Cubasis 3 vs Drambo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cubasis 3
Capture musical ideas and transform them into professional songs on your iPhone and iPad. This intuitive audio and MIDI DAW offers recording, mixing, and sharing capabilities with advanced editing and effects.
- Unlimited audio and MIDI tracks
- Full-screen mixer
- Group tracks
- 960 PPQN MIDI resolution
- 8 insert, 8 send effects
- Real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting
- Virtual analog synthesizer and sampler
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Quickly and easily capture your musical ideas as soon as they arrive and turn them into professional-sounding songs with the multi-award winning Cubasis 3. Enjoy performing, recording, mixing and sharing your music in no time, wherever you are, right there on your iPhone and iPad. Meet one of the fastest, most intuitive and complete audio and MIDI DAWs available on iOS today: Cubasis 3. Computer Music Editor’s Choice Award 2020・MusicTech Choice Award 2020・NAMM TEC Awards 2026 Finalist "Cubasis 3 marks a great leap to the iPhone, and maintains Cubasis’ status as the DAW to beat on the iOS platform." — Computer Music "Cubasis has always represented the best balance between features and usability in any iOS DAW/sequencer, and in Cubasis 3, Steinberg have raised a high bar even higher." — Sound On Sound "Cubasis 3 is far and away the most powerful and user-friendly mobile DAW around." — ASK Audio "Cubasis has been invaluable for me when I just need to create a quick demo before the plane lands." — Rob Swire (Pendulum, Knife Party, Deadmau5) Learn more about Cubasis at www.steinberg.net/cubasis NEW IN CUBASIS 3 • Universal app support: Run Cubasis on the iPhone and iPad • Tempo and signature track support • Group tracks: Easily combine individual tracks to groups • Full-screen mixer: Easily extend the size of the mixer and more • New look, same feel: Enjoy creating more efficiently • Free Cubasis 2 IAP transfer: Freely transfer previous in-app purchases to Cubasis 3 • 960 PPQN MIDI resolution: Precise audio and MIDI event editing at the highest level • 8 insert, 8 send effects: Create great-sounding tracks with flexible effects options • FX rearrangement: Quickly rearrange plug-ins and change their pre/post fader position • 75 new effects presets: Make tracks sound great with these ready-to-use presets • Undo with history list: Quickly jump back to earlier versions of your song • Redesigned instruments and effects: Modern styling with more precise operation • Audio, MIDI and automation editors revisited: File editing is much more effective • Revised MediaBay: Your all-new control center for file and project management • UI scale presets for iPhone and iPad: Quickly change the size and arrangement of Cubasis • MicroSonic instruments refill: Get creative with great-sounding new instruments HIGHLIGHTS • Unlimited number of audio and MIDI tracks • 24 assignable physical inputs and outputs • 32-bit floating-point audio engine • Audio I/O resolution of up to 24-bit/96 kHz • Real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting featuring zplane’s élastique 3 • Micrologue virtual analog synthesizer with 126 ready-to-go presets • MicroSonic with over 120 virtual instrument sounds • MiniSampler to create your own instruments (includes 20 factory instruments) • Mixer with studio-grade channel strip per track and 17 effects processors • Sidechain support • Fully automatable DJ-like Spin FX effect plug-in • Over 550 MIDI and time-stretch-capable audio loops • Virtual keyboard with chord buttons, chord and drum pads with intuitive note repeat • Audio editor and MIDI editor with MIDI CC support • MIDI editor for programming and editing MIDI tracks quickly and efficiently • MIDI Learn, Mackie Control (MCU) and HUI protocol support • MIDI auto quantize and time-stretch • Track duplicate • Automation, MIDI CC, program change and aftertouch support • Core Audio and MIDI-compatible hardware supported • Keyboard shortcut and mouse support • MIDI over Bluetooth LE support • Audio Unit including Instrument Multi Out support, Inter-App Audio and Audiobus 3 support • Ableton Link Support • Import audio via iTunes, iCloud Drive, Files app, AirDrop or use AudioPaste • MIDI clock and MIDI thru support • Export to Cubase, iCloud Drive, external hard drives, wireless flash drives, Dropbox, AudioCopy and email Technical support http://www.steinberg.net/cubasisforum If you like Cubasis, please support us by rating this app in the App Store! Thank you!
Drambo
This app offers a flexible sound design experience, allowing users to build beats, create synthesizers, and process audio with effects. Its innovative modular system simplifies connections and organization, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced musicians. It functions as a standalone application or a plugin within a DAW.
- Modular sound design
- Intuitive cable-less connections
- Advanced sequencer
- Standalone and AUv3 plugin
- Over 140 modules
- Polyphonic stereo processing
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"Drambo changes the face of iOS music apps." Cult of Mac Drambo is your all-in-one sound laboratory that adapts to your workflow: build beats as a groovebox, design synths, or transform audio with effects, standalone or inside your favorite DAW. At the core of Drambo is a fresh approach to modular design that makes creating with modules easy, fun, and accessible. Connections happen automatically as you add or move modules, so there are no messy cables to slow you down. The interface adapts to your workflow, generating modulation controls when you need them, and even lets modules contain other modules for perfect organization. You’re always free to override the automatic connections, but most of the time, you can just dive in, experiment, and shape sounds without getting tangled in wires. Use a deep and innovative sequencer to compose patterns and whole tracks, for production or live performance. Go beyond simple looping sequences with parameter locking, conditional step components, parameters automation and powerful scene morphing. Drambo works equally well as a self-contained standalone app or audio unit plugin with audio and MIDI connectivity as an AUV3 instrument, audio effect and MIDI effect. You can use Drambo as • A Complete Studio: Produce entire tracks and perform live in a self-contained, multitrack environment. • An Endless modular playground, that allows you to build, modify and store custom instruments and effects. For instance: build a custom synth, sample and resample, build a Theremin using a gyroscope module, or turn your table into a playable surface, by processing microphone input with physical modelling modules. • An Advanced MIDI Sequencer: Control hardware or AUv3 instruments. Generate custom MIDI CC messages or send modulation signals to physical modular synths via DC-coupled interfaces. • The Ultimate AUv3 Plugin: Load Drambo inside other DAWs as an instrument, audio effect, or MIDI processor. Replace dozens of standard plugins by building your own complex modular delays, reverbs, decimators, or modulators in seconds. • A Unified Audio-Visual Studio (Drambo Visual IAP): Arts united. Step into another realm of modular visual synthesis to build complex generative video art, or seamlessly patch your audio and visual engines together for deeply integrated performances. Features: • Polyphonic, stereo processing and audio-rate modulation. All signals are equal. Up to 16 voices per modular instrument rack. • Unique modular concept: cable-less, drag'n'drop, color coding dynamic interface, automatic connections, and customizable compact, rack views. • Directional flow makes Drambo routing and patching straightforward. Signal flows only left to right, so there are no instant feedback routings in Drambo. Delayed feedback is possible using certain modules. • Simple and clean interface, that scales to every size and device orientation • Over 140 modules available, such as: oscillators, samplers, physical modelling modules, LFOs, envelope generators, filters, audio effects, mixers, MIDI processors, sequencers and math functions. (Includes a macro oscillator based on the famous Eurorack Plaits module, with 24 synth engines) • Custom modular racks that can be nested, with presets at the track, rack, and module level. • Clip launcher / song arrager. • 16-tracks, polyphonic sequencer with parameter locks, automation and step components. 8 dedicated step sequence editor types, piano-roll, powerful automation designer with drawing modes and cubic Bezier curves. • Audio Units hosting ( standalone app only ) • Morph groups: you can morph many parameters using a single slider. • Available as a standalone app, AUv3 instrument, effect and MIDI effect. • MIDI and Ableton Link support Drambo is all about control. Control things that other apps don’t even give you access to. Visit the BeepStreet page for help and tutorials, and Patchstorage for community content.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Drambo at 87% against Cubasis 3's 62%. Drambo also leads on price ($24.99 vs $29.99) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). Cubasis 3's advantage is ratings volume (3.5K vs 325) and chart position (#37 vs unranked). On update cadence, 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
Cubasis 3 costs $29.99 and Drambo $24.99 up front. Cubasis 3 sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Drambo sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Drambo holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cubasis 3 has 3.5K ratings behind it against 325, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Cubasis 3's written reviews are positive against 87% of Drambo's.
Cubasis 3 ships an update every 2 months, Drambo monthly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Cubasis 3 | Drambo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99 | $24.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (3.5K ratings) | 4.8 (325 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.4% of reviews | 86.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.5K — better | 325 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #37 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.7 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.2 GB | 144 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH | BeepStreet |
Customer experience
Cubasis 3
Drambo
User reviews
Cubasis 3
From 3.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful mobile DAW
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🎨 Impressive sound quality and instruments
- 💻 Seamless integration with desktop Cubase
- 🌐 Portable music creation on the go
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 🔇 Audio glitches and playback problems
- 🕰️ Slow performance with multiple tracks/plugins
- 🔀 Bugs with MIDI and automation
- 💸 Expensive with many in-app purchases
Drambo
From 325 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Incredibly powerful and flexible
- 🎨 Endless creative possibilities
- 👍 Intuitive and well-designed interface
- 🔧 Modular synth capabilities
- 🎛️ Excellent sequencing and groove box features
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Limited undo/redo functionality
- 🔊 Audio export issues (pitch/tempo problems)
- 🔀 Lack of dedicated audio track support
Bugs and requests
Cubasis 3
Reported bugs
5 issues- Tracks going out of sync after mixdown
- Metronome not working as expected
- Bluetooth audio playback issues
- Incompatibility with certain audio interfaces
- Crashes when importing or exporting files
Requested features
5 requests- Add tempo and time signature changes
- Implement better MIDI controller support
- Improve audio quantization and editing tools
- Introduce a dedicated sampler with more functionality
- Allow iCloud sync and seamless project transfer
Drambo
Reported bugs
3 issues- Audio cutting out after 5 minutes of use
- Presets and patches not loading properly
- Incompatibility with certain iOS devices
Requested features
5 requests- Stem/track export functionality
- MIDI CC learn and external control
- Ableton Link support
- More parameter control and modulation options
- Improved piano roll and sequencing tools
In-app purchases
Cubasis 3
- Micrologue ARP Arpeggiator$2.49
- Waves Tune Real-Time$2.49
- Classic Machines$3.49
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- FX Pack 1: Reverbs & Delays$3.49
- FX Pack 2: Vintage FX$3.49
- Waves AudioTrack$7.99
- Waves L1 Ultramaximizer$7.99
- Waves Q10 Equalizer$7.99
- Waves Plug-in Bundle$9.99
- FM Classics$9.99
- Neo FM$9.99
- HALion Sonic Selection$19.99
Drambo
- Granular extension$4.99
- Waves extension$4.99
- Formants extension$4.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- DSP extensions 1$4.99
- Visual extension$14.99






