Comparison

Mantis vs Drum

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

Head to head
About

Mantis

This audio plugin emulates a vintage 70s analog delay/echo unit, offering a warm, authentic sound. It features four echo taps, swell selectors, and a unique modulation section for chorus-like effects.

Highlights
  • Emulates rare 70s BBD delay/echo
  • Warm analog sound
  • Four echo taps
  • Four swell selectors
  • Rotafaze modulation section
  • Mimics tape echo wow/flutter
  • Chorus-delay effect
Features
Read full description

Mantis is a plugin that emulates a rare BBD (bucket-brigade device) delay/echo unit of the 70s, faithfully recreating its warm and analog sound. Available as AUv3 and Standalone. As the original unit, Mantis features an echo section with four taps and four swell selectors. It also features the rotafaze section, a modulation that can mimic the wow/flutter of a tape echo or turn the unit into a unique chorus-delay.

About

Drum

This app recreates the distinctive sound of early 1980s electronic drum modules combined with sampled real cymbal sounds. It offers a virtual analog engine for drum synthesis and a separate engine for realistic cymbal playback, providing a unique sonic palette for music production.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog engine for 80s drum sounds
  • Sampled real cymbal sounds
  • Dual sound engines for drums and cymbals
  • Multiple output options
  • Built-in effects (limiter, delay, reverb)
  • Unlimited program storage
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Please note: 1) This App comes with an AUv3 plugin extension. 2) To play the cymbal samples, a separate download (free, in-app) of ~180 MB is required. The App also works without the cymbal samples. INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND We all know and use electronic drums today, but at the beginning of the 80's the first electronic drums were a real novelty that revolutionized not only the sound of music of those years, but also the workflow in the recording studio. Many producers preferred to record the sound of electronic drums rather than acoustic drums because it saved time and money, avoiding having to mount microphones, find the right positions, spend hours equalizing and correcting the recorded material. With an electronic drum set it was quicker: it was enough to connect the cables and maybe find the right sound for the song, which was a perfect scenario especially for many low-cost productions, for example those of pop music. The first electronic drums were completely analog, they generated the sounds of the drums using only a few elements such as an oscillator and a white noise generator, plus a couple of envelopes and a filter. The sound wasn't exactly realistic but it was peculiar, and perfect for creating certain sounds never heard before. The downside was that electronic drums could only generate the sound of drums but not cymbals. For this reason, the sound of real cymbals was recorded alongside the sound of electronic drums. This kind of setup was also used live quite often. It was common to see a drummer on stage playing the typical hexagonal pads but combined with a set of real cymbals. GSi Drum-80 reproduces that exact scenario. It contains two separate sound engines that can play at the same time. One engine recreates the sounds of the famous electronic drum module known as the Simmons SDS-V (very similar to the later SDS-8 model); at the same time, the exclusive GSi WLF Engine plays a multi-sample of real cymbals recorded exclusively for Drum-80. Main features - Virtual Analog Engine based on the famous SDS-V drum module - Optional VCO phase reset - Supports multiple outputs (one stereo mix, six individual drum synth channels, one stereo channel for Cymbals) - Sampled Cymbal sounds (Hi-Hat, Ride, 4 Crashes, 3 Splashes) provided by the exclusive GSi WLF Engine - Full Polyphony - Separate section with adjustments for Cymbal sounds (tuning, leveling and EQ) - Stereo 1176-Style Limiter - Stereo Delay effect - Stereo Reverb effect - Built-in programmer with unlimited Programs - Embedded user's manual - Available as Stand-alone application and audio plugin (AUv3 for iPad) - Very low CPU and RAM usage Visit home page for audio and video demos.

Screenshots

Mantis1 screens
Drum3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mantis at 5.0 against Drum's 4.8. Drum's advantage is chart position (#188 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On price, 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

Mantis costs $14.99 and Drum $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mantis holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mantis ships an update every 9 months, Drum every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Mantis versus Drum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMantisDrum
Price$14.99$14.99
Rating5.0 (8 ratings) — better4.8 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews—80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 7 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#188 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAudioThing Ltd.Genuine Soundware

Customer experience

Mantis

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Drum

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

None

Mantis

No in-app purchases

None

Drum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mantis free?
Mantis costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Drum free?
Drum costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mantis or Drum?
Mantis is rated higher. Mantis averages 5.0 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Drum averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Mantis or Drum have ads?
Neither Mantis nor Drum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mantis or Drum?
Mantis ships an update every 9 months, and Drum every 7 months. Most recently, Mantis was updated on October 1, 2026 and Drum on October 12, 2026.

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