Troublemaker vs Porch Sessions
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Troublemaker
This app emulates the iconic TB-303 bassline synthesizer, offering its distinctive sound with a diode filter, sawtooth, and square wave oscillators. It provides extensive MIDI and sequencer features, allowing for creative sound design and integration with DAWs.
- Diode filter emulation
- Sawtooth and square wave oscillators
- Realtime Mutation Probability Engine
- Standalone sequencer (1-64 steps)
- Audio Unit (AUv3) compatibility
- MIDI CC controllers
- MIDI Clock Sync
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Featured in the US Appstore! Here's what the reviews say: "Perfect for on the move acid sessions, the Trouble Maker app faithfully recreates the sound of the original TB-303" - DJ Mag "Troublemaker is absolutely no trouble at all to heartily recommend" - SoundOnSound "If you want to make the bassline from Josh Wink’s ‘Higher State of Consciousness’ on the bus, this is the app for the job" - Factmag.com "Top-notch stuff from a developer that just keeps getting better" - Musicappblog.com "This app has been consuming all of my time this week! Love it!" - Discchord.com Introducing Troublemaker: this is not a 303 The legendary TB-303 has magical properties; it is filled to the brim with analog shimmer. Its output jack is a gateway to a parallel universe and when you twiddle the filter knobs an army of highly trained pixies chisel the square waves from freshly harvested unicorn souls. So if you want a TB-303, you should buy a TB-303. But if you're after *that sound* Troublemaker will give you everything you need in spades. Troublemaker sports a carefully crafted diode filter emulation and among the available oscillators are the typical raspy, nasal sawtooth and rubbery square wave with its oddball shape and shifting pulse width. It also has the wow. Troublemaker is fully Audio Unit (AUv3) compatible, so you can go wild running multiple instances in your favorite DAWs. It also has: - MIDI CC controllers for all knobs (predefined), - Core Midi, Virtual Midi, Bluetooth Midi input, - MIDI Clock Sync, MIDI Start / Stop support - Realtime Mutation Probability Engine - Standalone sequencer supports 1-64 steps - Audiobus 3 support (audio + MIDI) - Exports MID and WAV files from the standalone sequencer - User manual and MIDI charts on ruismaker.com - Comes with an extra AUv3 plugin version of a modded Troublemaker unit And unlike the TB-303, it can actually sound like a bass guitar ;-)
Porch Sessions
This app serves as an official festival guide, allowing users to explore the lineup, view set times, and plan their day. Discover new artists, navigate the festival grounds with an interactive map, and receive real-time updates.
- Browse full artist lineup
- View set times by band or porch
- Filter bands by name or genre
- Interactive festival map with location
- Build personalized daily plan
- Receive festival updates
- Save favorite bands
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Porch Sessions is the official companion app for the festival. Use it to explore this year's lineup, browse set times, check which bands are playing on which porches, and build your own plan for the day. Whether you want to discover new artists ahead of time or keep up once the music starts, the app keeps the festival easy to navigate. Features: - Browse the full lineup and open detailed artist pages - Search and filter bands by name or genre - View the schedule by band or by porch - Explore porch locations on the festival map - Center the map on your location to find your next stop faster - Save favorite bands in My Festival - Spot schedule conflicts between favorites - See what's happening now and what's coming up next - Get festival updates through push notifications - Learn about and support the featured charity Porch Sessions is built to help you spend less time figuring things out and more time enjoying the music.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Porch Sessions at Free against Troublemaker's $8.99. Porch Sessions also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Troublemaker's advantage is ratings volume (64 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Porch Sessions is free to download; Troublemaker costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Porch Sessions holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Troublemaker has 64 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Troublemaker ships an update every 2 weeks, Porch Sessions every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Troublemaker | Porch Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (64 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 77.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 64 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Bram Bos | Nathaniel Plane |
Customer experience
Troublemaker
Porch Sessions
In-app purchases
Troublemaker
No in-app purchases
Porch Sessions
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Troublemaker free?
Is Porch Sessions free?
Which has better reviews, Troublemaker or Porch Sessions?
Do Troublemaker or Porch Sessions have ads?
Which is updated more often, Troublemaker or Porch Sessions?
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