Comparison

Mintzer Big Band Essentials vs Modacity

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mintzer Big Band Essentials

This music app offers an immersive big band experience, allowing users to isolate or mute individual instrument tracks from a library of 10 tunes. Charts and parts can be printed or emailed directly from the application.

Highlights
  • Isolate or mute individual instrument tracks
  • Play along with a big band
  • Library of 10 tunes
  • Print or email charts and parts
  • Supports multiple instruments
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the Mintzer Big Band App. This is, by far, the most ambitious app production and undertaking ever for us here at Fuzzy Music Mobile. But we know that the hard work and expense is worth it, because this app does more to bring the big band experience to everyone anywhere than any other product.. How? While most “play-along” products allow for the user to “music-minus” two or three tracks, this app allows the user to minus (or solo) .. 1st (Lead) Trumpet 2nd Trumpet 1st Trombone Bass Trombone Lead Alto Lead Tenor Baritone Sax Piano Bass Guitar (2 tunes) Percussion (4 tunes) Drums Instrument Solos Each chart/part can be printed or emailed from the app. The are 10 tunes total in the Mintzer Big Band App library and store. Our hope is that you’ll dig the experience and the music so much that you’ll want to play along with all of this great music, played so well by so many great musicians.

About

Modacity

This app provides serious musicians with a professional metronome, chromatic tuner, and practice log. It helps track practice sessions, monitor progress, and improve timing and intonation for all instruments. Unlock advanced features with a premium subscription.

Highlights
  • Professional metronome with subdivisions and accent patterns
  • Accurate and responsive chromatic tuner
  • Automatic practice session tracking
  • Practice statistics and improvement monitoring
  • Support for all musical instruments
  • Cloud sync for notes and recordings
Features
Read full description

Stop ending practice with a question mark. Modacity is the Deliberate Practice System for serious musicians — helping you plan, record, reflect, and hear your progress session by session. USED BY PROFESSIONALS Serious musicians improve because their next session starts with a plan. "Musically life changing app! Amazing app that every serious musician should have! Bravo." -- Richard Stoelzel, President World Trumpet Society & Professor of Trumpet, McGill. "I am amazed how well the Modacity system works." -- Anne, amateur violinist “As a trumpet player (ergo, loudmouthed and opinionated) I’ve often been wrong. However, in this case I’ve never been wronger. The app has become the central pillar of my practice schedule and I’d be lost without it. With that in mind, the price is cheap!!” -- John Thirkell, trumpet & flugelhorn - Jamiroquai, Level 42, Buddy Rich Band "Swiss army knife to organize and focus my music practice. I can’t imagine my life without it" -- Armen, product manager & duduk player “Just wanted to tell you how helpful this app has been over the years. I got my first regional job at 640 hours and then one more regional gig and a one year with a big orchestra at 930 hours on the app.” -- Samuel Wamhoff, Principal Trombone - Modesto Symphony Orchestra; 2nd Trmb - Stockton Symphony; Acting 2nd - San Francisco Opera METRONOME — Professional-grade metronome with subdivisions, accent patterns, and tap tempo. The timing foundation every serious musician needs. CHROMATIC TUNER — Accurate, responsive, always available. Never practice out of tune again. PRACTICE PLANNER — Plan and track every session. Write what needs work mid-session, rate how it went, and come back to it next time. Never lose the thing you meant to fix. Start your first session. Know what to fix tomorrow. Enjoy an automatic 14-day free trial with your new account. Modacity helps musicians of all genres practice effectively; Classical to Rock, Bluegrass to Pop, Modacity works for everyone. Subscribe to Modacity Premium (monthly or annual) to unlock: • Practice Statistics • Unlimited Deliberate Practice Mode • All Metronome Features • Unlimited cloud-sync notes & recordings • Practice Folders • Full History Log • Practice Break Reminders Subscription payments will be charged to your Apple ID account and will automatically renew at $12.99 USD per month or $129 USD per year, unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Prices may vary by country. Terms of Service: https://www.modacity.co/legal/#terms For All Instruments! Piano Flute Violin Trumpet Percussion Cello Clarinet French horn Trombone Saxophone Tuba Oboe Bassoon Viola Bass Timpani Harp Guitar Voice Soprano Tenor Alto Baritone Bass

Screenshots

Mintzer Big Band Essentials4 screens
Modacity4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Modacity at Free against Mintzer Big Band Essentials's $7.99. Modacity also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 19 months) and ratings volume (286 vs 20). Mintzer Big Band Essentials's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On rating, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Modacity is free to download; Mintzer Big Band Essentials costs $7.99 up front. Mintzer Big Band Essentials sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Modacity sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Mintzer Big Band Essentials against 4.3 for Modacity. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Modacity has 286 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of Mintzer Big Band Essentials's written reviews are positive against 65% of Modacity's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mintzer Big Band Essentials ships an update every 19 months, Modacity every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mintzer Big Band Essentials versus Modacity: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMintzer Big Band EssentialsModacity
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (20 ratings) — better4.3 (286 ratings)
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews64.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20286 — better
Update frequencyEvery 19 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size700 MB123 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFuzzy Music, LLCBotRobot, Inc

Customer experience

Mintzer Big Band Essentials

All ratings20 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative15.0%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%

Modacity

All ratings286 ratings
Positive79.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews153 reviews
Positive64.7%
Neutral11.1%
Negative24.2%

Bugs and requests

Mintzer Big Band Essentials

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Modacity

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Recordings stop playing unexpectedly
  • Practice history data sometimes lost or inaccurate
  • Crashes when creating new practice items

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add video recording capability
  • Improve iPad support and layout
  • Allow more customization of practice items and lists
  • Implement better data export and backup options
  • Add more drone and metronome features

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Mintzer Big Band Essentials

One-time9
  • El Caborojeño$2.99
  • Havin' Some Fun Package$2.99
  • Ellis Island Package$2.99
Show 6 more
  • Original People Package$2.99
  • New Rochelle Package$2.99
  • Runferyerlife Package$2.99
  • Latin Dance Package$2.99
  • Tribute Package$2.99
  • All Songs Bundle$19.99
2 purchases

Modacity

Subscriptions2
  • Modacity Premium - Monthly14 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Modacity Premium - Annual$129.001 Year

Questions

Is Mintzer Big Band Essentials free?
Mintzer Big Band Essentials costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Modacity free?
Modacity is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mintzer Big Band Essentials or Modacity?
Mintzer Big Band Essentials is rated higher. Mintzer Big Band Essentials averages 4.4 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Modacity averages 4.3 from 286 ratings.
Do Mintzer Big Band Essentials or Modacity have ads?
Neither Mintzer Big Band Essentials nor Modacity shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mintzer Big Band Essentials or Modacity?
Mintzer Big Band Essentials ships an update every 19 months, and Modacity every 6 weeks. Most recently, Mintzer Big Band Essentials was updated on November 11, 2026 and Modacity on November 11, 2026.

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