Comparison

GORILLA SYNTH vs Descent Granulator

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

Head to head
About

GORILLA SYNTH

This app offers a punchy, analog-style subtractive synthesizer for iOS, designed for fast sound design and expressive musical performance. It provides studio-quality sound with a clean interface, ideal for sketching ideas, producing tracks, or live playing.

Highlights
  • Dual oscillators with sub and noise
  • Classic ladder filter
  • Dual ADSR envelopes
  • Duophonic mode with glide
  • LFO modulation
  • Touch-optimized controls
  • AUv3 instrument support
Features
Read full description

GORILLA - Analog-Style Subtractive Synth GORILLA is a focused, punchy analog-style subtractive synthesizer designed for fast sound design and expressive play on iOS. Built for musicians, producers, and sound designers, Gorilla delivers studio-quality sound in a clean, performance-ready interface — whether you’re sketching ideas, producing tracks, or playing live. Key Features: - Dual oscillators with sub and noise - Classic ladder filter - Dual ADSR envelopes (Filter + Amp) - Duophonic mode with glide - LFO for pitch, filter, and PWM modulation - Touch-optimized performance controls - Built-in spectrum / EQ visualizer - AUv3 instrument support - CoreMIDI & Bluetooth MIDI - Designed for iPhone and iPad Gorilla is intentionally focused — no clutter, no distractions. Just fast access to powerful sound shaping and expressive control. Designed for mobility. Built for creation.

About

Descent Granulator

This app captures audio, breaks it into tiny grains, and manipulates them for unique sound effects. Explore subtle thickening, rhythmic delays, frozen soundscapes, and shimmering pitch-shifted textures.

Highlights
  • Real-time granular engine
  • Pitch shifting with quantization
  • Six-axis randomization
  • Diffusion and feedback controls
  • Tempo sync
  • 35 factory presets
Features
Read full description

Descent is a real-time granular effect that captures incoming audio, breaks it into tiny grains, and scatters them across time and pitch. The result: everything from subtle thickening and rhythmic delays to vast frozen soundscapes and shimmering pitch-shifted clouds. GRANULAR ENGINE Control up to 50 simultaneous grains with independent settings for duration, overlap, and envelope shape. Play grains forward, reverse, or randomly mixed for tape-style effects, reverse swells, and glitchy textures. PITCH SHIFTING WITH QUANTIZATION Transpose from -24 to +24 semitones. Lock pitch shifts to specific intervals—octaves, fifths, or any chromatic combination—for harmonically correct shimmer and transposition effects. SIX-AXIS RANDOMIZATION Independently randomize pitch, pan, position, amplitude, duration, and grain count. Dial in subtle organic movement or push into complete textural chaos. DIFFUSION AND FEEDBACK High-feedback mode with a diffusion control transforms delays into lush, reverb-like washes that never get harsh or run away from you. TEMPO SYNC Lock grain timing to your session's tempo or let textures evolve freely in untethered mode. 35 FACTORY PRESETS Covering shimmers, delays, reverbs, pitch effects, and experimental sound design. Cross-platform XML presets are compatible across all Audio Damage plugin formats and operating systems. SOUND DESIGN IDEAS Add subtle depth with a few long grains and minimal randomization Create rhythmic delays with short, quantized grains at high feedback Build infinite sustain pads by freezing audio with high grain count and overlap Craft shimmer effects by quantizing pitch to octaves and fifths Transform vocals into ethereal textures with diffusion and wide panning AUv3 compatible. Runs standalone or hosted in AUM, ApeMatrix, Audiobus, Cubasis, GarageBand, and other AUv3 hosts on iOS 13 or newer. From Audio Damage—making creative software for discerning musicians since 2002.

Screenshots

GORILLA SYNTH4 screens
Descent Granulator1 screens

Verdict

The call

GORILLA SYNTH and Descent Granulator both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of GORILLA SYNTH's written reviews are positive against 0% of Descent Granulator's. GORILLA SYNTH also leads on ratings volume (21 vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, 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

GORILLA SYNTH costs $4.99 and Descent Granulator $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 — 4.9 for GORILLA SYNTH against 5.0 for Descent Granulator. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GORILLA SYNTH has 21 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of GORILLA SYNTH's written reviews are positive against 0% of Descent Granulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GORILLA SYNTH ships an update every 3 weeks, Descent Granulator every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
GORILLA SYNTH versus Descent Granulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGORILLA SYNTHDescent Granulator
Price$4.99$4.99
Rating4.9 (21 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings21 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.2 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteffen Mølgaard LarsenAudio Damage, Inc.

Customer experience

GORILLA SYNTH

All ratings21 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%

Descent Granulator

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

GORILLA SYNTH

No in-app purchases

None

Descent Granulator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is GORILLA SYNTH free?
GORILLA SYNTH costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Descent Granulator free?
Descent Granulator costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, GORILLA SYNTH or Descent Granulator?
Descent Granulator is rated higher. GORILLA SYNTH averages 4.9 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while Descent Granulator averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do GORILLA SYNTH or Descent Granulator have ads?
Neither GORILLA SYNTH nor Descent Granulator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GORILLA SYNTH or Descent Granulator?
GORILLA SYNTH ships an update every 3 weeks, and Descent Granulator every 2 months. Most recently, GORILLA SYNTH was updated on October 9, 2026 and Descent Granulator on October 14, 2026.

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