Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine vs Ensemble Composer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine
This app provides a metronome with realistic drum beats instead of a simple click. It's designed to improve timing, aid in songwriting, and facilitate live jamming and performance. Users can access a large library of pre-made beats across various genres and customize their practice sessions.
- Realistic drum beats, not a click
- 100+ pre-made beats in various genres
- Adjustable tempo without pitch change
- Personalize and favorite beats
- Improve timing with Bar Break beats
- Connect to other music apps via Inter-app Audio
- Jam via Bluetooth or AirPlay
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You found it! Drum Beats+ is the metronome app that improves your timing using great sounding drum beats, not a boring click. But that’s not all. It can also help you write songs, jam with friends, or even perform live. It's a learning, jamming and performing tool that keeps getting better, just like you. "No more annoying metronome ticks or digital click tempos!" ~ AnthonyVilla "Awesome sounding and authentically grooving drum loops…but also a great practice tool for timing." ~ Ets5017 "Sorry drummers...but I use this on live gigs." ~ RBJ555 "A proper replacement for your deadbeat drummer." ~ Rolling Stone Magazine - - - FEATURES Cheaper than a metronome, simpler than a drum machine. • SUPER SIMPLE DESIGN - spend more time playing, less time learning the app • NO WORK REQUIRED - Standard Library comes with 100+ PRE-MADE great sounding beats in a variety of genres (Add 250+ with the Pro Library) • VERSATILE 45 to 200 Tempo Range -- play all the songs you want • ADJUSTABLE - Play any beat at any speed WITHOUT CHANGING THE PITCH • FAVORITE beats have their own tab. Play and practice faster. • LOCK THE TEMPO to save time during practice (tap the padlock button on tempo screen) • PERSONALIZE - Tap edit to RENAME the beats (e.g. "My Hit Song") - - - As you advance as a player, you’ll grow into the app’s advanced features. • Improve your timing with Bar Break beats that rest for entire bars or more • Refine your ear with beats that alternate between swing and straight feels, loud and soft volumes and beats per bar • Connect to GarageBand and other music apps using Inter-app Audio • Jam loud by using BlueTooth or AirPlay to play beats through your stereo or Apple TV • Hit the randomizer button to challenge yourself with beats you might not choose - - - So many drummers, so little time. Drum Beats+ includes four style packs and four training packs—100+ beats in all—with tons more in our Pro Library. • Break Beats. 16 bumping beats of classic funk and soul breaks • Hit Songs I. 16 beats based on popular songs every musician should know • Pop Rock I. 24 beats spanning funk, straight ahead rock, shuffles and more • R&B Essentials I: 16 excellent modern and vintage-sound electronic beats • Rhythm, Timing, & Dynamics Packs. 41 practice beats that alternate grooves, volumes, beats per bar and rests • Every beat features different sounds—booming rock bass drums, snappy soul snares and more. All digitally mastered to make practicing a pleasure - - - Enjoy this powerful, yet easy-to-use tool to get the best music experience! No need to replace the app with a complicated drum machine, or even a drummer. Just add more beats with our Pro Library. Preview everything inside the app. Drum Beats+ Pro Drum Beats+ Pro Subscription allows you unlock all sounds and features. Choose from different subscription options. Our standard subscription options are: - 1 year subscription with 7-day free trial - 1 year subscription - Lifetime subscription Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to iTunes Account Settings. For more information please visit the link https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period. Unused portion of a free-trial period will be forfeited when a user decides to subscribe. Privacy Policy: https://ninebuzz.com/privacypolicy_en/ Terms of Service: https://ninebuzz.com/terms_en/
Ensemble Composer
Create custom drumline music with realistic recorded sounds. Compose street beats, stand jams, or entire musical books. Play along, practice, share, and edit your compositions.
- Compose drumline music
- Realistic recorded drum sounds
- Play along and practice
- Share and edit compositions
- Support for any time signature
- Customizable rhythms
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A whole drumline in the palm of your hand! Compose a street beat, a stand jam, or even your whole book. Play along, practice, share, and edit. With amazing real recorded drum sounds and the ability to create any rhythm over any time signature, this is the real deal. Compose and play along with the actual battery drum line sounds of the Paul Rennick 2012 Santa Clara Vanguard, as recorded by bass tech Brian Lowe - tuned the way they sounded on finals night. Best used with Headphones About Telephonic Amusements: Nicholas Wheeler, software engineer, marched Sky Ryders, Velvet Knights, and UNT - taught at Pioneer and UNT; David Croy, designer, marched Sky Ryders and tech’ed under Paul Rennick at Sky, VK, and has provided visual consulting for UNT and Dynasty Drums. Like us at https://www.facebook.com/DrumlineApps
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine at Free against Ensemble Composer's $14.99. Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine also leads on ratings volume (4.5K vs 275) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). Ensemble Composer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and chart position (#194 vs unranked). On review sentiment, update cadence, 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
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine is free to download; Ensemble Composer costs $14.99 up front. Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Ensemble Composer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine has 4.5K ratings behind it against 275, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 77% and 77% positive.
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine ships an update monthly, Ensemble Composer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine | Ensemble Composer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.5K ratings) — better | 4.6 (275 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.4% of reviews | 77.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.5K — better | 275 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #194 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 773 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ninebuzz Software LLC | N. Wheeler |
Customer experience
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine
Ensemble Composer
User reviews
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine
From 4.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fabulous drum accompaniment
- 🚀 Excellent app for practice and jamming
- 👍 Easy and helpful
- 👍 Great practice tool
- 👍 Useful app for guitarist accompaniment
Room to improve
- 💰 Paid trash
- 💰 Subscription
- 💰 Only a 3 day free trial
- 💰 Wanted to try. Paywall.
- 💰 I paid for the app
Ensemble Composer
From 275 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎵 Authentic drum sounds and audio quality (older versions)
- ✍️ Intuitive composition interface for writing cadences
- 📱 All-in-one drumline app combining multiple sections
- 💾 Export functionality to sheet music and audio formats
- 🎯 Useful for educators and students to practice rhythms
Room to improve
- 🐛 Severe audio quality degradation after recent update
- 🐛 Choppy scrolling and laggy performance
- 🐛 Audio stuttering and cutting off during playback
- 🐛 Files not saving or disappearing after updates
- 🐛 Backward compatibility issues with legacy files
Bugs and requests
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine
Reported bugs
6 issues- Mutes after three loops
- Sounds are OK, AirPlay doesn't work
- NOT a metronome app - and a big problem with tempo
- I don't have an Airturn
- Sounds are poor
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- Depletes battery in the background
Requested features
11 requests- Visual cue could be an improvement
- Tap tempo
- Ability to save customizations
- Finer tempo adjustment
- Ability to create own beats, sounds, and patterns
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- More ballroom rhythms like Tango, Foxtrot, Cha Cha
- Ability to rename favorite beats
- Ability to record and export beats
- Bluetooth pedal support for start, end, fill, next, previous
- Indicators for bar start and rate
- More reggae, waltz, and odd meter patterns
Ensemble Composer
Reported bugs
16 issues- New update prevents opening older files
- Audio stutters and cuts off in faster rhythms
- Triplet rolls don't sound even
- Bass drum subdivisions not working
- Tenor section drums moved to incorrect positions
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- Scroll feature is choppy and laggy
- Rhythmic accuracy issues
- Cymbal sounds bleed into each other
- App crashes with certain subdivisions
- Polyrhythm and odd time signature issues
- Saving functionality fails intermittently
- Split feature freezes and causes progress loss
- Files duplicate unexpectedly
- Export format incorrect (.mxl instead of .xml)
- Tempo synchronization issues
- App crashes on startup
Requested features
16 requests- Revert snare sounds to pre-update quality
- Multiple sound option choices for drums
- Hi-hat option for cymbals
- Single tenor drum section option
- Separate tempos within drum sections
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- Undo/redo functionality
- Auto-save feature
- iCloud or cloud backup support
- Different drum tuning options
- Legato and staccato buzz options
- Smoother and longer buzz roll sounds
- Sixtet tenor configuration option
- Video export/share functionality
- In-depth tutorial documentation
- Accent dynamics improvements
- Rim click sounds for tenors
In-app purchases
Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine
- Drum Beats+ Pro (1 Month)3 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Drum Beats+ Pro (1 Month)3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
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- Annual Subscription$19.991 Year
- DB+ Pro 1 Year (3-days Free)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Drum Beats+ Pro Unlimited3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Jazz 1$4.99
- Heavy Metal 1$4.99
- Blues 1$4.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Country 1$4.99
- Blues 2$4.99
Ensemble Composer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine free?
Is Ensemble Composer free?
Which has better reviews, Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine or Ensemble Composer?
Do Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine or Ensemble Composer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drum Beats+ Rhythm Machine or Ensemble Composer?
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