Tuniversal vs Fishtail
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tuniversal
This music practice tool offers a chromatic tuner, scale and interval practice, long note exercises, a metronome, and a pitch pipe. It's designed for woodwind and brass players, allowing customization for different instruments and tuning systems.
- Automatic chromatic tuner
- Scale and interval practice
- Long note practice with dynamics
- Metronome with tempo adjustment
- Pitch pipe for ear training
- Instrument transposition support
- Customizable tuning systems
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At last, a tuner app and practise tool that does not assume we are all guitar players! Tuniversal has been crafted to meet the needs of players of woodwind and brass instruments. No ads, sign-up or in app purchases! Tuniversal has 6 modes: (1) automatic tuner, (2) scale practise, (3) long note practise, (4) intervals practice, (5) metronome and (6) pitch pipe. Tuner: * Play a note, and Tuniversal will automatically detect the note you are playing and show if you are sharp or flat * Swipe between graphs showing the frequency of your note and the volume * Use this mode when you want Tuniversal to show if you are in tune. Scales, arpeggios, thirds and intervals: * Choose any key and scale type (major, harmonic minor, melodic minor, natural minor or chromatic) * Choose your practise mode (scales, thirds, arpeggios, intervals) and start note within the key * Tuniversal will count you in, show your chosen scale or notes, and track your pitch as you play * When you have finished, Tuniversal will score you for accuracy * You can also listen to your selected scale, thirds, intervals or arpeggio - great for training your ear. Just long press the play button! Long note practise: * Choose a note, the time you want to hold the note and dynamics (crescendo, decrescendo, swell or constant volume) * When you finish playing, Tuniversal will score you for accuracy in both dynamics and pitch! * Important: for best results, calibrate your loud and soft notes using the volume calibration feature under "settings" * Aim to keep your volume within the lines shown, whilst maintaining accurate pitch and a great tone. Pitch pipe: swipe to choose a note on the staff, and hit play to hear it. Use this mode to tune by ear. Metronome: set tempo using slider or tapping on the screen. Choose between traditional swinging metronome display or flashing metronome Settings: You can adjust: * Frequency of A: use this if your band or orchestra tunes to a frequency other than standard A440. You might also adjust the frequency of A if you are playing with a piano that has been tuned sharp or flat. * Your instrument : Tuniversal will automatically transpose the note played, based on your instrument choice. If you select a transposing instrument, the concert pitch note is also shown. Tuniversal will automatically adjust to the range and clef of your chosen instrument. * Volume calibration: Tuniversal will calculate the volume of your loud and soft notes, and use this information to score your long note practise * Tuning system: equal temperament or just intonation. See our website for more information! * Microphone sensitivity: Adjust to select how loud you must play for Universal to track your pitch. Set to “high” or “very high” if Tuniversal does not detect your playing. In noisy settings you might want to select “low” or “very low”. * Player skill: adjust to your ability. For beginners, Tuniversal will score your playing leniently. But for professionals, Tuniversal expects a high level of accuracy! * Centre frequency graph: You can tap on the frequency graph in tuner mode to clear and re-centre the graph. The graph will automatically centre on the frequency played, or tap to re-centre the graph on the note you have selected in "settings". * Force dark mode: You can choose to run the app in dark or light mode. * Headset mic: If you use Tuniversal with a headset, select whether you want to use the device mic or headset mic * Reset to defaults: Resets all settings
Fishtail
This app generates complete musical forms using algorithmic composition based on music theory. Users can shape, perform, and rearrange these compositions, routing seven musical channels to their chosen instruments via MIDI. It offers extensive control over keys, modes, and expressive elements.
- Algorithmic music generation
- Multi-section compositions
- Seven-channel MIDI output
- Retain, reorder, and perform Takes
- Multiple intonation systems
- AUv3 MIDI plug-in support
- Ableton Link integration
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Fishtail is a generative MIDI instrument for iPhone and iPad. It composes complete musical forms, then lets you shape, perform, retain and rearrange them! Fishtail does not use AI to generate music. Its musical output is created through algorhythmic generation grounded in musical theory. Build pieces from sections with independent keys, modes, meters, cadences and expressive treatments. Generate distinct Takes, compare them, reorder them and hand the next Take over at a natural whole-piece boundary. Fishtail produces MIDI rather than sound. Use it standalone or as an AUv3 MIDI plug-in, and route its seven musical channels to the instruments you choose. Ableton Link supports shared tempo and transport. Features: • Complete multi-section generative compositions • Seven-channel MIDI output • Retain, reorder and perform Takes • Seven intonation systems • Normal MIDI, pitch-bend and MPE output • MTS output • Ableton Link • .fishtail project save and recall • Standard MIDI and per-channel export • Experimental analogue CV file packages • Accessible light and dark interfaces No account, advertising, analytics or tracking. Tested in AUM
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tuniversal at Free against Fishtail's $14.99. Tuniversal also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Fishtail's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Tuniversal is free to download; Fishtail costs $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Fishtail holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Tuniversal ships an update every 2 weeks, Fishtail every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tuniversal | Fishtail |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Peter Hallett | AMY NICOLA MCBRIDE |
Customer experience
Tuniversal
Fishtail
In-app purchases
Tuniversal
No in-app purchases
Fishtail
No in-app purchases









