Comparison

VisualSound vs Bliss AUv3 Sampler

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

VisualSound

This app is a modular instrument that synthesizes sound and visuals using a unified patching system. Explore over 140 modules for audio, control, and graphics, and even generate custom effects with AI. It's designed for performance and integrates with your existing studio setup.

Highlights
  • Unified sound and visual patching
  • Over 140 modules (sound, control, visuals, code)
  • AI-powered module creation
  • GPU-native visuals
  • Performance-oriented features
  • AUv3 integration and hosting
  • Cross-device functionality (iPad, Mac, iPhone)
Read full description

---- Launch offer — introductory pricing for a limited time. The price goes up after launch week: now is the moment to patch in --- VisualSound is a modular instrument where sound and image are made of the same material. One canvas, one cable language: patch an oscillator into a filter, then patch the same signal into light, liquid and geometry. Nothing is a visualizer bolted on top — the picture IS the patch. ONE CANVAS, FIVE REALMS More than 140 modules across sound, control, visuals, geometry and code. Drag a cable and anything can play anything: an envelope strikes a fluid simulation, a sequencer bends a shader, a camera feed becomes an oscillator. INSTRUMENTS WITH OPINIONS • VYPER — a snarling acid bassline machine with slides, accents and pattern morphing. • KINETIC — a step-sequenced drum machine built on lovingly recorded classic analog kits. • KEYS — a playable polyphonic keyboard panel; on Mac, your QWERTY becomes the keybed. • SEQ, LFO, ENV, granular engines, a looper, a tape-stop, reels you can scrub like vinyl. LIGHT AS SIGNAL GPU-native visuals: shaders, feedback, bloom, fluid dynamics, sculpted 3D geometry. Point the camera at the world and use it as a texture. OCULUS tracks your hands and face so you can play parameters by moving. WRITE YOUR OWN MODULES — OR JUST ASK GRAIN is VisualSound's per-sample DSP language: code your own audio and visual processors right on the canvas. Tap the wand, describe the effect in plain English — "a dark tape echo that wobbles" — and an AI running entirely ON YOUR DEVICE writes the code, compiles it, and tells you honestly when something isn't possible. No cloud, no account. It works in airplane mode. (The AI brain is a free one-time download.) BUILT TO PERFORM Eight scenes with beat-synced morphing, motion loops, MIDI learn on everything, a timeline that can bend the tempo itself. Record your performance — audio and video — straight out of the app. PLAYS WELL WITH YOUR STUDIO Runs as an AUv3 instrument inside your DAW, and HOSTS your AUv3 synths and effects inside the canvas. MIDI in and out. Background audio. Files in, stems out. YOUR IPHONE IS THE REMOTE Install VisualSound on iPhone and it becomes VS Remote: a wireless control surface for the instrument running on your iPad or Mac, over your local network. No setup, no cloud. ONE PURCHASE, EVERY SCREEN Buy once and VisualSound is yours on iPad, Mac and iPhone. Same patches, same engine — the Mac gets QWERTY keys and plugin hosting depth, the iPad gets ten fingers on glass. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no analytics, no ads. Your patches, recordings and prompts never leave your device. Privacy policy: https://visualsound.app/privacy/ Open the app and you land on Welcome — a living patch, already playing, wired for you to pull apart. That's the whole philosophy: understanding by unscrewing. Sound and light, patched together.

About

Bliss AUv3 Sampler

This app transforms any sound into a playable synth instrument. It allows you to host and resample AUv3 instruments, offering deep modulation, studio effects, and extensive import capabilities for creating expressive music on the go.

Highlights
  • Host and resample AUv3 instruments
  • Deep modulation and dual filters
  • Full MPE expression support
  • 7 studio effects with 8x oversampling
  • 1 GB factory library
  • Import SFZ, SoundFont2, EXS, Kontakt, Akai, and more
  • Built-in wave editor and loop modes
Features
Read full description

Bliss brings desktop-class sampling to iOS. The same desktop engine now in your hands, on stage, on the couch, anywhere. Load a sample, play an instrument. Bliss turns any sound into a rich, expressive, playable synth with a workflow built for speed and a sound built to impress. — HOST & RESAMPLE ANY AUv3 — Load any AUv3 instrument right inside Bliss and capture it into your own multi-zone instrument. Auto-sample across the keyboard with velocity layers, then play it back with zero CPU overhead — even offline. Export the result as standard SFZ or Bliss ZBP, ready to reuse anywhere. Turn any synth on your iPad into a lightweight, playable sampled instrument. — A REAL SAMPLER ENGINE — • Up to 64 voices of polyphony • Pristine SINC 128 interpolation (512-point mode for mastering-grade playback) • Mono, poly, legato with glide, and 4-voice unison with detune • NEON-optimized, native Apple Silicon performance — DUAL FILTERS — • Two 24 dB/oct filters: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch, peaking • Zipper-free cutoff, resonance and drive • Velocity and keyboard tracking — DEEP MODULATION — • Independent amp, mod, filter and LFO envelopes • Two syncable LFOs with configurable phase • Parameter morphing for evolving, living sounds • 8 assignable macro knobs — automatable from your DAW — FULL MPE EXPRESSION — Per-note pitch bend, timbre and pressure. Auto-configures with ROLI Seaboard, LinnStrument and Expressive E Osmose. — 7 STUDIO EFFECTS — Multiband limiter, soft clipper, stereo rotation, chorus, delay and reverb with 8x oversampling — plus per-slot bit reducer, phaser and distortion. Per-zone sends. — 1 GB FACTORY LIBRARY — Start making music instantly with 100+ ready-to-play instruments — keys, pads, basses, guitars, strings, winds, percussion and more. A free 1 GB download, available in-app. — IMPORT EVERYTHING — Bliss speaks every sampler dialect: SFZ, SoundFont2, EXS, Kontakt NKI (1–4), Akai S1000/S3000/S5000-6000, XPM Keygroups, Renoise and CUE sheets. Audio in WAV, AIFF, FLAC, OGG and MP3. — BUILT-IN EDITING — • Full wave editor with undo, 1:1 zoom, stereo/independent channel selections • Loop modes: forward, bidirectional, backward, crossfade, trim • Cut, paste, mix paste, fades, normalize • Visual key mapper for zones, velocity ranges and root keys • Tempo and transient auto-slicing — AUv3 + STANDALONE — Run Bliss standalone or as an Audio Unit v3 inside AUM, GarageBand, Cubasis, Logic and any AUv3 host. Fully automatable, resizable, and ready for your rig.

Screenshots

VisualSound2 screens
Bliss AUv3 Sampler4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Bliss AUv3 Sampler at 15.0 against VisualSound's 18.0. On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

VisualSound costs $19.99 and Bliss AUv3 Sampler $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VisualSound ships an update every 2 days, Bliss AUv3 Sampler every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
VisualSound versus Bliss AUv3 Sampler: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisualSoundBliss AUv3 Sampler
Price$19.99$19.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike GazzarusoDiscoDSP LLC

Customer experience

VisualSound

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bliss AUv3 Sampler

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

VisualSound

No in-app purchases

None

Bliss AUv3 Sampler

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VisualSound free?
VisualSound costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bliss AUv3 Sampler free?
Bliss AUv3 Sampler costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do VisualSound or Bliss AUv3 Sampler have ads?
Neither VisualSound nor Bliss AUv3 Sampler shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VisualSound or Bliss AUv3 Sampler?
VisualSound ships an update every 2 days, and Bliss AUv3 Sampler every 4 days. Most recently, VisualSound was updated on September 30, 2026 and Bliss AUv3 Sampler on October 7, 2026.

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