Microtonal Lab vs SL Air
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Microtonal Lab
Explore music beyond the traditional 12-note scale with this comprehensive microtonal studio. Create custom scales, play a microtonal keyboard, sequence patterns, and perform live with a launchpad. Export your creations as MIDI files for further production.
- Harmonic Galaxy visualizer
- Microtonal keyboard with custom scales
- 32-step sequencer with FX
- Launchpad for live performance
- Extensive world scale library
- Multiple tuning systems support
- MIDI export for DAWs
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Microtonal Lab is a complete microtonal music studio for iOS. Break free from the 12-note octave and explore the infinite space between the notes. AUv3 PLUGIN Use MicrotonalLab as a plugin inside GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, Drambo, and any AUv3-compatible host. The full step sequencer, tuning system, and SF2 instruments are available directly in your DAW. Record sequences as MIDI regions with automatic tempo sync. HARMONIC GALAXY Discover musical intervals as a visual universe. Every dot is an interval above the root — its size shows consonance, its color shows its position in the octave, and its number shows the exact distance in cents. Pinch to zoom and new microtones emerge from the depths. Build custom scales by tapping intervals and save them to your library. MICROTONAL KEYBOARD A fully playable keyboard with exact microtonal tuning. Choose from piano, strings, marimba, vibes, bass, pad, flute, or synthesized waveforms. Activate any scale from the library and the keyboard reconfigures to show precisely those notes. Supports glide between notes for expressive playing. STEP SEQUENCER A 16-step sequencer with microtonal note assignment per step, velocity, gate, and swing control. Syncs to the host tempo in AUv3 mode. LAUNCHPAD A grid-based launchpad for live performance. Rows correspond to scale degrees, columns to time — tap to toggle notes and play your patterns in real time. SCALE LIBRARY Browse world scales from dozens of musical traditions, including Arabic maqam, Indian ragas, Persian dastgah, Javanese gamelan, and many more. Preview any scale, then activate it across all views with one tap. TUNING SYSTEMS Switch between 12-TET, 19-TET, 24-TET, 31-TET, and 53-TET. Full access to all scale degrees in the sequencer for every tuning system. MIDI EXPORT Export your sequences to standard MIDI files with full microtonal pitch bend on each channel. Import directly into any DAW for further production. FX Filter (low-pass with cutoff and resonance), reverb (from small room to cathedral), and delay — all controllable via XY pads in real time during playback. Microtonal Lab is built for composers, sound designers, music theorists, and anyone curious about the music that lives between the keys.
SL Air
Enhance your audio with this AUv3 effect, designed to add brightness, presence, and stereo width. Achieve a polished top-end for vocals, drums, samples, and full mixes with intuitive controls and a motion display.
- Controlled brightness (Air & Lift)
- Smoother high-frequency detail (Silk)
- Stereo expansion (Wide)
- Polished finish (Glow)
- Audio-reactive motion display
- Factory and user presets
- AUv3 support
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SL Air is a streamlined AUv3 audio effect for adding brightness, presence, stereo width and a polished top end to vocals, drums, samples and mixes. • Air and Lift for controlled brightness • Silk for smoother high-frequency detail • Wide for stereo expansion • Glow for a polished finish • Audio-reactive motion display • Factory presets and local user presets • AUv3 support for compatible iPad music hosts Works as a standalone preview app and as an AUv3 effect in GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, BeatMaker 3 and other compatible hosts.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SL Air at 5.0 against Microtonal Lab's 1.0. SL Air also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and chart position (#197 vs unranked). On price, 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
Microtonal Lab costs $6.99 and SL Air $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SL Air holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Microtonal Lab ships an update every 2 months, SL Air weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Microtonal Lab | SL Air |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | $6.99 |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #197 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 90 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Martin Adler | VIACHESLAV ZHILTSOV |
Customer experience
Microtonal Lab
SL Air
In-app purchases
Microtonal Lab
No in-app purchases
SL Air
No in-app purchases









