Vascular vs PLICATA
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Vascular
Create electroacoustic music by visually connecting sound generators and processors on a canvas. Manipulate stereo position, control synthesis and processing, and build complex signal paths. Explore a vast array of synthesis types, effects, and controllers to craft unique sonic textures.
- Canvas-based sound design
- Modular signal path building
- Extensive synthesis families
- 71 built-in processors
- Advanced controller modules
- Sample playback and manipulation
- Microphone input processing
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Vascular is a canvas-based electroacoustic instrument. Create sound generators and processors by touching the canvas, then connect them to build the signal path. Moving a node changes its stereo position, while each node provides its own synthesis, processing, modulation and rhythmic controls. FEATURES - 55 synthesis families, including subtractive, FM, additive, granular, spectral, physical modelling, wavetable, wave-terrain, pulsar and stochastic synthesis. - 3 macrosynths, complete synthesizers in a single node: resurgent (2 scenes, 3 oscillators, 2 filters, effects), bayarea, a West Coast voice, and poundhard, an FM drum voice from kicks to industrial percussion. - A complete DX7 implementation. - Holos, a special node that combines elements and parameters from other nodes to create a new semi-modular synthesizer instantly. - A sample player for loading your own loops, with time-stretching, forward and reverse playback, stuttering, splicing and tape-style manipulation derived from classic electroacoustic techniques. - Sampled acoustic instruments that generate melodic loops in the session's tonal key. - Drum synthesis, a 303, a 16-oscillator supersaw and live granular processing. - Microphone input for processing external sound. - 71 processors, including filters, distortion, delays, combs, phasing, diffusion, reverb, spectral freezing, convolution, pitch tracking, harmony, vocoding, spectral delays, tape loops and broken-media effects. - Host your own AUv3 instruments, effects and MIDI plugins as nodes on the canvas, their settings kept with your sessions (in-app purchase). - 7 controllers that play or move other nodes: a melodic sequencer with a piano-roll editor; an arpeggiator that turns a single arpeggio into a fugue across up to 6 voices; a drum machine with fills and breaks; a shift register; bouncing cars whose collisions are notes; a Game of Life swept by a playhead; and an LFO controller with 3 LFOs on each of up to 6 nodes. - Kick side chains with adjustable depth, and a master bus compressor. - An effects sequencer with 4 lanes of any processor, each with its own length. - A randomizer that creates whole patches, transforms what is on the canvas, expands it or dismantles it, and deals or removes LFOs, gates and motifs. - A padlock on every parameter, keeping it out of reach of the randomizer and every LFO. - Mute and solo: tap a node to mute it, hold it to hear it alone with its chain. - Angiogenesis, which moves nodes, rewires connections, adds processors and changes their parameters automatically. It never removes your voices, cuts a controller's connections or modifies microphone nodes. - Adjustable mutation rate and automatic adaptation to the processing capacity of the device. - A shared session clock with tap tempo and an independent clock division for each rhythmic source. - 27 scales from 4 musical traditions, plus microtonal tunings imported from Scala files. - Guided paths for restricting generators and processors to a selected musical territory. - A searchable palette, in alphabetical order, with favourites. - Rebalance, which spreads the outputs evenly across the whole stereo field. - A multilayer gesture looper. - 32 pattern slots with adjustable morphing between complete instrument states. - Sessions that store the network, settings and tonal key together. - 48 levels of undo and redo. - Recording, playback, renaming and sharing of takes. - A transport that stops active sound sources while allowing effect tails to decay naturally. AUV3 Vascular also runs as an AUv3 instrument in AUM, Loopy Pro, Logic and other compatible hosts, and follows the host's tempo and transport. The interface runs full-screen in landscape orientation and is operated directly with your fingers. The main buttons remain along the top of the display, away from the hand interacting with the canvas.
PLICATA
This is a compact monophonic synthesizer for hands-on sound design and performance. It features a morphing oscillator, wavefolding, a resonant filter, and a flexible VCA contour, with an independent SUB oscillator for added depth. A 28-socket patch system allows for extensive audio, CV, and event routing.
- Morphing oscillator with wavefolding
- Independent SUB oscillator
- 28-socket patch system
- Microtonal XY keyboard
- 32-step arpeggiator
- Performance macros
- AUv3 support
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PLICATA is a compact patchable monophonic instrument for hands-on sound design and performance. A morphing oscillator feeds wavefolding, a resonant filter and flexible VCA contour, while an independent SUB oscillator adds octave, interval and eight waveform modes. PATCH IT The 28-socket patch system opens audio, CV and event routing. Modulate FOLD without replacing the oscillator path, reset the LFO externally, replace the internal SUB source, control SUB level by CV, distribute modulation through MULT, or build feedback and audio-rate networks. Patch cables are recalled with your sounds. MICROTONAL XY PERFORMANCE The 13-key XY keyboard spans C4–C5. Tune every key independently by ±100 cents or start from 12-TET, Just Intonation, Pythagorean and quarter-tone templates. Horizontal movement adds pitch expression up to ±24 semitones; vertical movement can map each key to as many as eight sound parameters or performance macros. PERFORMANCE VIEW + 32-STEP ARPEGGIATOR Tap PERF for an expanded keyboard-focused surface. The arpeggiator follows INTERNAL, HOST or MIDI clock and offers UP, DOWN, UP/DOWN, AS PLAYED, RANDOM, WALK, CONVERGE, DIVERGE and CHORD styles across up to four octaves. Build patterns from 1 to 32 steps with independent pitch, octave, velocity, gate, probability and ratchet lanes. HOLD captures the note pool; FILL creates a momentary variation. Adjust swing, gate, velocity behavior, probability and ratchets live. Rotate patterns, create temporary MUTATE variations, FREEZE the result, and recall seven ARP scenes with optional MIDI keyswitch control. MACROS, MIDI AND SYNC Six bounded performance macros shape tone, motion, fold, envelope, drive and level. IGNITE is editable: choose multiple targets, ranges and response curves, then store the mapping independently from sound presets. The keyboard can output 12-TET MIDI or preserve microtonal tuning through pitch bend with ±1, ±2, ±12 and ±24 semitone ranges. PLICATA also supports MIDI/MPE input, host sync and externally reset or free-running LFO operation. COMPLETE SOUND STATES PLICATA ships with 20 factory sounds and a full user-preset system. User sounds recall synthesis, patch cables and performance configuration together. Search, organize, favorite, duplicate and tag sounds, or use GEN to create a complete new musical state without overwriting your library. STANDALONE + AUv3 Use PLICATA standalone or as an AUv3 instrument inside compatible Apple music hosts. FEATURES • Morphing oscillator, wavefolding and pulse-width shaping • Independent SUB oscillator with interval and eight waveform modes • Resonant filter, ADSR articulation and drive • 28-socket audio, CV and event patch system • 13-key microtonal XY keyboard with independent tuning • Dedicated PERFORMANCE view with expanded keyboard • 32-step arpeggiator with nine styles and three clock modes • Per-step pitch, octave, velocity, gate, probability and ratchet • HOLD, FILL, rotate, MUTATE/FREEZE and seven ARP scenes • Six performance macros plus editable IGNITE • MIDI/MPE input and microtonal MIDI output • Factory and user presets with complete-state recall • Complete-state generation with GEN • Standalone and AUv3 operation Support, bug reports and feature requests: support@alessandroguardascione.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PLICATA at none against Vascular's 1. PLICATA also leads on chart position (#198 vs unranked). Vascular's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and price ($3.99 vs $7.99). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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
Vascular costs $3.99 and PLICATA $7.99 up front. Vascular sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PLICATA asks for nothing beyond the download.
Vascular holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 5 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 67% and 67% positive.
Vascular ships an update daily, PLICATA every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Vascular | PLICATA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better | 4.6 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Every 2 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #198 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Absolute Management SIA | Alessandro Guardascione |
Customer experience
Vascular
PLICATA
In-app purchases
Vascular
- AUv3 Support$2.99
PLICATA
No in-app purchases








