ThumbJam vs KB
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ThumbJam
This app provides a powerful musical performance experience with over 40 high-quality instrument sounds and hundreds of scales. It allows users of all skill levels to play in any style, offering expressive controls and loop-building capabilities.
- Over 40 high-quality multi-sampled instruments
- Hundreds of included scales for any style
- Expressive controls using tilt and shake
- Loop building and audio export
- Extensive MIDI and Audiobus support
- Powerful arpeggiator feature
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ThumbJam is a powerful musical performance experience. You get over 40 high-quality real instruments multi-sampled exclusively for this app. Hundreds of included scales allow you to effortlessly play in any style from rock to classical, whether you are a musical novice or a seasoned professional. ---====--- Jordan Rudess, the world-renowned keyboardist for Dream Theater says: "ThumbJam stands at the very top of the overcrowded music app world. The sounds included absolutely rival those found in pro instruments and making music on the app is a total joy. The only problem I have with this app is that I did not make it myself! Luckily, I'm able to work with the developer and offer a few good feature ideas as well as some choice sounds from my personal collection!" ---======---- Even if you've only played air guitar, ThumbJam lets you sound like a pro. Pick an instrument and jam -- with all the scales to choose from you'll never hit a wrong note. The high quality instrument samples will make you sound like you just skipped years of music lessons. For the performing musician, this app is awesome for soloing on an instrument you didn't bring along. Play in any key, any style -- go from a string ensemble to a wailing guitar. ThumbJam was developed and tested by musicians to feel and sound like a real instrument. You'll be surprised at how expressive it can be, make sure to check out the videos and audio at thumbjam.com. ThumbJam makes use of tilt and shake to add vibrato, tremolo, note bends, and volume swells for more realistic and expressive results. It supports up to five (eleven on iPad) simultaneous touches and up to 32 voice polyphony, for each of up to 8 loaded instruments! Delay and stereo reverb add depth to the sound, and a resonant lowpass filter gives you more tone shaping power. Put on your headphones or plug in to your home stereo to experience some of the highest quality instruments in the App Store, even after all these years! Build your own loops from the ground up or import your favorites and jam from there. Layer as many loops as you want, with different instruments for each. Export your loops as audio files via WiFi. Copy and paste audio from other apps using AudioCopy/Paste as well the general pasteboard, via email, AudioShare, iTunes Document Sharing, Files, or open directly in another application. Supports Audiobus and InterApp Audio for streaming sound to/from other apps in real-time, including state save/restore with Audiobus 3. Extensive MIDI input and output support over WiFi or Bluetooth, with any CoreMidi compatible device, or other apps on the same iOS device with virtual MIDI. Now also supports Ableton Link for tight sync between apps on the same network. Supports MPE input and output (and did so before it was even a thing)! New powerful arpeggiator feature lets you play patterns with perfect time sync, from the screen or via MIDI control. The app includes a huge variety of scales, from western to eastern. Save your favorites for quick access, or create your own in-app. You can even import new scales in the Scala format for complete flexibility. You can also record your own multi-sampled instruments using a built-in or attached microphone, or from file import. Included instruments: + Cello, Violin, Viola + Upright Bass (plucked and bowed) + Several drumkits + Darabukka + Djembe + Electric Guitar + Electric Bass + Trumpet + Trombone + Tenor Sax + Flute + Low Whistle + Acoustic Guitar + Hammered Dulcimer + Mandolin + Cittern + Grand Piano + Drawbar Organ (2 types) + Rhodes + Pipe Organ + Synth Strings + Synth Choir + Theremin + Sawtooth Waveform + Sine Waveform + Triangle Waveform And from Jordan Rudess: + JR Zendrix + JR Smooth Steel Many more for immediate FREE download in the app including several drumkits, Mellotron, basses, banjo, tabla, ukelele, guitars and more! Go to the Sound menu under Download Samples....
KB
This app offers a suite of expressive virtual keyboards and controllers for creating music. It supports playing multiple instruments simultaneously with advanced features like MIDI Polyphonic Expression, scales, and chords. Explore various layouts and expression controls for a versatile musical experience.
- 8 distinct Keyboard Layouts
- MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE)
- Scales and Chords
- Powerful Arpeggiator
- Standalone and AUv3 MIDI Plugin
- Multiple Octaves and Rows per Keyboard
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KB-1 MIDI Keyboard KB-1 is a suite of expressive virtual keyboards and controllers designed for a multitude of scenarios. Play multiple instruments simultaneously, complete with MIDI Polyphonic Expression, scales, chords, strumming and more. Overview: - 8 distinct Keyboard Layouts - Multiple Rows per Keyboard - Multiple Octaves per Keyboard Row - 15+ Scales (for layouts that support scales) - MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) - Powerful Arpeggiator - Standalone operation with multiple Keyboards and dedicated MIDI outputs per Keyboard - AUv3 MIDI Plugin Layouts: - Classic (Piano Keys + Wheels) - Uniform (Seboard-style Keys and Layout) - String (String-style Keys) - Scale (Uniform layout with scale support) - Chord (One key per chord for all scale degrees) - Drum (up to 16 user mappable drum pads) - XY (up to 2 configurable XY-Pads) - CC (up to 16 user mappable knobs for CC control) Expression: - Glide (horizontal) - Slide (vertical) - Velocity (mapped to y-axis) - Pressure (iPhone only) App Connectivity: - Standalone - AUv3 MIDI Instrument MIDI Connectivity: - Inter-App MIDI - USB MIDI - BLE MIDI - Network MIDI
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ThumbJam at $6.99 against KB's $14.99. ThumbJam also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.0). KB's advantage is chart position (#196 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
ThumbJam costs $6.99 and KB $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for ThumbJam against 4.8 for KB. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 220 and 270 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of ThumbJam's written reviews are positive against 78% of KB's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ThumbJam | KB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (220 ratings) | 4.8 (270 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.6% of reviews — better | 78.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 220 | 270 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #196 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 215 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sonosaurus LLC | Kai Aras |
Customer experience
ThumbJam
KB
Bugs and requests
ThumbJam
Reported bugs
3 issues- Instrument muting when switching apps or opening help
- Inconsistent behavior and freezing after recent updates
- Inability to load/save recorded sets or mixes
Requested features
6 requests- Add chord mode for easier chord playing
- Improve loop recording and syncing capabilities
- Implement quantization options for tighter timing
- Expand instrument library with more diverse sounds
- Add support for Audio Unit (AUv3) to integrate with DAWs
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- Improve interface for adjusting octave/span across multiple instruments
KB
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ThumbJam
No in-app purchases
KB
No in-app purchases









