Talking Tuner vs Ableton Note
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Talking Tuner
This chromatic tuner is sound-activated and speaks to inform you if your instrument is in tune. It's designed for hands-free operation, making it easy to use without looking at the screen. Ideal for musicians who need auditory feedback while tuning.
- Sound-activated tuning
- Auditory feedback (speaks note and pitch)
- Hands-free operation
- Chromatic tuning
- Adjustable tuning resolution
- Works with or without VoiceOver
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HotPaw Talking Tuner is a hands-off, sound-activated, talking, chromatic, musical instrument tuner. It talks to tell you if your instrument is in tune or not; so you don't even have to look at it or touch the display. Talking Tuner uses speech synthesis, and works with or without VoiceOver being enabled. This app was created because I received a request to develop an iPhone app which could help a vision-challenged individual tune their musical instrument. This app is the result. With the Auto-Speak switch turned on, Talking Tuner will listen for a note to be played, and then, after waiting for the end of the sound (so as not to talk over it), will speak the note name, and how many cents sharp or flat the end of the note is estimated to be. Using headphones may help make it easier to hear what this app is saying while tuning. Make sure to turn the volume up high enough to hear it. The pitch estimation algorithm works best for notes between 2 octaves below Middle-C to 2 octaves above Middle-C. It may not work as well for very low notes, very high notes, or with any background noise, harmony, or accompaniment present. The default tuning resolution is about +- 3 cents (3/100ths of the pitch difference between semitones). Optional higher resolution tuning settings may result in a slower tuning response.
Ableton Note
Create musical ideas with curated sounds and effects. Build beats, melodies, and sample your surroundings. Seamlessly transfer your projects to Ableton Live for further development.
- Create beats and melodies
- Sample sounds with phone microphone
- MIDI Editor for sequencing
- Transfer projects to Ableton Live
- 76 Drum Sampler kits
- 317 synth sounds
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Start new musical ideas with a curated selection of sounds and effects. Create beats and melodic parts, sample your world, and continue your tracks in Ableton Live. Note is a place to form ideas, explore new sounds and find direction. Get your ideas out or just experiment until inspiration hits, using a selection of Ableton Live’s drum kits, synths and melodic instruments. Create your own sound palette by sampling with your phone’s built-in microphone. And use Note’s built-in MIDI Editor to sequence notes, beats and chords or make tweaks as you listen back Follow your ideas wherever they lead by sending your projects to Live without leaving the app with the help of Ableton Cloud. Open projects from Live’s browser and keep working – you can edit all your MIDI notes, and all your samples and sounds from Note are exactly the same. Ableton Note users get a free license for Ableton Live Lite – simple, intuitive software used by musicians, producers and DJs around the world to write, record, and perform. For Ableton Move users, Note also offers the chance to keep working on a Set from your phone. Begin with a beat: • Choose from 76 Drum Sampler kits • Tap out a beat using the 16-pad grid, or sequence one with the MIDI Editor • Play each drum hit melodically using 16 Pitches mode • Quantize your beat or nudge notes to fix loose timing or mistakes • Add more layers of rhythm • Create beat repetitions with Note Repeat • Change parameters to shape your sound • Experiment with effects or apply swing for variations Start with a melody: • Choose from 317 synth sounds and 60 Melodic Sampler instruments • Play or program your melody or chord progression with the 25-pad grid, piano roll or MIDI Editor • Set a key and scale to get instantly harmonic results • Add more layers of harmony • Change parameters to shape your sound • Add effects to experiment with sound design Sample your environment: • Create your own kits by recording percussive sounds into Note’s Drum Sampler • Record tonal sounds to create your own Melodic Sampler instruments • Manipulate your samples by cutting, filtering or repitching them • Sequence samples into beats, melodies and chords using the MIDI Editor • Shape or transform your sounds with effects • Import your own samples or audio directly from videos Work with Audio • Add audio clips from the library • Warp tempo or adjust pitch of your clips • Record audio directly using your phone’s built-in microphone • Connect an audio interface to record external sources • Combine recorded and imported audio with your beats and melodies Capture improvisations: • Play something, then tap the Capture button to keep it • Play at a tempo that feels comfortable and Note will detect it • Note will recognize the length of the phrase and create a loop • Quantize it, add to it, or change the sound • Connect MIDI hardware to play keys and change the sound of your instruments Create variations: • Note features a grid-based Session View layout • Double your loops to create variation within clips • Duplicate your clips and create different versions of your ideas • Add, delete or adjust multiple notes at once with the MIDI Editor • Create eight tracks with up to eight clips on eight scenes • Try different clip combinations and song structures • Export your work as an audio file to listen and share
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ableton Note at 4.2 against Talking Tuner's 3.5. Ableton Note also leads on ratings volume (695 vs 15) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). Talking Tuner's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and price ($0.99 vs $6.99). On review sentiment, 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
Talking Tuner costs $0.99 and Ableton Note $6.99 up front. Ableton Note sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Talking Tuner asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ableton Note holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ableton Note has 695 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of Talking Tuner's written reviews are positive against 72% of Ableton Note's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Talking Tuner ships an update every 4 months, Ableton Note every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Talking Tuner | Ableton Note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 3.5 (15 ratings) | 4.2 (695 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.5% of reviews — better | 72.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15 | 695 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #6 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.4 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 1010 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HotPaw Productions | Ableton AG |
Customer experience
Talking Tuner
Ableton Note
Bugs and requests
Talking Tuner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Ableton Note
Reported bugs
2 issues- Occasional loss of unsaved work
- Freezing issues when editing clips
Requested features
6 requests- Audio track support
- Expanded note editing tools
- Midi controller support
- More effects and synth options
- Time signature flexibility
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- Ability to import samples from Ableton Live
In-app purchases
Talking Tuner
No in-app purchases
Ableton Note
- Drift In-App Purchase$3.99









