# SampleTank vs Heavy Brass

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Heavy Brass at 81% against SampleTank's 30%. Heavy Brass also leads on price ($9.99 vs $24.99) and rating (4.2 vs 2.7). SampleTank's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

SampleTank costs $24.99 and Heavy Brass $9.99 up front. SampleTank sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Heavy Brass asks for nothing beyond the download.

Heavy Brass holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 107 and 37 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of SampleTank's written reviews are positive against 81% of Heavy Brass's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SampleTank | Heavy Brass |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $24.99 | **$9.99** |
| Rating | [2.7 (107 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sampletank/id464783893/reviews) | **[4.2 (37 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavy-brass/id1037802910/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **107** | 37 |
| Positive reviews | 29.8% of reviews | **81.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 1.5 GB | 353 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [IK Multimedia US, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/323694278) | [Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte](https://appshunter.io/developer/428367741) |

## What reviewers say

### SampleTank

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sampletank/id464783893)

This professional mobile workstation offers a vast collection of world-class instruments, sounds, and patterns for live performance and composition. Layer or split instruments across 8 multitimbral slots, with an expandable library and a powerful new sound engine.

**Highlights:** 8-part multitimbral sound module, Expandable sound library with 2300+ instruments, Over 1,200 melodic and rhythmic patterns, 8-track MIDI recorder with audio export, Intuitive interface, New sound engine, Zones feature for splits & layers

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Organ | $4.99 | one-time |
| Strings | $4.99 | one-time |
| Brass | $4.99 | one-time |
| Synth Pads | $4.99 | one-time |
| Synth Leads | $4.99 | one-time |
| Electric Piano | $7.99 | one-time |
| The Grid | $14.99 | one-time |
| Miroslav Philharmonik - Mobile Edition | $24.99 | one-time |
| Sample Moog - Mobile Edition | $24.99 | one-time |
| Sonik Synth - Mobile Edition | $24.99 | one-time |
| All Sounds | $64.99 | one-time |
| SampleTank PRO - All Sounds Pack | $64.99 | one-time |
| Miroslav Philarmonik 2 - All Sounds Pack | $64.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great sounding app
- 👍 Lots of instrument options
- 🚀 Useful for live performance
- 👍 Decent sound quality
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with iOS updates
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔒 Lack of user manual access
- 🔒 Aggressive advertising for other products

**Reported bugs**

- Freezes when adjusting parameters
- Crashes on launch for some users
- Incompatible with certain iOS versions
- Issues with downloading and restoring in-app purchases

**Requested features**

- Add support for Audio Unit (AUv3)
- Improve MIDI integration and control
- Implement a more robust sequencer
- Allow user-defined pitch bend range
- Add ability to back up and restore custom presets


### Heavy Brass

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavy-brass/id1037802910)

This virtual instrument app provides realistic trumpet, trombone, and saxophone sounds for music production and live performance. It offers a wide variety of articulations and sound categories, supporting integration with other music apps and external MIDI controllers.

**Highlights:** Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone sounds, Multiple brass section samples, Switchable and crossfadeable articulations, Audio Unit v3, Inter-App Audio, Audiobus support, External MIDI keyboard and controller support, Integrated effects with presets, MIDI player and recorder

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SampleTank free?

SampleTank costs $24.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Heavy Brass free?

Heavy Brass costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SampleTank or Heavy Brass?

Heavy Brass is rated higher. SampleTank averages 2.7 out of 5 from 107 ratings, while Heavy Brass averages 4.2 from 37 ratings.

### Do SampleTank or Heavy Brass have ads?

Neither SampleTank nor Heavy Brass shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SampleTank or Heavy Brass?

SampleTank ships an update every 2 months, and Heavy Brass every 2 months. Most recently, SampleTank was updated on September 26, 2026 and Heavy Brass on June 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*