Comparison

ab Compressor | Limiter X vs AuTranspose

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

Head to head
About

ab Compressor | Limiter X

This audio effect app offers advanced compression and limiting capabilities for music production. It allows independent control over three dimensional poles (Left, Right, Front) for unique sound shaping and includes features like dry/wet control for parallel processing.

Highlights
  • Per-dimensional pole compressor
  • Per-dimensional pole limiter
  • Per-dimensional pole saturator
  • Dry/wet control for parallel processing
  • Peak/RMS compression
  • Lookahead function
  • Knee control
Features
Read full description

A Compressor and Limiter that works in Ambisonics under the hood. Three different dimensional poles can be compressed, limited or saturated independently (LEFT, RIGHT, FRONT) with unique results! - Per-Dimensional Pole Compressor - Per Dimensional Pole Limiter - Per Dimensional Pole Saturator - Dry/Wet control for Parallel processing - Compress from 1:1 to 99:1 or to Infinite:1 (Limit) - Peak / RMS Compression - Lookahead function - Knee control

About

AuTranspose

This utility plugin allows for simple pitch-shifting and detuning of audio. It offers a range of +/- one octave in semitones and +/- 100 cents detune. Note that it introduces audio latency, making it unsuitable for real-time performance where timing is critical.

Highlights
  • Pitch shifting +/- one octave
  • Detune +/- 100 cents
  • AUv3 effects plugin
  • Standalone or host compatible
  • Latency reporting on UI
  • Simple and easy to use
Read full description

AuTranspose is a simple pitch-shifting / transpose utility plugin with a range of +/- one octave in semitones, and a +/- 100 cents detune (semitone up or down). Please note that AuTranspose has audio latency (see the PLEASE READ section below) so it is not really suitable for realtime pitch shifting in situations where timing is critical - for example, shifting the pitch of an instrument as you play it or syncing multiple tracks in a live performance. AuTranspose is an AUv3 effects plugin that can run standalone, or in any AUv3 compatible host such as Logic Pro, GarageBand or AUM. AuTranspose currently runs on iPadOS / iOS (iPad & iPhone) and macOS (Intel & Silicon) and is available as a Universal Purchase from the Apple App Store. If you’re planning on using AuTranspose on Mac / desktop, please ensure that your favourite DAW / host supports AUv3 (not just AU). PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY! AuTranspose uses a pitch shifting technique that adds latency (delay) to the processed audio. Please note that this is unrelated to your audio interface buffer size or sample rate. The quality of the pitch conversion is a compromise between low latency or decent quality results - unfortunately, you can’t have both. AuTranspose can get as low as around 25ms latency which is just about good enough for a guitar octaver type application, but will probably sound a bit “wobbly” / “lo-fi” on more general audio. If you’re interested in a more guitar-centric octaver, please check out OttavaBassa which uses similar DSP, but tuned for guitar. AuTranspose does not report its latency to the host! This is by design. Instead, the current latency is shown on the UI in samples (and ms) so you can decide yourself if you need to compensate for it - for example, when remixing projects and you need to re-sync tracks that aren’t going through AuTranspose. So what is it for, and why did I make it? In my own search for a simple pitch shifter, I found that the really simple ones didn’t sound so good, and the ones that did produce good results were fairly complicated and / or CPU intensive. So I tried to make something that was very simple to use, that produced reasonable results. When might AuTranspose be useful? Backing tracks: You might want to transpose up or down by a semitone or two to put the song in a more comfortable key to sing, or perhaps you tune your guitar to Eb. In these situations, you could probably transpose the whole track up or down and it’ll still sound OK. The only other thing to keep in mind is that the playback of the track will be delayed by the latency so as long as the backing track doesn’t have to sync with anything else, you should be fine. Remixing recorded projects: Perhaps you have a project that’s audio only and you’ve decided it needs to be in a different key. You could use AuTranspose to pitch-shift the tracks or stems that need to be in key, but leave the percussion tracks as they are. You can then add a sample length delay (*) to these tracks so that everything plays in sync. For convenience AuTranspose reports the number of samples to adjust by. And of course, you could simply use AuTranspose as an effect in itself, for example as a “Lo-Fi” pitch shifter for a retro vibe. There are a few examples in the factory presets to get you started. (*) In cases where you need to compensate for latency on tracks that aren’t using AuTranspose, add a sample delay plugin to those tracks and set the number of samples to what’s reported on the AuTranspose UI. There are several sample delay plugins available, although many of the free ones (Apple’s included) don’t go that high. By the time you read this, MicroLag should be available which supports longer delay times.

Screenshots

ab Compressor | Limiter X3 screens
AuTranspose1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AuTranspose at $2.99 against ab Compressor | Limiter X's $5.99. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ab Compressor | Limiter X costs $5.99 and AuTranspose $2.99 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 ab Compressor | Limiter X against 5.0 for AuTranspose. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
ab Compressor | Limiter X versus AuTranspose: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterab Compressor | Limiter XAuTranspose
Price$5.99$2.99 — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlejandro Cabrera ZunigaRob Jackson

Customer experience

ab Compressor | Limiter X

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

AuTranspose

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ab Compressor | Limiter X

No in-app purchases

None

AuTranspose

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ab Compressor | Limiter X free?
ab Compressor | Limiter X costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AuTranspose free?
AuTranspose costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ab Compressor | Limiter X or AuTranspose?
ab Compressor | Limiter X and AuTranspose are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do ab Compressor | Limiter X or AuTranspose have ads?
Neither ab Compressor | Limiter X nor AuTranspose shows ads.

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