Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer vs SimplComp
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer
This app is a powerful polyphonic synthesizer for iPhone and iPad, featuring 39 diverse sound engines and a generative step sequencer. It offers extensive sound-shaping capabilities with dual layers, morphing filters, and flexible LFOs and envelopes. It functions as a standalone app or an AUv3 plugin.
- 39 diverse sound engines
- Dual-layer synthesis
- Morphing SEM-style filter
- Generative step sequencer
- AUv3 plugin support
- Extensive modulation options
- Preset sharing via QR codes
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TRESSE is a polyphonic synthesizer that merges 39 sound engines into one instrument for iPhone and iPad. It runs standalone and as an AUv3 plugin inside AUM, AudioBus, and GarageBand. Twenty-four engines come from Classic MI Plaits: subtractive, FM, wavetable, additive, granular, speech and formant, chords, resonators, and analog-modelled drums. Fifteen more are custom, ported and extended: Karplus-Strong strings, vowel formants, modal and sympathetic-string resonators, a seven-saw supersaw, Hammond-style drawbars, bytebeat, and a multi-waveform wavefolder. TWO LAYERS, ONE VOICE Run two engines at once and crossfade them with the balance knob - each layer has its own filter, envelopes and voice mode. A self-stable SEM-style filter morphs continuously from lowpass to bandpass to highpass to notch and stays stable at full resonance. Two ADSR envelopes per layer shape amplitude and filter independently. Three six-shape LFOs and two step-sequenced MOD lanes route to almost anything - timbre, filters, the layer balance, even the sequencer's own knobs. A master chain adds chorus, tape, ping-pong and lo-fi delays, hall, room, plate and shimmer reverbs, and a wavefolder. GENERATIVE SEQUENCER, POWERED BY VEKTE A generative step sequencer drives the synth with seven algorithms - wave interference, Euclidean, random walk, logistic map, cellular automata, Kaprekar and Fibonacci. Shape the pattern with DENSE, probability, swing or humanize, tie and strum over a full scale and chord system. The arpeggiator can play the main sequence itself - with or without its intervals - or walk your held notes in seven modes. Two synth-macro knobs put any synth parameter on the sequencer page. Presets save, load and rename instantly - and share as compact text keys or QR codes anyone on TRESSE can load. FORMAT AND COMPATIBILITY TRESSE is an iOS standalone app and an AUv3 instrument. Load it in any AUv3 host, including AUM, AudioBus, and GarageBand. Its state saves with your host project. It responds to MIDI note input from any connected keyboard or controller, with MIDI learn on every knob. FREE, ADVANCED, PRO FREE plays all factory presets and offers one editable oscillator layer using EastCoast or RingsInh, the Euclidean algorithm, up to 16 steps, three divisions, three scales and three chord options. LFO editing, Shimmer, MIDI Learn and split sequencing require an upgrade. Manual MIDI CC assignment remains available. ADV unlocks the 24-engine instrument, two editable layers, split sequencers, 32 steps, LFO 1, every algorithm, the arpeggiator, divisions up to 2 bars, Ping Pong, all scales and chords, Shimmer, MIDI Learn, MOD 1 and preset saving. PRO upgrades ADV with 15 additional Våld engines, 64 steps, LFOs 2 and 3, MOD 2, timing options up to 16 bars, Random Walk direction and oscillator/sequence copy-paste. FULL includes ADV and PRO in one purchase. All are one-time purchases covering the standalone app and AUv3 extension. UPDATING FROM AN EARLIER VERSION Version 1.3.0 changes the FREE editing limits. Features previously editable for free, including LFO 1, the second oscillator layer, Shimmer and MIDI Learn, now require ADV or FULL. FREE sequences are editable up to 16 steps. Existing preset and host-project settings are retained: locked features continue to play, but editing them requires the relevant pack. Already available also on desktop as VST3 and AU, for macOS and Windows.
SimplComp
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Introduction SimpleComp is very simple general purpose compressor that’s easy to use and very light on CPU. Sometimes you just need some basic dynamics processing that doesn’t add “character”, or that relies on sophisticated techniques or performance expensive DSP. SimplComp was designed for those times! SimpleComp is an AUv3 effects plugin that can run standalone, or in any AUv3 compatible host such as Logic Pro, GarageBand or AUM. SimpleComp currently runs on iPadOS / iOS (iPad & iPhone) and macOS (Intel & Silicon) and is available as a Universal Purchase from the Apple App Store. If you’re planning on using SimpleComp on Mac / desktop, please ensure that your favourite DAW / host supports AUv3 (not just AU). Parameters ACTIVE - toggles the effect on or off. IN - sets the level of the incoming signal. Typically you would leave this as 0dB, i.e unity gain. The meters to the left of the panel show the level of the incoming signal. COMP - sets the compression threshold. Note that unlike many compressor plugins, the threshold is reduced as you turn up the control, so as you turn it up, you get more compression effect. The bar meter below this control will give an indication of how much over the threshold the input signal is. RATIO - sets the compression ratio. A higher ratio results in a more noticeable “squashing” effect on the signal. OUT - sets the level of the output signal. You may need to adjust this is you wish to manually make up the gain lost by the compression effect, e.g. when AUTO is off (see below). ATK - sets the attack time of the compressor. REL - sets the release time of the compressor. AUTO - toggles automatic makes gain. When switched on, SimplComp will automatically adjust the gain to compensate for the gain reduction that occurs when compression is applied. This is calculated using the compression threshold and ratio. MIX - sets the balance between the compressed and original / dry signal. This allows SimplComp to be used for parallel compression. Factory Presets There are a few factory presets included to get you going. The overall compression will be dependent on the level of the input signal so you will need to select an appropriate factory preset as a starting point, then adjust the COMP parameter up or down for more or less compression indicated by the bar meter below the control.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer at Free against SimplComp's $1.99. On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer is free to download; SimplComp costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer | SimplComp |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jaime Filipe Candido Paiva Vieira | Rob Jackson |
In-app purchases
Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer
No in-app purchases
SimplComp
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer free?
Is SimplComp free?
Do Tresse Polyphonic Synthesizer or SimplComp have ads?
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