Comparison

Analog Stone vs MIDIRack

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

Head to head
About

Analog Stone

This app emulates a classic 1979 four-stage analog phaser pedal, bringing its iconic psychedelic sound to iOS. It offers a focused, hardware-like experience with an optional circuit to reduce harshness for experimental sound design.

Highlights
  • Classic 1979 phaser emulation
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • Analog modeling engine
  • Add-on circuit for reduced harshness
  • Manual and external rate modulation
  • Supports 44.1, 48, 96 kHz sampling rates
Features
Read full description

Analog Stone is a focused AUv3 recreation of a legendary 1979 four-stage analog phaser. It brings the character and simplicity of the original pedal to iOS, powered by the same analog modeling engine as RealPhase. Where RealPhase takes the rackmount approach with its 50+ parameters (which can be more than some users need), Analog Stone does one thing beautifully: delivering that iconic, sweeping, psychedelic color with the raw immediacy of physical hardware. The plugin includes an add-on circuit that reduces the harshness and other non-musical artifacts that can emerge at high modulation rates (in free-running mode only). This makes the effect useful even in experimental settings such as glitch effects, with more possibilities to explore when modulating the rate parameter either manually or via external means. PLEASE NOTE: • An AUv3-compatible host is required to use this app • Supported sampling rates: 44.1, 48, 96 kHz • Host tracks must be at least CD-quality (44.1 kHz). Note that some virtual instruments, such as GarageBand’s Smart Instruments, operate downsampled at 22.05 kHz and are unsupported

About

MIDIRack

Design custom MIDI control surfaces with a variety of instruments and sequencers. Unlock advanced features like a visual MIDI processing graph for complex routing and generative music creation. Use it standalone, as an AUv3 plugin, or to control desktop DAWs.

Highlights
  • Customizable touch surface design
  • KB-1 keyboard suite with MPE support
  • Advanced step and matrix sequencers
  • Visual MIDI processing graph
  • Built-in instruments and samplers
  • Connects to desktop DAWs via USB or Bluetooth
Features
Read full description

MIDIRack is a MIDI toolkit for iPad. Build a custom touch surface from the KB-1 keyboard suite, an all-new sequencer suite, knobs, faders, buttons and more — then unlock a visual MIDI processing graph (one time in-app purchase) and wire it into anything, from a simple custom controller to a full-on groovebox or a self-playing generative composer. Play it on its own and send MIDI anywhere, as an AUv3 plugin in your favourite host or a standalone instrument. THE BASE APP — PERFORMANCE SURFACE Design a custom control surface on a snapping grid: • The KB-1 keyboard suite — piano, diatonic chord pads, scale-locked keyboard, MPE Seaboard ribbon, MPE Strings grid (4ths), and a 4×4 GM drum-pad grid. Each is its own routable node with latch and octave shift. Successor to the KB-1 Expressive Keyboard Suite. • A suite of sequencers — drum, melody, chord, analog and CC step grids and a Matrix note grid, with a moving playhead, swing and microtiming. Per-step velocity, probability, tie and trigger conditions; pattern chaining and 4-pad scene switching for full arrangements; a knob-per-step analog machine that re-roots live as you play. • Knobs, faders, XY pads, buttons and live visualizers — bind to raw MIDI CC or graph parameters. On its own: a rich custom control surface builder — send MIDI and CC to any synth, app or hardware, no graph required. WITH YOUR DESKTOP DAW Expressive MPE hardware costs hundreds. MIDIRack turns the iPad you already own into a controller for Logic, Live, Bitwig, Cubase or any desktop DAW: • Two MPE surfaces — the Seaboard ribbon and the Strings grid send per-note pitch bend, slide and pressure to any MPE-capable instrument on your desk. • A controller that changes per track — MPE ribbon for the lead, drum pads for the beat, chord pads for the progression, faders mapped to CC for a mix move. Rearrange in seconds; save a surface per project. • Sequence it too — clock the step lanes to your DAW and drive its tracks. • Easy to connect — one USB cable to a Mac via IDAM (Inter-Device Audio and MIDI), or wirelessly over Bluetooth MIDI. No driver, no helper app. UNLOCK — MIDI GRAPH (in-app purchase) Wire MIDI In → processors → MIDI Out on a visual canvas: • 60+ node kinds — arpeggiators, scale/key quantizers, transposers, chords, echoes, swing, humanize, euclidean rhythms, random/generative melodies, LFOs, CC tools, an analog knob-per-step sequencer, a Matrix sequencer and a Counter. • Built-in instruments — Synth, Drums, a Sampler and a loop Slicer make sound right in the graph; no external synth required. • Emergence generators — Conway's Game of Life, Turing machine, Wolfram rules, Markov, bouncing balls, Lorenz attractor — for evolving, living patterns. • Presets — factory patches grouped by category (control surfaces, generators, keyboards, utilities): Amen Engine, Starfield, Conway Choir, Turing Bass, Cellular Drums… Save your own. ROUTING & MPE • MIDI Out exposes all 16 channels plus an MPE connector — multitimbral, multi-instrument setups. The built-in synth responds to MPE. • Every keyboard is its own node — process and route each one independently. PLAYS OUT OF THE BOX • Built-in polyphonic synth, drum kit, sampler & slicer or send MIDI to your gear via CoreMIDI and an always-on virtual port.

Screenshots

Analog Stone1 screens
MIDIRack4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Analog Stone at none against MIDIRack's 1. Analog Stone also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and price ($5.99 vs $7.99). MIDIRack's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 2). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Analog Stone costs $5.99 and MIDIRack $7.99 up front. MIDIRack sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Analog Stone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Analog Stone holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MIDIRack has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Analog Stone ships an update every 2 days, MIDIRack every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Analog Stone versus MIDIRack: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnalog StoneMIDIRack
Price$5.99 — better$7.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.8 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings210 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperquantovoxKai Aras

In-app purchases

None

Analog Stone

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

MIDIRack

One-time1
  • Graph Editor Unlock$7.99

Questions

Is Analog Stone free?
Analog Stone costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MIDIRack free?
MIDIRack costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Analog Stone or MIDIRack?
Analog Stone is rated higher. Analog Stone averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while MIDIRack averages 4.8 from 10 ratings.
Do Analog Stone or MIDIRack have ads?
Neither Analog Stone nor MIDIRack shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Analog Stone or MIDIRack?
Analog Stone ships an update every 2 days, and MIDIRack every 4 days. Most recently, Analog Stone was updated on October 30, 2026 and MIDIRack on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons