Tonic Synth vs Velvet Vocoder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tonic Synth
Create complex sounds with multiple synthesis engines, including analog, wavetable, and FM. Share and discover sounds with a built-in community. Play standalone or as a plugin on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
- Eight sound engines (physical modeling, virtual analog, wavetable, FM, SoundFont)
- Stack up to three engines per sound
- Community sound sharing and publishing
- Arpeggiator and sequencer with advanced features
- Effects rack with chorus, delay, reverb, EQ, compressor, and flanger/phaser
- Live scene switching for stage performance
- Standalone and AUv3 plugin support
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Eight sound engines in one instrument — and a whole preset community living inside it. Physical modeling, virtual analog, 3D wavetable, 6-operator FM and a full SoundFont player: stack up to three engines per sound, each with its own filter, envelope and modulation. Play it standalone on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or load it as an AUv3 plug-in — instrument and effect — in your favorite host. One purchase. No subscription, no ads, nothing locked behind a paywall. • TONICA — THE SOUND COMMUNITY Your next signature sound might come from a player on the other side of the world. Browse what the community publishes without ever leaving the app: one tap auditions it under your fingers, two taps keep it. Love an author? Take their whole collection at once, into a bank named after them. And publish yours with a single tap — no account, no sign-up, no cost. • THREE OSCILLATORS Up to three independent layers — each with its own source, filter, envelope and modulation, plus mute/solo and keyboard split. From a simple patch to a fat, detuned stack on one spread knob. The Vector pad morphs across all three layers in real time: draw a path and the sound travels it on its own. • SOUND ENGINES Per layer: physical modeling (string, modal, wind, bowed), virtual analog (sine, saw, square, triangle, pulse and super-saw, with sub-oscillator and noise), wavetables up to 128 frames, SoundFont (.sf2 and compressed .sf3) and 6-operator FM that opens .syx cartridges. Record anything through the mic and turn it into a wavetable — or draw the waveform with your finger and hear it instantly, on a 3D landscape you can drag, rotate and resize. • FILTERS Ten analog-modeled voicings — LP/HP/BP/Notch, 12 or 24 dB per octave, resonance into self-oscillation, drive and 4× oversampling. From warm ladder to creamy SVF, from acid squelch to screaming resonance. • ARPEGGIATOR & SEQUENCER A step editor with a live playhead: ties, ratchets, accents and per-step probability, polymetric rhythm masks, capture of what you just played, swing, gate mode, key range and per-layer arping. Imports .mid patterns, follows MIDI Clock, and with Hold the pattern runs by itself. • EFFECTS RACK Chorus, tempo-synced ping-pong delay, 6-type FDN reverb, 5-band EQ, compressor and a Flanger/Phaser module — each one switchable and routable per layer. • BUILT FOR THE STAGE Six scenes (A–F) swap the entire patch live without cutting the sound: the note ringing out finishes naturally while the next one already speaks with the new tone. Switched apps mid-set? A sustain pedal left down or a mod wheel parked halfway no longer hijacks your sound — every control starts working again the moment you move it. The MIDI filter decides what each pedal, wheel or controller is allowed to do, and can target one specific device when there's more than one keyboard in the rack. Program Change and Bank Select switch sounds from your controller. MIDI Learn on any control, over USB or Bluetooth. • YOUR LIBRARY 280+ factory sounds in banks, and your own collection beside them: favorites, renaming, saving, tagging and search by name, tag or bank. Two file formats of its own — one to share sounds (.tpr) and one for a full library backup (.tbk). Double-click a file, or receive one by AirDrop, and it merges straight in without duplicating anything. • WHERE IT RUNS iPhone, iPad and Mac, from a single purchase. As an AUv3 it runs in the major recording apps on iOS and macOS. Using software that doesn't load AUv3 yet? See rsjb.com.br/support for the route other users have already proven. Thank you for playing with RSJB - made by musicians for musicians! Follow the news at www.rsjb.com.br/en
Velvet Vocoder
This app transforms your device into a real-time vocal studio, offering auto-tune, harmony generation, and vocoder effects. It allows for pitch correction, adding multiple in-key voices, and controlling vocal tuning with a MIDI keyboard.
- Real-time auto-tune
- Automatic diatonic harmonies
- Vocode mode with MIDI control
- Classic vocoder synth layer
- Adjustable key and scale
- Vocal FX suite
- AUv3 plugin support
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VV17 turns your iPhone and iPad into a real-time vocal studio — auto-tune, harmony, and vocoder in one app. Sing or speak into your device and VV17 corrects your pitch to any key and scale as you go. Turn on harmony and it stacks up to four in-key voices under your lead, TC-Helicon style. Switch to Vocode mode and play a MIDI keyboard to drive the tuning by hand — your lead locks to the nearest held note while the others become live harmonies. FEATURES • Real-time auto-tune with adjustable correction amount and speed, from natural to hard-tuned • Automatic diatonic harmonies — stacked in-key thirds, 1 to 4 voices • Infinite mode swaps the harmony stack for a shimmering harmonic series • Vocode mode: control the tuner live from held MIDI notes • Classic vocoder / talkbox synth layer driven by your voice • Choose your key and scale, or explore just-intonation temperaments • Vocal FX: spread, humanize, sibilance, and response controls • Presets to get you started, including lush choir and modern hard-tune rigs • Works standalone or as an Audio Unit (AUv3) plugin inside GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, and other hosts All processing happens on your device. No account, no sign-up, no data collection.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tonic Synth at $19.99 against Velvet Vocoder's $24.99. Velvet Vocoder's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Tonic Synth costs $19.99 and Velvet Vocoder $24.99 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 Tonic Synth against 5.0 for Velvet Vocoder. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
| Parameter | Tonic Synth | Velvet Vocoder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 — better | $24.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rubens Felicio | Paul Wand |
Customer experience
Tonic Synth
Velvet Vocoder
In-app purchases
Tonic Synth
No in-app purchases
Velvet Vocoder
No in-app purchases









