Comparison

SoundBow vs ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3

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

Head to head
About

SoundBow

Create music by drawing curves and gestural movements on a clean interface. Record your own sounds, build melodies, and export compositions as audio files. This app offers a unique, interactive approach to music production.

Highlights
  • Drawing-based music creation
  • Gesture-based sound manipulation
  • Record and use own sounds
  • Export compositions as audio
  • Rescale instrument elements
Features
Read full description

SoundBow is a drawing based music instrument with a clean and simple visual interface. You can create music by drawing curves over the screen with lines and gestural movements. Apart from drawing, you can rescale your instrument by moving graphical elements around. Record your own sounds through the microphone and start creating melodies, soundscapes with your own voice. If you wish, you can also export your composition as an audio file. "Touch-based mobile devices allowed interactive, gesture-based music production to hit the masses. So far, this type of musical creation hasn't exactly taken the world by storm. But SoundBow, a drawing-based musical instrument app, should shake things up a little bit with its clean, minimal visual interface and mesmerizing potential for complex, loop-based music production." - The Creators Project "Binaura bring their beautiful SoundBow app to iOS at last. It is a gorgeous instrument with huge possibilities for expression and creativity. I think that in many ways these are the kinds of apps that iOS was made for." - Palm Sounds SoundBow is made with free and open source tools. The interface is built with OpenFrameworks. The sound engine is made with SodaLib, a free Data Sonification Library built on top of libPd (Pure Data).

About

ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3

This app generates random MIDI sequences using a shift register chip, inspired by a popular eurorack module. It offers extensive control over scales, octaves, velocity, and MIDI CC modulation, allowing for complex and evolving musical patterns.

Highlights
  • Random looping generative MIDI sequencing
  • 16-bit shift register logic
  • Adjustable chaos for sequence variation
  • Over 110 scales plus custom scales
  • MIDI CC generation and modulation
  • Unlimited pattern pages
  • Manual trigger function
Features
Read full description

ShiftBud is a random looping generative MIDI sequencer based on the eurorack module Turing Machine by Tom Whitwell.  It works based on the 16-bit shift register chips where it shifts its value on each sequencer step. However, you can lock the sequence in a desired length if you fully rotate the chaos knob to the left or right. If you introduce low amount of chaos, then the sequence "flips" occasionally and generate beautiful sequences. You can also produce random values if set higher amount of chaos.  The MIDI note generation can be in more than 110 scales plus your custom ScaleBud 2 scales. You can set the octave range, velocity or velocity randomness as well. You can set the higher and lower bounds on MIDI Control Change generation as well as the CC number you want to control. It's very useful on modulating synth parameters and you can even modulate the ShiftBud's AU parameters as well. You can also set a ramping value for a smoother change. With the 0% ramping, you can use it like a "sample and hold" module. With the manual trigger function, you can use another sequencer or keyboard to trigger ShiftBud's next note. You can create unlimited pattern pages on the lower left corner of the app and you can select the pattern with MIDI CC messages as well. Please note that ShiftBud is a MIDI app. The standalone version has an optional internal synth where you can enable or disable on the settings menu. The AUv3 plugin requires an audio app for output. For the AUv3 functionality, it needs to be hosted within an app such as AUM, Loopy Pro, Cubasis, Logic Pro, Nanostudio, Drambo, or apeMatrix.

Screenshots

SoundBow2 screens
ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv34 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SoundBow at $1.99 against ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3's $5.99. SoundBow also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

SoundBow costs $1.99 and ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for SoundBow against 4.7 for ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 9 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of SoundBow's written reviews are positive against 67% of ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SoundBow ships an update every 2 months, ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SoundBow versus ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoundBowShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3
Price$1.99 — better$5.99
Rating4.7 (13 ratings)4.7 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.3% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAgoston NagyCem Olcay

Customer experience

SoundBow

All ratings13 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral7.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive63.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative23.3%

ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SoundBow

No in-app purchases

None

ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoundBow free?
SoundBow costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 free?
ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SoundBow or ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3?
ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 is rated higher. SoundBow averages 4.7 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 averages 4.7 from 9 ratings.
Do SoundBow or ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 have ads?
Neither SoundBow nor ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SoundBow or ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3?
SoundBow ships an update every 2 months, and ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 monthly. Most recently, SoundBow was updated on October 21, 2026 and ShiftBud Generative MIDI AUv3 on October 15, 2026.

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