Comparison

Surface Builder vs Toyphonic Micraliser

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

Head to head
About

Surface Builder

Create custom MIDI control surfaces for audio applications. Design interfaces with buttons, knobs, and faders to send and receive MIDI data, control audio clips, and customize appearance. Supports AUv3 plugins and standalone use.

Highlights
  • Customizable MIDI control surfaces
  • AUv3 plugin and standalone modes
  • Send/receive MIDI data (notes, controllers, pitch bend)
  • Audio clip playback control
  • Multi-scene interface design
  • Drag and drop interface customization
Features
Read full description

Surface Builder is a tool for creating control surfaces that send MIDI data to one or more audio components in order to simplify remote control tasks. You start by creating a surface of a given size, adding buttons, knobs, faders, etc. to the surface and configuring them to generate the required MIDI output. Surface Builder allows you to send note on/off, controller change and program change values as well as being able to emulate modulation wheel and pitch bend data. Buttons can also be configured to send bulk MIDI data using a single key press. You can build surfaces that span multiple scenes and link between them for large complex interfaces. Incoming MIDI data can also be used to control or trigger elements of the interface, giving a bi-directional stream of MIDI data. Surface Builder can be added as a pure MIDI plugin which allows processing of MIDI only, or as an instrument plugin, allowing you to process audio passing through it. You can even load it as an intrument and configure a surface to start and stop audio clips either manually or remotely. Surface Builder was designed to be used as an AUv3 plugin within your favourite DAW, but it can also be used in standalone to send MIDI directly to MIDI hardware using direct access to their MIDI ports. Many different object types are supported including buttons, switches, lights, rotary knobs, faders, sliders, XY-Pad, keyboards, as well as text, image and box objects. Each object has many different styles and colours, so no two surfaces look the same. Drag and drop an audio file onto a button and that button becomes a clip player. Attach rotary knobs to control the clips volume and pan. Throw on top of that a LP/HP filter knob and you are cooking on gas. Drop PNG transparent image icons on buttons to customise the look and feel. A button can record and playback bulk MIDI commands, on both button press and release. So pressing a button could send the notes of a chord when pressed, and appropriate note offs on release. A surface can consist of up to 6 scenes for really complex designs. Buttons and switches can be used to switch scenes and also to show and hide other objects to make better use of screen space. Once your surface is complete switch to presentation mode to hide all the toolbars. Each surface can be saved with compressed audio and images all in a single surface file. Features ○ AUv3 and standalone modes. ○ Bluetooth MIDI support. ○ Drag and Drop interface. ○ Send and Receive Note On/Off. ○ Supports all Control Change parameters. ○ Supports Program Change commands with bank support. ○ Multiple Audio Clip playback. ○ Record and playback bulk midi data. ○ Multi-Scene. ○ Multi-level undo/redo. ○ MIDI Monitor ○ Presentation Mode. ○ iPhone and iPad compatible.

About

Toyphonic Micraliser

This app emulates toy microphones with ultra-realistic modeling and impulse responses to add unique character to your vocals. It offers envelope controls, modulation, and presets to sculpt your sound, designed for iOS music production hosts.

Highlights
  • Ultra-realistic Apex Mic Modelling
  • Isolated mic & speaker Impulse Responses
  • Envelope controls for sculpting
  • Modulation via LFO, Sequencer & Envelope Follower
  • 15 'ethically' sourced presets
  • Randomise button for infinite presets
Currently charting
Read full description

Introducing the Toyphonic Micraliser for International Joke Day 2025... - Ultra-realistic, Precision Tuned, Apex Mic Modelling. - If your singing sounds like a dying cat, this finally kills the cat. - Why waste a good mic on those vocals? Use this and keep expectations low. - Built for the future—fails in the present. Impulse Responses Transform your music into something only a toddler could appreciate via the painstakingly captured, isolated mic & speaker Impulse Responses - perfect for those of you who musically peaked at nursery rhymes. Envelope Curve, sculpt and inappropriately touch the behavioural qualities of the Impulse Response via the attack and decay controls, just don’t overdo it you brute. Quality We hand-crafted a musical, beastly quality control to exacerbate and crush the effects of the IRs which is very much needed to help you truly understand our genius, especially now that after years of blasting music through your ******* you’ve left your ears heroically useless. Presets 15 'ethically' locally sourced, organic presets so your AI-reliant selves don’t have to think beyond the blinking and breathing part of your day. We even blessed you with a randomise button which is like infinite presets, how kind are we?! Make Movey Things Embrace change grandpa, employ the service of modulation via the LFO, Sequencer & Envelope Follower to keep things moving, just because your music is flat and boring doesn’t mean the automation has to be too. Product Aftercare We cannot be held liable for any personal threats or harm you may encounter upon being encouraged to sing into the Toyphonic Micraliser, you should have known better you silly sausage. Toyphonic Micraliser is designed as an AUv3 plugin, meaning it works within iOS and iPadOS hosts such as Logic Pro, GarageBand, Cubasis 3, AUM and Beatmaker 3.

Screenshots

Surface Builder4 screens
Toyphonic Micraliser1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Toyphonic Micraliser at $0.99 against Surface Builder's $14.99. Toyphonic Micraliser also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%) and chart position (#193 vs unranked). 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

Surface Builder costs $14.99 and Toyphonic Micraliser $0.99 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 — 4.7 for Surface Builder against 4.8 for Toyphonic Micraliser. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 6 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Surface Builder's written reviews are positive against 100% of Toyphonic Micraliser's.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Surface Builder versus Toyphonic Micraliser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurface BuilderToyphonic Micraliser
Price$14.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.7 (15 ratings)4.8 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#193 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1312.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer4Pockets.comCaelum Audio

Customer experience

Surface Builder

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral13.3%
Negative6.7%

Toyphonic Micraliser

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

In-app purchases

None

Surface Builder

No in-app purchases

None

Toyphonic Micraliser

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surface Builder free?
Surface Builder costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Toyphonic Micraliser free?
Toyphonic Micraliser costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surface Builder or Toyphonic Micraliser?
Toyphonic Micraliser is rated higher. Surface Builder averages 4.7 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Toyphonic Micraliser averages 4.8 from 6 ratings.
Do Surface Builder or Toyphonic Micraliser have ads?
Neither Surface Builder nor Toyphonic Micraliser shows ads.

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