Comparison

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface vs Lorentz

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface

This app acts as a MIDI control surface for iPad, simulating Irish/Scottish bagpipe fingerings. It allows you to play external MIDI synthesizers or other MIDI apps, offering distinct fingering modes for Uilleann and Highland pipes. It does not produce sound on its own.

Highlights
  • Irish/Scottish bagpipe fingering simulation
  • MIDI control surface for external synths
  • Uilleann and Highland fingering modes
  • Independent MIDI channels for chanter and drones
  • Optional finger vibrato
  • Adjustable drone transposition
Read full description

This app is a Irish/Scottish Bagpipes fingering based MIDI control surface for the iPad that can be used to play your hardware MIDI synthesizer/sampler modules or other MIDI apps. The chanter fingerings are based on either those used for the Irish Uilleann or Scottish Highland bagpipes. The app doesn't produce any sound on its own, it is designed for playing hardware and software VST-style MIDI synthesizers via a CoreMIDI compatible interface connected to the dock connector or virtual MIDI instruments like Roland Sound Canvas for iOS, Universal Piper, or Sonosaurus ThumbJam running on your iPad. The app supports sending data on two independent MIDI channels, one for the chanter and the other for the drones. IMPORTANT: Since this app requires as many as 9 fingers on the screen at the same time, before playing, disable "Multitasking Gestures" on your iPad (in the iPad Settings app, under the General section, turn the Multitasking Gestures switch to the off position). Choose between Uilleann and Highland chanter fingerings using the selector below the drone puck. Touch the '?' on the upper left corner for the on-screen help labels. For Uilleann fingerings, you can choose whether the back-D note plays when the Back-D switch is touched (Open mode) or released (Closed mode). Closed mode matches the real Uilleann chanter. Touch the drone puck to start/stop the drones. For the Highland pipes, you'll want to set the drone transposition two semitones higher than the chanter Using Uilleann Chanter Fingering To play the chanter, touch the three holes of the left side of the chanter starting with the tips of your left index, middle, and ring fingers. Next, touch the four holes on the right side of the chanter with the tips of your right index, middle, ring, and little fingers. Touch the green "Octave" bar on the left side with your left little finger to play the notes one octave higher. Optional finger vibrato may be done by touching holes below the main closed holes used for a note. Using Highland Chanter Fingering Touch the bar at the bottom of the screen with your left thumb. It represents the hole on the back of the chanter for the highest note and must be covered for other lower notes to play. The app uses chanter fingerings based on those for the Highland pipes. Next, touch the left half of the chanter starting with the tips of your left index, middle, and ring fingers. Finally, touch the right half of the chanter with the tips of your right index, middle, ring, and little fingers. Touch the blue "Back-D" bar at the bottom left center with your left thumb to play the second octave "Back-D" selectable on either a press or release. (Uilleann chanter mode only) Touch the red "Stop" bar at the bottom right center with your right thumb to stop the chanter sound for staccato techniques. (Uilleann chanter mode only) Touch the purple "Bend" bar on the lower right with your right little finger to bend the pitch or play finger vibrato. (Uilleann chanter mode only) You may select the MIDI channel, attack velocity and volume for the chanter and drones independently using the sliders at the top of the screen. The entire range may be transposed up or down up to one octaves (zero transpose is "C") in semitone increments using the chanter and drone transpose sliders. Use the "Transmit MIDI Port" switch to choose between "Omni" sending MIDI data to all CoreMIDI apps or "Virtual Port" sending to a named CoreMIDI virtual output port. When the "Virtual Port option is selected, MIDIPIpes will show up as an input option in apps that support virtual ports like Universal Piper, and Sonosaurus ThumbJam. "Omni" mode is selected by default. All MIDI settings are saved when the app quits and restored the next time it is run. Touch the 'Shhh' icon at the lower left to quiet any "stuck" notes if they occur. Be sure to visit the AppCordions.com website for MIDI setup information and demo videos!

About

Lorentz

This app offers an analog-style synthesizer with a unique resonator for experimental sound design. Explore a wide range of sonic possibilities with familiar analog tones and innovative resonator effects.

Highlights
  • AUv3 compatibility
  • Analog-style synthesis
  • Integrated resonator
  • Experimental sound creation
  • Wide sound design possibilities
Features
Read full description

Lorentz is an AUv3-compatible synthesizer that combines analog-style synthesis with a resonator. The resonator enables experimental sound creation using familiar analog-style tones, allowing you to explore a wide range of sound design possibilities. For more detailed information about the product, please visit the website. The website offers detailed product descriptions, manuals and videos, as well as important notices. https://icegear.net/

Screenshots

Lorentz4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lorentz at 90% against MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface's 0%. Lorentz also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (24 vs 2). MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $8.00). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface costs $4.99 and Lorentz $8.00 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lorentz holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lorentz has 24 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface's written reviews are positive against 90% of Lorentz's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface ships an update every 3 weeks, Lorentz monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface versus Lorentz: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDI Bagpipes Control SurfaceLorentz
Price$4.99 — better$8.00
Rating2.0 (2 ratings)4.8 (24 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews90.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings224 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael EskiniceWorks, Inc.

Customer experience

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative75.0%

Lorentz

All ratings24 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive90.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative3.2%

In-app purchases

None

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface

No in-app purchases

None

Lorentz

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface free?
MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lorentz free?
Lorentz costs $8.00, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface or Lorentz?
Lorentz is rated higher. MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface averages 2.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Lorentz averages 4.8 from 24 ratings.
Do MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface or Lorentz have ads?
Neither MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface nor Lorentz shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface or Lorentz?
MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lorentz monthly. Most recently, MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface was updated on November 6, 2026 and Lorentz on November 1, 2026.

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