Comparison

Pixound vs Pinkish Trombone

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

Pinkish Trombone

This app is a studio-ready instrument for iOS, expanding on a classic web-based speech synthesizer. It offers multitouch playability with modulation options and automatable parameters, functioning as a standalone app or AUV3.

Highlights
  • Articulatory speech synthesizer
  • Multitouch playability
  • Modulation options
  • Automatable parameters
  • Standalone app
  • AUV3 support
Features
Read full description

Based on Neil Thapen's classic web-based interactive articulatory speech synthesizer, Pink Trombone, Pinkish expands the original into a studio-ready instrument for iOS. While staying faithful to the original's multitouch playability, Pinkish Trombone adds a suite of modulation options and automatable parameters that breath new life into that venerable vocal tract. Pinkish Trombone operates as a standalone app as well as an AUV3 so you can use it in any of your favorite iOS DAW apps. Apple Silicon macOS users can even use it in Ableton Live!

Screenshots

Pixound4 screens
Pinkish Trombone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pinkish Trombone at 5.0 against Pixound's 4.1. Pinkish Trombone also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (100% vs 72%). Pixound's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $4.99) and ratings volume (8 vs 2). On ads, monetization model 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

Pixound costs $0.99 and Pinkish Trombone $4.99 up front. Pixound sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Pinkish Trombone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pinkish Trombone holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Pixound's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pinkish Trombone's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixound ships an update monthly, Pinkish Trombone fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pixound versus Pinkish Trombone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixoundPinkish Trombone
Price$0.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.1 (8 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8 — better2
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechné MediaAaron Meyers

Customer experience

Pixound

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

Pinkish Trombone

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pixound

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

Pinkish Trombone

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pixound free?
Pixound costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Pinkish Trombone free?
Pinkish Trombone costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pixound or Pinkish Trombone?
Pinkish Trombone is rated higher. Pixound averages 4.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Pinkish Trombone averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Pixound or Pinkish Trombone have ads?
Neither Pixound nor Pinkish Trombone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixound or Pinkish Trombone?
Pixound ships an update monthly, and Pinkish Trombone fortnightly. Most recently, Pixound was updated on October 23, 2026 and Pinkish Trombone on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons