Comparison

AU Studio vs SL Tape

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

Head to head
About

AU Studio

This app acts as a dedicated host for Audio Unit extensions, allowing musicians and developers to inspect, audition, and test installed audio plugins. It provides detailed information about each unit's capabilities and behavior without requiring a full digital audio workstation.

Highlights
  • Scan and catalog installed Audio Units
  • Filter plugins by developer, type, and status
  • Load AUv3 interfaces or use detailed inspector
  • Inspect registry identity, MIDI support, and parameters
  • Route CoreMIDI sources and audition audio effects
  • Monitor runtime CPU and memory usage
  • Built-in manual for guidance
Read full description

AU Studio is a focused Audio Unit host, not a DAW. Open the plug-ins you already own, hear them in seconds, and see exactly what they expose. Made for musicians, sound designers, and Audio Unit developers who need a fast, honest test bench. No session to build, no tracks to arm. Pick a unit from your catalog and its interface opens in a panel of its own, named and sized to the plug-in, with your host controls in a bar above it. Key features: - Scan the instruments, effects, music effects, generators, and MIDI processors already installed on your device: AUv3 on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, plus AUv2 on Mac. - Filter by developer, type, or search text, and hide Apple built-ins to focus on third-party gear. - Open a plug-in's own interface when it ships one, and fall back to a metadata view when it doesn't, with the full inspector always one tap away. - Inspect identity, four-character codes, version, sandbox and cached validation status, MIDI support, busses, parameters, presets, latency, and tail time. - Step through factory presets, then save your own working state without leaving the interface. - Play instruments from the floating MIDI keyboard: notes, pitch bend, mod wheel, auto, mono or poly voicing, a shiftable range, and one-tap panic for stuck notes. Your hardware controller lights up the on-screen keys as you play. - Run a guitar, a microphone, or any channel of your interface through a loaded effect. Pick the device, pick mono or stereo, pick the channels. - Load a track into the floating media player, scrub the waveform, loop a section, and play along with your live input at the same time. - Check a signal path in seconds with the built-in test tone. - Route external CoreMIDI sources in, and send generated MIDI back out to a CoreMIDI destination. - Test MIDI 2 units with automatic, MIDI 1, or MIDI 2 protocol selection: high-resolution notes, registered and per-note controllers, per-note pitch bend, discovered MIDI-CI Profiles, and a monitor showing raw or decoded MIDI going in and coming out. - Choose your output device on Mac, and set sample rate, buffer size, and which MIDI sources are enabled. - Keep host-process CPU and memory in view while you work. - Open unfamiliar plug-ins with less risk. AU Studio asks first when the system does not mark a unit sandbox-safe, and a peak limiter sits across the host output. - Read the built-in manual, fully searchable: discovery, routing, presets, hardware input, floating tools, troubleshooting, and developer notes. What AU Studio is: A focused host for discovering, opening, auditioning, and inspecting the Audio Units already on your device. It answers the practical questions: Is the unit visible? Does it load? Does it have an interface? What busses, parameters, presets, and MIDI capabilities does it expose? Does MIDI reach it? Does audio pass through it? What AU Studio is not: It is not a DAW. No multitrack recording, clip launching, timeline arrangement, piano-roll sequencing, MIDI learn, automation lanes, song export, or mastering tools. AU Studio ships no Audio Unit of its own — no instrument, no effect, no DSP engine. It hosts the units other apps provide and wraps them in host-owned routing, auditioning, and inspection. Discovery uses the system Audio Unit registry. If a provider app is not installed, not enabled, or not visible to the platform, AU Studio cannot invent it. Interface behavior, presets, parameter meaning, MIDI mapping, and DSP results belong to each Audio Unit.

About

SL Tape

This audio effect plugin adds vintage cassette tape warmth, saturation, and subtle pitch variations to your music. Customize the sound with six intuitive controls and save your favorite settings. Its redesigned interface features animated reels and responsive lighting for an immersive creative experience.

Highlights
  • Tape saturation
  • Tape hiss simulation
  • Pitch modulation (Wow & Flutter)
  • Tape wear control
  • Mix blend for original/processed audio
  • Factory presets and custom saving
  • Animated cassette interface
Features
Read full description

SL Tape 2.0 is an AUv3 cassette-style audio effect for music-making apps. Add saturation, tape hiss, pitch movement and wear to drums, vocals, samples and mixes. Six controls: - Drive: tape saturation - Noise: tape hiss - Wow: slow pitch movement - Flutter: faster pitch movement - Age: tape wear - Mix: blend original and processed audio Choose from 10 factory presets or save your own settings. Preset changes move the controls smoothly. The redesigned cassette interface includes animated reels, a layered mechanism and audio-responsive lighting. Use SL Tape as an AUv3 effect in a compatible host on iPhone or iPad. The standalone app does not automatically monitor the built-in microphone through the speaker.

Screenshots

AU Studio4 screens
SL Tape3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AU Studio at 4.5 against SL Tape's 2.0. AU Studio also leads on ratings volume (4 vs 1). SL Tape's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and price ($6.99 vs $9.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

AU Studio costs $9.99 and SL Tape $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AU Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AU Studio ships an update monthly, SL Tape every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
AU Studio versus SL Tape: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAU StudioSL Tape
Price$9.99$6.99 — better
Rating4.5 (4 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian ThompsonVIACHESLAV ZHILTSOV

Customer experience

AU Studio

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

SL Tape

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

AU Studio

No in-app purchases

None

SL Tape

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AU Studio free?
AU Studio costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SL Tape free?
SL Tape costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AU Studio or SL Tape?
AU Studio is rated higher. AU Studio averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while SL Tape averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do AU Studio or SL Tape have ads?
Neither AU Studio nor SL Tape shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AU Studio or SL Tape?
AU Studio ships an update monthly, and SL Tape every 5 days. Most recently, AU Studio was updated on October 17, 2026 and SL Tape on October 16, 2026.

Other comparisons