Comparison

True Note vs Grooved

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

Head to head
About

True Note

Check your record player's speed accuracy using your phone's LED light and a printable strobe disc. Ensure your turntable is playing at the correct RPM for optimal audio quality. Useful for calibration and pre-purchase checks.

Highlights
  • Turntable speed testing
  • Strobe disc calibration
  • Adjustable speed check
  • Portable for on-the-go use
  • Accurate RPM verification
Features
Read full description

Use True Note to test a record player to see if it's playing at the correct speed. Here's how: 1. Download the True Note app and open it 2. Print and cut out the included turntable strobe disc 3. Place the strobe disc on your record player and start it at the 33 1/3 RPM speed 4. Tap "START" in the True Note app and shine the flashing LED light from your iOS device onto the strobe disc If your record player is playing at the correct speed, you should be able to make out the individual lines on the strobe disc - and they should appear to remain in the same position (not drifting in one direction). Many record players have an adjustable speed and can be calibrated with the help of True Note. Perhaps you're shopping for a used record player? The True Note strobe disc is small enough that you can fold it in half to keep in your wallet or iPhone case - ready to use when you're at a thrift store or garage sale and want to make sure the turntable you're considering buying works properly.

About

Grooved

Easily calibrate your turntable's speed using just your device's microphone and a record. This app analyzes the playback speed of your vinyl and tells you if it's running fast, slow, or perfectly accurate. Adjust your turntable based on the feedback until you achieve optimal playback.

Highlights
  • One-tap turntable speed calibration
  • Uses device microphone
  • Analyzes playback speed
  • Indicates fast, slow, or accurate speed
  • Free to use
Read full description

Grooved lets you calibrate the speed of your turntable by simply playing a record. Maybe you're the lucky owner of one of those turntables with the little strobe thingie that already lets you calibrate the speed visually. I'm not gonna lie to you, if that's your situation then maybe Grooved isn't going to be super helpful but hey, who knows maybe you want to double check. On the other hand if, like me, you didn't think you'd ever need that feature and now realized how strangely complicated it is to get the right RPM set up without it, then this app is for you. It truly is that simple: pick a song, play it out loud, tap the button. Grooved tells you if your turntable is running fast, slow, or perfectly. It uses your device's built-in microphone, so you don't need any additional equipment. If your turntable isn't running at the right speed, simply follow the manufacturer's instructions to adjust the speed, then check again with Grooved until just right. It's free, without ads nor limits, so you can keep checking and tweaking as long as you want to. I wish I had more to say about it, but the truth is that Grooved is a very simple app that does one thing, and it does it very well. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed making it for you.

Screenshots

True Note2 screens
Grooved3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Grooved at 4.9 against True Note's 3.6. Grooved also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and review sentiment (88% vs 68%). True Note's advantage is iOS requirement (10.2 vs 17.2). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. True Note sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Grooved asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Grooved holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grooved has 124 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of True Note's written reviews are positive against 88% of Grooved's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
True Note versus Grooved: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrue NoteGrooved
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (16 ratings)4.9 (124 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.4% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16124 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.2 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJames RhoadesIvan Mathy

Customer experience

True Note

All ratings16 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative31.3%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive68.4%
Neutral15.8%
Negative15.8%

Grooved

All ratings124 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative6.3%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

True Note

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Huge Tip$9.99
None

Grooved

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is True Note free?
True Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Grooved free?
Grooved is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, True Note or Grooved?
Grooved is rated higher. True Note averages 3.6 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Grooved averages 4.9 from 124 ratings.
Do True Note or Grooved have ads?
Neither True Note nor Grooved shows ads.

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