Comparison

iBugler vs Bent Spool

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

Head to head
About

iBugler

Experience the rich tradition of bugle calls with high-quality recordings. This app provides essential signals for various occasions, from waking up to signaling the end of the day. It's a convenient way to access these historical sounds when a live bugler isn't available.

Highlights
  • High-quality bugle recordings
  • Variety of bugle calls
  • Signals for daily events
  • Convenient digital alternative
  • Performed by professional musician
Features
Read full description

The bugle has been used for centuries to signal the day's events. Now you can add bugle signals to your own day, from Reveille to Taps. iBugler plays high-quality recordings performed by Walter White, a Yamaha Performing Artist who serves as lead trumpeter for Dave Matthew’s Manhattan Jazz Orchestra. (You can hear Walter play "Charge" at our web site.) Calls include Reveille, Taps, Charge, Mail Call, Retreat, Tattoo and more. Open a meeting with Assembly. Call your family to dinner with Mess Call. When you don't have a live bugler on hand, it's iBugler to the rescue.

About

Bent Spool

This music app offers creative audio effects for live performance or use within other music apps. Explore rhythmic tremolo, pitched repeats, and looping fragments of your audio. It includes built-in overdrive and tape effects for unique sound shaping.

Highlights
  • Rhythmic tremolo effects
  • Pitched repeat sequences
  • Overlapping audio loops
  • Built-in overdrive and fuzz
  • Vintage tape effects
  • Standalone and AUv3 host support
Features
Read full description

Bent Spool is a creative effect that can transform simple musical parts into unexpected rhythms and melodies, played live or as an effect in your favorite host app. Shape a tremolo pulse, turn a note into a run of pitched repeats, or build a moving layer from fragments of what you just played. Drive the input with built-in overdrive or fuzz, add a core effect, then finally layer in vintage analog tape effects. THREE MODES TREM: a pulsing volume effect, from a rounded sine through triangle and sawtooth to a hard square gate. Syncs to your host's tempo or runs free. REPEAT: up to 64 pitched copies with their own decay and feedback, across five pitch stations from two octaves down to two octaves up. LOOPS: up to six overlapping fragments of your recent audio, spread across pitch, direction, read position and the stereo field. CHARACTER CHAOS adds movement that suits each mode: octave jumps in REPEAT, held or stalled pulses in TREM, wandering reversals and pitch drift in LOOPS. WEAR adds tape wear, magnetic saturation and digital crush after the active mode. At the input, OD is a softer clip; FUZZ is a harder distortion that sputters as it decays. PRESETS 48 factory presets: 10 TREM, 15 REPEAT, 15 LOOPS and an 8-preset Fuzz Tremolo pack. Unlock to save your own. FREE TO TRY TREM plays in full on the OD voice with ten presets. No time limit, no interruptions. A single $9.99 in-app purchase unlocks REPEAT, LOOPS, FUZZ, the rest of the presets and preset saving. No subscription. Runs as a standalone app or as an AUv3 effect in AUM, Loopy Pro and other AUv3 hosts, on iPhone and iPad.

Screenshots

iBugler3 screens
Bent Spool4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bent Spool at Free against iBugler's $0.99. Bent Spool also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.9) and update cadence (daily vs every 35 months). iBugler's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Bent Spool is free to download; iBugler costs $0.99 up front. Bent Spool sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iBugler asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bent Spool holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iBugler ships an update every 35 months, Bent Spool daily. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
iBugler versus Bent Spool: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriBuglerBent Spool
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating2.9 (14 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings14 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 35 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAbstract ToolsPlastic Factory LLC

Customer experience

iBugler

All ratings14 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative54.5%

Bent Spool

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

iBugler

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Bent Spool

One-time1
  • Bent Spool Unlock$9.99

Questions

Is iBugler free?
iBugler costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bent Spool free?
Bent Spool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iBugler or Bent Spool?
Bent Spool is rated higher. iBugler averages 2.9 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Bent Spool averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do iBugler or Bent Spool have ads?
Neither iBugler nor Bent Spool shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iBugler or Bent Spool?
iBugler ships an update every 35 months, and Bent Spool daily. Most recently, iBugler was updated on October 13, 2026 and Bent Spool on October 15, 2026.

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