Echo Pad vs TB ReelBus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Echo Pad
This app is a highly playable and flexible multi-effects processor focused on delay. It offers a vast range of sounds, from authentic dub echoes to chaotic analog delays and bit-crushed effects. It supports live audio processing, MIDI control, and synchronization with external clocks.
- Multi-effects processor
- Delay FX
- Loopers
- MIDI control
- Audiobus 3 compatible
- Inter-App Audio compatible
- Beat synced delays
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A highly playable and extremely flexible "echo centric" multi effects processor. Echo Pad is capable of an endless range of sounds including authentic dub echo, crystal echoes and multi-tap delay, to chaotic self-oscillating analog delays and bit crushed mayhem. Compatible with Audiobus 3 including full state saving, Inter-App Audio, and USB audio interfaces. Control Echo Pad's parameters via MIDI and sync to external MIDI clock or IAA clock for beat synced delays. Guitarists will appreciate features like delay ducking and gated feedback. Effects include: Tape Echo, Shimmer Delay, Oil Can Delay, Multi-Tap (up to 6 taps), Stereo Delay, Decimator, Flanger, Distortion,Smooth Filter, Loopers and more. >SmiteMatterMusic: "Echo Pad is so innovative all around. I never knew just how much I needed this until I had it in my hands. I recommend giving it a try." (www.smitematter.com) >Jordan Rudess/Wizdom Music: "This is a super fantastic - extremely trippy effects app, which harnesses the power of an iOS device to offer you control that is only possible on a multitouch device. " Process live audio from nearly any input source, including Audiobus and Inter-App Audio compatible hosts such as Auria and Cubasis, use the built in mic, professional audio interfaces such as the Apogee Jam, Apogee MIC, iRig HD, and more. Guitarists can use our effects live by connecting the output of their audio interface to an amp. Visit our YouTube channel for demonstration videos and tutorials on Echo Pad. https://youtube.com/holdernessmedia More info: www.holdernessmedia.com Check out our entire FX series including Caramel, Crystalline, Stereo Designer and Swoopster! COMPATIBILITY: • requires iOS 12.4 or later • iPad Mini/iPad 2 or newer recommended (performance may suffer on older devices) • iPhone 4s/iPod 5 or newer recommended (performance may suffer on older devices) • Audiobus 3 compatible (Effect, state saving ) • Inter-App audio compatible (effect node) • Compatible with DAW apps such as Auria, Cubasis, and Garageband • Export recordings and loops to AudioShare • Core MIDI compatible Features: • Supports Audiobus 3.0 state saving, Effect slot • Inter-App Audio compatible (effect node) • Stereo input and effects processing • Control Echo Pad via MIDI • Sync to external MIDI clock for beat synced delays • Realtime analog style delay/looper • Delay ducking and gated feedback • 18 Effects • 60 factory presets + save custom presets • Multi-touch XY control of effect parameters + stereo panning for expressive control • Automate effects parameters using the Motion Looper. • Sound on sound looper with feedback control for creating layered loops on the fly • Dual mini scratch loopers - record a loop, then scratch like a turntable • Universal app • Select presets via MIDI program change • Works with headphones as well as most iOS and professional USB audio interfaces including: • Apogee Jam • Apogee Mic • iConnectMidi 2+ • iConnectMidi 4+ • iRig • iRig iMic • Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (*requires USB hub) • Apogee ONE (*requires external power thru USB hub) • Apogee GIO (*requires external power thru USB hub) • many more Sharing/Exporting: • Audiobus 3.0 (Effect, State Saving) • Inter-App Audio compatible (effect node) • supports "Export to AudioShare" functionality. Loops and recordings created with Echo Pad can be exported directly to the AudioShare app for easy audio file management. • recordings & loops are also exported to iTunes File Sharing for access on your Mac/PC
TB ReelBus
This audio plugin simulates the authentic sound of magnetic tape, adding warmth, saturation, and classic effects like wow-and-flutter and echo to your music. It offers a wide range of tape and saturation modes for professional-quality audio processing on iOS and iPadOS devices.
- Authentic magnetic tape simulation
- Warmth, saturation, and wow-and-flutter
- Tape flanger and echo effects
- Tape start and stop effects
- Drive EQ for frequency-specific saturation
- Tape wear simulation
- Input/output VU meters
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ToneBoosters ReelBus is a top-quality, authentic, versatile and accurate magnetic tape simulation AUv3 plug-in bringing warmth and excitement of tape to your iOS or iPadOS device! Instant gratification from 80s compact cassette sound to professional 30 IPS studio recorder simulation. Sweeten your mix with a touch of tape hysteresis, saturation and compression. Create that 'Boards of Canada' sound by adding a tad of wow-and-flutter. Top it up with tape flanging, echo and tape start/stop effects. The ToneBoosters ReelBus app captures the microphone (or external sound card) input and processes the signals in real time. To use it as a plug-in, use an AUv3-compatible host app such as Steinberg Cubasis, Apple Garageband, Audio Evolution Mobile Studio, Auria, AUM, or others. ToneBoosters ReelBus will appear in the list of Audio Unit extensions for effect plug-ins. Key features: - The same professional sound as the acclaimed desktop version - Wide variety of tape and saturation modes available - Saturation, hysteresis, wow and flutter, tape hiss, asperity noise controls - Tape speed and amount controls - Soft bypass - Unique drive EQ to drive certain frequencies harder into the tape model - Tape wear model for worn-out tape simulation - Tape flanger and dual tape echo modules, with beat sync functionality - Tape start and tape stop effect modules - Oversampling and anti-aliasing filters for top-quality output - Input and output VU meters showing peak and RMS levels simultaneously - Master Bus mode with analog VU meters and macro controls to get great results efficiently - Undo/redo, and A/B comparison - Color themes for the user interface - Max screen support in Garageband - Optimised for iPad and compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch What you should know: - Licenses acquired for this platform are not compatible with other platforms. - Audio Unit (AUv3) extensions require an iPad mini 2, iPad 4 or later models.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Echo Pad at $4.99 against TB ReelBus's $8.99. TB ReelBus's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 86%) and ratings volume (47 vs 11). On rating, update cadence, 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
Echo Pad costs $4.99 and TB ReelBus $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Echo Pad against 4.9 for TB ReelBus. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 47 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Echo Pad's written reviews are positive against 100% of TB ReelBus's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Echo Pad | TB ReelBus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (11 ratings) | 4.9 (47 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 47 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Holderness Media | ToneBoosters |
Customer experience
Echo Pad
TB ReelBus
In-app purchases
Echo Pad
No in-app purchases
TB ReelBus
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Echo Pad free?
Is TB ReelBus free?
Which has better reviews, Echo Pad or TB ReelBus?
Do Echo Pad or TB ReelBus have ads?
Which is updated more often, Echo Pad or TB ReelBus?
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