MetaSkew vs SL DREAD
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MetaSkew
This audio effect processor offers granular delay and pitch-shifting for creating width, motion, and unique textures. Shape delay times, pitch intervals, grain size, and stereo spread with built-in LFO modulation and extensive preset categories. It's ideal for producers, musicians, and sound designers seeking controlled sonic damage and experimental soundscapes.
- Granular delay and pitch-shifting
- Adjustable grain size, smoothing, and gain
- Stereo spread and asymmetry control
- Built-in LFO modulation with multiple shapes
- Extensive preset categories for production jobs
- MIDI Learn for hardware control
- Standalone app and AUv3 plugin support
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MetaSkew is a granular delay and pitch-shift effect built for producers, musicians, and sound designers who want one processor for width, motion, ambience, and controlled damage. What you can shape: - Delay time from tight doubling to long phrase memory - Pitch from deep drops to shimmer intervals - Grain size, smoothing, and gain for soft clouds or chopped repeats - Feedback, pan, mix, and output for clean blend control - Latch for frozen textures and phrase-end captures - Spread and Skew for stereo width, asymmetry, and unstable character The signature Skew control is the fastest way to move from polished enhancement into unstable texture. Keep it low for subtle smear, or push it with Spread, Feedback, and LFO movement for broken motion. Modulation is built in. Three LFOs can run free or sync to musical divisions, with Sine, Triangle, Sample & Hold, and Saw shapes. Route movement to Delay, Pitch, Grain, Smoothing, Feedback, Mix, Pan, Spread, or Skew, then push subtle drift or obvious rhythmic motion. Presets are designed around real production jobs, not random patches. Browse Utility, Width, Pitch, Atmosphere, Motion, Rhythmic, Freeze, Destruction, and Signature categories. Save your own snapshots, recall them later, and keep user presets synced through iCloud when available. For hands-on control, MIDI Learn lets you map parameters to hardware. Default assignments cover the core effect, and MIDI CC broadcast can reflect parameter movement in connected setups. Use MetaSkew for: - Vocal throws and shimmer trails - Wide synth doubles and guitar halos - Drum stutters, glitch fills, and tempo-locked motion - Frozen pads and transition beds - Experimental resynthesis, smear, and warped ambience MetaSkew includes a standalone app and effect plugin for host apps that support AUv3 plug-ins.
SL DREAD
Transform any audio into unsettling soundscapes with 30 evolving horror scenes. This app processes melodies, vocals, and more to create disturbing atmospheres for music, film, and game sound design. Its unique interface allows for independent control of various sonic layers.
- 30 evolving horror scenes
- Audio-reactive interface
- Independent layer control
- Standalone app and AUv3 effect
- Transport Link for host sync
- User presets
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SL DREAD blends incoming audio with 30 evolving horror scenes. Process melodies, drum loops, vocals, synths and field recordings to build disturbing atmospheres for music, film and game sound design. Fusion makes the atmosphere respond to the source. Shape its character with Age, Decay, Motion, Voice, Event, Space and Mix, and control drone, breath, whisper and metallic layers independently. Transport Link follows playback in a compatible host. The weathered medical-monitor interface includes an audio-reactive CRT display, scene selection, user presets and input/output controls. On iPhone, compact portrait pages separate Controls, Layers and I/O. Use the full interface in landscape or on iPad. Includes a standalone app and an AUv3 audio effect. To process a track from another music app, insert SL DREAD in a compatible AUv3 host. Standalone input monitoring starts muted to avoid speaker feedback; use headphones when enabling microphone monitoring. No account or in-app purchase is required. Audio processing stays on your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: SL DREAD at every 9 days against MetaSkew's every 5 weeks. SL DREAD also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
MetaSkew costs $14.99 and SL DREAD $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for MetaSkew against 5.0 for SL DREAD. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
MetaSkew ships an update every 5 weeks, SL DREAD every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MetaSkew | SL DREAD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 91 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Christian Thompson | VIACHESLAV ZHILTSOV |
Customer experience
MetaSkew
SL DREAD
In-app purchases
MetaSkew
No in-app purchases
SL DREAD
No in-app purchases









