Comparison

Phasetable vs PolyQuad

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

Head to head
About

Phasetable

This app is a powerful wavetable synthesizer that allows users to import and shape their own sound sources. It offers extensive modulation capabilities, built-in effects, and MPE support for expressive performances and detailed production.

Highlights
  • Four independent wavetable oscillators
  • Import and shape custom WAV files
  • Extensive modulation matrix
  • Tempo-synced motion lanes
  • Ladder-filter responses
  • MPE and MIDI 2.0 support
  • AUv3 plugin compatibility
Read full description

Four oscillators. Your own wavetables. Import a WAV, shape it while it plays, then put every detail in motion with MPE. Phasetable is a precision wavetable instrument for immediate exploration and serious production. Start with 54 factory banks or bring in your own WAVs. Open the standalone app or load the AUv3 inside a compatible host, touch a key, and hear motion before you reach for a manual—then go as deep as the session demands. BUILD THE SOURCE • Four independent wavetable oscillators with frame scan, coarse and fine tuning, equal-power pan, phase control and individual filter routing • 12 phase-warp modes, including PWM, Sync, Formant, Quantize and FM Self • Up to four unison copies per oscillator, plus phase or ring cross-modulation • Automatic band-limiting keeps movement clean across pitch, unison, Warp Mode and Cross Mod MAKE IT MOVE • Four wavetable-shaped motion lanes, free-running or tempo-synced from 1/32 to 4 Bars • Lanes that run globally, retrigger per note, or start every note from a random phase • 12 modulation sources, 36 destinations and 328 valid modulation routes • Dedicated Amp and Filter envelopes plus two velocity-sensitive envelopes that can loop per voice—all four route through the matrix • Velocity, key tracking, pressure and timbre as playable modulation sources • Envelope following that can steer lane depth, rate or frame from the dynamics of a performance SCULPT THE SIGNAL • Eight ladder-filter responses with drive, resonance, key tracking and a dedicated envelope • Per-voice noise for breath, impact and texture • Dirt for wavefolding and harmonic excitation • Tape for wow, flutter, feedback and stereo instability • Tempo-aware Echo and a four-line Space reverb IMPORT, BUILD AND EXPORT YOUR OWN WAVETABLES Bring your own wavetables into Phasetable. Import common PCM and floating-point WAV files as single cycles or multi-frame banks. Compatible cycle metadata finds frame boundaries automatically; unmarked files can be treated as one cycle or sliced into 2,048-sample frames. Multichannel files are mixed to mono, and every cycle is precisely resampled. Draw freehand or by line while the sound plays. Normalize, center, invert, reverse, smooth or reduce seam discontinuities. Add, duplicate, delete and reorder frames with 64 levels of undo and redo. A bank can hold up to 256 frames at 2,048 samples each. Save imported or drawn banks with complete presets, synchronize them through iCloud Drive, and embed them in project state. Export standard 32-bit floating-point mono WAV files for exchange with other compatible tools. PERFORM AND PRODUCE • Poly, Mono and Legato modes with glide and adaptive polyphony up to 16 voices • MIDI 1.0, MIDI 2.0 and MPE with per-note bend, pressure and timbre • MIDI Learn, controller feedback, assignable CCs and reliable host automation • A responsive 25-key performance surface with octave, sustain, velocity and panic controls • Live displays for envelopes, filter response, lane phase and every effect • Standalone sample rate, buffer size and MIDI input selection, plus output device choice on Mac START FAST. FINISH YOUR WAY. Explore 54 factory banks across nine spectral families and 34 factory presets spanning essentials, basses, keys, plucks, leads, pads, sequences, textures and effects. Search by category. User banks and presets can synchronize through iCloud Drive. Host automation and project recall remain attached to the same controls across compatible versions. Project state carries the tables it uses, so the sound you designed is the sound the session recalls. An integrated guided tutorial and detailed manual make the same instrument approachable on day one and transparent under expert scrutiny. Phasetable is built for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.

About

PolyQuad

Create complex analog-style synthesizer sounds using four independent voices. Design each voice with its own oscillator, filter, and envelopes, then combine them in various modes for massive layered textures, polyphonic chords, or unique stereo arrangements. Explore a vast library of presets or build your own from scratch.

Highlights
  • Four independent analog-style voices
  • Multiple oscillator and filter types per voice
  • Dual envelope generators per voice
  • Three voice combination modes (UNI, POLY, 2x2)
  • Extensive LFO modulation capabilities
  • Integrated effects unit (reverb, delay, chorus, phaser, drive)
  • 160 factory presets and user preset management
Features
Read full description

PolyQuad is one synthesizer built from four complete voices — and the instrument is what they make together. Each of the four channels is a full analog-style voice: its own oscillator, its own resonant filter, its own envelopes, its own amplifier, its own place in the stereo field. Design each channel for a role — a sub, a body, a sparkle, a slow swell — then play them as one. Three voice modes decide how they combine. UNI stacks all four on every note for one massive layered sound. POLY spreads chords across the channels, so every note of a chord lands on its own instrument. 2×2 plays note pairs on matched couples. Add glide, retrigger control and detune spread on top. THE CHANNELS - Four oscillators: triangle, sawtooth, pulse with PWM, sine — per channel, with octave and fine tune - Four resonant filters with envelope amount and FM depth per channel - Two envelopes per channel (filter and amp), each with three time ranges from snappy to minutes-long - Per-channel VCA with velocity amount and curve, level, pan, AUX send, solo and mute - Per-channel oscilloscope displays, and keys that light up with the voice that took them MOTION - Four LFOs with five shapes, routed to pitch, pulse width, filter FM, resonance, amplitude, pan or send - Each channel decides how much modulation to accept — one LFO can wobble one channel and leave another still - One effect unit — reverb, delay, chorus, phaser, drive — fed by per-channel AUX sends with a master return PRESETS - 160 factory presets in eight categories: Pads, Keys, Strings, Bass, Lead, Drone, Texture, Percussion - Every preset uses the four channels as four different instruments — layered stacks, rotating timbres, per-drum kits - Channel presets: capture one channel's design and load it into any channel of any patch - Your presets are plain JSON files in the Files app — back them up, share them, drop new ones in IN THE STUDIO - AUv3 instrument for AUM, Drambo, Logic Pro, GarageBand and other hosts - MIDI 2.0 with 16-bit velocity; MIDI 1.0 hosts are translated automatically - Every knob on the panel is a host parameter — full automation and session recall - Standalone app with keyboard, so it plays on its own too No account, no ads, no tracking, no network. Your sounds stay on your device.

Screenshots

Phasetable4 screens
PolyQuad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PolyQuad at $4.99 against Phasetable's $14.99. Phasetable's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Phasetable costs $14.99 and PolyQuad $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Phasetable against 5.0 for PolyQuad. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Phasetable versus PolyQuad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhasetablePolyQuad
Price$14.99$4.99 — better
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Number of ratings33
Update frequency—Weekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian ThompsonLASZLO DOBROVOLSZKI

Customer experience

Phasetable

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PolyQuad

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Phasetable

No in-app purchases

None

PolyQuad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phasetable free?
Phasetable costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PolyQuad free?
PolyQuad costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phasetable or PolyQuad?
Phasetable and PolyQuad are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Phasetable or PolyQuad have ads?
Neither Phasetable nor PolyQuad shows ads.

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