forScore vs Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
forScore
This app digitizes sheet music, offering organization, annotation, and playback tools for musicians. It allows for easy import, library management, and hands-free navigation, enhancing the performance experience.
- PDF sheet music reading
- Cloud sync and import
- Library organization and search
- Annotation tools
- Hands-free page turning
- Integrated metronome and tuner
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Go paperless. Get organized. Download and play something new in seconds. With forScore for iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS, your scores have never been better—it’s everything you can do with paper and so much more. As seen in Apple keynote addresses and retail stores worldwide! On your music stand or on the go, it's the complete PDF sheet music reading experience that has wowed musicians all over the world for years: CONNECT • Copy PDFs from other apps like Safari and Mail and sync them to all of your devices with iCloud • Import scores from popular cloud storage services and content providers like Musicnotes.com • Share scores and setlists with colleagues, whether or not they use forScore ORGANIZE • Add metadata to your scores for a perfectly browsable, instantly searchable library • Create smart bookmarks to manage longer files containing multiple parts or pieces • Group scores manually with Setlists to play through them from start to finish PLAY • View full pages in portrait orientation and crop them to better fit your device's screen • Turn your device sideways for bigger scrolling pages or view two pages side by side instead • Use Reflow on smaller screens to lay out systems of music end-to-end like a horizontal teleprompter REFINE • Annotate by drawing, typing text, or placing common symbols onto the page • Separate your annotations into layers and show or hide them at any time • Open scores and setlists in multiple windows or tabs to multitask with ease SIMPLIFY • Create links and buttons to handle repeats or perform common actions with a single tap • Rearrange and duplicate pages of a score to play without jumping back and forth • Connect your Bluetooth page turner for hands-free navigation EXTEND • Access integrated utilities like our metronome, pitch pipe, tuner, and piano keyboard • Link tracks to scores to loop regions, adjust pitch, and even use them to record and play back your page turns • Connect wirelessly to nearby devices and coordinate your page turns and program changes effortlessly There's much more than those highlights, though, so be sure to visit forscore.co to learn all about forScore's incredible features and find out why so many musicians agree that forScore is simply the best! Note: forScore also offers an optional, annual auto-renewing subscription called forScore Pro that unlocks additional features and content (visit forScore.co/pro for complete details). forScore Pro is a 1-year subscription that renews automatically until canceled. Should you choose to subscribe, payment will be charged to your iTunes Account upon confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will then automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions in your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. Complete terms of service are available on our website at: forScore.co/terms-of-serviceGo paperless.
Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer
This app simulates the sound and playing experience of a Dusty Strings hammered dulcimer on your iPhone or iPad. Play on-screen or control it via MIDI with a keyboard or other apps, offering a full chromatic range.
- Authentic hammered dulcimer sound
- On-screen playing interface
- MIDI input support
- Full chromatic range (G2-E6)
- Adjustable hammer types (hard/soft)
- Drag roll effect with sensitivity settings
- Note name display toggle
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Experience playing the full, lush tones of a Dusty Strings hammered dulcimer right on your iPhone or iPad. Play on-screen or via MIDI from other apps or a MIDI keyboard. The app provides the treble and bass bridges of the flagship D550 model for playing on screen and the full 3.75 octave chromatic range of the real instrument from G2 to E6 when played via MIDI. The app has a 16/15 configuration with 16 string courses on the treble bridge and 15 courses on the bass bridge. The D550 is one of the popular Chromatic Series models made by Dusty Strings, builders of hammered dulcimers in Seattle, WA since 1979. To play, just touch the strings next to the black and white bridge markers. The Treble bridge (in the middle) has playable notes on either side, which are a fifth interval apart. The Bass bridge (on the right) can be played to the left of the markers. Toggle between a bright, clear ringing tone using hard hammers and a gentler, more piano tone using soft hammers by touching the image of the hammer in the upper left corner. To get repeated note "drag roll" effects, drag quickly horizontally across the strings. The drag roll sensitivity can be set on the settings screen. The higher the sensitivity, the shorter distance you need to move your finger to get the effect. Touch the "ABC" button to toggle the note name display on/off. Touch the mixer icon to show the controls screen where you can adjust the balance and pan for the bass and treble bridges, enable or disable the drag rolls, as well as set the sensitivity for how far you need to drag to get the roll effect. On the iPad version, the "Hammer Touches" setting chooses between no visible touches, visible touches, and visible touches + note label highlighting. On the controls screen for the iPad version, you may use the "Soft Hammer Filter" control to choose between equalization of the soft hammer sounds for best sound through the iPad speaker or through headphones. The "iPad" setting optimizes the soft hammer equalization for playback through the iPad speaker. The "Headphones" setting optimizes the soft hammer sound equalization for headphones or for use when connected to an amplifier through the headphone jack. The "Headphones" setting allows the full fidelity of the lowest sound to pass through for best quality. iPhone devices default to the "Headphones" setting. From the controls screen you can also visit the Dusty Strings website to learn more about their amazing hand-crafted instruments. Touch the "Shhh" icon to quiet all the strings. Instructions for use as a CoreMIDI Sound Module: The app may be used as a MIDI sound module for use with CoreMIDI-enabled MIDI file player apps or controlled from an external MIDI keyboard using a hardware MIDI interface. When played via MIDI the app has the full 3.75 octave chromatic range of the real D550 from G2 to E6. Select the MIDI channel on the controls page. When used via MIDI, the app responds to MIDI note-on (with velocity), note-off, and volume change messages on the selected MIDI channel. The right treble bridge volume and panning is used for all MIDI sounds and will respond to MIDI volume messages. To use with a MIDI file player app, such as “Sweet MIDI Player”, first launch the Dusty Strings 16/15” app, then your MIDI file player app. In MIDI file player settings you will find this app listed as “Dusty Strings 16/15” in their list of available CoreMIDI sound modules. On the controls screen, be sure to set the MIDI channel of this app to match the output MIDI channel of the MIDI player track you wish to play. iPad users - For the full D550 instrument playable on-screen, including the "SuperBass" bridge, please check out my standard "Dusty Strings" iPad app on the iPad App Store.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer at $4.99 against forScore's $24.99. Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 18.0). forScore's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (43K vs 7). 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
forScore costs $24.99 and Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer $4.99 up front. forScore sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer asks for nothing beyond the download.
forScore holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: forScore has 43K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of forScore's written reviews are positive against 40% of Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer's.
| Parameter | forScore | Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (43K ratings) — better | 4.1 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 49.8% of reviews — better | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 43K — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #12 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 168 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | forScore LLC | Michael Eskin |
Customer experience
forScore
Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer
Bugs and requests
forScore
Reported bugs
4 issues- Disappearing annotations
- Unreliable page turning
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Unresponsive touch controls
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to cut and paste sections of scores
- More flexible page turning controls
- Customizable metronome
- Improved backup and restore functionality
- Easier sharing of annotated scores
Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
forScore
- forScore Pro$14.991 Year
- Brahms: The Mutopia CollectionFree
- Haydn: The Mutopia CollectionFree
- Händel: The Mutopia CollectionFree
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- Liszt: The Mutopia CollectionFree
- Satie: The Mutopia CollectionFree
- Schumann: The Mutopia CollectionFree
- Tchaikovsky: The Mutopia CollectionFree
- Beethoven: The Mutopia Collection$0.99
- forScore Pro 30-Day Pass$2.99
Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is forScore free?
Is Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer free?
Which has better reviews, forScore or Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer?
Do forScore or Dusty Strings 16/15 Dulcimer have ads?
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