Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin vs GateVerb
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Dynamics and transient processing
- Saturation control
- 8-band graphic EQ
- LP/HP filtering
- Attack & Hold controls
- Intensity control up to 200%
- Limiter/clipper
Read full descriptionHide 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.
GateVerb
This audio effect plugin offers a stereo reverb with a retro sound. It features pre and post-effect filters for tone shaping and a switchable gate for classic gated reverb or reverse reverb effects in real-time. Adjust size, damping, width, and wet/dry levels for customized audio.
- Stereo reverb with retro vibe
- Pre and post-effect filters
- Switchable gate processing
- Gated reverb emulation
- Reverse reverb emulation
- Adjustable reverb size, damping, width
- Adjustable wet/dry signal levels
Read full descriptionHide full description
GateVerb Gated Reverb Plugin (AUv3) GateVerb is an audio effect plugin that can run standalone, or in any AU compatible host application such as Logic Pro or GarageBand. Overview GateVerb is a super-simple and CPU-friendly stereo reverb with a retro vibe. Pre and post-effect filters provide additional tone-shaping, and the switchable gate processing stage allows the recreation of the gated reverb sound made famous on many an 80's hit, as well as an emulation of a "reverse reverb" effect in realtime. And of course, you can simply switch off the gate, for those times when you just need a straightforward no-frills reverb. Controls Active - Toggles the effect On or Off. You can use this control to A/B your settings with the original signal and this will fade gradually between the two with no distracting pops or clicks! Reverb Controls Size - Varies the size of the emulated reverb from a small room to very large hall. Damping - Varies the amount of high frequency damping applied to the reverb tail. As damping is increased, the reverb effect becomes "softer". Width - Sets the stereo spread of the generated reverb from mono, to wide stereo. Wet - Sets the level of the generated reverb, including the filter processing. Dry - Sets the level of the dry / incoming audio signal. Filter Controls HPF - Sets the cutoff frequency of a high-pass filter, which is applied to the signal sent into the reverb processing. LPF - Sets the cutoff frequency of a low-pass filter, which is applied to the output of the reverb processing. Gate Controls Gate - Turns the gate processing stage On or Off. Like the Active control, this is a "soft" switch so you can A/B the effect. The gate processing is applied to the wet / reverb signal only. Smoothing - Sets how fast the gate processing responds to changes in the input signal. Lower settings correspond to a fast response time, whereas higher settings introduce a lag or damping effect to the responsiveness of the gate. Note that the smoothing time also affects the Attack and Release times, so if you need a really slow attack, try increasing the Smoothing too. Threshold - Sets the signal level required to "open" the gate. Note - If set too high, you might not hear any reverb at all, and if set too low, no gating effect will occur as the signal will be loud enough to keep the gate open all the time. Attack - Sets how quickly the gate opens once triggered. At the zero setting, the gate will open immediately, otherwise it opens up gradually, which can be used to create a swell / pseudo-reverse reverb effect. Sometimes, just having a little bit of a swell prevents the reverb from masking the attack of the dry signal which helps retain clarity. Alternatively, ramp-up the attack for spooky vocal effects! Release - Sets how quickly the gate closes after the attack stage. At zero, it will close very quickly, depending on the Response settings. Longer release times can be quite subtle and allows for some fine-tuning of the reverb tail. Somewhere in the middle is the classic 80's drum type gated reverb effect. For more info and support please visit: www.waverley-instruments.com/robjackson
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: GateVerb at $1.99 against Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's $9.99. GateVerb also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 29 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's advantage is ratings volume (11 vs 3). 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
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin costs $9.99 and GateVerb $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
GateVerb holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin's written reviews are positive against 100% of GateVerb's.
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin ships an update every 29 months, GateVerb every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin | GateVerb |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (11 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 29 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 13 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 4Pockets.com | Rob Jackson |
Customer experience
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin
GateVerb
In-app purchases
Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin
No in-app purchases
GateVerb
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin free?
Is GateVerb free?
Which has better reviews, Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin or GateVerb?
Do Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin or GateVerb have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drum Surgeon AUv3 Plugin or GateVerb?
Other comparisons















