Comparison

Mintzer Big Band Essentials vs RealPlay

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

RealPlay

Practice music with authentic backing tracks performed by professional musicians. Customize tempo, key, and mix for focused learning. Features over 100 standard chord progressions with an expanding library.

Highlights
  • Authentic backing tracks
  • 100+ standard chord progressions
  • Real-time tempo adjustment
  • Instrument isolation and mixing
  • Instant transposition to all keys
Features
Read full description

RealPlay lets you practice with real music—not midi tracks, AI, or loops. Play along with authentic backing tracks performed by world-class rhythm sections, featuring an expanding library of over 100 essential standard chord progressions. Easily customize your practice with real-time controls for tempo, key, and mix—so you can focus on exactly what you need. Features: • World-class rhythm sections • 100+ essential jazz standards and chord progressions (expanding library) • Real-time tempo adjustment • Instrument isolation and mixing (ideal for rhythm section players) • Instant transposition to all 12 keys Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Mintzer Big Band Essentials4 screens
RealPlay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RealPlay at Free against Mintzer Big Band Essentials's $7.99. RealPlay also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 19 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.4). Mintzer Big Band Essentials's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

RealPlay 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 RealPlay sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.29 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RealPlay holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RealPlay has 170 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Mintzer Big Band Essentials's written reviews are positive against 73% of RealPlay's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mintzer Big Band Essentials ships an update every 19 months, RealPlay every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Mintzer Big Band Essentials versus RealPlay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMintzer Big Band EssentialsRealPlay
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (20 ratings)4.8 (170 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews73.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20170 — better
Update frequencyEvery 19 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size700 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFuzzy Music, LLCRealPlay LLC

Customer experience

Mintzer Big Band Essentials

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

RealPlay

All ratings164 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive73.2%
Neutral12.2%
Negative14.6%

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

RealPlay

Subscriptions2
  • RealPlay Pro Monthly$3.291 Month
  • RealPlay Pro Yearly$21.991 Year

Questions

Is Mintzer Big Band Essentials free?
Mintzer Big Band Essentials costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is RealPlay free?
RealPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mintzer Big Band Essentials or RealPlay?
RealPlay is rated higher. Mintzer Big Band Essentials averages 4.4 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while RealPlay averages 4.8 from 170 ratings.
Do Mintzer Big Band Essentials or RealPlay have ads?
Neither Mintzer Big Band Essentials nor RealPlay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mintzer Big Band Essentials or RealPlay?
Mintzer Big Band Essentials ships an update every 19 months, and RealPlay every 5 days. Most recently, Mintzer Big Band Essentials was updated on October 26, 2026 and RealPlay on October 28, 2026.

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