SGA Eclipse vs STEM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SGA Eclipse
This app offers authentic analog amplifier sounds for digital audio workstations. It simulates six different analog circuits, including vacuum tubes and transistors, to provide a range of saturation and distortion effects. It can be used as a standalone effect or in conjunction with other plugins to create full amp simulations.
- Authentic analog sound simulation
- Six distinct analog circuits
- Vacuum tube and transistor emulation
- Variable bias and feedback controls
- Automatic 4x oversampling
- AUv3 effect plugin
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Eclipse brings the authentic sound of six analog push-pull circuits to your DAW. Each circuit derives its unique sonic character from a different active element: - 6L6 beam tetrode – Power tube commonly found in US audio power amplifiers in class AB push-pull configuration. - EL34 pentode – Power tube found, operating in class AB push-pull configuration, in audio power amplifiers and many European guitar amplifiers. - EL84 pentode – Power tube found in many European audio equipment, gainer than the usual pentode, operated in push-pull class AB configuration for maximum power output. - pair of complementary N- and P- MOS transistors found in CD4007 - 2N5457 and BF244B JFET transistors in mu-amplifier/SRPP/totem pole amplifier configuration found in some boutique guitar gear, including Shattered Glass Audio. To achieve the most authentic analog sound, each circuit is simulated in real time using Shattered Glass Audio’s state-of-the-art circuit simulator. Eclipse can be used to deliver anything from subtle saturation to ripping distortion, as well as in a tandem with a preamp simulation plug-in, such as our own Phoenix 2, and a speaker cabinet emulation plug-in to create a full amp. Key features: - Authentic analog sound through real-time high-performance circuit simulation. - Three vacuum tube push-pull configurations (fronted by a long-tailed phase splitter using 12AX7 triodes) featuring 6L6, EL34, and EL84 power tubes. - A complementary N- and P- MOS transistors in push-pull configuration. - Two mu-amplifiers featuring JFET transistors 2N5457 and BF244B. - Variable bias and feedback for each circuit for different saturation “flavors”. - AGC and parallel processing. - Automatic 4x oversampling. Eclipse is primarily an AUv3 effect. To use Eclipse as a plug-in, you will need an AUv3 compatible host such as Garageband, AUM, etc. Eclipse application is there to provide a user manual and a chance to use Eclipse with the microphone input. You can try Eclipse on a macOS or Windows based, machine by downloading the demo version of the plug-in (VST3, AUv2, AAX) from our website https://www.shatteredglassaudio.com and running it in a DAW of your choice. Sonically speaking there are no differences between the iOS and macOS/Windows versions of Eclipse.
STEM
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Plug in your audio interface, start the record, and the vocal is on its own fader. STEM splits what is playing — or what is coming in from your mixer — into vocals, drums, bass and everything else, live, on your iPad or iPhone. Each stem lands on its own pair of hardware outputs, so your desk does the mixing. No upload. No render queue. No waiting for a track to be analysed before you can play it. LIVE IN, STEMS OUT Feed STEM from your interface — a turntable through your mixer, a booth output, an instrument — and it separates what is coming in, with the engine aimed at a live source instead of a file. The mix you did not make, taken apart. EVERY STEM ITS OWN OUTPUTS Each stem takes its own pair of hardware channels — vocals to 3-4, drums to 5-6 — up to 16 channels, assigned in a routing matrix that remembers each interface. Outputs start muted until you confirm the routing, because a misrouted stem into a PA is the mistake worth preventing. On a device alone the four stems fold down to stereo, and the console says so. TWO DECKS, ONE CROSSFADER One setting runs a second deck: its own separation engine, its own four stems, its own routing. A crossfader between them, constant-power or cut. HANDS ON THE HARDWARE Map any MIDI CC by tapping a control and moving the knob. Soft takeover means a hardware fader never makes the mix jump, and positions are sent back, so motorised faders and LED rings follow the console. A CONSOLE, NOT A DIALOG Long-throw faders with a 0 dB detent, mute and solo per stem, LED metering, a master strip with BS.1770 loudness. Per-stem three-band EQ and a resonant filter — ladder or state-variable, your choice. Cue any stem to a headphone pair before you bring it up. Save the whole desk as a scene and recall it. SENDS, INSIDE OR OUT Up to four stereo sends, each per stem and post-fader. Send one to a hardware pair for your outboard, or to the built-in tempo-synced delay or plate reverb. STEMS WHILE IT PLAYS Load a track and it comes apart as it plays. Seek anywhere and the stems follow, because the separation is happening now rather than being read from a file somebody prepared earlier. TAKE THE STEMS WITH YOU Write a loaded track back out as four 24-bit WAV files, latency-compensated so they sit at zero in a DAW, rendered by the larger offline model. MEASURED, NOT QUOTED Latency, load and real-time margin are read from the running session and shown while you work. The app never displays a number it has not measured. iPad, iPhone AND Mac Use the console in portrait or landscape on iPad and iPhone. The same app also runs on Apple-silicon Macs. Real-time performance depends on your device and session settings. PRIVACY No accounts, no analytics, no network. Your music never leaves the device. AUV3 PLUG-IN — Load STEM as an effect in AUM: audio in, the remix on the first bus and each stem on its own bus. In a host with one output, such as GarageBand, the first bus plays the remix. PREVIEW AUDIO “Rooted In Peace” by Admiral Bob (ccMixter), with “In Peace” by snowflake. CC BY 3.0. Excerpted and processed by STEM. ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/33646 · creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: STEM at $14.99 against SGA Eclipse's $24.99. STEM also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). SGA Eclipse's advantage is iOS requirement (15.8 vs 26.0). On 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
SGA Eclipse costs $24.99 and STEM $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SGA Eclipse ships an update every 6 months, STEM monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SGA Eclipse | STEM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.99 | $14.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.8 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 283 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shattered Glass Audio | Michael Ivertowski |
In-app purchases
SGA Eclipse
No in-app purchases
STEM
No in-app purchases









