Quartet 1 vs Pianoteq 9
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Quartet 1
Practice and perform jazz standards with high-quality backing tracks. Mute your instrument, change keys, adjust tempo, and loop sections. Features animated chord diagrams and playlist creation for an enhanced musical experience.
- Live jazz standards backing tracks
- Mute your instrument
- Change key and tempo
- Loop practice sections
- Animated chord diagrams
- Multi-app playlist creation
- Multitrack export
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Practice and perform jazz standards on another level with Quartet. And with a host of brand-new features plus an additional 50 new versions of the most played standards, the top-selling jazz play along apps just got even better. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. Yours to keep! Volume 1 now includes 200 stunning jazz standards recorded exclusively by 8 of the world’s best jazz musicians. All ‘live’ studio recordings with intros, endings and top line solos. Whether you play jazz piano, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, bass, drums…simply mute your instrument from the Quartet for the ultimate jazz play along. And for jazz singers too, each edition of Quartet is an unrivalled collection of jazz backing tracks powerful enough to gig with. Change key on the fly. Speed up or slow down the audio seamlessly. Loop sections and slow them right down for practice. Select the number of repeats. Choose from preset mixes or create your own custom mix using the new onboard mixer. Arrange each song exactly the way you want it with the new automated ‘Arranger’ feature. Add a touch of reverb and you’re good to go. Improve your skills with full screen animated chord diagrams for Piano, Guitar and Ukulele. Search the entire Quartet song library (700 songs) by composer, style, BPM, associated artist and more. Build and share multi-app playlists and easily export PDF chord charts for every song. Export your stereo mix or export the multitrack if you want to develop the high quality separated parts in GarageBand or whatever DAW you use. Either way, all recordings are offered to you royalty-free giving you endless creative possibilities. The 200 jazz standards in Quartet Volume 1 include improvisations in the style of… ‘All Blues’, ‘All of Me’, ‘All The Things You Are’, ‘Autumn Leaves’, ‘Beautiful Love’, ‘Blue Bossa’, ‘Body and Soul’, ‘Caravan’, ‘Cherokee’, ‘Cry Me a River’, ‘Fever’, ‘Georgia on my Mind’, ‘Giant Steps’, ‘Girl From Ipanema’, ‘Have You Met Miss Jones?’, ‘Love for Sale’, ‘Rhythm Changes’, ‘Satin Doll’, ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’, ‘Summertime’…and 180 more! Install Quartet on all of your iOS devices plus your Mac devices (M series only) at no extra cost. Ready to take your jazz standards to another level? Hear lots more and see the full song lists at www.quartetapp.com Featured artists Saxophones and Flutes Andy Panayi Credits - Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Seth MacFarlane, Elaine Paige, Salena Jones, Elvis Costello, Georgie Fame, Helen Shapiro, Madeline Bell, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove Dave O’Higgins Credits - Joey Calderazzo, Joe Locke, Eric Alexander, Max Ionata, Joe Lovano, Phil Woods, Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Kurt Elling, Wayne Shorter, Eddie Gomez, Jamie Cullum, Stéphane Grappelli, Michel Legrand Graeme Blevins Recording and performing credits include Phil Collins, Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Kyle Eastwood, Mark Knopfler, Quincy Jones, Mark Ronson, Tom Jones, Taylor Swift Guitar Nigel Price Credits - James Taylor Quartet, Van Morrison, Nigel Price Organ Trio. Voted ‘Best Guitarist’ in the 2016 British Jazz Awards Piano Graham Harvey Credits - Incognito (MD), Stacey Kent, George Benson, Hamish Stuart, Will Lee, Philip Bailey, Chaka Khan, The BBC Big Band, Madeline Bell, Jocelyn Brown, Mica Paris, Sir Cliff Richard Bass Geoff Gascoyne Credits - Jamie Cullum (MD), Sting, Van Morrison, Bill Bruford, Mari Wilson, Paloma Faith, Georgie Fame, Gloria Estefan, Guy Barker, Charlie Watts, Benny Golson, Jacqui Dankworth, Bob Dorough, John Martyn, Eartha Kitt Drums Sebastiaan de Krom Credits - Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Phil Woods, Dave Holland, Jamie Cullum, Guy Barker, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Tim Garland Rod Youngs Credits - Gil Scott-Heron, Lee Konitz, Sia, Courtney Pine, Jon Hendricks, Hugh Masekela, Natalie Cole, Mica Paris, Juliet Roberts, BBC Concert Orchestra, Ronnie Laws, Jocelyn Brown
Pianoteq 9
This virtual instrument app uses advanced physical modeling to generate realistic sounds for pianos, electric pianos, harpsichords, and more. It offers compact file sizes and is trusted by renowned instrument makers. Unlock full instrument access with a license.
- Physical modeling sound generation
- Realistic playability
- Compact file size
- Wide range of instruments
- Plugin support for DAWs
- New Syngular synthesizer
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PIANOTEQ 9: THE ULTIMATE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT Pianoteq is an award-winning virtual instrument that simulates a wide range of instruments including pianos, electric pianos, harpsichords, vibraphones, guitars, steel drums, and more, using advanced physical modeling. Unlike traditional virtual instruments that use recorded sounds, Pianoteq generates sounds in real-time by calculating the physics of how strings vibrate and how the soundboard radiates sound. Why Pianoteq Stands Out: - Natural Playability: Physical modeling captures many of the subtle interactions and dynamic nuances found in acoustic instruments, providing a responsive playing experience. - Compact Size: Without relying on large sample libraries, Pianoteq requires only a fraction of the storage space of many virtual instruments, making it ideal for iPhone and iPad. Trusted by the Best: Steinway, Kawai, Bösendorfer, Bechstein, Petrof, Steingraeber, Grotrian, Blüthner, and Hohner have all endorsed Pianoteq for its faithful sound reproduction. Getting Started: - Connect a MIDI device to your iPad/iPhone. - Launch Pianoteq. - Start playing! Pianoteq also works as a plugin in any Audio Unit host application, such as GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, Camelot, and more. Note: All instruments run in demo mode (with some keys disabled) until you purchase a Pianoteq STAGE license (unlocks two instruments) or link to an existing Pianoteq user account with a valid license. Licenses purchased on the App Store are valid across other supported platforms (macOS, Windows, Linux). Already own Pianoteq 8? Upgrade to Pianoteq 9 at an attractive upgrade price and unlock a new level of realism and expression. Simply launch Pianoteq 9, click “Restore Purchases”, and follow the instructions. Here’s what’s new in Pianoteq 9: - Richer tone and enhanced spatial depth: all modern and historical grands have been thoroughly revoiced. - A beautiful new Italian Triple Harp joins the Harp pack. - Electric pianos (MKII, Reeds) have been updated. - Expressive new “Sombre” presets for cinematic playing. - A refined, more intuitive mixer panel. - Portrait orientation and windowed mode now supported. - A new instrument: the Syngular synthesiser. Experience your instruments like never before, more vivid, expressive, and alive.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pianoteq 9 at Free against Quartet 1's $19.99. Pianoteq 9 also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Quartet 1's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 72%) and chart position (#110 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Pianoteq 9 is free to download; Quartet 1 costs $19.99 up front. Quartet 1 sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Pianoteq 9 sells 19 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pianoteq 9 holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 185 and 58 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 85% of Quartet 1's written reviews are positive against 72% of Pianoteq 9's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Quartet 1 ships an update every 2 months, Pianoteq 9 every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.
| Parameter | Quartet 1 | Pianoteq 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (185 ratings) | 4.9 (58 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.5% of reviews — better | 72.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 185 — better | 58 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #110 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 706 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | UK Music Apps Ltd | Modartt |
Customer experience
Quartet 1
Pianoteq 9
Bugs and requests
Quartet 1
Reported bugs
12 issues- Playlists disappear
- Playlists replaced by old ones
- Looping parts not saved
- Edits wiped out
- Cannot put song into desired key
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- Abrupt endings with no turnarounds
- Out of tune bass
- Crash when making playlist changes
- Doesn't remember key/tempo from last session
- Clicks when using iPad OS
- Double charge for app
- No actual endings found
Requested features
29 requests- Dark mode option
- Tap tempo button
- Ability to create own charts
- Export to WAV and MP3
- Export chord chart in different ways
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- Drum-only option
- Two versions of songs at different tempos
- Metronome/click track
- Pan tracks to left/right channel
- Type in tempo directly
- Slider for tempo change
- Search within playlists
- Cloud-based sync
- iReal-type portrait display
- Real Jazz Guitar chords
- Global default for chord transpose
- More variations in chorus repeats
- Actual song endings with variations
- MIDI out function
- Split screen on tablet
- Add tags to ends of tunes
- Fix pitch shifting on drums
- Lower price for stem export
- Adjustable font size for chords
- Vertical mode
- AUV3 version
- Edit tunes at bar level
- Create new tunes within the app
- More standards/tunes
Pianoteq 9
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Quartet 1
- Upgrade song$0.99
- Buy 10 tokens$8.99
- Buy 20 tokens$14.99
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- Buy 50 tokens$22.99
- Upgrade all songs$49.99
Pianoteq 9
- Use existing licenceFree
- Upgrade to latest version$29.00
- Classical Guitar$49.99
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- Steelpans$49.99
- Grand Blüthner$49.99
- Grand Petrof$49.99
- Grand YC5$49.99
- Harp$49.99
- Grand Steinway B$49.99
- Grand Shigeru Kawai SK-EX$49.99
- Grand Steingraeber$49.99
- Grand Bösendorfer 280VC$49.99
- Electric Pianos$49.99
- Hohner Collection$49.99
- Upright U4$49.99
- Syngular$49.99
- Stage to Standard$129.99
- Standard to Pro$129.99
- Pianoteq STAGE$139.00








