Sanshin vs Santoor HD
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sanshin
Learn to play the traditional Okinawan Sanshin instrument with this app. It displays finger positions and corresponds to "Kun-Kun-Shi" musical scores in Kanji, making it accessible even for beginners.
- Learn Sanshin finger positions
- Kanji score display
- Beginner-friendly interface
- Okinawan music exploration
- Interactive learning tool
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The "Sanshin" (Sanxian,三線) is a traditional and very popular musical instrument in Okinawa. Okinawa is beautiful islands located on the end of the southwest of Japan. The Sanshin is indispensable to life of people in Okinawa with traditional "Shima-Uta" that means song of islands. The Sanshin looks like the shamisen that is the tradition musical instrument of Japan similarly. But, the performance method of the Sanshin is farther simpler than the Shamisen,and is friendly musical instrument. In this application, proper finger positions will be displayed on the screen with Kanji. These also correspond to scores that is called "Kun-Kun-Shi" written in Kanji. We hope you will enjoy playing the Sanshin even if you have not played a Sanshin. Please try and enjoy it!
Santoor HD
Experience the traditional Santoor instrument with realistic sound and touch controls. Play individual notes, create vibrate effects by sliding, and even play semitones. Record and playback your musical creations with loop and fast-forward options.
- Realistic Santoor instrument simulation
- Individual string touch for notes
- Vibrate effect with horizontal sliding
- Semitone playback option
- Record and playback functionality
- Loop and fast-forward playback
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Played the Harp? Try the Santoor - A Traditional Musical Instrument. Supports touching individual strings to play notes as well as sliding horizontally across a string for VIBRATE effect. Fade out your vibrate effect by sliding your finger to the edge of the Santoor. Now also includes the option to play semitones! ***** Ranked in the top 7 and top 25 in the India APP STORE in the Music category for iPad and iPhone respectively. *****Ranked in the top 31 in the Greece APP STORE in the Music category for iPad. ***** Ranked in the top 45 in the US APP STORE in the Music category for iPad. FEATURES * Hi Quality Retina Display Optimized Graphics * Studio Quality Sounds. Realistic Vibrate Effect with tuned strings across two octets. New option to also play Semitones * Fast, Fluid Touches and Sounds. Recognizes multiple touches with both hands * Features sliding across a string for VIBRATE effect. * Slide along a string to the edges for a unique fade out effect. * Switch to play Semitones to truly play out all of your melodies! (Pro Version) * Record And Playback your own creations * Options to Loop playback of recordings and also to play them at Fast Forward Speeds Questions/suggestions/bugs? Email us at: thesoftwarekitchen@gmail.com To fun times with "Santoor HD"!!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Santoor HD at 85% against Sanshin's 25%. Santoor HD also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 16 months) and ratings volume (157 vs 3). Sanshin's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads 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
Sanshin costs $1.99 and Santoor HD $2.99 up front. Santoor HD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sanshin asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sanshin holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Santoor HD has 157 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of Sanshin's written reviews are positive against 85% of Santoor HD's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Sanshin ships an update every 16 months, Santoor HD every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sanshin | Santoor HD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.3 (157 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | 84.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 157 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CRIMSON TECHNOLOGY, Inc | Software-Kitchen |
Customer experience
Sanshin
Santoor HD
Bugs and requests
Sanshin
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Santoor HD
Reported bugs
8 issues- App crashes immediately upon opening
- Freezes on startup screen with stuck audio
- Black screen with continuous sound on launch
- Incompatible with iOS 10.2 and later versions
- Popup keyboard fails to appear when saving recordings
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- App becomes unresponsive and requires force close
- Strange noise and visual glitches during startup
- Recording feature doesn't function properly
Requested features
10 requests- iOS 11+ compatibility and regular updates
- Note labels on strings for non-harp players
- Ability to layer and edit recorded tracks
- Audio input/output functionality
- Better pitch control options
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- Improved rhythm buttons with customization
- Remove or reduce aggressive monetization
- Better note selection precision
- Export recorded songs functionality
- Semitone access without paywall
In-app purchases
Sanshin
No in-app purchases
Santoor HD
- Santoor HD - No Ads$3.99
