Comparison

User Scale vs Spectral Hold

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

Head to head
About

User Scale

This iPad application allows musicians to control the tuning scale of their Roland instruments. It enables real-time adjustments to key tunings, applying consistent values across notes of the same name during performances.

Highlights
  • Control tuning scale with iPad
  • Change instrument key tunings
  • Apply consistent tuning values
  • Real-time performance control
Read full description

This software application for iPad lets you change the tuning scale of your Roland musical instrument. When using User Scale you can: • Play your Roland musical instrument while controlling the tuning scale of your performance with your iPad • Change the tuning of your musical instrument’s keys. Apply the same values to all notes of the same name App requires: - Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit (camera connectors made by Apple Inc.) and USB cable (type A–male to type B–male, commercially available) -or- - Roland musical instrument that supports the wireless LAN function

About

Spectral Hold

This audio processor analyzes sound in real-time, allowing you to tilt the frequency spectrum or freeze a moment into a sustained drone. Shape your audio with adjustable gain and pivot frequencies.

Highlights
  • Spectral tilt EQ
  • Spectral freeze effect
  • Adjustable pivot frequency
  • Real-time audio analysis
  • Dry/wet mix control
  • Delay compensation
Features
Read full description

SPECTRAL HOLD A spectral processor that combines a frequency-domain tilt EQ with a spectral freeze. Audio is analyzed with a short-time Fourier transform (1024-point FFT, 75% overlap, Hann window). Each frame's bins can be tilted around a pivot frequency, and the most recent frame can be frozen and held indefinitely, turning any moment of the input into a sustained spectral drone. ------ CONTROLS TILT Applies a spectral tilt around the pivot frequency. The gain of each bin is scaled by tilt * 3 dB per octave of distance from the pivot. Negative values darken the sound by attenuating highs and boosting lows; positive values brighten it by boosting highs and attenuating lows. At 0 the spectrum passes unchanged. Range: -1.00 to +1.00 (so +/-3 dB/octave at the extremes). PIVOT Sets the frequency around which the tilt rotates. Bins above the pivot are affected in one direction and bins below in the other; the pivot itself is left at unity gain. Lower the pivot to pivot the tilt around the low end, raise it to rotate around the highs. Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz (exponential), automatically clamped below the host Nyquist frequency. FREEZE Captures and holds the most recently analyzed spectral frame. While engaged, the stored magnitude and phase of every bin are replayed on each hop instead of the live input, producing a continuous frozen texture. Tilt and pivot remain active on the held spectrum, so the frozen sound can still be shaped. Disengage to return to live processing. DRY/WET Blends the unprocessed (dry) input with the processed (wet) output. At 0% only the dry signal is heard; at 100% only the wet. The dry path is internally delay compensated so it stays time- and phase-aligned with the wet path at every mix setting, with no comb filtering. Useful for layering a frozen pad underneath the live signal, or easing in a tilt. ------ NOTE Because the effect works frame by frame, it reports a latency of one FFT frame (1024 samples, about 21 ms at 48 kHz) to the host for accurate delay compensation.

Screenshots

Spectral Hold4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: User Scale at Free against Spectral Hold's $1.99. User Scale also leads on iOS requirement (8.1 vs 17.0). Spectral Hold's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.5). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

User Scale is free to download; Spectral Hold costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spectral Hold holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
User Scale versus Spectral Hold: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUser ScaleSpectral Hold
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating3.5 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 13 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS8.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoland CorporationCallback Audio, LLC

Customer experience

User Scale

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Spectral Hold

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

User Scale

No in-app purchases

None

Spectral Hold

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is User Scale free?
User Scale is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spectral Hold free?
Spectral Hold costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, User Scale or Spectral Hold?
Spectral Hold is rated higher. User Scale averages 3.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Spectral Hold averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do User Scale or Spectral Hold have ads?
Neither User Scale nor Spectral Hold shows ads.

Other comparisons