MS vs Gelato Synth
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MS
Create music with a 12-bit sampler and step sequencer. Record audio, manipulate its sound with a vintage digital character, and arrange it into songs. Unlock full features with a one-time purchase.
- 16-pad sampler and step sequencer
- Record and edit audio with 12-bit character
- Adjustable sample rate and bit depth
- Real-time sequencing with velocity and tune
- 13 built-in effects
- Song mode for arranging patterns
- Export to WAV
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MS-12 is a 16-pad sampler and step sequencer built around the sound of classic 12-bit hardware. Sample anything through the microphone, trim it, and play it straight from the pads. The sample rate and bit depth engine gives you the gritty, saturated character early digital samplers were loved for — not a filter placed on top, but the sound of the conversion itself. SAMPLING • Record from the built-in mic, a USB or Lightning interface, or line input • Resample the app's own output to bounce layers down • Threshold recording starts the moment sound arrives • Stereo or mono (L/R) capture SOUND • Adjustable sample rate (8–44.1 kHz) and bit depth (4–32 bit) • Presets for classic 12-bit voicings • Ring modulator, compressor, punch and saturation per pad EDITING • Trim, fade in and out, normalize, reverse, gain, silence • Time stretch • Auto slice by transient detection, or set slice points live with the pads • Split a stereo sample into separate mono left and right samples SEQUENCER • Step sequencer with velocity and tune per step • Real-time recording with selectable quantize • Up to 4 bars per pattern • Note Repeat • Song Mode chains patterns into a full track PLAYBACK AND MIXING • Volume and pan per pad, mute and solo • Mute groups so pads cut each other off, like a real drum machine • Pad Link to trigger several pads at once • Multi Level and Multi Pitch to spread one sample across the grid • 13 effects: tape echo, delay, reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo/pan, distortion, overdrive, fuzz, wah, isolator and a 4-band EQ EXPORT • Bounce a pattern to a WAV file • Save projects on the device and reopen them later FREE VERSION MS-12 is free to try, and the sound engine is not held back — nothing about the audio is degraded in the free version. You get Bank A (16 pads), one 1-bar pattern, two effects, and microphone sampling up to 10 seconds per pad. A single one-time purchase unlocks everything: all four banks (64 pads), unlimited patterns up to 4 bars, Song Mode, all 13 effects, unlimited sampling time, loading your own audio files, project save and load, and WAV export. Anything you made before buying carries straight over. No subscription. No ads. No account required.
Gelato Synth
This music creation app makes it easy to play and compose, ensuring every note is in key. Explore a variety of sounds, play chords with a single tap, and record your musical ideas with multi-layer looping.
- Play in key with automatic scale and chord adjustments
- FM synthesis with two oscillators, LFO, and effects
- Chord mode for one-finger chord playing
- Multi-track looping recorder
- Customizable sound library
- Import custom drum hits
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Gelato Synth is a chunky, friendly synthesizer for iPhone. Pick a sound, tap the big pads, and it sounds good straight away, because every note is already in key. NEVER PLAY A WRONG NOTE Choose a key and a scale and the pads rebuild themselves. Every button is a note that fits. Slide across them, hold them, stack them. You cannot hit a clunker. MAKE A SOUND THAT IS YOURS Real FM synthesis with two oscillators, noise, an envelope, a filter, an LFO and effects, all on big sliders you can understand. Watch the wave change on the scope as you move them. Start from one of 52 sounds or from a blank slate. PLAY CHORDS WITH A BUTTON Switch to Chords and the pads become the chords of your key: triads, sevenths, ninths, sus and power chords. Whole chords under every finger. RECORD YOUR IDEA Tap record for a quick take, or set a tempo and a beat and loop it. Add another layer on top with +1, up to eight, each with its own sound. Mute, balance and share the mix. BUILD YOUR LIBRARY Save the sounds you make into My Sounds and they are there next time. Drop your own drum hits into the Files app and the beats use them. WHAT IS FREE Notes mode with every scale, a handful of sounds in each category with all the sliders, and quick record. THE FULL LIBRARY One purchase, yours forever: chord buttons, every sound, the loop recorder with beats and layers, and saving your own sounds. No subscription, no ads, no account. Gelato Synth is made by a tiny team who wanted a synth their friends could pick up without a manual. Questions and ideas: hello@gelatoaudio.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MS at none against Gelato Synth's 1. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Gelato Synth sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. MS asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for MS against 5.0 for Gelato Synth. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
MS ships an update every 3 days, Gelato Synth every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | MS | Gelato Synth |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | yuji yoshie | Cerrone LLC |
In-app purchases
MS
No in-app purchases
Gelato Synth
- Full Gelato Synth$4.99









