FingerFiddle vs Strum Machine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FingerFiddle
Transform your device into a realistic string instrument. Control notes with your fingers and shape sound with bow-like movements. Experience the full expressive range of violin family instruments anytime, anywhere.
- Realistic bow and fingerboard control
- Expressive sound shaping
- Pizzicato playing mode
- Customizable fingerboard
- Inter-App Audio/Audiobus support
- Multiple violin family instruments
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Turn your iPad into an instrument of the violin family and play just like on a real instrument ! FingerFiddle introduces a new and highly sensitive musical experience with your IOS device. Your actions on the screen are turned naturally into an exceptionally realistic and responsive sound, whatever you do. Place your fingers on the fingerboard to change notes. Move your other hand on the screen to rub the strings with the bow and shape the sound continuously in real-time. Pluck the screen to play pizzicato. FingerFiddle responds accurately to your movements and lets you play with the full palette of violin expression, just like with a real instrument. FingerFiddle is a musical instrument that you can bring with you everywhere to play, practice, have fun and perform with others. It includes a full collection of fine-tuned instruments from the violin family (violin, viola, cello and double bass). The basic version comes with a cello, and other instruments are available to try and purchase. Wherever you are, at any time, pick one of the instruments and play music for real with FingerFiddle. Who is it for? Anyone interested in music playing can find something in FingerFiddle: - For the beginner, FingerFiddle is an affordable way to experience and enjoy fiddle playing, alone or in group. Play, practice to improve your playing, try different instruments and maybe, eventually, buy a real instrument… - For advanced players, FingerFiddle is a new instrument to discover and have fun with. Use it in your musical productions and live performances, when jamming with others, or just to sketch ideas. - In all cases, FingerFiddle is a musical instrument that is always right at your fingertips, whenever you feel the need to play music. Features: - Natural mapping between movement and sound: your finger is the bow ! - Outstanding sound rendering for a realistic output - Pitch is controlled with a fingerboard on the screen to allow fiddle-specific playing techniques (vibrato, glissando, chords) - The fingerboard is customizable: set its width and the space between notes for a comfortable playing - A specific area is dedicated to pizzicato playing - Inter-App Audio / Audiobus support (generator) - Very low memory requirement: no samples library is used - Inter App Audio and Audiobus support - The basic version includes the Cello from the Classic Collection. Other instruments are available as In App purchases (Violin, Viola, Double Bass, normal or with mutes)
Strum Machine
Generate realistic backing tracks for practice with real instrument audio. Customize chord progressions, keys, and tempo. Features a large song library, song editor, and band customization options. Works offline and syncs across devices.
- Realistic instrument audio backing tracks
- Customizable chord progressions, keys, and tempo
- Extensive song library
- Simple song editor
- Band and instrument customization
- Cross-platform syncing and offline mode
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Elevate your music practice with customizable backing tracks generated with audio from real instruments (guitar, mandolin, and standup bass). Strum Machine can play any chord progression, in any key, at any speed. It's the only backing-track app built specifically for players of bluegrass, old-time, fiddle tunes, and other such genres. (Although it works pretty good for some jazz/swing now, too!) Why musicians of all levels love Strum Machine: • Realistic Sound: Backing tracks are assembled in real time from studio-quality instrument recordings. • Quick Adjustments: Instantly adjust the speed/tempo, change the key, loop part of a song, etc. • Auto-Speedup: Gradually increase the BPM at the end of every repetition for training purposes. • Chord Reference: Clean, beautiful chord charts, which can be displayed in letters or numbers (i.e. "1-4-5"). • Extensive Library: Over 1,300 songs (mostly from bluegrass and old-time) ready to go, with thousands more posted on the community forum. • Simple Song Editor: Add your own songs (or edit existing ones) in minutes. Almost every chord you can play on a guitar is available for use. • Customize the Band: Choose from a variety of built-in band styles, then optionally customize each instrument individually – adjust the strumming pattern, add automatic bass runs, and more. • Organize & Share: Create song lists for practicing or even performing, and share them with your friends or on the community forum. • Cross-Platform: Sync your custom songs, lists, and preferences with any device you use Strum Machine on: phone, tablet, or computer. (It works offline, too!) • Responsive Support: If you run into any problems or have questions, write us an email or post a message on the forum and someone will get back to you within a few days! Strum Machine is under active development and we're always working on ways to make the app even more useful to our users... while keeping it uncluttered and intuitive first and foremost. Discover how Strum Machine can improve your music practice today! Download Strum Machine and play a handful of demo songs instantly, without signing up. For the full experience, including access to all built-in songs and the ability to create your own, start a free trial. Terms of Use: https://strummachine.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://strummachine.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Strum Machine at Free against FingerFiddle's $2.99. Strum Machine also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). FingerFiddle's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.4). On review sentiment, 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
Strum Machine is free to download; FingerFiddle costs $2.99 up front. FingerFiddle sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Strum Machine sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Strum Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 120 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of FingerFiddle's written reviews are positive against 89% of Strum Machine's.
FingerFiddle ships an update every 3 months, Strum Machine fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | FingerFiddle | Strum Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (52 ratings) | 4.7 (120 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.6% of reviews | 88.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 52 | 120 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #158 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 77 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matthias Demoucron | Luke Abbott LLC |
Customer experience
FingerFiddle
Strum Machine
Bugs and requests
FingerFiddle
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes frequently (especially after iOS 11.2)
- 3D bow and vibrato not working for some users
- Mutes when starting recording in GarageBand
- Vibrato function not activable for some users
Requested features
15 requests- Recording capability
- Metronome
- MIDI IN/OUT support
- AUv3 support for DAWs
- Support for Apple Pencil 2 pressure
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- Fretless option
- More instrument variety (guitars, woodwinds, brass, percussion, Indian Sarangi, Viola da Gamba)
- Five-string bass option
- Oversampling for improved sound quality
- Customizable fingerboard pitch settings
- Auto-vibrato mode
- String ensemble sounds
- Vertical bow movement option
- More realistic fingerboard layout
- Ability to choose pitch with a keyboard
Strum Machine
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
FingerFiddle
- Violin (Classic Collection)$2.99
- Viola (Classic Collection)$2.99
- Violin (Con Sordino Collection)$2.99
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- Double Bass (Classic Collection)$2.99
- Viola (Con Sordino Collection)$2.99
- Cello (Con Sordino Collection)$2.99
- Double Bass (Con Sordino Collection)$2.99
- Classic Collection$8.99
- Con Sordino Collection$8.99
Strum Machine
- Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month









