Melthaven vs SL Echo
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
SL Echo
This audio effect app provides animated delay and space for musical decisions on iPad. Easily adjust time, feedback, and tone for various repeat styles, while maintaining a clear dry signal with stereo width and ducking. It supports AUv3 integration with popular music hosts.
- Animated delay and space effects
- Adjustable time and feedback
- Tone shaping controls
- Stereo width and ducking
- AUv3 support
- Standalone preview mode
- Factory and user presets
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SL Echo is a focused AUv3 delay effect designed for fast musical decisions on iPad. Move from a close vocal pocket to wide, evolving repeats without navigating complex pages. • Time and feedback for slapback or long trails • Tone shaping for darker or brighter repeats • Stereo width and ducking for a clear dry signal • Factory presets and local user presets • AUv3 support for compatible iPad music hosts Works as a standalone preview app and as an AUv3 effect in GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, BeatMaker 3 and other compatible hosts.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SL Echo at none against Melthaven's 1. SL Echo also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Melthaven's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $6.99) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On rating, ads 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
Melthaven costs $2.99 and SL Echo $6.99 up front. Melthaven sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SL Echo 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 SL Echo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.
Melthaven ships an update every 6 weeks, SL Echo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Melthaven | SL Echo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| 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 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | quantovox | VIACHESLAV ZHILTSOV |
Customer experience
Melthaven
SL Echo
In-app purchases
Melthaven
- Melthaven Pro$4.99
SL Echo
No in-app purchases









