Comparison

ZX Plectrum vs GateVerb

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

Head to head
About

ZX Plectrum

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a musical instrument by recreating the iconic loading sounds of the ZX Spectrum. Customize phase and pitch to generate unique audio and visuals, and integrate with AUv3 hosts for advanced music production.

Highlights
  • ZX Spectrum loading sound recreation
  • Adjustable phase and pitch
  • Visual customization
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • Live performance integration
Features
Read full description

Play the ZX Spectrum loading sounds as a musical instrument on your iPhone or iPad! Relive the crisp sounds of your youth! Change the loading sounds (and visuals) phase and pitch to make some weird, wonderful and familiar sounds! Plugin to your favourite AUv3 host and make unique music unlike anything else. BeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeBOP!! "As seen on TV" on Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit Used by multi-Platinum band Placebo in their live envents. "ZX Plectrum lets you make music Spectrum style on your iPhone" pocket-lint.com "Utterly pointless but also utterly engaging" bamm.tv "For Nostlagia lovers of a very specific demographic this will sound like heaven" calmdowntom.com "The Greatest iPad App of ALL TIME" conoroneill.net

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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 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

ZX Plectrum4 screens
GateVerb4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: GateVerb at 5.0 against ZX Plectrum's 4.2. GateVerb also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 76%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

ZX Plectrum costs $3.99 and GateVerb $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

GateVerb holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of ZX Plectrum's written reviews are positive against 100% of GateVerb's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ZX Plectrum ships an update every 4 months, GateVerb every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ZX Plectrum versus GateVerb: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZX PlectrumGateVerb
Price$3.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.2 (6 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDave Sapien Ltd.Rob Jackson

Customer experience

ZX Plectrum

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive76.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative16.0%

GateVerb

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ZX Plectrum

No in-app purchases

None

GateVerb

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ZX Plectrum free?
ZX Plectrum costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is GateVerb free?
GateVerb costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ZX Plectrum or GateVerb?
GateVerb is rated higher. ZX Plectrum averages 4.2 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while GateVerb averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do ZX Plectrum or GateVerb have ads?
Neither ZX Plectrum nor GateVerb shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ZX Plectrum or GateVerb?
ZX Plectrum ships an update every 4 months, and GateVerb every 2 months. Most recently, ZX Plectrum was updated on October 22, 2026 and GateVerb on October 24, 2026.

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