GeoShred vs Carnatic Keys
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GeoShred
This app is a fluidly expressive musical instrument for multi-touch devices. It offers a unique performance surface with advanced pitch rounding and physical modeling of various instruments. Expand your sonic palette with a wide range of purchasable instrument add-ons.
- Fluidly expressive playing surface
- Physically modeled guitar and effects
- Extensive in-app instrument purchases
- AUv3 plugin support
- MIDI/MPE IN/OUT support
- Support for world scales and temperaments
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GeoShred Pro Version 7 With in-app purchases for GeoSWAM and Naada instruments on devices running iOS 13 or later. Imagine a new kind of musical instrument, an instrument that lets performers fluidly express multiple independent voices. An instrument with continuous pitch control that also helps players precisely land on the right note in any temperament. GeoShred Pro is an award-winning, deeply expressive musical instrument for multi-touch devices. Its innovative performance surface features “almost magic” pitch-rounding algorithms and is coupled to physically modeled instruments and effects. GeoShred Pro also supports AUv3, MIDI In/Out, MPE, and 3D Touch. It combines Jordan Rudess’ groundbreaking performance concepts with powerful physically modeled guitar and effects technology based on the research of Dr. Julius O. Smith III of Stanford/CCRMA. GeoShred’s expressive control surface can also be used to play external synthesizers. 300,000 artists in over 120 countries perform with GeoShred, with a strong global community that includes many musicians in India. Awards include: • 2nd Place Winner, 2022/2025 MIDI Innovation Award for Software • Gold Medal Winner, 2019 Denny Award • Winner, 2019 Guthman New Musical Instrument Award • Winner, 2017 Electronic Musician Editor’s Choice Award GeoShred Pro Version 7 Features • Send/Connect support so GeoShred for iOS/iPadOS can control GeoShred Studio for macOS • A fluid, expressive playing surface with finger vibrato, slide, and intelligent pitch rounding • Built-in physically modeled guitar • Physically modeled effects including Distortion, Wah, EQ, VCF, Flanger, Phaser, Chorus, Tremolo, Reverb, Sympathetic Resonator, Echo Looper, Multi-Tap Echo, Amp and Cabinet Modeling, Modeled Feedback for Guitar, and VCF effects • In-app purchases for 22 Naada instruments: Bansuri, Bass, Bass Clarinet, Carnatic Violin, Cello, Dizi, Duduk, Erhu, Gaohu, Guan, Nadaswaram, Pan Flute, Pipa, Rudra Veena, Sarangi, Saraswati Veena, Sarod, Shehnai, Sitar, Suona, Viola, and Zhonghu • In-app purchases for 11 GeoSWAM instruments: GeoViolin, GeoFlute, GeoTenorSax, GeoCello, GeoClarinet, GeoOboe, GeoTrumpet, GeoBassTrombone, GeoBassFlute, GeoViola, and GeoPizzBass • AUv3 plug-in support with parameter automation • iCloud preset synchronization • MIDI/MPE In/Out support • MIDI configuration presets • Customizable control surface mapping to physical MIDI controls • Diatonic keyboard mode, where every key is in the scale • Support for world scales and temperaments, including Indian ragas, Arabic scales, and Balinese scales • 3D Touch support on compatible iPhones • Backing tracks • Built-in arpeggiator • Easy preset sharing via email or iCloud The GeoSWAM and Naada instruments can be performed from the GeoShred keyboard, MPE controllers, conventional MIDI controllers, and wind controllers. Praise for the GeoShred Family of Apps “GeoShred is brilliant—it’s a real instrument.” — Eddie Jobson “A fantastic new invention which is going to revolutionize the way music is played, expressed and learned! ‘GeoShred’ is one of the foremost best musical inventions I’ve had the pleasure to experience in recent years. Definitely 5 stars out of 5! GIGANTASTIVISSIMO…..R…A…Z!!!!!” — Patrick Moraz “That’s just nuts. You’re the best guitarist without a guitar of all time.” — Joe Satriani Our Commitment We are dedicated to providing the highest level of musical instrument experience for our customers worldwide. If you enjoy GeoShred, we would greatly appreciate your positive review on the App Store. If you have any questions, we would love to hear from you at: support@moforte.com Minimum Requirements iOS 13 or later is required for AUv3, iCloud, and GeoSWAM and Naada instruments. * Note: Due to App Store limitations, previously purchased individual instrument in-app purchases cannot be applied toward the purchase of collection in-app purchases.
Carnatic Keys
This app transforms a piano-style interface into an instrument for playing Indian Classical Music. It helps users learn and express themselves with Carnatic Swaras and Ragas, acting as a Raga guide and supporting ornamentation.
- Carnatic Swara and Raga playback
- Raga guide functionality
- Western and Carnatic notation bridge
- Gamaka (ornamentation) support
- Multiple instrument sounds
- Demo songs included
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Carnatic Keys is a musical instrument catering to Indian Classical Music. It takes the familiar piano/keyboard interface and transforms it to play Carnatic Swaras and Ragas. Carnatic Keys helps enthusiasts of Indian Classical Music have fun playing and expressing themselves using Carnatic Swaras and notations. Additionally it acts as a Raga guide. It helps to bridge the divide between Carnatic and Western notations and concepts. Users now have a tool that lets them express themselves using Carnatic vocabulary. Hindustani Music lovers can also benefit from this app because there is a lot of commonality between the two systems! In Carnatic Music, an octave is divided into 7 notes or Swaras - Shadjam (Sa), Rishabam (Ri), Gāndāram (Ga), Madhyamam (Ma), Panchamam (Pa), Daivatam (Da) and Nishādam (Ni) . Sa and Pa are fixed in the scale, while the other Swaras can each have different variations or types for a total of 16 Swaras - Ri (3), Ga (3), Ma (2), Da (3) and Ni (3) - with overlaps to fit within the 12 notes of an octave. The songs we learn in Carnatic music are taught using Carnatic Swaras. Carnatic Keys, therefore, makes it easy for you to play these songs and musical exercises. If you know your Swaras, you can now play them easily! But Carnatic Keys takes it a step further by acting as a Raga guide as well! A Raga is a melodic framework unique to Indian Classical Music that evokes different moods and feelings. Each Raga consists of a set of Swaras of selected types or variations. For example, the Raga Hamsadvani has “Sa, Ri2, Ga3, Pa, Ni3, Sa” as its ārohanam (ascending scale) and “Sa, Ni3, Pa, Ga3, Ri2, Sa” as its avarohanam (descending scale). Using the Swara Selector, you can select Swara variations of the Raga you would like to play. The Keyboard Display selector toggles between various display modes - showing all Swaras, the selected Raga Swaras, or Western notes. This will help you focus on the Raga at hand by removing other Swaras from your focus. You can further disable all non-Raga keys by toggling the Raga Mode button. You can now avoid hitting the wrong keys and stay in tune! Carnatic Keys also supports the concept of Gamaka or ornamentation. Gamakas involve graceful and smooth variations in the pitch of a note, using oscillations or glides between notes to add emphasis and character to each Raga’s individuality. A smooth pitch wheel allows for seamless Gamakas, up or down 5 semitones or more! Getting good Gamaka takes a lot of practice, so feel free to skip Gamakas and any pitch-bending as you start out, and slowly start to experiment with them! Carnatic Keys come with 6 different instrument choices - 2 types of Piano, Harp, Guitar, Flute and Sitar. It also comes with 3 different Demo pieces of familiar Carnatic songs. You can enjoy listening to these while you are taking a break or just want some inspiration! Here are some more features of Carnatic Keys: ◆ Multi-touch keyboard ◆ Supported in both portrait and landscape mode. Landscape mode takes advantage of the increased width to show more keys. The keyboard is thoughtfully laid out to show about a half-octave below and above the main octave you can hit lower and higher notes with ease. ◆ Optimized separately for iPad and iPhone to take advantage of different screen sizes and formats ◆ Choose between Light and Dark Modes Practice (or play!) basic lessons like Swarali Varisaigal, Jantai Varisaigal, Dhattu Varisaigal, etc. or venture into Geethams, Swarajathis, Varnams, Keertanams and more! Have fun playing and experimenting, all the while thinking in Carnatic Swaras and Ragas!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Carnatic Keys at $1.99 against GeoShred's $24.99. Carnatic Keys also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 27). GeoShred's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (1.4K vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
GeoShred costs $24.99 and Carnatic Keys $1.99 up front. GeoShred sells 25 one-off in-app purchases. Carnatic Keys asks for nothing beyond the download.
GeoShred holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GeoShred has 1.4K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | GeoShred | Carnatic Keys |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.4K ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.4K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 865 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wizdom Music LLC | Upbeat Labs |
Customer experience
GeoShred
Carnatic Keys
Bugs and requests
GeoShred
Reported bugs
2 issues- Inconsistent performance and note retention issues when used with other apps
- Occasional crashes and freezes, especially after updates
Requested features
5 requests- More classic acoustic and electric guitar sounds
- Improved scale and mode selection interface
- Ability to save and load custom presets
- Support for external MIDI controllers and keyboards
- Recording and looping capabilities within the app
Carnatic Keys
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
GeoShred
- GeoBassTrombone$10.00
- Naada Duduk$11.00
- Naada Carnatic Violin$14.99
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- Naada Sitar$14.99
- GeoClarinet$14.99
- GeoOboe$14.99
- GeoCello$14.99
- GeoViolin$14.99
- GeoTenorSax$14.99
- GeoFlute$14.99
- GeoTrumpet$14.99
- GeoPizzBass$14.99
- Naada Bansuri$14.99
- GeoBassFlute$14.99
- GeoViola$14.99
- Naada Collection III$50.00
- GeoSWAM Collection II$59.99
- GeoSWAM Collection III & IV$73.00
- GeoSWAM Collection Classic$74.99
- Naada Collection 1$74.99
- Naada Collecton IV$89.99
- GeoSWAM Collection I & II$119.99
- Naada Collection I & II$119.99
- Naada Collection I & II & III & IV$173.99
- Naada Collection I & II & III$179.99
Carnatic Keys
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is GeoShred free?
Is Carnatic Keys free?
Which has better reviews, GeoShred or Carnatic Keys?
Do GeoShred or Carnatic Keys have ads?
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