Harmonitron vs Tonic FX
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Tonic FX
Create custom audio effect chains for your music. This app allows you to build and reorder a variety of effects, from distortion and modulation to time-based and dynamic processors, for use in standalone mode or with compatible music production hosts.
- Customizable effect rack
- Reorderable effect chain
- 24 built-in effects
- Standalone app and AUv3 plugin
- MIDI Learn for hardware control
- Tempo sync for time-based effects
- Preset library
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Thirty-four effects. One tap to add each one — and the order of the chain is yours. Tonic FX is the Tonic effects rack in an app of its own, focused and affordable — an Audio Unit (AU and AUv3) effect in GarageBand, Logic, AUM, Cubasis, Drambo and any host, and a standalone app that processes your microphone or line input. A RACK YOU BUILD — AND REORDER Every effect has its own on/off, grouped by category: add one with a tap, then drag the cards to rearrange the chain. The order is saved with the preset. THIRTY-FOUR EFFECTS • Drive — Overdrive, Distortion (hard, asymmetric and fuzz), Amp Sim with 6 models and cabinet, Wavefolder/Fuzz, Bitcrush, Ring Modulator and Lo-Fi/Vinyl. • Modulation — an 8-mode Chorus (vintage through string ensemble), a Phaser with four voicings, from the gentle 4-stage pedal to a slow 10-stage pad sweep, Flanger, Vibrato, Detune, Pitch Shifter/Harmonizer, Throb (the pulsing vibrato of the sixties) and Frequency Shifter. • Motion — a two-rotor Rotary cabinet, Auto-Pan, Tremolo, a Stereo Widener with a mono maker that keeps the bass centred, a Pedal Wah you can put under an expression pedal, and the Trance Gate, with a draw-your-own-rhythm mode. • Time — a tempo-syncable ping-pong Delay, with Wow and Sat for tape character; a Reverb with nine spaces: room, hall, cathedral, plate, spring, shimmer, cloud, gated and swell — plus Freeze, to hold a chord and play over it; Reverse, which plays back what you just played backwards; and Call & Response, which listens to your phrase and answers in the gap. • Dynamics & EQ — Compressor, Limiter, Noise Gate, De-esser, a musical 5-band EQ and a 12-band graphic EQ, each with eight one-tap starting points you can overwrite with your own. Compressor, gate, de-esser and limiter show how much they are holding, in dB. • Vocal — Voice, a whole vocal channel behind one knob: low cut, gate, de-esser, compressor and sheen, all in the right measure; and the Doubler, which simulates two or four voices singing along. • Filter — an Auto-Wah that breathes with your playing, always first in the chain. BUILT FOR PLAYING Full MIDI Learn maps any hardware knob to any control, including the from–to range for an expression pedal. Tempo sync from your host keeps delay and modulation in time. Colour-coded scenes A–F, a preset library with favourites, and factory presets to get started fast. A tactile "pro hardware" interface, native on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Thanks for playing with RSJB — made by musicians, for musicians! Follow what's new at www.rsjb.com.br
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Harmonitron at $2.99 against Tonic FX's $9.99. 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
Harmonitron costs $2.99 and Tonic FX $9.99 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 Harmonitron against 5.0 for Tonic FX. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.
| Parameter | Harmonitron | Tonic FX |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Konstantin Torsten Schutz | Rubens Felicio |
Customer experience
Harmonitron
Tonic FX
In-app purchases
Harmonitron
No in-app purchases
Tonic FX
No in-app purchases









