Dial Upstrum vs VAPolyTS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dial Upstrum
Transform classic modem sounds into a unique musical instrument. Explore phase and pitch variations to create distinctive audio and visuals, and integrate with AUv3 hosts for advanced music production.
- Play 56k modem handshake sounds as an instrument
- Adjust phase and pitch of sounds
- Modify visuals alongside audio
- AUv3 plugin support
- Inspired by ZX Plectrum
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Boot up that beige box, hear the sweet symphony of your 56k modem screeching into life, and prepare to surf the information superhighway like it's 1999! Play the 56k DialUp handshake sounds as a musical instrument on your iPhone or iPad! Change the modem sounds (and visuals) phase and pitch to make some weird, wonderful and familiar sounds! Plugin to your favourite AUv3 host and make unique music unlike anything else. Log on. Dial in. Based on the critically acclaimed ZX Plectrum! (but with more sounds and flexibility!) What people say about ZX Plectrum: "As seen on TV" on Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit Used by multi-Platinum band Placebo in their live events. "ZX Plectrum lets you make music Spectrum style on your iPhone" pocket-lint.com "Utterly pointless but also utterly engaging" bamm.tv "For Nostlagia lovers of a very specific demographic this will sound like heaven" calmdowntom.com "The Greatest iPad App of ALL TIME" conoroneill.net
VAPolyTS
Create iconic electronic music sounds with this polyphonic synthesizer. It offers advanced oscillator stacks, a step sequencer, and built-in effects for crafting Trance, House, and Techno. Seamlessly share projects across iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud.
- Polyphonic subtractive synthesizer
- Stack oscillators with detuned and octave-shifted outputs
- Analog style step sequencer with piano roll editor
- Built-in delay, chorus, flanger, reverb, EQ, and compressor
- Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) and Ableton Link support
- MIDI 2.0 and Bluetooth MIDI compatibility
- iCloud Drive project sharing across Apple devices
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VAPolyTS is polyphonic synthesizer for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is inspired by the synthesizers which contributed to shape iconic sounds of Trance, House and Techno Music in 1990’s. It operates as a stand alone or as an AudioUnit Extension (AUv3). Stand Alone supports Ableton Link, MIDI and audio file export. The synthesizer features two stack oscillators. The one of them can generate mix of detuned seven oscillator outputs. The other one can generate mix of several octave shifted oscillator outputs. It also features a mixer, a resonant low pass filter, a resonant hight pass filter, an amplifier, two envelope generators, two LFO and analog style step sequencer. Built-in Effects include delay, chorus, flanger, reverb, eq and compressor. VAPolyTS also includes sequencer which features piano roll editor and parameter automation. Project files can be saved in iCloud Drive, so that the project can be accessed from iPhone, iPad or Mac. Main Features Polyphonic subtractive synthesizer. Stack oscillator which can generate mix of seven detuned oscillator outputs. Stack oscillator which can generate mix of several octave shifted oscillator outputs. Analog Style Step Sequencer. Eight Assignable Controllers. Maximum 8 voice polyphony. it depends on performance of the device it is running. Built-in effects and piano roll sequencer. Audio Export. Linear PCM format (AIFF, WAV and CAF) and compressed format (AAC) Support Audio Unit Extension (AUv3). Support MIDI 2.0. Support Foot Pedal and Per Note Control. Support Ableton Link, Bluetooth MIDI, MIDI In / Out. Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Support iCloud Drive to share project files between the platforms. Include 256 Factory Presets. Improvements Support MIDI Foot Pedal (CC#11, CC#64) Support MIDI2.0 Per Note Control Messages MIDI CC Settings are saved. It will be recovered when the app launched in the next time. System Requirements iOS 17.0 or later Devices with Apple Silicon are recommended. A13 Fusion or above is highly recommended. if sound is distorted when using a device with less CPU power, reduce number of voices. AudioUnit Extension (AUv3) requires host application which support AudioUnit Extension. AudioUnit Extension is supported by Apple Logic and Apple Garage Band on iOS and macOS. For any other DAW, it depends on the application and some of them don’t support AudioUnit Extension.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Dial Upstrum at $3.99 against VAPolyTS's $14.99. VAPolyTS's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.7) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Dial Upstrum costs $3.99 and VAPolyTS $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VAPolyTS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.
| Parameter | Dial Upstrum | VAPolyTS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | — | Every 10 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dave Sapien Ltd. | Ryo Togawa |
Customer experience
Dial Upstrum
VAPolyTS
In-app purchases
Dial Upstrum
No in-app purchases
VAPolyTS
No in-app purchases








