Comparison

Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin vs LevLr

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

Head to head
About

Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin

This audio plugin is a dynamics and transient processor for fine-tuning drum sounds within DAWs. It allows users to shape and boost drum kits for better punch and clarity without clipping, offering features like saturation, EQ, and filtering.

Highlights
  • Dynamics and transient processing
  • Saturation control
  • 8-band graphic EQ
  • LP/HP filtering
  • Attack & Hold controls
  • Intensity control up to 200%
  • Limiter/clipper
Currently charting
Read full description

DrumSurgeon is an AUv3 plugin designed for use in your favourite DAW such as AUM, Logic, Loopy Pro, Cubasis or GarageBand etc. Drum surgeon is a dynamics / transient processor specifically designed for fine tuning your drums. So your drum sounds are lacking punch and lost in the mix? This is where Drum Doctor can really help by allowing you to literally shape and boost your kit to break through the mix safetly and without clipping. The attack or onset of a sound is known as its transient. By controlling the level, shape and duration of these sounds, you change the dynamics of a drum track to achieve that perfect tightness, while boosting them to give your kick the right punch and snare the right amount of bite. Use the saturation to overdrive your mix prior to shaping. This can drastically change the character of some drum sounds at the filtering stage. The single LP/HP filtering knob lets you quickly find the tone that suits combined with the 8 band EQ to define your sound. Finally the intensity knob allows you to control the level of dynamics applied to your mix. Automate this in real time when you want to relax or accentuate your drum track during your song. Features: ○ Supports factory and user presets. ○ Add bite using the Attack & Hold controls. ○ Use the Release to get extra dynamic range. ○ Both Attack and Release can be inverted to transform the dynamics. ○ LP/HP filtering. ○ Saturation control. ○ 8 Band Graphic EQ. ○ Real-time gain display. ○ Intensity control to amplify the effect up to 200%. ○ Limiter/clipper for driving your sound to the max. ○ Auto ranging option for graphing.

About

LevLr

This audio effect plugin offers simple compression and limiting for music production. It features two modes and two intuitive controls, making it easy to achieve desired dynamics without complex settings. Presets are included for quick adjustments.

Highlights
  • Compressor and Limiter modes
  • Two intuitive controls (In/Out)
  • Simple presets
  • AUv3 compatible
  • Standalone operation
Read full description

LevLr Compressor / limiter Plugin (AUv3) LevLr is an audio effect plugin that can run standalone, or in any AU compatible host application such as Logic or GarageBand. Overview The LevLr "leveller" is a super simple dynamics processor with just two modes and two controls. If you find tinkering with compression ratios, makeup gain and attack / decay times, confusing or time-consuming, you might like to give LevLr a try, especially as it's free! Parameters Active - Toggles the effect On or Off. Mode - Changes between Comp (compressor) and Limit (limiter) mode. Typically you would use Comp on an individual track, and Limit on a master output. In - Determines how hard you drive the compression "circuit". As you increase the gain, the compression effect will become more obvious, with an overall increase in perceived volume and "weight". Out - Allows you to reduce the output in cases where you have the desired amount of compression, but the track is now too dominant in your mix. You generally don't need to adjust this unless your In setting is more than about 6dB. With so few controls, it's pretty easy to dial-in LevLr to taste, but it also has three very simple presets to get you going: Default - a general-purpose Comp setting that can help a track sit in the mix a bit better. Track Compressor - this is heavier / more obvious compression, with a little gain compensation. Master Limiter - this can work well on a master bus and makes everything seem LOUDER! That's pretty much all there is to it, but for the technically minded... The In value is basically the compression threshold, so for example 6dB means compression will kick-in somewhere around the -6dB level. The compression ratios used are 4:1 and 12:1 for Comp and Limit mode respectively. Automatic gain compensation is applied internally depending on the threshold and ratio. The attack time is extremely fast (close to 0ms) meaning that LevLr should handle just about anything you can throw at it without exceeding 0dB at its output. Please do take a look at my other AudioUnits on the App Store if you can spare the time. Supporting paid apps allows me to release free ones as a little thankyou from time to time. For more info and support please visit: www.waverley-instruments.com/robjackson

Screenshots

Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin4 screens
LevLr2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LevLr at Free against Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's $9.99. LevLr also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 29 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's advantage is chart position (#198 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

LevLr is free to download; Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LevLr holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin ships an update every 29 months, LevLr daily. The most recent releases landed on September 3, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin versus LevLr: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum Surgeon AUv3 PluginLevLr
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (10 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 29 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#198 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS1312.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer4Pockets.comRob Jackson

Customer experience

Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

LevLr

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin

No in-app purchases

None

LevLr

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin free?
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LevLr free?
LevLr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin or LevLr?
LevLr is rated higher. Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin averages 4.6 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while LevLr averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin or LevLr have ads?
Neither Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin nor LevLr shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin or LevLr?
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin ships an update every 29 months, and LevLr daily. Most recently, Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin was updated on September 3, 2026 and LevLr on September 8, 2026.

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