Comparison

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface vs VAPolyQuad

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

VAPolyQuad

Create rich, analog-style music with this powerful polyphonic synthesizer. Explore a vast array of sound-shaping tools, including multiple oscillators, filters, and effects. Program intricate melodies and rhythms with the built-in sequencer, and seamlessly share projects across your Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog polyphonic synthesizer
  • Up to 8 voice polyphony
  • Four oscillators per voice
  • Multiple resonant filters
  • Built-in effects suite
  • 16-bar sequencer with piano roll
  • Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) support
Features
Read full description

VAPolyQuad is a virtual analog polyphonic synthesizer for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It features 8 voice synthesizer, effects, sequencer and audio visualization tools. It operates as a stand alone or as an AudioUnit Extension (AUv3). Stand Alone supports Ableton Link, MIDI and audio file export. Single voice of the synthesizer features four oscillators, two mixers, two resonant high pass filters, two resonant low pass filters, two amplifiers, four ADSR envelopes and four LFOs. The oscillators features continuously variable wave shape and wide variety of modulation. The filters are modeled on the Sallen-Key filter circuit and cascaded OTA filter circuit for classic analog sound. The Effects include delay, chorus, flanger, reverb, eq and compressor. The sequencer features piano roll and parameter automation editor to program 16 bar pattern per clip. Project files can be saved in iCloud Drive, so that the project can be accessed from iPhone, iPad or Mac. - Main Features - Virtual analog polyphonic synthesizer. Maximum 8 voice polyphony. it depends on performance of the device it is running. Four oscillators per voice. Flexible audio signal and control signal routing. Keyboard Control Routing Two type of Lowpass filter, cascaded OTA model and Sallen-key model. Support MIDI 2.0 New User Interface built by SwiftUI for improved performance. Built-in Sequencer. 16 bar patterns per clip. Total 8 clips. Piano Roll and Parameter automation. Support Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Support iCloud Drive to share project files between the platforms. Audio Export. Linear PCM format (AIFF, WAV and CAF) and compressed format (AAC) Support Ableton Link, Bluetooth MIDI, MIDI In / Out. 370 Factory Presets - System Requirements - A13 Fusion or above is recommended. AudioUnit Extension (AUv3) requires host application which support AudioUnit Extension. AudioUnit Extension is supported by Apple Logic and Apple Garage Band on iOS and macOS. For any other DAW, it depends on the application and some of them don’t support AudioUnit Extension. Sound may be distorted if CPU of the device doesn't have enough power. If it happens reduce number of voices.

Screenshots

VAPolyQuad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface at $4.99 against VAPolyQuad's $14.99. MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 22 months). VAPolyQuad's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 2.0) and device support (3 vs 1). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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 VAPolyQuad $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VAPolyQuad holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 0% and 0% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface ships an update every 3 weeks, VAPolyQuad every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface versus VAPolyQuad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDI Bagpipes Control SurfaceVAPolyQuad
Price$4.99 — better$14.99
Rating2.0 (2 ratings)4.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings25 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 22 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.616.6
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael EskinRyo Togawa

Customer experience

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface

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

VAPolyQuad

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface

No in-app purchases

None

VAPolyQuad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface free?
MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is VAPolyQuad free?
VAPolyQuad costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface or VAPolyQuad?
VAPolyQuad is rated higher. MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface averages 2.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while VAPolyQuad averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface or VAPolyQuad have ads?
Neither MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface nor VAPolyQuad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface or VAPolyQuad?
MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface ships an update every 3 weeks, and VAPolyQuad every 22 months. Most recently, MIDI Bagpipes Control Surface was updated on October 12, 2026 and VAPolyQuad on September 25, 2026.

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