VisualSound vs TraceSonic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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 descriptionHide 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.
TraceSonic
Transform images into unique sounds by drawing on a spectral canvas. This app uses brush strokes and imported images to generate additive synthesis, offering a creative way to craft musical instruments and soundscapes.
- Draw on spectral canvas
- Import images to create sound
- 128 additive oscillators
- Multiple brush types
- Pitch snapping to scales
- MIDI note input
- Save custom patches
Read full descriptionHide full description
TraceSonic turns pictures into sound. Paint directly on a spectral canvas and hear each mark become part of a playable additive instrument: horizontal position is time, height is pitch, and brightness controls the level of each partial. Start with an empty canvas and draw with solid, soft, textured, tapered, or harmonic brushes. Fill the canvas with generated patterns, or import an image and turn its brightness into sound. Pitch snapping keeps freehand marks on your selected scale. Shape your sound with: • 128 additive oscillators spanning four octaves • Seven classic waveforms and 12 built-in wavetables • Forward, reverse, and ping-pong scanning • Adjustable pass length and tempo-synchronized loops in compatible Audio Unit hosts • MIDI note input for retuning the complete canvas • More than 60 factory patches, including tones, sequences, gestures, textures, drones, and sound effects • User patches that save the canvas and its synthesis settings • Solid, harmonic, soft, textured, and tapered brush families • Undo, redo, erasing, pitch snapping, and scale selection Use TraceSonic as a standalone instrument on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, or load its AUv3 instrument in a compatible host.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: TraceSonic at $7.99 against VisualSound's $19.99. VisualSound's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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
VisualSound costs $19.99 and TraceSonic $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VisualSound ships an update every 2 days, TraceSonic every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VisualSound | TraceSonic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | $7.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mike Gazzaruso | r6 appz |
In-app purchases
VisualSound
No in-app purchases
TraceSonic
No in-app purchases









