Comparison

Drumstik vs Backbeat

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

Head to head
About

Drumstik

Record musical ideas directly from your electronic drum kit and automatically generate transcriptions. Edit, share, and analyze your performance with a unique coaching mode. Access an online platform for lessons and practice materials to improve your drumming skills.

Highlights
  • Automatic transcription from electronic drums
  • Score editing and sharing
  • Online content platform for lessons
  • Performance analysis with 'coach' mode
  • Progress tracking and history
  • Practice with provided working documents
Features
Read full description

TRANSCRIPTION, EDITING AND SHARING Drumstik is an application that allows you to create scores while playing directly on your electronic drum kit! You have an idea ? Need to quickly lay down your inspiration? Launch Drumstik, play your groove to generate your transcription automatically! Rework it as much as you want from the Score Editor, then share it with those who need it. CONTENT PLATFORM You want to develop your playing techniques? You are looking for exciting new challenges? Drumstik gives you access to online content platform to become a better drummer. The lessons are accessible to everyone: whatever your level! The working documents are provided with the sessions so that you can practice directly with the software. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS All scores edited with Drumstik (or available on our online platform) are compatible with our unique functionality: "coach" mode! You want to achieve the perfect performance? You want to know if you are playing over time? Load the partition you want to train on in the software, play over it and that’s it! Drumstik analyzes your game, and provides you with a performance history to view your progress!

About

Backbeat

This app helps drummers improve their skills by focusing on rudiments and grooves. It transcribes your playing into musical notation, provides a customizable metronome, and tracks your progress with detailed statistics. Practice routines can be automated to keep you focused and motivated.

Highlights
  • Real-time notation transcription
  • Rudiment library with target tempos
  • Customizable metronome with subdivisions
  • Automated practice routines
  • Groove generation from text descriptions
  • Progress tracking and speed curves
  • Exportable song charts as PDF
Features
Read full description

Most practice apps speak in chords and scales. Drummers count. Backbeat starts where drum practice actually starts: a rudiment, a tempo you can hold today, and a tempo you're chasing. It keeps the numbers, writes what you play as real notation, and runs the click while you do it. WRITTEN AS REAL NOTATION Tap hits into the grid and the staff writes itself. Hands stems-up, feet stems-down, ghost notes in parentheses, accents marked, flams and drags and diddles drawn the way you'd write them out by hand. Kick, snare, hi-hat, ride, crash, toms, cowbell and more across fourteen voices, on straight or triplet grids from two to thirty-two steps a bar. RUDIMENTS WITH A TARGET Every rudiment carries its sticking and a target tempo. Log a session and your current BPM moves. The library starts with eight basics and you can add your own. A CLICK THAT PUSHES YOU Quarter, eighth, sixteenth and triplet subdivisions. Accent, click or mute any beat. Tap the tempo when you don't have a number. The Speed Trainer raises the tempo on a schedule you choose and logs how far you got. ROUTINES THAT RUN THEMSELVES Give each block a length and a target tempo. The click follows along, every block logs itself when it ends, and the record fills in while your hands stay on the sticks. Three starter routines are there on day one. GROOVES, GENERATED Describe a feel in your own words and Backbeat renders it as notation you can play, edit and keep. PROOF YOU'RE GETTING FASTER Sessions, minutes, streaks, and a speed curve per rudiment. Not a participation badge; the actual tempo you held, over time. SONG CHARTS Build a chart measure by measure with repeats and counts, then export it as a paginated PDF, or share a single groove as an image for video. BUILT TO BE READ FROM A STAND Dark, high contrast, and large enough to follow at arm's length in a dim room. It follows your phone's appearance. Backbeat is free, made by one drummer, and still being built. If something in the notation looks wrong to you, say so; that's the part I most want to get right.

Screenshots

Drumstik4 screens
Backbeat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Backbeat at 100% against Drumstik's 53%. Backbeat also leads on price (Free vs $13.99) and rating (5.0 vs 1.0). Drumstik's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Backbeat is free to download; Drumstik costs $13.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backbeat holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Drumstik's written reviews are positive against 100% of Backbeat's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Drumstik versus Backbeat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrumstikBackbeat
Price$13.99Free — better
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size238 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerjulien juraPETER ANTHONY AFIF

Customer experience

Drumstik

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative40.0%

Backbeat

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Drumstik

No in-app purchases

None

Backbeat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drumstik free?
Drumstik costs $13.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Backbeat free?
Backbeat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drumstik or Backbeat?
Backbeat is rated higher. Drumstik averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Backbeat averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Drumstik or Backbeat have ads?
Neither Drumstik nor Backbeat shows ads.

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