99 — better$14.99
Rating4.7 (9 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings9 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 10 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#191 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAudio Damage, Inc.Ryo Togawa

Customer experience

Phosphor 3

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative7.1%

VAPolyWest

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Phosphor 3

No in-app purchases

None

VAPolyWest

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phosphor 3 free?
Phosphor 3 costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is VAPolyWest free?
VAPolyWest costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phosphor 3 or VAPolyWest?
VAPolyWest is rated higher. Phosphor 3 averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while VAPolyWest averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Phosphor 3 or VAPolyWest have ads?
Neither Phosphor 3 nor VAPolyWest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phosphor 3 or VAPolyWest?
Phosphor 3 ships an update every 11 months, and VAPolyWest every 10 months. Most recently, Phosphor 3 was updated on July 6, 2026 and VAPolyWest on September 20, 2026.

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