Retromulator vs Raw Byte Audio Machine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Retromulator
This app recreates classic hardware synthesizers, samplers, and keyboards through authentic low-level emulation. It brings legendary electronic music instruments back to life, running original firmware for unmistakable sound character. Explore a wide range of virtual analog, FM, and chiptune instruments.
- Authentic low-level hardware emulation
- Original firmware recreation
- Virtual analog synths (Nord, Access Virus, Waldorf, Roland)
- FM synthesis (Yamaha DX7, OPL3)
- GM/GS sound modules (Roland SC series)
- Chiptune emulation (C64 SID, AY-3-8910)
- Organ emulation (Hammond B3)
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Retromulator is a multi-core retro hardware emulation app and AUv3 plug-in that brings legendary synthesizer, sampler, and keyboard cores back to life through authentic low-level emulation. Each core runs its original firmware, a clean-room controller written from the behaviour of the hardware, a physical model or sample data — delivering the unmistakable character of the hardware that defined electronic music from the early 80s through the 2000s. — EMULATED CORES — VIRTUAL ANALOG SYNTHS • Nordic — virtual analog synth after the Nord Lead 1 by discoDSP, with its own panel, factory banks, Nord Lead SysEx import and its own AUv3 Firmware-level chip emulation, enabled with the 56k cores option (requires M1 iPad or iPhone 15 Pro or newer): • Access Virus A, B and C — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation • Access Virus TI / TI2 / Snow — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation • Clavia Nord Lead 2X — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation • Waldorf microQ — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation • Waldorf Microwave XT — Motorola DSP 56300 recreation • Roland JP-8000 and JP-8080 — JE-8086 core by Giulio Zausa ANALOG SYNTHS • Oberheim Matrix-1000 — clean-room controller, no firmware needed, driving six CEM3396 voice models, with a MIDI CC for each of the 96 patch parameters and LFO sync to the host tempo or MIDI clock • Moog Minimoog Model D — CA-72 circuit model by Idle Foundry, with the original front panel, a Double voice section with Detune, Width and Entropy, three quality modes, 46 factory presets and .fxp / .fxb preset and bank support • OB-Xd 2 — discoDSP's synth after the Oberheim OB-X, OB-Xa and OB-8, with its own panel, 24 factory banks and its own AUv3 FM SYNTHESIS • Yamaha DX7 — clean-room controller, no firmware needed, driving the original EGS and OPS chip models from VDX7 by Charles Chiaccona • Yamaha OPL3 — Nuked OPL3 cycle-accurate FM by Nuke.YKT GM / GS SOUND MODULES • 88emu — Roland SC-88, SC-88VL, SC-88Pro, SC-8850 and SC-55mkII boards, emulation by Giulio Zausa, with GS variation, map and rhythm handling, program and drum kit names read straight from the board ROM, 16-part multitimbral operation, and a Standard MIDI File player with offline rendering to WAV or AAC. CHIPTUNE • Commodore 64 SID 6581/8580 — based on reSID. 3-voice polyphony, 8580 chip model with high-quality RESAMPLE, GoatTracker .sng / .ins bank loading and .sid file import (PSID/RSID), full macro playback engine and live MIDI control of cutoff (CC 74), resonance (CC 71), pulse width (CC 75), vibrato (CC 1) and pitch bend. • Ayumi (AY-3-8910 / YM2149) — the PSG behind the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and MSX. Ayumi emulation by Peter Sovietov, 3-voice polyphony, switchable AY / YM engine, .ay patch loading and 11 live CC controls. ORGAN • Hammond B3 with Leslie speaker — OpenB3, based on the setBfree engine by Michele Perrone. Upper, lower and pedal drawbars, percussion, vibrato and chorus, overdrive, reverb, three Leslie cabinets, keyboard split and .fxp presets ELECTRIC PIANO AND SAMPLER • Wurlitzer 200A — OpenWurli physical modelling by hal0zer0 (Rust ported to C++ by discoDSP) • Akai S1000 — SFZero sample engine by Steve Folta, with Bliss Sampler support and resampling engine by discoDSP (SF2 / SFZ / ZBP / ZBB) — KEY FEATURES — • Native AUv3 plug-in for AUM, Cubasis, GarageBand, Logic Pro and more • Standalone app for iPhone and iPad • Full MIDI control: CC, mod wheel, expression, pitch bend • 8-point sinc interpolation for sample playback • Auto-slice drum mapping and global retuning via MIDI • ROM firmware loading from original hardware • Background audio, iCloud and Files app integration • Optimised interpreter compatible with the iOS App Store sandbox • Boards: hardware-style control panels for 15 cores, with host parameter linking and NRPN input • MIDI out to the host or to a MIDI device, and an Editor Only mode that runs a board without the sound engine or firmware, to edit the original hardware
Raw Byte Audio Machine
This app generates complex musical patterns using a single sawtooth wave and a powerful expression engine. It supports binary and bitwise operations to create rhythms, harmonies, and melodies. Operates as a standalone app or an AUv3 instrument plugin.
- Sawtooth wave synthesis
- Expression engine for sound design
- Binary and bitwise operations
- Rhythm, harmony, and melody generation
- Standalone app
- AUv3 instrument plugin
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The Raw Byte Audio Machine allows the user to operate on a constant sawtooth wave that is calculated against the assigned sample rate and bit-depth. With each sample, the counter "t" increments by 1. Your expression is evaluated and the lowest bits become a PCM audio sample. Expressions allow for binary arithmetic like addition, subtraction, division, and modulo; and bitwise operations like AND/OR/NOT and bit shifting. With these combinations of tools, a single expression can yield tremendous musical results in complex rhythms, harmonies, and melodies, all while operating on a single sawtooth wave. Operates as a standalone app or AUv3 instrument plugin.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Raw Byte Audio Machine at $0.99 against Retromulator's $29.99. Raw Byte Audio Machine also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 57%). 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
Retromulator costs $29.99 and Raw Byte Audio Machine $0.99 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 Retromulator against 5.0 for Raw Byte Audio Machine. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 5 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Retromulator's written reviews are positive against 100% of Raw Byte Audio Machine's.
Retromulator ships an update every 3 days, Raw Byte Audio Machine every 6 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.
| Parameter | Retromulator | Raw Byte Audio Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 6 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 139 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | DiscoDSP LLC | Callback Audio, LLC |
Customer experience
Retromulator
Raw Byte Audio Machine
In-app purchases
Retromulator
No in-app purchases
Raw Byte Audio Machine
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Retromulator free?
Is Raw Byte Audio Machine free?
Which has better reviews, Retromulator or Raw Byte Audio Machine?
Do Retromulator or Raw Byte Audio Machine have ads?
Which is updated more often, Retromulator or Raw Byte Audio Machine?
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