Comparison

Scissor Hands vs Melthaven

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

Head to head
About

Scissor Hands

This powerful audio effect offers dual high-pass and low-pass filters with adjustable steepness and extensive modulation options. Shape clean tones or create extreme sonic destruction with internal saturators and versatile modulation sources.

Highlights
  • Dual high-pass and low-pass filters
  • Four independent modulation sources
  • Internal saturators up to +36 dB
  • Morph settings for smooth transitions
  • Standalone app with trial and license purchase
  • HQ mode with 4x oversampling
Read full description

Scissor Hands is a dual filter with internal drive and modulation to boot. High-pass and low-pass filters in series, four modulation sources, and internal saturators you can push up to +36 dB. It may look straightforward, but this little filter is extremely capable, equally useful for clean tone shaping and brutal sonic destruction. Dual Filters - High-pass and low-pass filters in series - Selectable steepness per filter - Drive internal saturators up to +36 dB. At 0 dB, perfectly clean and linear - Per-filter Q-Gain Compensation for taming output at high resonance settings - Updated drive gain compensation for louder output at high settings Modulation - Stereo LFO with nine waveforms, warp, and swing - Envelope follower with optional sidechain input - Eight-step sequencer - Self FM, filter audio output to cutoff for spicy audio-rate modulation - Freely mixable modulation sources per filter - Repeatable Random engine for consistent bounces Core Features - Morph Settings for smooth transitions between two complete configurations - Auto Bypass saves CPU when input is silent - AB settings comparison - HQ mode with 4x oversampling - One-click loudness matching - All parameters automatable with precise playback - Light and dark interface modes - Internal undo/redo - Standalone app includes support, manual links and in-app purchase options for license purchase Two-week trial included, one-time purchase for full unlock. Unlock your plug-in via in-app purchase from the standalone app or activate in the plug-in using an existing desktop license. Your in-app purchase activates the plug-in on all of your iOS devices. Owners can claim a crossgrade code in the standalone app to receive a discount on a desktop license. Check out our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sketchaudio Read the manuals: https://sketchaudio.com/manuals/

About

Melthaven

This app provides a note-triggered phase shifter for guitarists, bassists, and synthesizers. It offers organic, rhythmic movement that syncs to your playing, with analog-modeled filters for diverse sonic textures. Enhance loops or create experimental sounds with its input-dependent modulation.

Highlights
  • Note-triggered phase shifting
  • Analog-modeled OTA filters
  • Responds to guitar and bass transients
  • Enhances pre-recorded loops
  • Input-dependent synth modulation
  • Low-latency engine
Features
Read full description

Melthaven is a note-triggered phase shifter built to give guitarists and bassists organic, rhythmic movement that syncs to their playing, rather than a fixed LFO. It's also highly suited for a number of synth basses and sounds with sharp attacks and fast decays. Its analog-modeled OTA filters provide deep resonance and character, ranging from wah-like effects to complex, shifting formant textures or even experimental tones, like bubbling or hard, slappy effects. For bright, harmonically dense signals – such as saturated or overdriven tones and synthetic sounds – the effect range also includes growls and glistening sweeps. FOCUSED ON BASS & GUITARS The effect was specially developed to respond to the frequency response and transient peaks of electric guitars and basses. Every pluck, pop, or pick attack re-triggers the phase sweep, effectively turning your rhythmic timing into the "engine" of the effect. USING LOOPS? BREAK THEM OPEN Add various resonant effects like growls, or vintage bark / quacks "after the fact." This unlocks a level of control usually lost the moment a loop is bounced. Instead of being stuck with locked-in sound design, you can now reshape the envelope of any pre-recorded sample, breathing new life into your loop library. FOR SYNTHS & SOUND DESIGN: INPUT DEPENDENT Soft signals like pads or heavy/layered effects can produce wild, unpredictable responses. While such use is outside the plugin's core design, the smoothing feature can tame these re-triggers, yielding a flow that can feel organic and physical in its instability when operating beyond the plugin’s transient-focused comfort zone. MOVING BEYOND ENVELOPE FILTERS The plugin uses low-latency note detection paired with its own envelope generator and LFO, allowing sculpting and even reshaping each note’s modulation profile or filter envelope. It even detects notes that hide under a consistent signal amplitude when using a traditional envelope follower. BASE FEATURES: - Built around a versatile preset from the Pro version to suit a wide variety of applications - Controls: feedback & panoramic position, attack & hold timings, LFO Rate - Smoothing: from envelope shaping to creating a weighted, fluid response, giving note sequences a sense of physical momentum - Low-latency engine: preserves natural playing feel when used as a real-time effect PRO FEATURES - Requires Pro Edition Upgrade (In‑App Purchase): - Additional envelope parameters, several envelope flavors with pre-mapped control subsets - Pro presets encompassing both strong and milder effects, including the quintessential rubber bass - Enhanced stereo phaser modes & internal stereo re-imaging modulator (for formant-like effects and more) - Vintage-style phaser feedback that can optionally build or ramp with each note onset (non-rampable in the base version) - Instant visual feedback via an audio scope with dual-channel envelopes overlaid on the input waveform TECHNICAL NOTES: - Place before creative effects (unless experimenting). It can be used before or after harmonic processing (saturation, amp sims) depending on your preference - Response may vary on sustained notes with shifting harmonic content - Not optimized for upright bass due to its reliance on sharp signal transients - Note detection involves statistical signal processing and confidence intervals. Weak transients and phantom notes could lead to a loss of output determinism, i.e. sensitivity to changes in certain project settings - While it offers multiple layers of real-time control, Melthaven operates primarily as an automatic effect; for full manual filter manipulation, please refer to RealPhase, a separate app PLEASE NOTE: • The Pro Edition Upgrade is offered as a one‑time In‑App Purchase • An AUv3-compatible host is required to use this app • Suported sampling rates: 44.1, 48, 96 kHz

Screenshots

Scissor Hands2 screens
Melthaven3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Scissor Hands at Free against Melthaven's $2.99. Scissor Hands also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Scissor Hands is free to download; Melthaven costs $2.99 up front. Scissor Hands sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Melthaven sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Scissor Hands against 5.0 for Melthaven. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scissor Hands ships an update every 3 weeks, Melthaven every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Scissor Hands versus Melthaven: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScissor HandsMelthaven
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Number of ratings34 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSketch Audio, LLCquantovox

Customer experience

Scissor Hands

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Melthaven

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Scissor Hands

One-time2
  • Two-week TrialFree
  • Full Unlock$6.99
1 purchases

Melthaven

One-time1
  • Melthaven Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Scissor Hands free?
Scissor Hands is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Melthaven free?
Melthaven costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Scissor Hands or Melthaven?
Scissor Hands and Melthaven are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do Scissor Hands or Melthaven have ads?
Neither Scissor Hands nor Melthaven shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scissor Hands or Melthaven?
Scissor Hands ships an update every 3 weeks, and Melthaven every 6 weeks. Most recently, Scissor Hands was updated on October 24, 2026 and Melthaven on October 22, 2026.

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