Comparison

Compact DeLuxe vs Surreal Machines Diffuse

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

Head to head
About

Compact DeLuxe

This app emulates a classic Italian transistor organ, offering authentic sound generation through component modeling. It features a full polyphony, realistic key click, and adjustable vibrato, along with built-in stereo delay and reverb effects.

Highlights
  • Component modeling engine
  • Full polyphony
  • Authentic key click simulation
  • Realistic register filters
  • Adjustable vibrato
  • Built-in stereo delay and reverb
Features
Read full description

Please note: This App comes with an AUv3 plugin extension. GSi Compact DeLuxe is a component modeling emulation of a Farfisa Compact DeLuxe. INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND Among the many transistor organs of the past, also known as "Combo Organs" (mostly because some of them also had a rhythm section and built-in speakers), the Farfisa Compact DeLuxe, along with its big brother the Compact Duo, was one of the most used organs at least in the european beat scene of the early and mid seventies. The electronic circuit of this kind of organ is relatively simple, at least on paper: rather than using a mechanical tone generator like the tonewheel models (Hammond and Pari), the transistor organs used a circuit called "Top Octave Synthesizer", TOS for short, responsible of the generation of 12 waveforms, one for each note of the last octave of the organ keyboard. The basic waveform was usually something halfway between a ramp and a triangular. The lower octaves were produced by means of "divider" circuits that could halve the frequency of each waveform, going so forth for each lower octave down to the pedalboard tones. At each division, something was lost and something was gained in terms of harmonic content. The result was that the same notes of different octaves had oscillators perfectly in sync, so all C notes were in sync, all C#, all D and so on. This same technique was also used in so-called "string machines" or "stringer keyboards" that emulated orchestral sounds (violins, trumpets, etc.) - see GSi's Electrorchestra. The various registers in combo organs were produced by passing the raw waveforms through a filter bank, so some waveforms were low-pass filtered for bass-like sounds, some were high-pass filtered for violin-like sounds, etc. and some waveforms also went through more than one filter. This also adds some level of phase shifting between waveforms coming from different registers, the reason why the sum between, e.g. a Flute 8' and a Violin 8' isn't exactly the superimposition of the two waveforms, but something slightly different. And this is one of those underrated details that made the sound of some Combo Organs pretty unique. The sound engine of GSi Compact DeLuxe is also included in the GSi Gemini as well as in the Crumar Mojo 61. Of course this type of instrument gives its best if run through external effects and amps. Have a look at the GSi catalog and experiment with some of the effects offered by GSi. Main features: - Component Modeling engine (no samples, all real-time synthesis) - Full Polyphony (61 notes, 12 Top-Octave Oscillators + Frequency Dividers) - Key multi-contact simulation with authentic and adjustable key click - Authentic recreation of the Farfisa register filters - Recreation of the background noise and leakage - Adjustable vibrato (speed and depth) - Built-in Stereo Delay effect - Built-in Stereo Reverb effect - Built-in programmer with unlimited Programs - Embedded user's manual - Available as Stand-alone application and audio plugin - Very low CPU and RAM usage

About

Surreal Machines Diffuse

This audio effect plugin blends analog-modeled delay with classic digital reverb, allowing users to morph between the two for unique soundscapes. It offers intuitive control over smearing, echoes, and damping, inspired by vintage hardware.

Highlights
  • Analog-modeled delay
  • Classic digital reverb
  • Morphing between delay and reverb
  • Nonlinearities and tape-style delay
  • Intuitive control over smearing, echoes, damping
  • AUV3 plugin compatibility
Read full description

Diffuse is inspired by classic hardware delay and reverb effects from the 1970’s and 1980’s. It takes a Surreal Machines look at the frontier between delays and reverbs. It's an analog/digital hybrid - an analog modeled delay fused with a classic reverb design used in early digital units. In Diffuse you get more than the best of both worlds - you can morph between delays and reverbs, and find all kinds of fantastical sounds in between the two. You’ll also find plenty of nonlinearities and smooth tape-style delay changes. Diffuse gives you complete control over smearing, echoes and damping in the most intuitive ways possible. ****** Diffuse is an Audio Unit V3 plugin; it benefits from an AUV3 host like Logic, GarageBand, Cubasis, FL Studio Mobile, AUM, etc.

Screenshots

Compact DeLuxe3 screens
Surreal Machines Diffuse1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Surreal Machines Diffuse at $7.99 against Compact DeLuxe's $14.99. Compact DeLuxe's advantage is iOS requirement (9.3 vs 14). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume 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

Compact DeLuxe costs $14.99 and Surreal Machines Diffuse $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Compact DeLuxe against 5.0 for Surreal Machines Diffuse. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Compact DeLuxe versus Surreal Machines Diffuse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompact DeLuxeSurreal Machines Diffuse
Price$14.99$7.99 — better
Rating4.9 (7 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.3 — better14
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGenuine SoundwareSurreal Machines

Customer experience

Compact DeLuxe

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Surreal Machines Diffuse

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Compact DeLuxe

No in-app purchases

None

Surreal Machines Diffuse

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Compact DeLuxe free?
Compact DeLuxe costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Surreal Machines Diffuse free?
Surreal Machines Diffuse costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Compact DeLuxe or Surreal Machines Diffuse?
Surreal Machines Diffuse is rated higher. Compact DeLuxe averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Surreal Machines Diffuse averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Compact DeLuxe or Surreal Machines Diffuse have ads?
Neither Compact DeLuxe nor Surreal Machines Diffuse shows ads.

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