Galaxy Brain vs Melthaven
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Galaxy Brain
This app offers advanced audio manipulation with a frequency shifter and stereo delay. Create a wide range of effects, from lush choruses to choppy textures and sci-fi sounds, with flexible modulation options and optional hardware clipping for added grit.
- Frequency shifting with adjustable range
- Stereo delay with tempo sync and ping-pong
- Multiple modulation sources (LFO, envelope, sequencer)
- Optional hardware clipping for drive and saturation
- Morph settings for smooth parameter transitions
- Auto bypass and HQ mode for optimized performance
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Galaxy Brain is a frequency shifter and delay combo ready to take any sound into outer space. With easy stereo controls, three modulation sources, and optional hardware clipping, things can go intergalactic very quickly. From thick chorus effects to choppy AM textures to space-laser SFX, it's all packed inside. Frequency Shifter - Range settings from 5 Hz to 5 kHz, each with its own character - Direction mixer enables tremolo and ring modulation effects - Modulate shift amount with LFO, envelope follower, and sequencer - Freely mixable modulation sources Stereo Delay - Free or tempo-synced delay time - Continuous ping-pong and LR delay time skew - Tone-shaping filters in the feedback path - Wet signal ducking - Adjustable glide time between delay values, up to 10 seconds Modulation - Stereo LFO with nine waveforms, warp, and swing - Envelope follower with optional sidechain input - Eight-step sequencer - Repeatable Random engine for consistent bounces Optional Hardware Clipping - Add drive and saturation at the output stage - Internal gain compensation for louder output at high settings 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 and ADAA - 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/
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Galaxy Brain at Free against Melthaven's $2.99. Galaxy Brain 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
Galaxy Brain is free to download; Melthaven costs $2.99 up front. Galaxy Brain 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Galaxy Brain against 5.0 for Melthaven. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 4 respectively.
Galaxy Brain ships an update every 3 weeks, Melthaven every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Galaxy Brain | Melthaven |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sketch Audio, LLC | quantovox |
Customer experience
Galaxy Brain
Melthaven
In-app purchases
Galaxy Brain
- Two-week TrialFree
- Full Unlock$9.99
Melthaven
- Melthaven Pro$4.99








