Comparison

ToneGen PlusMinus vs VisualSound

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

Head to head
About

ToneGen PlusMinus

Features
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Signal generator for identifying audio frequencies by manually matching the pitch. Identifying feedback frequencies rapidly and precisely as an audio tech in a concert situation is a crucial function. Sometimes the feedback is intermittent, or only happens for an instant. For decades I and others have used the procedure of holding a heard pitch in my head and them matching it with some sort of tone generator. There are several iPhone apps that I have used, holding the phone up to my ear to hear the tone. They all have either a dial or a slider to set the pitch. An endless dial can be very precise, but is difficult to operate without looking at the screen. A slider is resolution limited by the length on the screen and so can't be precise. ToneGen PlusMinus uses a novel pitch setting UI which I invented 20 years ago for a Palm III app I wrote. It is very easy to rapidly and precisely match a frequency across it's range of 30 Hz to 10 kHz, without looking at the screen at all. The farther up or down from center your touch slides, the faster the pitch changes. Slide back to center and it stays stable.

About

VisualSound

This app is a modular instrument that synthesizes sound and visuals using a unified patching system. Explore over 140 modules for audio, control, and graphics, and even generate custom effects with AI. It's designed for performance and integrates with your existing studio setup.

Highlights
  • Unified sound and visual patching
  • Over 140 modules (sound, control, visuals, code)
  • AI-powered module creation
  • GPU-native visuals
  • Performance-oriented features
  • AUv3 integration and hosting
  • Cross-device functionality (iPad, Mac, iPhone)
Read full description

---- Launch offer — introductory pricing for a limited time. The price goes up after launch week: now is the moment to patch in --- VisualSound is a modular instrument where sound and image are made of the same material. One canvas, one cable language: patch an oscillator into a filter, then patch the same signal into light, liquid and geometry. Nothing is a visualizer bolted on top — the picture IS the patch. ONE CANVAS, FIVE REALMS More than 140 modules across sound, control, visuals, geometry and code. Drag a cable and anything can play anything: an envelope strikes a fluid simulation, a sequencer bends a shader, a camera feed becomes an oscillator. INSTRUMENTS WITH OPINIONS • VYPER — a snarling acid bassline machine with slides, accents and pattern morphing. • KINETIC — a step-sequenced drum machine built on lovingly recorded classic analog kits. • KEYS — a playable polyphonic keyboard panel; on Mac, your QWERTY becomes the keybed. • SEQ, LFO, ENV, granular engines, a looper, a tape-stop, reels you can scrub like vinyl. LIGHT AS SIGNAL GPU-native visuals: shaders, feedback, bloom, fluid dynamics, sculpted 3D geometry. Point the camera at the world and use it as a texture. OCULUS tracks your hands and face so you can play parameters by moving. WRITE YOUR OWN MODULES — OR JUST ASK GRAIN is VisualSound's per-sample DSP language: code your own audio and visual processors right on the canvas. Tap the wand, describe the effect in plain English — "a dark tape echo that wobbles" — and an AI running entirely ON YOUR DEVICE writes the code, compiles it, and tells you honestly when something isn't possible. No cloud, no account. It works in airplane mode. (The AI brain is a free one-time download.) BUILT TO PERFORM Eight scenes with beat-synced morphing, motion loops, MIDI learn on everything, a timeline that can bend the tempo itself. Record your performance — audio and video — straight out of the app. PLAYS WELL WITH YOUR STUDIO Runs as an AUv3 instrument inside your DAW, and HOSTS your AUv3 synths and effects inside the canvas. MIDI in and out. Background audio. Files in, stems out. YOUR IPHONE IS THE REMOTE Install VisualSound on iPhone and it becomes VS Remote: a wireless control surface for the instrument running on your iPad or Mac, over your local network. No setup, no cloud. ONE PURCHASE, EVERY SCREEN Buy once and VisualSound is yours on iPad, Mac and iPhone. Same patches, same engine — the Mac gets QWERTY keys and plugin hosting depth, the iPad gets ten fingers on glass. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no analytics, no ads. Your patches, recordings and prompts never leave your device. Privacy policy: https://visualsound.app/privacy/ Open the app and you land on Welcome — a living patch, already playing, wired for you to pull apart. That's the whole philosophy: understanding by unscrewing. Sound and light, patched together.

Screenshots

ToneGen PlusMinus1 screens
VisualSound2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ToneGen PlusMinus at Free against VisualSound's $19.99. ToneGen PlusMinus also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). VisualSound's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ToneGen PlusMinus is free to download; VisualSound costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ToneGen PlusMinus ships an update every 3 months, VisualSound every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
ToneGen PlusMinus versus VisualSound: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterToneGen PlusMinusVisualSound
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDan RichardsonMike Gazzaruso

In-app purchases

None

ToneGen PlusMinus

No in-app purchases

None

VisualSound

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ToneGen PlusMinus free?
ToneGen PlusMinus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VisualSound free?
VisualSound costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ToneGen PlusMinus or VisualSound have ads?
Neither ToneGen PlusMinus nor VisualSound shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ToneGen PlusMinus or VisualSound?
ToneGen PlusMinus ships an update every 3 months, and VisualSound every 2 days. Most recently, ToneGen PlusMinus was updated on September 14, 2026 and VisualSound on September 11, 2026.

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