Comparison

MetaSkew vs SL DREAD

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 30 evolving horror scenes
  • Audio-reactive interface
  • Independent layer control
  • Standalone app and AUv3 effect
  • Transport Link for host sync
  • User presets
Read full description

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

MetaSkew4 screens
SL DREAD3 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

MetaSkew costs $14.99 and SL DREAD $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
MetaSkew versus SL DREAD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMetaSkewSL DREAD
Price$14.99$14.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB91 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperChristian ThompsonVIACHESLAV ZHILTSOV

Customer experience

MetaSkew

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SL DREAD

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

MetaSkew

No in-app purchases

None

SL DREAD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MetaSkew free?
MetaSkew costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SL DREAD free?
SL DREAD costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MetaSkew or SL DREAD?
MetaSkew and SL DREAD are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do MetaSkew or SL DREAD have ads?
Neither MetaSkew nor SL DREAD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MetaSkew or SL DREAD?
MetaSkew ships an update every 5 weeks, and SL DREAD every 9 days. Most recently, MetaSkew was updated on November 1, 2026 and SL DREAD on October 29, 2026.

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