Comparison

DrumKnee 3D Drums vs Cymbal Builder

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

Head to head
About

DrumKnee 3D Drums

Experience realistic 3D drumming with foot-controlled bass. Record, share, and play along with drumless tracks. Customize your kit with professional sounds and stylish skins for an immersive music experience.

Highlights
  • Realistic 3D drum set
  • Foot-controlled bass drum
  • Record and share songs
  • Play along with drumless tracks
  • Customizable drum kits
  • Low latency response
  • Chokable cymbals
Features
Read full description

DrumKnee is the most realistic drums app. Now you can play the bass with your foot. Perfect for on-the-go drumming! It is like having a real drum set in the palm of your hands. Play drums, record, and share your songs with the DrumKnee 3D community. The new Splitteroo integration lets you remove drums from your favorite songs, create custom drum kits with the separated snare and kick sounds, and play along with the track for an immersive drumming experience! DrumKnee is very different from any other app out there: First of all, it is a well-polished real drum app in 3D (how cool is that?). In addition, you get to trigger the bass sound with your foot. That's right, just rest your phone/tablet on your knee and kick it!! Mix and match the sounds so you can build your own custom drum set!! Features: Professionally recorded sounds. Very low latency response. The best one out there. The delay between your tap on the screen and the sound is incredibly low. Most realistic drums app. You will feel just like playing a real drum. Cymbals are also chokable by holding your finger on them when played. Play along with select drumless songs. You can record your masterpiece and share it with friends. Many stylish skins for you to choose from. Jazz/Funk drum set DK Music is another feature available. This service is a separate monthly fee that allows you to download drumless tracks directly to the app to play along with. SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS - Subscribe for unlimited access to the full drumless (songs without drums) songs library for the duration of your subscription - Subscriptions are monthly, quarterly and yearly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription - You can read our privacy policy at https://drumknee.wordpress.com/policy/ *Price is equal to the value that "Apple's App Store Matrix" determines is the equivalent of the subscription price in USD. https://drumknee.wordpress.com/termsofservice

About

Cymbal Builder

Calculate cymbal weight ranges and visualize bow animations. This tool provides sonic guidelines based on weight, bow depth, and bell size, helping musicians understand cymbal design.

Highlights
  • Cymbal weight categorization
  • Sonic guideline based on design
  • Bow animation slider
  • Analysis of weight, bow depth, and bell size
  • Quantifiable design factors
Features
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The Cymbal Builder is a Cymbal Weight Calculator and Cymbal Bow Animation Slider that allows you to categorize a cymbal's weight range by its given weight in grams and provide a sonic guideline based on a cymbal's depth of bow and bell size. While there are many factors that effect a cymbal's overall sound such as hammering, lathing, and other manufacturing factors; weight, bow, and bell size are readily quantifiable factors in the design of a cymbal.

Screenshots

DrumKnee 3D Drums4 screens
Cymbal Builder2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cymbal Builder at none against DrumKnee 3D Drums's 3. Cymbal Builder also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). DrumKnee 3D Drums's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 42 months) and ratings volume (17K vs 17). On price 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. DrumKnee 3D Drums sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Cymbal Builder asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cymbal Builder holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DrumKnee 3D Drums has 17K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DrumKnee 3D Drums ships an update weekly, Cymbal Builder every 42 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
DrumKnee 3D Drums versus Cymbal Builder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrumKnee 3D DrumsCymbal Builder
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (17K ratings)5.0 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings17K — better17
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 42 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMusic4Fun LLCByrne Cymbals

Customer experience

DrumKnee 3D Drums

All ratings16,497 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews851 reviews
Positive81.2%
Neutral6.6%
Negative12.2%

Cymbal Builder

All ratings16 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

DrumKnee 3D Drums

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Drum kit customization not working as expected
  • Subscription issues and inability to restore purchases
  • Crashes and freezes when playing for extended periods

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize drum kit layout
  • More advanced drum techniques (e.g. double bass, ghost notes)
  • Integration with music production software like GarageBand
  • Additional drum kit and song library updates
  • Rechargeable and wireless DK Sense pedal

Cymbal Builder

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

DrumKnee 3D Drums

Subscriptions3
  • 1 Month DrumKnee Premium3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • 3 Months DK Music$9.993 Months
  • 1 Year DrumKnee Premium$29.991 Year
None

Cymbal Builder

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DrumKnee 3D Drums free?
DrumKnee 3D Drums is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cymbal Builder free?
Cymbal Builder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DrumKnee 3D Drums or Cymbal Builder?
Cymbal Builder is rated higher. DrumKnee 3D Drums averages 4.8 out of 5 from 17K ratings, while Cymbal Builder averages 5.0 from 17 ratings.
Do DrumKnee 3D Drums or Cymbal Builder have ads?
DrumKnee 3D Drums shows ads; Cymbal Builder does not.
Which is updated more often, DrumKnee 3D Drums or Cymbal Builder?
DrumKnee 3D Drums ships an update weekly, and Cymbal Builder every 42 months. Most recently, DrumKnee 3D Drums was updated on November 10, 2026 and Cymbal Builder on November 2, 2026.

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