Comparison

SKIIID vs Melthaven

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

Head to head
About

SKIIID

This app is a percussion synthesizer designed for live performance. It features four morphing pads where finger position controls sound parameters and velocity. Explore deep sound design with a step sequencer, auto-mutation, and chaos engine for instant sound generation.

Highlights
  • Four morphing percussion pads
  • Real-time parameter control via touch
  • 16-step sequencer per pad
  • Auto-mutate sound evolution
  • Chaos engine for instant sound generation
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • MIDI input and Ableton Link sync
Features
Read full description

SKIIID is a percussion synthesizer built for real-time performance. Four pads. Each one is a sound sculpted by where your finger lands. Move left or right to morph between synth parameters. Move up or down to control velocity. Simple to play, deep to explore. — PADS — Four independent drum voices. Each pad morphs between parameter extremes based on X-axis position. Velocity is Y-axis. — STEP SEQUENCER — 16-step sequencer per pad. Variable step length for polyrhythms. Reverse playback, shuffle, pin and random step modes. Sync to Ableton Link or run free. — AUTO-MUTATE — Evolves your sound automatically. Individual interval and intensity per pad, synced to tempo. — CHAOS ENGINE — RANDOM, CHAOS, and MUTATE modes generate new sounds instantly. — AUv3 PLUGIN — Run SKIIID inside AUM, ApeMatrix, Audiobus, or any AUv3 host. Multiple instances work independently — different patches, different sequencers, no shared state. — MIDI — MIDI In for pad triggering. MIDI Learn for external controller mapping. Ableton Link for tempo sync. — WORKS ON — iPhone and iPad, all modern screen sizes. Landscape mode.

About

Melthaven

This app provides a note-triggered phase shifter for guitarists, bassists, and synthesizers. It offers organic, rhythmic movement that syncs to your playing, with analog-modeled filters for diverse sonic textures. Enhance loops or create experimental sounds with its input-dependent modulation.

Highlights
  • Note-triggered phase shifting
  • Analog-modeled OTA filters
  • Responds to guitar and bass transients
  • Enhances pre-recorded loops
  • Input-dependent synth modulation
  • Low-latency engine
Features
Read full description

Melthaven is a note-triggered phase shifter built to give guitarists and bassists organic, rhythmic movement that syncs to their playing, rather than a fixed LFO. It's also highly suited for a number of synth basses and sounds with sharp attacks and fast decays. Its analog-modeled OTA filters provide deep resonance and character, ranging from wah-like effects to complex, shifting formant textures or even experimental tones, like bubbling or hard, slappy effects. For bright, harmonically dense signals – such as saturated or overdriven tones and synthetic sounds – the effect range also includes growls and glistening sweeps. FOCUSED ON BASS & GUITARS The effect was specially developed to respond to the frequency response and transient peaks of electric guitars and basses. Every pluck, pop, or pick attack re-triggers the phase sweep, effectively turning your rhythmic timing into the "engine" of the effect. USING LOOPS? BREAK THEM OPEN Add various resonant effects like growls, or vintage bark / quacks "after the fact." This unlocks a level of control usually lost the moment a loop is bounced. Instead of being stuck with locked-in sound design, you can now reshape the envelope of any pre-recorded sample, breathing new life into your loop library. FOR SYNTHS & SOUND DESIGN: INPUT DEPENDENT Soft signals like pads or heavy/layered effects can produce wild, unpredictable responses. While such use is outside the plugin's core design, the smoothing feature can tame these re-triggers, yielding a flow that can feel organic and physical in its instability when operating beyond the plugin’s transient-focused comfort zone. MOVING BEYOND ENVELOPE FILTERS The plugin uses low-latency note detection paired with its own envelope generator and LFO, allowing sculpting and even reshaping each note’s modulation profile or filter envelope. It even detects notes that hide under a consistent signal amplitude when using a traditional envelope follower. BASE FEATURES: - Built around a versatile preset from the Pro version to suit a wide variety of applications - Controls: feedback & panoramic position, attack & hold timings, LFO Rate - Smoothing: from envelope shaping to creating a weighted, fluid response, giving note sequences a sense of physical momentum - Low-latency engine: preserves natural playing feel when used as a real-time effect PRO FEATURES - Requires Pro Edition Upgrade (In‑App Purchase): - Additional envelope parameters, several envelope flavors with pre-mapped control subsets - Pro presets encompassing both strong and milder effects, including the quintessential rubber bass - Enhanced stereo phaser modes & internal stereo re-imaging modulator (for formant-like effects and more) - Vintage-style phaser feedback that can optionally build or ramp with each note onset (non-rampable in the base version) - Instant visual feedback via an audio scope with dual-channel envelopes overlaid on the input waveform TECHNICAL NOTES: - Place before creative effects (unless experimenting). It can be used before or after harmonic processing (saturation, amp sims) depending on your preference - Response may vary on sustained notes with shifting harmonic content - Not optimized for upright bass due to its reliance on sharp signal transients - Note detection involves statistical signal processing and confidence intervals. Weak transients and phantom notes could lead to a loss of output determinism, i.e. sensitivity to changes in certain project settings - While it offers multiple layers of real-time control, Melthaven operates primarily as an automatic effect; for full manual filter manipulation, please refer to RealPhase, a separate app PLEASE NOTE: • The Pro Edition Upgrade is offered as a one‑time In‑App Purchase • An AUv3-compatible host is required to use this app • Suported sampling rates: 44.1, 48, 96 kHz

Screenshots

SKIIID2 screens
Melthaven3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Melthaven at 5.0 against SKIIID's 4.4. Melthaven also leads on price ($2.99 vs $3.99). SKIIID's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

SKIIID costs $3.99 and Melthaven $2.99 up front. Melthaven sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SKIIID asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Melthaven holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SKIIID has 31 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SKIIID ships an update every 4 days, Melthaven every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SKIIID versus Melthaven: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSKIIIDMelthaven
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.4 (31 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings31 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStephan Bolchquantovox

Customer experience

SKIIID

All ratings31 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral6.5%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral13.0%
Negative13.0%

Melthaven

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SKIIID

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Melthaven

One-time1
  • Melthaven Pro$4.99

Questions

Is SKIIID free?
SKIIID costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Melthaven free?
Melthaven costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SKIIID or Melthaven?
Melthaven is rated higher. SKIIID averages 4.4 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Melthaven averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do SKIIID or Melthaven have ads?
Neither SKIIID nor Melthaven shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SKIIID or Melthaven?
SKIIID ships an update every 4 days, and Melthaven every 6 weeks. Most recently, SKIIID was updated on October 29, 2026 and Melthaven on October 22, 2026.

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