Cube Synth vs Phosphor 3
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cube Synth
Explore additive synthesis with intuitive sound morphing and deep parameter control. Create complex soundscapes, vocal phrases, or rhythms with ease. Offers a unique randomizer for instant patch generation.
- Additive synthesis engine
- Intelligent sound morphing
- Over 400 sound presets
- Programmable arpeggiator
- Multiple built-in effects
- Audiobus and Inter-app audio support
- Random sound patch generator
Read full descriptionHide full description
Cube Synth is a groundbreaking new software instrument giving you the power and flexibility of additive synthesis together with easy editing and morphing capabilities. Macro parameters allow you to control this beast with unequalled ease. Intelligent sound morphing capabilities enables you to easily create complex evolving sound scapes, vocal phrases or stunning rhythms simply by choosing up to four sound sources from a predefined set. Then add one of the predefined envelopes and a unique, complex sound preset containing thousands of parameters is created! If you want to dive deeper into the inner secrets of this synthesis monster you can manipulate each parameter individually to get precise control over the sound. A number of high level parameters such as Brightness and Harmonic spread control hundreds of synthesis parameters in a way modeled after the inner workings of natural instruments. Cube Synth gives you also a new method of getting randomly generated sound patches in a way you never experienced before: roll the dice! Every single try gives you a new unique sound patch, really every try, promised… Synthesis • over 400 sound presets • four morphable sound sources • up to 512 partials per voice • harmonic/inharmonic spectra • arbitrary noise spectra • morphable filter banks • 3 Envelopes with tempo sync • 64 time/level segments per envelope Arpeggiator • Uses programmable sequences with up to 32 steps. • Can trigger single notes and chords. • Unique randomizer generates Arpeggios with 100% usability. • 32 Arpeggios included, unlimited useer arpeggios possible. • For each step you can program tie, accent, transposition and note order Effects • Chorus • Phaser • Overdrive • Ensemble • Echo/Delay • Reverb Global • Audiobus 2 compatible (Input slot) with state saving • Support for Ableton Link. • Inter-app audio compatible (Instrument/Generator) • CoreMIDI / Virtual MIDI • Audio recorder with Metronome. • Upload to SoundCloud and File Export. • Audio pasteboard.
Phosphor 3
This app recreates a vintage digital synthesizer, offering a faithful emulation of a classic sound engine. It includes modern features like MPE, extensive modulation, and a new UI for sonic exploration.
- Vintage digital synthesizer emulation
- Additive synthesis engine
- MPE support
- Extensive modulation routing
- Preset manager
- Tuning tables
Read full descriptionHide full description
Glow in the dark synthesis. Phosphor 3 is a dual-oscillator additive synthesizer that puts the raw building blocks of sound at your fingertips. Draw, randomize, or select up to 64 harmonics per oscillator, then shape them with envelopes, LFOs, cross-modulation, and a flexible mod matrix. Originally inspired by the alphaSyntauri, a rare digital additive synth from the early 1980s, Phosphor 3 takes that concept far beyond its origins with modern MPE expression, polyphonic modulation, and a full effects engine. --- Additive Oscillators Two identical additive oscillators, each with up to 64 individually editable harmonics. Start from classic shapes: sawtooth, triangle, square, or draw your own harmonic spectrum directly in the partial editor. The intelligent randomizer generates musically useful timbres with variable rolloff, density, and formant peaks, so every click produces something worth exploring. Choose 16, 32, or 64 partials per oscillator to balance complexity against CPU. Each oscillator has independent level, pan, transpose, fine tune, a noise generator with lo-fi downsampling, and cross-modulation (FM) for pushing timbres into harsher, more complex territory. Modulation Two ADSR envelopes with adjustable attack, decay, and release curves. Two LFOs with four waveforms (pulse, sine, saw, random), tempo sync, and the option to run polyphonically, a separate LFO per voice, or globally. An 8-source modulation matrix routes velocity, pressure, pitch bend, mod wheel, CC 74, triggered random, and both LFOs to destinations across the oscillators and effects. Effects Stereo delay with independent left/right time, feedback, and cross-channel feedback for ping-pong and rhythmic patterns. Tempo sync locks delay times to your DAW. Dual band-pass filters after the delay let you carve the wet signal into resonant, frequency-specific textures. Expression Full MPE support with per-note pitch bend, pressure, and slide across 16 polyphonic voices. Mono legato and mono retrigger modes with adjustable portamento. Unison mode for thick, detuned stacks. A scrollable 128-key on-screen keyboard with velocity from touch position, pitch bend from horizontal drag, and channel pressure from vertical drag, no hardware controller required. Tuning MTS-ESP client support for real-time microtuning from any MTS-ESP master. TUN file import for custom scales. Standard 12-TET with adjustable A4 reference. Supports AUv3 for use in GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, and other AUv3-compatible hosts.
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Cube Synth at $1.99 against Phosphor 3's $5.99. Cube Synth also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 11 months) and review sentiment (89% vs 79%). 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
Cube Synth costs $1.99 and Phosphor 3 $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Cube Synth against 4.7 for Phosphor 3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 9 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Cube Synth's written reviews are positive against 79% of Phosphor 3's.
Cube Synth ships an update every 4 months, Phosphor 3 every 11 months. Both last shipped on September 27, 2026.
| Parameter | Cube Synth | Phosphor 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (16 ratings) — better | 4.7 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.5% of reviews — better | 78.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 11 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Harry Gohs | Audio Damage, Inc. |
Customer experience
Cube Synth
Phosphor 3
In-app purchases
Cube Synth
No in-app purchases
Phosphor 3
No in-app purchases








