Melthaven vs FET Acoustic Compressor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
FET Acoustic Compressor
This app emulates the warm, musical character of classic FET compressors for acoustic instruments and more. It offers intuitive controls for punch, presence, and glue, with a special "All-In" mode for aggressive sounds. Designed for mobile studios and live performance.
- Classic FET compression emulation
- Voiced for acoustic guitar, versatile for other instruments
- Intuitive controls: IN, ATTACK, RELEASE, RATIO, OUT, DRY, SC HPF
- Special "All-In" mode for aggressive sounds
- AUv3 plugin support for popular DAWs
- Low latency for live performance
- Factory presets included
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FET Acoustic Compressor brings the warm, musical character of classic FET compression — voiced in the tradition of the Cali76 by Origin Effects and the vintage 1176 circuit it's based on — to your iPhone and iPad. Dialed in for acoustic guitar, but equally at home on electric guitar, bass, vocals, keys, or any source that benefits from that signature FET feel. Whether you're tracking at home, mixing in a DAW, or running signal live through Loopy Pro or AUM, FET Acoustic Compressor gives your sound the punch, presence, and glue it needs. Voiced for feel The compression curve, soft knee, and gentle FET saturation are tuned for the transients and dynamics of acoustic strings — but that voicing translates beautifully to any instrument that needs a compressor with character. It sits, it glues, it breathes. Full control, intuitive layout - IN — Drive the input and push into compression - ATTACK / RELEASE — Fast enough to catch a pick attack; slow enough to let the body bloom - RATIO — 2:1 to 20:1 for everything from gentle leveling to heavy squash - OUT — Trim your output level - DRY — Blend in parallel compression for the best of both worlds - SC HPF — High-pass the sidechain so low-end doesn't trick the detector - Gain Reduction Meter — See exactly what's happening in real time All-In mode Tap the RATIO label to activate All-In — the infamous "all buttons simultaneously" trick from vintage 1176-style compressors. Ratio jumps to 100:1, the knee tightens, and asymmetric FET saturation adds the gritty, pumping character that's made this mode a go-to for aggressive sounds. A secret weapon hiding in plain sight. Factory presets to get you started - Compressed Fingerstyle - Dynamic Fingerstyle - Pop Strumming Built for the mobile studio and stage - AUv3 plugin — use in GarageBand, AUM, Loopy Pro, Cubasis, and any AUv3 host - Low latency — optimized for live performance and real-time processing - 4x oversampled processing for clean, artifact-free compression - Designed for iPhone and iPad *Cali76 is a trademark of Origin Effects Ltd. 1176 and UREI are trademarks of their respective owners. GarageBand is a trademark of Apple Inc. AUM is a product of Kymatica AB. Loopy Pro is a product of A Tasty Pixel. FET Acoustic Compressor is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the above companies.*
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FET Acoustic Compressor at none against Melthaven's 1. FET Acoustic Compressor also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Melthaven's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $5.99). 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
Melthaven costs $2.99 and FET Acoustic Compressor $5.99 up front. Melthaven sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. FET Acoustic Compressor asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Melthaven against 5.0 for FET Acoustic Compressor. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively.
Melthaven ships an update every 6 weeks, FET Acoustic Compressor every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Melthaven | FET Acoustic Compressor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | quantovox | Shelbybark LLC |
Customer experience
Melthaven
FET Acoustic Compressor
In-app purchases
Melthaven
- Melthaven Pro$4.99
FET Acoustic Compressor
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Melthaven free?
Is FET Acoustic Compressor free?
Which has better reviews, Melthaven or FET Acoustic Compressor?
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Which is updated more often, Melthaven or FET Acoustic Compressor?
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