Comparison

shapesynth vs Fauve

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

Head to head
About

shapesynth

Create unique retro-inspired sounds by drawing oscillator waveforms. This polyphonic synthesizer offers extensive modulation options, built-in effects, and recording capabilities. Seamlessly integrate with other music apps and hardware for a versatile creative experience.

Highlights
  • Draw custom oscillator waveforms
  • 16-voice polyphony
  • Arpeggiator and stereo delay
  • Resonant filter
  • Parameter modulation via keyboard, MPE, accelerometer
  • Tape recorder with infinite overdubs
  • Inter-app audio and AUv3 support
Features
Read full description

Shape is a polyphonic synthesiser allowing the user to draw the shape of the oscillator waveform. The first half of the oscillator is represented by 32 blocks and the second half is its mirror, generating all sorts of possible raw retroish sounds. 16 pages per oscillator allows to interpolate between different shapes. Add effects like arpeggio, stereo delay and a resonant filter and record your sounds on a classic tape. Modulate any parameter with keyboard, MIDI MPE or the device accelerometer. Connect to other apps with AudioBus, IAA, AUv3 and midi. +++ 16 voice polyphony +++ 2 oscillators, draw your own shape +++ 3 oscillator mixing functions (add, subtract or multiply) +++ Lfo modulation with ADSR: envelope, pitch, duty cycle, square, page or filter +++ Record on tape with infinite overdubs (save, load, import, export) +++ Arpeggiator +++ Stereo delay +++ Resonant filter (low, band and high pass) +++ Modulate any parameter using keyboard, MIDI MPE or accelerometer (Built in or Sphero) +++ Mini linear sequencer with euclidean rhythm +++ On screen 25 key stylophone style keyboard +++ AudioBus, Inter App Audio and AUv3 +++ Ableton link or AUv3 host sync +++ CoreMIDI, IAA MIDI, Bluetooth MIDI, limited MPE and MIDI out +++ Audio Paste, files app drag’n drop or open with

About

Fauve

This audio processor captures and reinterprets sonic fragments, introducing intentional glitches, distortions, and variations. It allows users to reshape sounds, creating unique soundscapes that blend memory and reality.

Highlights
  • Records and breaks down incoming audio into fragments
  • Introduces intentional glitches, distortions, and memory errors
  • Allows shaping playback with sampling/slicing parameters
  • Sculpts amplitude through 'Absence' parameter
  • Blurs reality with 'Mirage' parameter for dream-like effects
  • Lock parameters to preserve settings while browsing presets
  • In-GUI information for parameter details
Read full description

Fauve is an audio processor that collects sonic fragments and replays them, not always faithfully. It forgets, distorts, and glitches into new meanings.  Like the hallucination of a broken machine. A fractured memory, yours to reshape. "Fauve is a perfect cure for sound-alike effects. It really is distinct from other buffer/glitch and granular tools. And it strikes an ideal balance between predictability and weirdness, between polished controls you can learn and master and unexpected combinations that surprise you." Peter Kirn – CDM By continuously recording incoming audio, Fauve analyzes and breaks sound into small units we call collections. When playing them back, it sometimes fails, opening space for the user to edit and shape the material according to their own sonic vision. Fauve can be a harsh distortion, a gentle shadow, a paroxysmal dance between reality and dream, and much more. It can slightly scramble your sound, completely strip it of its original meaning, or introduce subtle, almost imperceptible variations to make it richer, yet always organic. Fauve disrupts, but never destroys. REMEMBER / FORGET Fauve listens and remembers — but it may forget to capture the present, getting stuck in the past. It blends memory and reality, shaping a soundscape as if it were truly what it just heard. BEHOLD THE HALLUCINATION Beyond the native errors of its faulty replicatory nature, Fauve opens space for your design: you can shape the playback of fragments using classic sampling/slicing parameters like Disorder, Repeat, Freeze, and playhead rate. SHAPING THROUGH ABSENCE Sculpts amplitude in two distinct ways through Absence: turn left to assign a random value to each fragment for more organic results, or turn right to introduce audio drops, adding uncertainty, or even reaching distortion wilderness on shorter fragments. BEYOND BALANCE: ENTER THE MIRAGE Let Fauve blur reality with its dream using the Mirage parameter. Shape the balance, focus it across the stereo field, and control amplitude for both source and processed sound. LOCK PARAMETERS Enable lock toggle to preserve key parameters values while browsing presets. IN-GUI INFOS Enable Infos toggle to get all parameters details always in sight; just hover on a parameter. Fauve is a totem/series plugin, and like all totems, it follows its own logic. Timing in Fauve doesn’t rely on beats or note values — it’s driven by the material itself. Every operation is triggered by zero crossings, making the outcome deeply dependent on the source. Same settings, radically different results.

Screenshots

shapesynth4 screens
Fauve3 screens

Verdict

The call

shapesynth and Fauve both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of Fauve's written reviews are positive against 65% of shapesynth's. Fauve also leads on price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

shapesynth costs $4.99 and Fauve $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

shapesynth holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 19 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of shapesynth's written reviews are positive against 75% of Fauve's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
shapesynth versus Fauve: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametershapesynthFauve
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.9 (24 ratings) — better4.7 (19 ratings)
Positive reviews65.1% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24 — better19
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better9.3
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperErik SigthK-Devices

Customer experience

shapesynth

All ratings24 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive65.1%
Neutral9.3%
Negative25.6%

Fauve

All ratings19 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

shapesynth

No in-app purchases

None

Fauve

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is shapesynth free?
shapesynth costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fauve free?
Fauve costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, shapesynth or Fauve?
shapesynth is rated higher. shapesynth averages 4.9 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Fauve averages 4.7 from 19 ratings.
Do shapesynth or Fauve have ads?
Neither shapesynth nor Fauve shows ads.

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