Comparison

SL DREAD vs Sean's Strange Box

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

Head to head
About

SL DREAD

Transform any audio into unsettling soundscapes with 30 evolving horror scenes. This app processes melodies, vocals, and more to create disturbing atmospheres for music, film, and game sound design. Its unique interface allows for independent control of various sonic layers.

Highlights
  • 30 evolving horror scenes
  • Audio-reactive interface
  • Independent layer control
  • Standalone app and AUv3 effect
  • Transport Link for host sync
  • User presets
Read full description

SL DREAD blends incoming audio with 30 evolving horror scenes. Process melodies, drum loops, vocals, synths and field recordings to build disturbing atmospheres for music, film and game sound design. Fusion makes the atmosphere respond to the source. Shape its character with Age, Decay, Motion, Voice, Event, Space and Mix, and control drone, breath, whisper and metallic layers independently. Transport Link follows playback in a compatible host. The weathered medical-monitor interface includes an audio-reactive CRT display, scene selection, user presets and input/output controls. On iPhone, compact portrait pages separate Controls, Layers and I/O. Use the full interface in landscape or on iPad. Includes a standalone app and an AUv3 audio effect. To process a track from another music app, insert SL DREAD in a compatible AUv3 host. Standalone input monitoring starts muted to avoid speaker feedback; use headphones when enabling microphone monitoring. No account or in-app purchase is required. Audio processing stays on your device.

About

Sean's Strange Box

Features
Read full description

Sean's Strange Box is a polyphonic house synth with a step sequencer that jacks. Part of Time2Jack's Architect Series, it brings hands-on sound design, pattern writing and live performance to iPhone and iPad. THE SOUND Two oscillators with SHAPE, DEFORM and SYMMETRY, a sub and noise, and up to four-voice UNISON with DETUNE and stereo SPREAD. Shape the sound with LP12, LP24, high-pass and band-pass filters, two ADSR envelopes and three LFOs, including Lorenz and Rössler chaos. A twelve-slot modulation matrix connects the LFOs, envelope, velocity, XY pad, pressure and tilt to your sound. Chorus, phaser, ping-pong delay, reverb and a three-band EQ run in the order you choose. Sixteen-voice polyphony. STRANGE AND BENT STRANGE moves from subtle instability, filter motion and stereo drift into deformation, deeper modulation, effects movement and rhythmic variation. BENT focuses on timbre. Variations evolve every bar, and the same gesture produces a repeatable performance. FREEZE and REPEAT add momentary delay and rhythmic effects. THE SEQUENCER Build patterns up to 64 steps long with velocity, accent, probability, ratchets, ties and slides. Put up to five notes on a step, or let CHORDS generate a progression in your key and scale. Record four automation lanes. Eight scenes, A to H, change on the bar line, and CHAIN plays them in the order you choose. GENERATE offers a new house bassline when you need a starting point. JAM AND PERFORM JAM gives you a note matrix, two octaves of keys, a metronome and recording into the sequencer. Lock your key and scale to stay in tune. PERFORM brings the XY pad, macros and effects together for live playing. EZ AND PRO Two control surfaces share the same instrument. EZ groups sound design into SOURCE, TONE, SHAPE, MOTION and SOUND, plus STRANGE. PRO opens the full set of controls. Switching surfaces preserves your sound, pattern and playback. 58 FACTORY SOUNDS Explore house basses, acoustic-inspired instruments, unison and chaos sounds. Search, tag and audition presets, or HYBRIDIZE two sounds into something new. PLAY TOGETHER Use Ableton Link, DJ SYNC and MIDI input to play in time with other gear. MIDI Learn connects controls to your controller. The included AUv3 instrument runs in compatible iPad music hosts. Save a complete sound, modulation matrix and all eight scenes in a .strange project. Runs on iPhone and iPad. No account, subscription, ads or in-app purchases. Make music offline; enable local-network sync when you want to play together.

Screenshots

SL DREAD3 screens
Sean's Strange Box4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sean's Strange Box at $4.99 against SL DREAD's $14.99. SL DREAD's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SL DREAD costs $14.99 and Sean's Strange Box $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SL DREAD versus Sean's Strange Box: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSL DREADSean's Strange Box
Price$14.99$4.99 — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB12 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperVIACHESLAV ZHILTSOVIrwin Eberhart

In-app purchases

None

SL DREAD

No in-app purchases

None

Sean's Strange Box

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SL DREAD free?
SL DREAD costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sean's Strange Box free?
Sean's Strange Box costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do SL DREAD or Sean's Strange Box have ads?
Neither SL DREAD nor Sean's Strange Box shows ads.

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