Matrix Music Pad vs Polywave
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Matrix Music Pad
Create your own music and performances with this intuitive sound creation tool. Its easy-to-use interface allows anyone to instantly generate unique songs and explore interactive art, regardless of musical experience. Enjoy superb sound quality and a novel creative experience.
- Create own music and performances
- Easy-to-use controls
- Superb sound quality
- Save and load presets
- Twice as big grid
- Bank switching
- Sequencer mode
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Fight japan!!! 2009.10.26 VERSION 1.2.0 with a lot of new features (such as save and load your own presets, twice as big grid and bank switching to mention a few) is in review! For a more complete list check out RxR Project on MySpace! With Matrix Music Pad anyone can have fun! This application is the first product in our Media Art series called "YUDO Music Toys". The controls are very easy and the sound quality is superb! Fully possible to make your own music or performance with! We have plans for at least five additional functions that will be implemented in free updates! If you lost your data by pressing on the Bomb or just want to reset all data to as it was when you first bought it please do the following: Go to sequencer mode, Press on the "!?"-button, tap four times on the yellow lamps and press on the blue lamp for Factory Reset. If you do this all data will be restored. BlueSynthesizer (9 Patterns) RedBass & Drums (9 Patterns) YellowEffects If you press and hold on the "!?"-symbol in the lower right corner for a little while a detailed explanation will appear. Tap on the yellow lamps in the lower right, Inside the "!?" screen 4 times to go to the easter egg screen. Shake your iPhone while you are in the main screen to switch to sequencer mode. By just plotting sounds on the grid you can make your own songs! In sequencer mode as well you can push on the "!?" button for a detailed explanation and 4 times on the yellow lamps to switch to the easter egg screen. Since it's possible to choose between different scales, it will sound nice even if you just plot sounds randomly. Matrix Music Pad MMP-I ( is a media art product produced by Sound Artist DJ nagureo (Reo Nagumo) and Game Designer Reo Yonaga's Media Production Unit "RxR Project" and is the first media art product in the "YUDO Music Toys"-series. * After a few touches anyone can enjoy it instantly! * When you try it you will understand how to use it directly. * An interactive art production. * No music knowledge or experience is necessary. * Offers a totally new experience! * And now, possible to possess! "RxR Project" plans to keep on releasing Media Art Productions under the year of 2009. The origin of the development, Reo Nagumo's company called Yudo have also made the synthesizer software "8BitOne" that got top rank (all categories) in Japan. DJ nagureo is game music composer who have been reached many achievements as an artist. Reo Yonaga is a music interactive game designer who also have been awarded for his game designs. These two people wanted to make something more then just games and decided therefore to start this unit in order to bring life to their media art product ideas. The "RxR Project" will release more Media Art products from now on. We hope you are looking forward to that!
Polywave
Create unique, evolving sonic experiences with a novel wavetable sequencer inspired by vintage synths. Draw your own waveforms, explore a vast library, and connect to external keyboards or DAWs. Record your creations directly within the app.
- Wavetable sequencer
- Custom waveform drawing
- Expansive waveform library
- 100+ factory presets
- MIDI and Audio Unit support
- Live recording module
- 8-voice polyphony
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From Fingerlab (multiple-time winner of Music App of the Week, 2012 Apple Design Award) and Jordan Rudess (keyboardist of Dream Theater), comes Polywave — a revolutionary wavetable sequencer synthesizer for iPhone, iPad & Mac. Inspired by the legendary Korg Wavestation, Polywave lets you draw your own waveforms with your finger and create unique, ever-evolving sounds that are truly yours. Draw your own waveforms directly on screen 100+ factory presets: leads, pads, loops & FX Connect any MIDI keyboard or load as AUv3 in your DAW Live recording built-in Free version includes 12 factory presets and a selection of core features. Get the Full Version IAP to unlock everything. Features: • 8-voice polyphony & 6 octaves • Wavetable & waveform sequencer • VCO & FM Oscillators • FM Modulation & Detune • ADSR Envelope editor • Moog Ladder filter with ADSR • 2 LFOs with custom modulation waveform • LFO Sync & Loop mode • Waveform drawing editor & library (100 waveforms) • Preset Randomizer & export/import • 5 FX: Tube Amp, Vibrato, Chorus, Delay & Reverb • Live recording & export • Full MIDI & MIDI Mapping support • AudioBus & Inter-App Audio (iOS) • Full AudioUnit AUv3 support • iCloud Family Sharing Questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: contact@fingerlab.net Stay tuned! The Fingerlab Team
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Polywave at 4.7 against Matrix Music Pad's 3.5. Polywave also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 72%) and device support (4 vs 2). Matrix Music Pad's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Polywave sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Matrix Music Pad asks for nothing beyond the download.
Polywave holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 64 and 34 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Matrix Music Pad's written reviews are positive against 80% of Polywave's.
Matrix Music Pad ships an update every 5 weeks, Polywave every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on August 18, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Matrix Music Pad | Polywave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (64 ratings) | 4.7 (34 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.9% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 64 — better | 34 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yudo Inc. | Fingerlab |
Customer experience
Matrix Music Pad
Polywave
Bugs and requests
Matrix Music Pad
Reported bugs
7 issues- Horrible on iPad (pixel doubler)
- Save not working correctly
- Original song lost after factory reset
- App disappeared after purchase
- No sound on OS4
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Keyboard pops up and disappears at beginning
- Multiple yellow dots problem in setting screens
Requested features
22 requests- New version with new sounds and features
- Native iPad compatibility
- Ability to get and hear other people's sets
- Sharing and downloading other users' sounds
- Add sharing feature
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- Add downloading feature
- MIDI clip import feature
- Ability to save/load tracks to share
- Add more instrument choices
- Make it easier to create beats
- Add oscilators
- Wav file output
- Data load and save
- A forth track
- Optional onscreen grid overlay
- Sample loading
- Make own ringtones
- Share track sets with other users
- More selection menu
- Add flat, sharp support
- Allow composing with different scales
- Fix transposed music composition grid
Polywave
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Matrix Music Pad
No in-app purchases
Polywave
- Full Version$7.99
