Comparison

Surreal Machines Diffuse vs Note to Be

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

Head to head
About

Surreal Machines Diffuse

This audio effect plugin blends analog-modeled delay with classic digital reverb, allowing users to morph between the two for unique soundscapes. It offers intuitive control over smearing, echoes, and damping, inspired by vintage hardware.

Highlights
  • Analog-modeled delay
  • Classic digital reverb
  • Morphing between delay and reverb
  • Nonlinearities and tape-style delay
  • Intuitive control over smearing, echoes, damping
  • AUV3 plugin compatibility
Read full description

Diffuse is inspired by classic hardware delay and reverb effects from the 1970’s and 1980’s. It takes a Surreal Machines look at the frontier between delays and reverbs. It's an analog/digital hybrid - an analog modeled delay fused with a classic reverb design used in early digital units. In Diffuse you get more than the best of both worlds - you can morph between delays and reverbs, and find all kinds of fantastical sounds in between the two. You’ll also find plenty of nonlinearities and smooth tape-style delay changes. Diffuse gives you complete control over smearing, echoes and damping in the most intuitive ways possible. ****** Diffuse is an Audio Unit V3 plugin; it benefits from an AUV3 host like Logic, GarageBand, Cubasis, FL Studio Mobile, AUM, etc.

About

Note to Be

This app offers advanced MIDI quantization for iOS musicians. It allows precise control over note selection, octave flexibility, and MIDI CC integration for crafting harmonious compositions and dynamic live performances. Supports microtonal scales and multi-synth setups.

Highlights
  • Customizable note and octave selection
  • MIDI CC to note conversion
  • Multi-synth channel assignment
  • Live performance toggles
  • Microtonal scale support (Scala Library)
  • MPE polyphonic playback
Features
Read full description

Take full control of your MIDI experience with Note to Be—the powerful iOS app designed to transform how you interact with your music. Whether you're working with a MIDI keyboard, sequencer, or MIDI CC input, Note to Be ensures your notes are perfectly quantized to the nearest selected note, allowing you to craft precise, harmonious compositions with ease. Key Features: - Customizable Note Selection: Choose individual notes from any octave, or apply your selection across the full -1 to +8 octave range. - Octave Flexibility: Work within the entire octave spectrum, selecting and unselecting notes with a simple tap. - MIDI CC Integration: Use MIDI CC from hardware controllers or apps like ShiftBud to convert control changes into quantized notes. Easily create chord voicings and dynamic live performances. - Multi-Synth Support: Assign different MIDI channels to multiple synths, allowing each to respond to the quantized MIDI output independently. - Live Performance Enhancement: Engage the 'all notes' toggle to instantly apply note selections across all octaves or quickly select notes in a specific key and scale. - Microtonality: Select a microtonal scale from the Scala Library with +5000 microtonal scales, or import your own to the iCloud folder. Play the MPE supported synths polyphonically. With Note to Be, your music becomes a canvas, and every note is a brushstroke. Unlock new creative possibilities and refine your sound with the precision of MIDI quantization, right from your iOS device. Note to Be is a MIDI app and does not produce any sound on its own. You need a MIDI input source and an audio output destination in order to work with Note to Be. The AUv3 plugin requires an AUv3 host app such as AUM, Logic Pro for iPad, Loopy Pro, Cubasis, Nanostudio, apeMatrix, Audiobus etc.

Screenshots

Surreal Machines Diffuse1 screens
Note to Be4 screens

Verdict

The call

Surreal Machines Diffuse and Note to Be both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Surreal Machines Diffuse's written reviews are positive against 50% of Note to Be's. Note to Be's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $7.99). 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

Surreal Machines Diffuse costs $7.99 and Note to Be $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Surreal Machines Diffuse against 4.9 for Note to Be. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 7 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Surreal Machines Diffuse's written reviews are positive against 50% of Note to Be's.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Surreal Machines Diffuse versus Note to Be: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurreal Machines DiffuseNote to Be
Price$7.99$4.99 — better
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better4.9 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings67 — better
Update frequency—Weekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSurreal MachinesCem Olcay

Customer experience

Surreal Machines Diffuse

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Note to Be

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Surreal Machines Diffuse

No in-app purchases

None

Note to Be

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surreal Machines Diffuse free?
Surreal Machines Diffuse costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Note to Be free?
Note to Be costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surreal Machines Diffuse or Note to Be?
Surreal Machines Diffuse is rated higher. Surreal Machines Diffuse averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Note to Be averages 4.9 from 7 ratings.
Do Surreal Machines Diffuse or Note to Be have ads?
Neither Surreal Machines Diffuse nor Note to Be shows ads.

Other comparisons