Fugue Machine vs Fluss
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fugue Machine
This music sequencer uses multiple playheads to create complex melodic patterns inspired by Baroque and serialist composition techniques. Manipulate speed, direction, and pitch to generate unique soundscapes.
- Multi-playhead piano roll
- Manipulate speed, direction, and pitch
- Create complex melodic patterns
- Inspired by Baroque and serialist music
- Supports MIDI, AUv3 MIDI, Ableton Link
- Inter-App Audio and Audiobus compatibility
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A music sequencer reimagined with multiple playheads. "How Bach would have made a sequencer." (Create Digital Music) "A musical feat." (Creator's Project) "A new approach to sequencing." (XLR8R) "A next generation music sequencer." (Ask Audio) Fugue Machine Classic is a tool inspired by composition techniques used in Baroque music and Serialism — e.g. Bach’s canons and fugues, and Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique. The idea was to design a tool to manipulate a melody’s speed, direction, and pitch, as well as play multiple variations of the melody simultaneously. As it turned out, the best implementation for this was to reimagine one of the most fundamental building blocks of all music sequencers: the piano roll. Fugue Machine Classic is the world’s first multi-playhead piano roll. Create a music sequence and play it back with up to four playheads at once — each at various speeds, directions, pitches, and more. Watch the playheads dance, and hear the complex patterns that emerge. It’s mesmerizing. Fugue Machine Classic supports iPhone, iPad, MIDI, AUv3 MIDI, Ableton Link, Audiobus, Audiobus 3 MIDI, and Inter-App Audio. Thanks to the AUv3 standard, you can run multiple instances of Fugue Machine Classic on a single device when hosted in an AUv3 MIDI host app — like AUM, Logic Pro for iPad, Loopy Pro, and Cubasis.
Fluss
Explore granular synthesis with a tactile interface. Import, record, or live-process audio to create unique sound textures, drones, and echoes. Features kinetic sliders for dynamic modulation and a unique shimmer feedback effect.
- Granular synthesis engine
- Import, record, or live process audio
- Kinetic sliders for modulation
- Shimmer feedback effect
- MIDI playable
- Oberheim Xpander inspired filter
- Microtonal experiment support
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Fluss is a sonic playground designed by Bram Bos and Berlin-based musician Hainbach to let you explore granular synthesis in a hands-on way. The playful touch UI invites anything from live performance, experimentation to learning and mastering the granular concept. Multiple plugins: Import, Record or Live Process You can import your own WAVs (standalone & AUv3 Instrument plugin), Record audio (Record effect plugin) or live-process sound (Process effect plugin) to create anything from drones and granular echoes to moving microtonal audio textures. Designed for touch: Kinetic Sliders All sliders and XY pads are linked to a physics model which lets you flick and throw them around. Minimise the friction for endless bouncing motion, as an innovative substitute for traditional LFOs and modulation. There was never a better reason for using a touchscreen for music. Shimmer Feedback effect Like a shimmer reverb, except it feeds the processed audio back into the grain engine. This lets you create an endless loop of pitch-shifting spaciousness, turning even the simplest of sounds into massive woolly mammoths. - 3 Voice grain engine, each with an independent playhead - Playable via MIDI (since version 1.1) - Filter inspired by the Oberheim Xpander, including its resonant Phase filter - Kinetic sliders and pads for playful interaction with the sound - Universal design (iPhone and iPad; iPad Air 2 or higher recommended) - Custom scales, unquantised mode and even Scala-import for microtonal experiments - Use WAVs (or other audio files), record audio or load the app as a live-processing audio effect - Real world tested as an instrument in numerous live performances by Hainbach - Offers light mode and dark mode UI
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Fugue Machine at every 8 days against Fluss's every 3 months. Fugue Machine also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 78%) and ratings volume (624 vs 72). Fluss's advantage is price ($13.99 vs $19.99). On rating, ads, in-app purchases 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
Fugue Machine costs $19.99 and Fluss $13.99 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 — 4.9 for Fugue Machine against 4.8 for Fluss. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fugue Machine has 624 ratings behind it against 72, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Fugue Machine's written reviews are positive against 78% of Fluss's.
Fugue Machine ships an update every 8 days, Fluss every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fugue Machine | Fluss |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | $13.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (624 ratings) — better | 4.8 (72 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.3% of reviews — better | 78.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 624 — better | 72 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 453 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alexandernaut | Bram Bos |
Customer experience
Fugue Machine
Fluss
Bugs and requests
Fugue Machine
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Fluss
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes with black screen
- No audible output
- App resets when put in background
- Cyan play head difficult to see on waveform
Requested features
20 requests- Adjustable layer field per grain
- Record from internal microphone
- More control over grain direction
- BPM settings
- Transition from clean to new sounds
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- AUv3 plugin version
- Scan speed multiplier (x2, x4)
- Draw lines on pitch XY pad
- Lock oscillators on pitch XY pad
- Assign play heads triggered by external controller
- Snapshots for pitch section
- More clock and tempo syncing options
- Visualization of buffer, playback head speed, modulation
- Quantizer visualization
- User-changeable pitch XY pad layout
- Global friction and separate sensitivity option
- Modulation to specific play head
- Proper sampling button (microphone access)
- Preset browser arrows
- More control over panning, filter, scan speed
In-app purchases
Fugue Machine
No in-app purchases
Fluss
No in-app purchases







