MBR vs Harmonitron
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MBR
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MBR-01 is an expressive polyphonic synthesizer you play by touch. No keys, no menus to get lost in — just a living surface that responds to where and how you press. Slide across the XY pad to bend pitch and open the filter at once. The instrument is locked to the scale you choose, so every note lands in key: explore freely without ever playing a wrong note. SIX VOICES, ONE EXPRESSIVE SURFACE • 6-voice polyphony with glide • Morphing oscillator (sine → triangle → saw → square) plus a sub • Resonant ladder filter with its own range control • Full ADSR envelope ARPEGGIATOR • Up, Down, Up/Down and Random modes • Tempo with tap, adjustable divisions and octave range • Hold to let chords ring LIVE FX RACK • Drive, bitcrusher, ring modulator, pitch shifter, phaser and chorus • Delay, reverb and glide for space and movement • Toggle and tweak everything while you play 31 SCALES From major and minor to whole tone, diminished and blues — through Hirajoshi, Iwato, Kumoi, Pelog, Bhairav, Marwa and more. Set the root and octave range and the whole surface re-tunes. PRESETS A curated library across Bass, Leads, Plucks, Pads and FX — plus save your own. Each preset carries its own reactive visual style. REACTIVE VISUALS A Metal-powered visualizer reacts to your playing in real time, with external display output for performance and visuals. MIDI OUT Send what you play to hardware synths or other apps over Core MIDI, with channel selection. BILINGUAL Full English and Spanish, switchable inside the app at any time. Built for iPad and iPhone. No account, no data collection — just sound.
Harmonitron
This app creates a rich, swirling harmonic tremolo effect, distinct from standard volume pulsing. It splits sound into low and high bands, modulating them in opposite phases for a lush, phaser-like character. Apply it to various instruments or full mixes as a standalone app or AUv3 effect.
- True harmonic tremolo with anti-phase modulation
- Voice control for morphing between classic and harmonic tremolo
- Split & Tilt for band crossover and balance
- Tube Drive and tone shaping
- Adjustable Rate and LFO Shapes
- Tempo Sync with musical note divisions
- Stereo Spread for auto-pan and width
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Harmonitron is a harmonic tremolo. The rich, swirling amp "vibrato" made famous by early-1960s brownface amplifiers. A normal tremolo just pulses your volume up and down. A harmonic tremolo goes deeper: it splits your sound into a low band and a high band, then sweeps them in OPPOSITE phase. As the lows swell, the highs dip and back again. That contrary motion is what gives Harmonitron its lush, watery, almost phaser-like character that an ordinary tremolo can't reach. Turn the Voice control and the effect morphs smoothly from a classic in-phase tremolo all the way to a full harmonic swirl. Drop it on guitars, keys, synths, pads, drums, or a whole mix. Standalone, or as an Audio Unit (AUv3) effect inside GarageBand, AUM, Logic, and other hosts. THE SOUND • True harmonic tremolo: anti-phase modulation of a low and high band • Voice: morph continuously from classic tremolo to full harmonic swirl • Split & Tilt: place the crossover and balance the two bands • Tube Drive and tone shaping for warmth and grit MOVEMENT • Rate from a slow tide to a fast flutter, shown in BPM • LFO Shape: sine, triangle, square, and ramp with adjustable edge Slope • Tempo Sync that locks to your project and lands on the beat, with musical note divisions from 1/1 to 1/32 (dotted and triplet) • Stereo Spread for auto-pan and rotary-style width HANDS-ON • A living hero orb whose two halves breathe in opposite phase — drag it to set Depth, tap to bypass • Grouped, color-coded controls: Motion, Sync, Harmonic, Stereo, Drive, Output • Factory presets: Brownface, Rotary Swirl, Slow Tide, Sync Chop, Wide Harmonic and more — plus your own saved presets PLUGIN & STANDALONE • Full AUv3 audio-effect support with host presets and parameter automation • Runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Standalone mode with a built-in demo pad, live microphone input, or import a song and export the processed result
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Harmonitron at $2.99 against MBR's $4.99. 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
MBR costs $4.99 and Harmonitron $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | MBR | Harmonitron |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cristopher Alejandro Yescas Arreola | Konstantin Torsten Schutz |
In-app purchases
MBR
No in-app purchases
Harmonitron
No in-app purchases





