Comparison

OscDrax vs PolyrhythmLab

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

Head to head
About

OscDrax

Create unique sounds by drawing waveforms with your finger. This app allows you to combine four independent tracks for complex soundscapes, offering professional controls for detailed sound design.

Highlights
  • Draw custom waveforms
  • 4-track multi-timbral synthesis
  • High-resolution waveform editor
  • Adjustable frequency range (20Hz-20kHz)
  • Portamento effect
  • Individual track volume control
Features
Read full description

Your Fingertips Create New Sounds OscDrax is an innovative iOS waveform synthesizer that enables professional sound design through intuitive touch controls. Simply draw waveforms with your finger to instantly create original tones. Combine four independent tracks to build complex, rich soundscapes. Unleash Creativity with the Waveform Editor Our waveform drawing system maximizes the potential of touchscreen technology. With 512-point high resolution, accurately reproduce any waveform you imagine. Classic waveforms like sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth are also available at a single tap. Designed for everyone from beginners to professionals. 4-Track Multi-Timbral Synthesis Each track operates completely independently with its own waveform, frequency, and volume settings. Layer multiple tracks simultaneously to create thick, complex tones impossible with a single oscillator. Professional Controls Frequency Adjustment (20Hz-20kHz) Full coverage of human hearing range. Logarithmic scale slider provides musically natural control from bass to treble. Portamento Function (0-1000ms) Smooth glide effect between pitches. Faithfully reproduces the warm expression of analog synthesizers. Individual Volume Control Fine-tune each track's volume from 0-100%. Achieve ideal balance with precision mixing.

About

PolyrhythmLab

Create complex, evolving musical rhythms and dynamic visual performances. This app offers a unique polyrhythmic engine for sound layers and a live visual mixer with customizable effects and camera controls. Export audio, MIDI, or video of your creations.

Highlights
  • True polyrhythm engine with independent step/pulse counts per layer
  • AUv3 plugin support for DAWs like GarageBand and Logic
  • Live MIDI output for driving external synths
  • Integrated VJ mixer with audio-reactive visuals and effects
  • Song mode for arranging patterns into full tracks
  • Save and reload groovebox patterns and VJ setups as presets
  • Export audio, MIDI, and video recordings
Features
Read full description

PolyrhythmLab is a groovebox built around true polyrhythms: every sound layer gets its own step count, pulse count, and rotation, so layers of different lengths interlock and drift in and out of phase instead of locking to one shared grid. NEW IN 2.0 — AUv3 PLUGIN Use PolyrhythmLab as a real instrument inside GarageBand, Logic, AUM, and any other AU-compatible host. Four independent polyrhythmic layers, each exposed as automatable parameters, real MIDI output so your performance actually records as a MIDI region, and its own compact control panel with a live pattern wheel, a randomizer, and optional sync to your session's tempo. NEW IN 2.0 — LIVE MIDI OUTPUT Send a real Note On/Off for every layer hit straight from the main app — one MIDI channel per layer, over a virtual MIDI connection — to drive another synth, app, or piece of hardware in real time, not just sync tempo. NEW IN 2.0 — CAST VJ MIX Send the VJ Mix visuals to a TV or projector over AirPlay or a wired adapter, while your device keeps the full set of live controls. Save and reload VJ Mix setups — visual styles, effects, camera moves, and their LFOs — as named presets, same as patterns. GROOVEBOX • Euclidean-style rhythm engine — set steps, pulses, and rotation per layer • Drums, glitch/textural one-shots, classic synth voices (piano, bell, pad, bass), and melodic synth patches • Per-layer filter, reverb, delay, pitch, and LFOs on every parameter • Randomize engine biased toward musical, playable combinations • Chord modes, scales, and modal note selection for melodic layers SONG MODE Arrange your saved patterns into sections and chain them into a full song. VJ MIX A live visual performance surface: blend two audio-reactive visualizations, layer on real-time color and shader effects — RGB split, kaleidoscope, pixelate, glow, trail — and a 3D camera with zoom, pan, orbit, and tilt, each with its own LFO. Randomize the whole look by hand, or hand it to an autonomous "robot" that keeps remixing itself. Record the performance in real time via ReplayKit, or export a styled video clip. PRESETS Save and reload both groovebox patterns and VJ Mix setups as named presets. EXPORT Render your patterns and songs to audio, or export them as MIDI. No account, no ads, no analytics. Everything is stored locally on your device.

Screenshots

OscDrax1 screens
PolyrhythmLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: OscDrax at 100% against PolyrhythmLab's 0%. OscDrax also leads on rating (4.0 vs 1.0) and update cadence (daily vs every 4 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

OscDrax costs $0.49 and PolyrhythmLab $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OscDrax holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of OscDrax's written reviews are positive against 0% of PolyrhythmLab's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OscDrax ships an update daily, PolyrhythmLab every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
OscDrax versus PolyrhythmLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOscDraxPolyrhythmLab
Price$0.49 — better$4.99
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB401 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJunpei WadaMartin Adler

Customer experience

OscDrax

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PolyrhythmLab

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

OscDrax

No in-app purchases

None

PolyrhythmLab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is OscDrax free?
OscDrax costs $0.49, with no in-app purchases.
Is PolyrhythmLab free?
PolyrhythmLab costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, OscDrax or PolyrhythmLab?
OscDrax is rated higher. OscDrax averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while PolyrhythmLab averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do OscDrax or PolyrhythmLab have ads?
Neither OscDrax nor PolyrhythmLab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OscDrax or PolyrhythmLab?
OscDrax ships an update daily, and PolyrhythmLab every 4 weeks. Most recently, OscDrax was updated on October 30, 2026 and PolyrhythmLab on October 31, 2026.

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