Apollo Motion MIDI Controller vs Mazetools Soniface
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Apollo Motion MIDI Controller
Transform your iPhone into a musical instrument using its accelerometer. Trigger MIDI notes and chords with motion, creating a natural and organic feel for music production. Ideal for adding unique percussive elements or expressive control to your compositions.
- Motion-controlled MIDI triggering
- Accelerometer-based input
- Wireless MIDI over Bluetooth
- USB MIDI via musicIO
- Customizable MIDI events
- Program and control change messages
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Apollo Motion MIDI Controller uses the accelerometer built into your iPhone, turning it into a unique musical instrument. Shake or tap your iPhone to trigger MIDI notes or chords; when used with the innovative synthesizer and drum apps on iOS, you have a new way of creating music. One of the best ways to keep time is through moving your body. Everyone can tap their feet or clap their hands to a beat; by using this motion to trigger MIDI, you can capture a natural, organic feeling. Use the app like a shaker, tambourine, or a cowbell, with the MIDI notes adding the accents you need; every song could use more cowbell. The app detects rapid acceleration in six different directions, to trigger six different MIDI events. Use the front for a cymbal, and the back for a bass drum. You can also use the app to send program change or control change messages. The app is not appropriate for speed-metal drum rolls; the response rate of the accelerometer limits how quickly notes can be triggered. Apollo Motion MIDI Controller works with Apollo MIDI over Bluetooth (the original Bluetooth MIDI solution for iOS). With low latency wireless MIDI from your phone to an iPad or Mac, you're free from a tangle of connections, and can move how you want. The app also works with musicIO, which provides both high speed MIDI and four channels of audio using a standard USB sync cable, connecting your iPhone to either a Mac or PC.
Mazetools Soniface
Explore sound and music visually with a unique motion-controlled interface. Create and manipulate audio and visual elements using gestures, touch, and body tracking. Offers a modular approach to instruments and advanced automation for creative expression.
- Visual sound and music exploration
- Motion interface for gesture control
- Modular synth, sampler, and rhythm modules
- Generative Gridsynth synthesizer
- Advanced controller automation
- MIDI input/output and Ableton Link
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Mazetools opens up a unique approach to music and creativity. It's about exploring sounds in a new way, experiencing them visually, changing them through gestures, coming across something in the process, a sound, a melody, a groove, a song... For the first time, we have integrated an interface that allows you to control sound through movement. This is done through the camera of your device and ML-based body recognition. It enables new musical experiences and shared creative moments. Mazetools are unique in their operation and complex in their own way. For some it's a welcome change, for others it's too crazy, for some it's just the right introduction to the world of sound. There are currently two Mazetools: Mutant and Soniface. Mutant is comparable to a loop machine and works with a defined number of instruments. It produces results quickly, but thanks to the Hypercube it offers the possibility to change everything with a swipe and to hear sounds that always surprise us. Soniface, on the other hand, is more modular when it comes to adding instruments. The settings of the synth, sampler and rhythm modules go into great detail. An important feature is the Gridsynth, an area of lines that correspond to a scale over several octaves. Automation plays a major role in Soniface: all instruments and their controllers can be controlled via LFOs, touch and camera-based body tracking. Key Features - Creative space to explore sound, music and geometric visuals - Experiment with audio and visual objects and create your own scenes - Operate controllers and play instruments via multitouch - Motion interface to control instruments and parameters through gestures, movements and dance - Cross-platform compatibility of project files - Simple design for mobile devices, complex (regular) design for tablets and desktops - Advanced in-app guide, FAQ & help function in English and German Instruments - Gridsynth - A generative, visual synthesizer for drones and melodies incl. sequencer & arpeggiator - Rhythm sequencer for sample- and synth-based basses and drums - Spatial & granular soundscape sampler incl. mic input, sample library and file integration - Key interface for cross-instrument tonality incl. progression sequencer - Interactive LivePad and keyboard for Gridsynth, Bass & Sampler Automation & Connectivity - Advanced controller automation incl. multi-touch editor, body tracking interface - MIDI input and output - Master FX and Ableton Link - Audiobus & Inter-App Audio (experimental support) - Normal mouse and keyboard support Mazetools Soniface is free worldwide and without advertising. You can support our work, our vision and all Soniface users by purchasing Soniface Pro, which includes additionally: - Unlimited instruments (Mazes) - Pattern mode to create unlimited scenes for songs and performances - Visual mode with Airplay live video output for performance & VJing - Unlimited internal audio recording (.wav, up to 7.1 on desktop). We do our best to avoid bugs. So feel free to write us bugs and problems. Much more content, terms of use, credits and FAQ are in the app's guide. About Mazetools We are Stephan and Jakob, when we were 13 in 1999, we exchanged our first beat loops on floppy disks and wrote raps on them. Today we are still fascinated by sound, release our music and realize multimedia performances. You can find more information on Ectoplastic.com. With this background, we share a lot of practical experience with Mazetools, from generative sound & visual patches to the development of multi-touch & motion tracking interfaces and VR sound development. We use this technological core to empower creativity, make musical expression inclusive and thus democratize electronic music. We are still within this process, but there is a lot of potential! We invite you to join us. Every purchase directly supports, every positive review, post and constructive feedback. Thank you very much!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mazetools Soniface at 4.5 against Apollo Motion MIDI Controller's 3.6. Mazetools Soniface also leads on ratings volume (25 vs 5). Apollo Motion MIDI Controller's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 14.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mazetools Soniface holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mazetools Soniface has 25 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Apollo Motion MIDI Controller's written reviews are positive against 60% of Mazetools Soniface's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
| Parameter | Apollo Motion MIDI Controller | Mazetools Soniface |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (5 ratings) | 4.5 (25 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 60.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 25 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 478 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Secret Base Design | Ectoplastic |
Customer experience
Apollo Motion MIDI Controller
Mazetools Soniface
In-app purchases
Apollo Motion MIDI Controller
No in-app purchases
Mazetools Soniface
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Apollo Motion MIDI Controller free?
Is Mazetools Soniface free?
Which has better reviews, Apollo Motion MIDI Controller or Mazetools Soniface?
Do Apollo Motion MIDI Controller or Mazetools Soniface have ads?
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