Comparison

Pixound vs Tachyon

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

Head to head
About

Pixound

Transform any image into a musical instrument and create unique songs. Explore a deep musical experience with extensive controls, over 127 instruments, and various scales. It's a fun and educational tool for all ages, allowing you to play live video and record your performances.

Highlights
  • Turn any picture into music
  • Play live video as an instrument
  • Record performances with touch playback
  • Over 65 scales and modes
  • 127+ instruments for four voices
  • Save and share creations
  • MIDI export
Features
Read full description

"Pixound Turns Photos into Musical Instruments, and It’s Better Than You Think" — Gizmodo "Pixound is a trippy music app for iOS that allows users to turn any snap into a song." — MTV Hive Enjoyed by top musical artists including: Herbie Hancock, David Byrne (Talking Heads), Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO), Michael Shrieve (Santana) and many more. Have you ever jammed on Saturn's Rings with a whammy bar? Have you ever played the rainbow? What about you're dog's nose? What does it sound like? How about creating your own music just by dancing? With Pixound you can do all this and much more! Pixound is a revolutionary form of musical entertainment! Pixound provides a deep musical experience that lets YOU instantly create music using any picture. It's pure fun to play (at any age) and deep because it can be used to play music like you've never heard before. It's so much fun that artist Peter Max bought an iPhone just to have Pixound! Since there is no limit to what pictures you can play from art and graphics to photos and they can be combined with thousands of different musical settings, there is no limit to the music you can create and enjoy. You owe it to yourself to try Pixound!!! By the way, you will learn a lot about music just playing with Pixound so it's also an educational tool, sometimes referred to as a Deep Toy. Features: • Play any picture from snaps to outer space to art masterpieces • Play Live Video (in-app purchase) so that reality becomes a musical instrument • Record audio or use effects processors via Audiobus 2.1 or Inter-app Audio • Record performances including where you touched in the photo that plays back for others to see. • Play in any key or scale (over 65 scales/modes) • Add Bass and Drums from lots of choices • Tons of musical controls to create a huge variety of great music • Select from many different autoplay styles including device tilt • Add harmony voices • Add Song Progressions from basic to classical and more • Select from over 127 instruments for four voices R, B, G and bass • Import samples using AudioShare™ • Save your own settings to Banks and share with others via community or email • Built-in Reverb • Save MIDI files and go direct out to MIDI synthesizers (in-app purchase) • Access and share your creations with the Pixound Community

About

Tachyon

This app allows users to blend any two sounds together to create unique musical expressions. Its intuitive interface lets you control pitch and tone independently, offering a mesmerizing visual experience as you play.

Highlights
  • Blend any two sounds
  • Independent pitch and tone control
  • Intuitive touch interface
  • Mesmerizing visual feedback
  • Custom sound library
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Do you want to play an electric guitar and a piano at the same time? What about choosing the electrifying buzz of a drill and blending it into the soothing tone of a human voice? Jordan Rudess and Kevin Chartier’s Tachyon gives you all these options and more. From the makers of the award winning app, MorphWiz, comes a new creation that allows images and sound to become one as they magically blend under your fingertips. Each note you play is an individual expression, allowing independent control of pitch and tone far beyond that of traditional instruments. Most instruments only allow you to play one sound at a time, but with Tachyon, you can seamlessly blend between any two sounds as you slide your fingers up and down the screen. The visual experience of Tachyon is just as mesmerizing. As you move along the playing surface, a field of twinkling stars morphs into the shape of your selected instrument, allowing a direct correlation between sight and sound. As described by Jordan Rudess, “Tachyon is simple to use and at the same time offers a unique musical expressive power. The sonic core of the app is a custom crafted sound set from my personal library, encompassing sounds as familiar as those you would find in your home toolbox, and as exclusive as the ones I use on tour with Dream Theater." Whether you’re a seasoned musician looking for a next generation instrument to further express your creativity, or just a regular Joe browsing the app store looking for a fun and simple purchase that will delight the whole family, Tachyon is the app for you! “Check out Jordan Rudess’s new album with Steve Horelick entitled “interSonic”which features Wisdom Music Apps”

Screenshots

Pixound4 screens
Tachyon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tachyon at none against Pixound's 2. Tachyon also leads on chart position (#185 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). Pixound's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 14 months) and rating (4.1 vs 3.8). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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

Pixound costs $0.99 and Tachyon $1.99 up front. Pixound sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Tachyon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pixound holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 13 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Pixound's written reviews are positive against 78% of Tachyon's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixound ships an update monthly, Tachyon every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on August 12, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Pixound versus Tachyon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixoundTachyon
Price$0.99 — better$1.99
Rating4.1 (8 ratings) — better3.8 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews77.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings813 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#185 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.68.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechné MediaWizdom Music LLC

Customer experience

Pixound

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative27.8%

Tachyon

All ratings13 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative23.1%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive77.7%
Neutral10.7%
Negative11.7%

Bugs and requests

Pixound

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Tachyon

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • IAA and Audiobus compatibility issues
  • Does not work with Audiobus
  • Does not launch with Audiobus
  • Inter-app audio and Audiobus connectivity missing
  • Broken on iPad 2 - iOS 7
Show 4 more
  • Not compatible with iOS 11
  • No sound output
  • App doesn't work anymore
  • App is broken

Requested features

18 requests
  • Audiobus and IAA support
  • MIDI support
  • MPE support
  • Ability to record
  • Update for notched iPhones
Show 13 more
  • Keyboard view
  • More sounds/instrument packs
  • Reverb settings
  • User sample import
  • Customizable scales
  • Automation/Arp
  • MIDI control
  • Ability to import sounds from other Wizdom apps
  • Moving filter in FX section
  • Hold button
  • Option to choose backgrounds
  • Lock menu buttons
  • More scales and custom scale creation

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pixound

One-time2
  • Pixound Live Video$1.99
  • Pixound MIDI Features$2.99
None

Tachyon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pixound free?
Pixound costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Tachyon free?
Tachyon costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pixound or Tachyon?
Pixound is rated higher. Pixound averages 4.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Tachyon averages 3.8 from 13 ratings.
Do Pixound or Tachyon have ads?
Neither Pixound nor Tachyon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixound or Tachyon?
Pixound ships an update monthly, and Tachyon every 14 months. Most recently, Pixound was updated on August 12, 2026 and Tachyon on September 23, 2026.

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