# Oriental Strings — Oriental & Arabian Sounds App

> Professional oriental and Arabian string sound module for musicians. (iPhone/iPad app by Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oriental-strings/id945125583 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte](https://appshunter.io/developer/428367741)
- Category: Music
- Price: $7.99
- Rating: 4.20/5 from 11 App Store ratings · 29 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 1.9 GB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2014-12-17
- Data updated: 2026-06-27
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oriental-strings/id945125583/reviews.md

## What is Oriental Strings?

Oriental Strings is a professional sound module app for oriental keyboard players and for musicians who simply want to resemble the typical sound of the Orient and Middle East in their songs. Connect an external MIDI keyboard to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch by using Bluetooth MIDI or by using the Apple USB camera adapter or another adapter supported by Apple, or launch Oriental Strings as virtual instrument directly within your favourite DAW app on your iOS device!¹

Watch and listen to the demo video on our product website!

This app supports "Audio Unit", "Audiobus" and Apple's "Inter-App Audio" System for audio & MIDI connections from/to other audio apps, as well as Bluetooth LE MIDI !

The sounds of Oriental Strings were exclusively recorded with players who are professionally dedicated to oriental style of music. Typical string instrument sounds for the Arabian genre are covered by this app. Besides rather exotic instruments like the Chinese erhu, typical western string instruments were used as well, but since the players of the recording sessions are focused on oriental music, those western instruments sound completely different than you might be used to from western orchestra players.

The sounds of this app were once again created by Kurt Ader, winner of the NAMM 2015 "Best Sound Designer of the Year" award.

32 Sounds are included with this App:
• Chinese Erhu 1 - 3
• Chinese Erhu Trill
• Turkish Strings 1 - 4
• Arabian Strings 1 - 3
• Tremolo Strings 1 - 5
• Spiccato Strings
• Oriental Spiccato Strings
• Oriental String Quartet 1 - 3
• Oriental Staccato Strings
• Arabian Solo Strings 1 - 3
• String Quartet
• Oriental String Ensemble 1 - 5
• Slow Oriental Strings

There is no in-app purchase in this app. So all sounds and all app features are immediately available to you as one buy.

General Features:
• Sounds based on high quality stereo sample set.
• Master Tune & Scale Tuning (including factory presets for common Arabian & Turkish scales).
• Low latency disk streaming.
• Configurable audio latency down to 1 ms.
• Polyphony up to several hundred stereo voices.²
• Integrated effects with 18 presets.
• 16 parts.
• App States: Save app's entire state as user presets.
• MIDI velocity response curve editor to fine tune the feeling of your MIDI keyboard.
• App can keep running in the background, so you can play on your keyboard while e.g. using Safari or another app to display scores or surfing the Internet.
• Audio Unit plugin version of this app, to be used as virtual instrument directly within third-party multi-track DAW apps.
• Audiobus support.
• Supports Apple's "IAA" system for audio & MIDI streaming between other apps.
• Virtual on-screen piano keyboard with velocity support, scalable & scrollable.

MIDI Player / Recorder:
• Record, save and load your songs in standard MIDI file format.
• Share your songs easily as audio file.
• Unlimited amount of tracks.
• Configurable target MIDI channel per track.
• Unlimited recording and playback length.
• Open MIDI (.mid) files directly from other apps (i.e. from Safari, Mail).
• Download or upload MIDI files with iTunes.
• Load your favorite songs as MIDI files from the Internet, and watch at the virtual keyboard how to play it.
• Metronome.
• Use the "Tempo Zoom" dial knob to i.e. slow down playback at any time and learn your favorite songs more easily.

¹ For more information about adapters and connecting external MIDI keyboards: https://doc.crudebyte.com/iOS/External_MIDI_devices/

² Some sounds are using several voices per note. Polyphony depends on the exact device model being used. You find a polyphony table on our product website.

## Key features

- Authentic oriental and Arabian string sounds
- High-quality stereo samples
- Master Tune & Scale Tuning
- Integrated effects with 18 presets
- MIDI velocity response curve editor
- Audio Unit, Audiobus, and Inter-App Audio support
- MIDI Player/Recorder

## Recent user reviews (10 of 29)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oriental-strings/id945125583/reviews.md

### 5/5 — I love this

*2025-07-07*

I started out with this App on an iPhone 5 x86 and i still love it on my iPhone 7 pro with iOS 15.8.4… please maintain support as long as you technically can  🤗

### 5/5 — Perfekt 👌🏻

*2024-01-14*

Absolut Super Sound

### 2/5 — Ok standalone, terrible Auv3

*2023-04-16*

This mediocre app is just one of two in the iSymphonic series. They sound exactly the same as the other. I would have to say this one is sort of worth the price [$7] unlike iSymphonic Orchestra, which is an IAP scheme [$10+ dozens if not hundreds of dollars to get the sounds]. At least with this, what you see is what you get. Even then, the AUv3 sometimes has trouble with loading, and during export. I read the same thing about iSymphonic and I will repeat what was told to me: I ditched iSymphonic for a REAL Symphponic/orchestral AUv3 by GSi called Mini Orchestra, and I am thinking of deleting both Crudebyte apps to save space.

### 2/5 — Amazing standalone, terrible Auv3

*2023-02-11, version 2.3.1*

This app is only amazing in standalone. It doesn’t work as an Auv3 with maqam choice, which without it just makes it a mediocre string Auv3, nothing Arabic about it inside a DAW

### 4/5 — Application de qualité,mais

*2023-01-22*

L’application en elle-même est de bonne facture .
Avec un panel de preset assez large ,on peut l’exploiter sans limite.
Mais je rencontre des problèmes lors que j’exporte ,quelques soit le format.
L’application crash ,les violons sonnent 1 fois sur 2.

### 4/5 — Isn’t Tanpura a strung instrument

*2022-11-20*

Please add Tanpura. Make this app even more special just by adding this one instrument.

### 5/5 — Excellent quality

*2020-12-31, version 2.0.8*

Easy to use sounds great

### 3/5 — Not so great!

*2020-11-27*

The Erhu in garageband is free and sounds authentic & beautiful. The one in ‘Oriental Strings’ sounds like its a synth version. It’s not 1980’s home organ bad, just not great. The attack on these sounds lets them down but they are not deep or nuanced altogether. They might do ok underneath the blend of a busy instrumental mix but as solo sounds they are cheap and tacky. Some worse than others. Some not so bad. Then again they are actually cheap and so I guess you get what you pay for. Hence the *** rating. I wished I’d heard a demo before buying.

### 5/5 — Harika

*2020-11-07, version 2.0.8*

Çok güzel Harika

### 5/5 — great app

*2020-05-12, version 2.0.6*

its sooooooo great app really , we waiting for new sound packs , 
with classical turkish " kemençe " and arabian " Rababa " , its both a strings , thnx ♥️♥️♥️

## Frequently asked questions about Oriental Strings

### What kind of sounds does Oriental Strings offer?

Oriental Strings specializes in authentic oriental and Arabian string instrument sounds. It includes 32 meticulously recorded sounds, such as various Chinese Erhu, Turkish Strings, Arabian Strings, and Oriental String Ensembles, all based on high-quality stereo sample sets.

### How can I connect Oriental Strings to my keyboard?

You can connect an external MIDI keyboard to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch using Bluetooth MIDI or an Apple USB camera adapter. Oriental Strings also functions as a virtual instrument directly within your favorite DAW app on iOS devices.

### Does Oriental Strings support integration with other music apps?

Yes, Oriental Strings supports 'Audio Unit', 'Audiobus', and Apple's 'Inter-App Audio' system. This allows for seamless audio and MIDI connections from and to other audio apps, as well as Bluetooth LE MIDI.

### What is the price of Oriental Strings?

Oriental Strings is available for a one-time purchase of $7.99. There are no in-app purchases, meaning all sounds and features are immediately accessible upon buying the app.

### Is Oriental Strings suitable for beginners?

While Oriental Strings is a professional sound module, its intuitive design and comprehensive features like master tune and scale tuning make it accessible for musicians looking to explore oriental sounds. The app is rated for ages 4+.

### How often is Oriental Strings updated?

The latest version of Oriental Strings is 2.4.1, which was last updated on January 19, 2026. This indicates a commitment to ongoing development and support for the application.

### Can Oriental Strings be used offline?

Yes, Oriental Strings can keep running in the background, allowing you to play on your keyboard while using other apps like Safari to display scores. Its low latency disk streaming ensures a smooth performance even when not connected to the internet.

### What devices are compatible with Oriental Strings?

Oriental Strings is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. Its features are optimized for these Apple platforms, providing a high-quality musical experience.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.4.1 — 2026-01-19

•  Minor corrections.

### 2.4 — 2025-07-07

•  Audio Unit: added audio rendering time statistics.
•  Audio Unit: detects audio dropouts and shows a warning in this case.

### 2.3.2 — 2024-04-05

This update fixes some UI issues on iPhone.

Note: This version raises the minimum requirement to iOS 12 and 64-bit CPU. For older devices there are still older versions of this app with lower requirements available for download on the App Store.

### 2.3.1 — 2022-03-15

This update fixes the following software issue introduced by recent feature update:

•  Fixed a potential crash when switching to a different sound.

### 2.3 — 2022-02-23

This update provides numerous improvements for the Audio Unit (AU) plugin version of Oriental Strings:

•  AU: Full-screen sound selection with search criteria filter options.
•  AU: Added Reverb effect.
•  AU: Automatically save and restore all sound settings with Audio Unit session (e.g. when saving/loading a song in an Audio Unit host app)
•  AU: Fixed potential crash on AU session restore.

Additionally this update provides the following software correction on Oriental Strings stand-alone app side:

•  Fixed potential concurrency issue when processing MIDI Control Change (CC) commands.

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## More apps by Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte

- [CMP Grand Piano](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cmp-grand-piano/id566874816)
- [MIDI Wrench](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/midi-wrench/id589243566)
- [iSymphonic Orchestra](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/isymphonic-orchestra/id892220800)
- [iCathedral Organ](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icathedral-organ/id925910220)
- [Heavy Brass](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavy-brass/id1037802910)

All apps by Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte: https://appshunter.io/developer/428367741

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-27.*