Comparison

Strum Machine vs Resonator Player

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

Head to head
About

Strum Machine

Generate realistic backing tracks for practice with real instrument audio. Customize chord progressions, keys, and tempo. Features a large song library, song editor, and band customization options. Works offline and syncs across devices.

Highlights
  • Realistic instrument audio backing tracks
  • Customizable chord progressions, keys, and tempo
  • Extensive song library
  • Simple song editor
  • Band and instrument customization
  • Cross-platform syncing and offline mode
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Elevate your music practice with customizable backing tracks generated with audio from real instruments (guitar, mandolin, and standup bass). Strum Machine can play any chord progression, in any key, at any speed. It's the only backing-track app built specifically for players of bluegrass, old-time, fiddle tunes, and other such genres. (Although it works pretty good for some jazz/swing now, too!) Why musicians of all levels love Strum Machine: • Realistic Sound: Backing tracks are assembled in real time from studio-quality instrument recordings. • Quick Adjustments: Instantly adjust the speed/tempo, change the key, loop part of a song, etc. • Auto-Speedup: Gradually increase the BPM at the end of every repetition for training purposes. • Chord Reference: Clean, beautiful chord charts, which can be displayed in letters or numbers (i.e. "1-4-5"). • Extensive Library: Over 1,300 songs (mostly from bluegrass and old-time) ready to go, with thousands more posted on the community forum. • Simple Song Editor: Add your own songs (or edit existing ones) in minutes. Almost every chord you can play on a guitar is available for use. • Customize the Band: Choose from a variety of built-in band styles, then optionally customize each instrument individually – adjust the strumming pattern, add automatic bass runs, and more. • Organize & Share: Create song lists for practicing or even performing, and share them with your friends or on the community forum. • Cross-Platform: Sync your custom songs, lists, and preferences with any device you use Strum Machine on: phone, tablet, or computer. (It works offline, too!) • Responsive Support: If you run into any problems or have questions, write us an email or post a message on the forum and someone will get back to you within a few days! Strum Machine is under active development and we're always working on ways to make the app even more useful to our users... while keeping it uncluttered and intuitive first and foremost. Discover how Strum Machine can improve your music practice today! Download Strum Machine and play a handful of demo songs instantly, without signing up. For the full experience, including access to all built-in songs and the ability to create your own, start a free trial. Terms of Use: https://strummachine.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://strummachine.com/privacy

About

Resonator Player

Stream your music in full quality to compatible speakers and TVs. Explore artist connections, view credits, and discover new music through a unique, interactive interface. Customize your listening experience and relive your musical journey.

Highlights
  • Full-quality music casting
  • Interactive record player interface
  • Synced lyrics and credits display
  • Artist-driven music discovery
  • Customizable discovery algorithm
  • Party mode for curated playlists
Features
Read full description

Music doesn't play. It resonates. Resonator casts your music to the speakers and TVs you already own. Full-quality playback on any Google Cast device — real subscriber streaming, not screen mirroring. THE ROOM FOLLOWS Tap a speaker, and the album moves to the room. Playback keeps running with your phone in your pocket — lock screen and CarPlay controls included. THE TURNTABLE The player is a record. Slide the cover aside, watch the disc spin at 33⅓, then grab it: the record is a jog wheel — drag to scrub with notched clicks under your finger, let go and it settles back to speed. Play a full album and the needle rides the whole side. CREDITS ON THE BIG SCREEN While a record plays on your TV, synced lyrics and the record's credits roll with it: producers, engineers, players — every hand that made it, drawn from MusicBrainz, the open encyclopedia of recorded music. Thumbs on the TV too — resonate from the couch. THE SLEEVE Every album opens like a gatefold: the artwork and alternate covers, the tracklist, liner notes, a personnel roster with portraits, and related records worth pulling off the shelf next. RESONANCE Start resonating from any song and Resonator drives artist to artist through real connections — the producers, songwriters, players, and label-mates in the liner notes, not a black-box feed. Thumbs up steers toward what resonates. Thumbs down never plays it again. Detour into a whole album; the mix parks and waits for you. And every resonance is kept — relive it later, note by note, from Resonance History. WHY THIS TRACK Every pick explains itself. Tap a track and see the road that led to it — who played on what, which record connected them, where the seed came from. Every name is a doorway you can walk through. HOW YOU FOUND THIS Every like remembers its own story. Months later, long-press a liked song and see the moment you found it — the resonance you were on, the seed it started from, the connection that carried it in — and walk that road again. TUNE THE ENGINE The discovery algorithm is yours. Open the tuner and set how much pull collaborators, producers, songwriters, label-mates, similar artists, and influences each have on the road ahead. The Influences fader traces a song's lineage both ways: the originals it sampled and remixed, and everything built on it since. Better connections find better music. AMPLITUDE Party mode. Pick a source, shape the energy curve, and Resonator builds the night — openers, the build, the peak, the cooldown — from energy analysis of the music itself. One glance shows how far to peak. MADE BY RESONATOR For the artists you visit, Resonator cuts its own records: What Resonates — their songs your listening says you'll love — and Overtones, the collaborators one step out. THE RECORD ROOM Your library is shelves, not lists: Heavy Rotation, Recently Played — your whole listening timeline, kept and yours to erase — recent resonances, and records you might like next. A record room, not a database. CARPLAY Album-forward in the car: play the record, start resonating, browse the shelves — same engine, bigger road. WHAT YOU NEED • An active Apple Music subscription (without one, playback is limited to previews) • A Google Cast speaker or display on the same Wi-Fi network — or play right on the phone, AirPlay included Resonator is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc. or Google LLC. Apple Music is a trademark of Apple Inc. Google Cast is a trademark of Google LLC.

Screenshots

Strum Machine4 screens
Resonator Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Resonator Player at none against Strum Machine's 1. Resonator Player also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Strum Machine's advantage is ratings volume (120 vs 1) and chart position (#166 vs unranked). On price, update cadence and ads 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. Strum Machine sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Resonator Player asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Resonator Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Strum Machine has 120 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strum Machine ships an update fortnightly, Resonator Player every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Strum Machine versus Resonator Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrum MachineResonator Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (120 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings120 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#166 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB20 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLuke Abbott LLCAnthony Jacobs

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Strum Machine

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month
None

Resonator Player

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Strum Machine free?
Strum Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Resonator Player free?
Resonator Player is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Strum Machine or Resonator Player?
Resonator Player is rated higher. Strum Machine averages 4.7 out of 5 from 120 ratings, while Resonator Player averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Strum Machine or Resonator Player have ads?
Neither Strum Machine nor Resonator Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strum Machine or Resonator Player?
Strum Machine ships an update fortnightly, and Resonator Player every 2 weeks. Most recently, Strum Machine was updated on October 27, 2026 and Resonator Player on October 26, 2026.

Other comparisons