Chord Calculus vs Sentium Glitch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chord Calculus
This app helps musicians visualize and understand chords, scales, and progressions for various fretted instruments. It allows customization of instruments, tunings, and capos, and includes a tuner. Play chords, arpeggios, and scales.
- Chord calculator with fingering display
- Chord identifier for unknown fingerings
- Scale display and playback
- Chord progression player
- Custom instrument and tuning creation
- Capo support
- Instrument tuner
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ChordCalculus is a tool for players of fretted instruments. ChordCalculus will allow the user to choose from a large number of pre-defined fretted instruments in a variety of tunings. Additionally, the user can define new instruments and/or tunings. Single or multiple capos can be added. The user then picks from one of four operating modes using the segmented selectors at the center top of the display: * (C)hord Calculator: Show all fingerings for chords for a given instrument/tuning, filters, capos, and fret span. * Chord (I)dentifer: For a given instrument/tuning and fingering, display all possible names for a chord * (S)cale Display: For an instrument/tuning, key and scale type, display the scale, and play a two-octave scale * (P)rogression Player: Derived from chord mode, display fingerings for a chord progression. Also plays chords in sequence. In all cases, the chords can be played as a chord or arpeggio and the scale played back. As of version 2.0, an instrument tuner is accessed by long touching the tuning button. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty5eI_DiXhk&t=20s for all the features
Sentium Glitch
Create complex, animated electronic instruments using four distinct synthesis engines. Blend subtractive, FM, Karplus-Strong, and wavetable layers with extensive modulation options. Save and recall patches with iCloud sync for a comprehensive sound design experience.
- Four distinct synthesis engines
- Layered sound design
- Extensive modulation routing
- XY pad recording
- AUv3 and standalone app
- Factory and user presets
- iCloud sync for presets
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Build animated electronic instruments from four synthesis engines. Blend Subtractive, FM, Karplus-Strong, and Wavetable layers. Sentium Glitch is a stereo AUv3 synthesizer for producers, composers, and sound designers who want layered motion inside one focused instrument. Use it in compatible AUv3 instrument hosts, or open the standalone app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro to load the same experience, connect MIDI inputs, and play it as a standalone instrument. Every patch is a complete sound design document: four engine layers, per-layer envelopes, filters, LFOs, modulation routes, pan, level, engine bypass, master effects, polyphony budgeting, voice mode and glide, and optional recorded XY Pad motion all recallable through presets and AU host project state. Core sound engines: - Subtractive: dual oscillators, sub, noise, detune, pulse-width shaping, and multimode filtering for classic analog weight and layered fundamentals. - FM: five operator topologies for bells, keys, metallic basses, and aggressive digital color: two-operator, blended two-operator, stacked, dual-modulator, and split-carrier. - Karplus-Strong: plucked and struck delay-line resonators for guitars, kotos, mallets, metallic attacks, and hybrid acoustic-electric textures. - Wavetable: curated morphing tables with vocal formants, digital edges, harmonic motion, seeded-random spectra, and unison width for animated modern tones. Performance and modulation: - Poly, mono, and legato voice modes with adjustable glide (portamento) for tight monophonic basses and expressive, gliding leads. - Two XY pads with four routable axes. - Record XY pad motion per engine and save it with the patch. - Route LFOs, envelopes, velocity, aftertouch, pitch bend, mod wheel, CC74, and XY pad axes to musical targets. - Move oscillator pitch and mix, FM index and ratios, Karplus brightness and decay, wavetable position and detune, filter, pan, gain, LFO rates, and master-FX controls. - Sync LFOs, chorus rate, and delay time to host tempo when available. Patch and mix tools: - Four-layer engine mixer for balancing, panning, and bypassing each sound source. - Master chorus, delay, reverb, level, and soft clip. - Global polyphony budget up to 32 voices with device-aware runtime limits. - Stereo output at 44.1, 48, and 96 kHz sample rates where supported. - On-screen keyboard with pitch and modulation wheels, plus CoreMIDI input management in the standalone app. Factory and user library: Start from 92 factory presets spanning signature motion patches, classic synth tones, basses, leads, keys, bells, plucks, strings, pads, rhythmic textures, atmospheres, experimental sounds, and technical references. Save your own user presets locally with iCloud sync when available. Export selected saved user presets as .sgpresets files and import them through a preview workflow that appends new user presets without overwriting the existing library. Sentium Glitch is built for sounds that move: evolving pads, unstable digital bells, hybrid plucks, animated basses, cinematic sweeps, mono leads that glide between notes, and expressive performance patches that respond to your hands.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chord Calculus at $2.99 against Sentium Glitch's $29.99. Sentium Glitch's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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
Chord Calculus costs $2.99 and Sentium Glitch $29.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sentium Glitch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Chord Calculus's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sentium Glitch's.
Chord Calculus ships an update fortnightly, Sentium Glitch every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chord Calculus | Sentium Glitch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $29.99 |
| Rating | 3.9 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Steven Pollack | Christian Thompson |
Customer experience
Chord Calculus
Sentium Glitch
In-app purchases
Chord Calculus
No in-app purchases
Sentium Glitch
No in-app purchases





