moodscaper vs Grainsmith Field
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
moodscaper
This app generates unique, evolving ambient music for relaxation, study, or sleep. It can also function as a creative instrument for crafting atmospheric pads and effects, offering a dynamic and evocative soundscape.
- Generative atmospheric sample-based instrument
- Sleep timer
- Five scale-based moods
- Variable dynamics
- Four loopers with optional sync
- Realtime auto-accompaniment
- Effects section (filter, delay, reverb)
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"Part instrument, part interactive ambience, part subtly-changing New Age album, moodscaper's autoplay button is a wonderful introduction to its charms. With a single touch, it generates a musical artwork that's different every time." "A worthy and lush-sounding musical companion." Sound On Sound Magazine - Aug 2016 Moodscaper is a generative music app and a great personal companion for studying, providing non-intrusive headphone music at work, relaxing, meditating and even sleeping. Just launch the app, tap automatic play, and moodscaper will produce melodic, atmospheric and evocative ambient music in a “light”, “dark”, “space”, "happy" or “sad” mood. Moodscaper is also an easy to use instrument for creating epic-sounding pads and effects as part of a larger iPad-based music-making setup. Main features: · Unique generative atmospheric sample-based instrument · Simple user interface · Sleep timer · Five scale-based moods · Variable dynamics - from mellow and sparse to full-on drama! · Four loopers with optional sync · Provides tasteful auto-accompaniment to your playing in realtime or in loops · Hints displayed on keys that should sound good with root notes or chords · Samples are randomly stacked for a bigger sound with more variation · Effects section with filter, dual-delay and reverb · Effects tweaks can be recorded in loopers · Additional 20 key instrument for each mood · IAA support (as a generator) with no special setup required *** Please note that this app is now in maintenance / bug fixes only mode as it relies on "deprecated" (by Apple) technology such as IAA. ***
Grainsmith Field
Transform any sound into unique sonic textures using a powerful granular synthesizer. Manipulate audio with multiple playheads, record live input, and play it like an instrument via MIDI. Optimized for mobile, it offers extensive control and export options.
- Granular synthesis engine
- Multiple independent playheads
- Live audio recording and manipulation
- MIDI instrument mode
- AUv3 music effect
- Performance recording with Live Activity
- Built-in reverb and filter
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Grainsmith Field is a granular instrument for iPad and iPhone. Load a sound or record one live, then pull it apart into grains. Stretch and scatter it until it stops sounding like the source, or pitch it and play it like an instrument. It shares its granular engine with our desktop Grainsmith plugin, but it's rebuilt for touch. Field is a single multitouch screen: four XY pads control paired parameters (Density and Size, Jitter and Spread, Pitch and Reverse, Cutoff and Resonance), and a Morph control sweeps several at once. THREE PLAYHEADS Run up to three independent grain streams from one sample at the same time. Each head has its own position, speed, pitch, level, pan, grain size, and spread. Grab a playhead line on the waveform to move it independently, or move them as a group. Double-tap to gather them. Set a second head a fifth or an octave away and the streams blend into a single granular texture. MODULATION Six modulation slots drive the controls: LFOs and Euclidean patterns with per-route depth, assigned by long-pressing a knob. The MOVE dial sets the Morph macro itself in motion, and each destination drifts on its own phase. Rates sync to tempo, in the app or from the host clock. RECORD AND MANGLE Capture audio from your hardware input and granulate it as it comes in, or loop a phrase and let the engine chew on it. Scrub the waveform directly. Freeze the grain cloud to hold a sound for as long as you want. Run the stereo delay to smear the grain tails into echoes; it syncs to tempo too. Export captures as WAV to the Files app. RECORD YOUR PERFORMANCE Start a recording from the presets menu and everything you play is captured to a WAV file. Keep playing through app switches and screen locks; a Lock Screen Live Activity shows while recording runs. Recordings save to the Files app and share straight from Field. PLAY IT AS AN INSTRUMENT Switch to Instrument mode and play the grain engine from a MIDI keyboard: four-voice polyphony, an attack/release envelope, and a root-note control. The pitch ribbon snaps to musical intervals: Free, Chromatic, Scale, Octaves, or Oct+5ths, with twelve scale options and a probability control. Works with hardware MIDI in the standalone app and with host MIDI in AUv3. USE IT IN YOUR HOST The AUv3 music effect loads in AUM, Logic for iPad, and other AUv3 hosts. Parameters are exposed for host automation and MIDI learn. Your patch saves and restores with the session, including head count, every per-head control, the modulation slots, and pitch snap mode. ALSO IN THE BOX - Ten factory presets grouped by character, with a browser and a Favorites section for your own - Background audio: the standalone keeps playing when you switch apps - Reverb, stereo delay with tempo sync, filter, grain-shape windows, pitch randomization - Runs on iPhone with a compact layout No account and no subscription. Field collects no data.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: moodscaper at $1.99 against Grainsmith Field's $11.99. moodscaper also leads on ratings volume (29 vs 5). Grainsmith Field's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On review sentiment, 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
moodscaper costs $1.99 and Grainsmith Field $11.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Grainsmith Field holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: moodscaper has 29 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of moodscaper's written reviews are positive against 100% of Grainsmith Field's.
moodscaper ships an update every 2 weeks, Grainsmith Field every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | moodscaper | Grainsmith Field |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $11.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (29 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 94.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 29 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 247 MB | 81 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rob Jackson | Plastic Factory LLC |
Customer experience
moodscaper
Grainsmith Field
In-app purchases
moodscaper
No in-app purchases
Grainsmith Field
No in-app purchases





