TEFview vs Strum Machine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TEFview
This app lets you view, print, and play musical tablatures and various music file formats on your iOS device. It supports MIDI playback with speed control, metronome, and file management features for easy organization and sharing.
- View tablatures and standard notation
- MIDI playback with speed control
- Assign volume and MIDI instrument per track
- Metronome and countdown timer
- File manager with WIFI sharing
- PDF export for printing and sharing
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TEFview for iOS is an app that allows you to view, print and play tablatures created in TablEdit Tablature Editor on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. TEFview allows you as well to view and listen to ASCII tabs, ABC tunes, MIDI, PowerTab, GuitarPro and musicXML files. Specifications: - Supported file formats: TablEdit, ASCII, ABC, MIDI, Music XML, PowerTab, GuitarPro - Tablature and/or Standard notation display, - MIDI Playback with full speed control, - Ability to assign the volume and the MIDI instrument for any track in real time, - Metronome and count down, - Embedded Help, - Emails file as attachment, - File manager. - WIFI file sharing, Files app support - Subdirectory management - Playlist - extract the compressed tef files from a zip file - pdf export: the pdf can be emailed, printed to a compatible AirPrint printer or opened in a third app,
Strum Machine
Generate realistic backing tracks for practice with real instrument audio. Customize chord progressions, keys, and tempo. Features a large song library, song editor, and band customization options. Works offline and syncs across devices.
- Realistic instrument audio backing tracks
- Customizable chord progressions, keys, and tempo
- Extensive song library
- Simple song editor
- Band and instrument customization
- Cross-platform syncing and offline mode
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Elevate your music practice with customizable backing tracks generated with audio from real instruments (guitar, mandolin, and standup bass). Strum Machine can play any chord progression, in any key, at any speed. It's the only backing-track app built specifically for players of bluegrass, old-time, fiddle tunes, and other such genres. (Although it works pretty good for some jazz/swing now, too!) Why musicians of all levels love Strum Machine: • Realistic Sound: Backing tracks are assembled in real time from studio-quality instrument recordings. • Quick Adjustments: Instantly adjust the speed/tempo, change the key, loop part of a song, etc. • Auto-Speedup: Gradually increase the BPM at the end of every repetition for training purposes. • Chord Reference: Clean, beautiful chord charts, which can be displayed in letters or numbers (i.e. "1-4-5"). • Extensive Library: Over 1,300 songs (mostly from bluegrass and old-time) ready to go, with thousands more posted on the community forum. • Simple Song Editor: Add your own songs (or edit existing ones) in minutes. Almost every chord you can play on a guitar is available for use. • Customize the Band: Choose from a variety of built-in band styles, then optionally customize each instrument individually – adjust the strumming pattern, add automatic bass runs, and more. • Organize & Share: Create song lists for practicing or even performing, and share them with your friends or on the community forum. • Cross-Platform: Sync your custom songs, lists, and preferences with any device you use Strum Machine on: phone, tablet, or computer. (It works offline, too!) • Responsive Support: If you run into any problems or have questions, write us an email or post a message on the forum and someone will get back to you within a few days! Strum Machine is under active development and we're always working on ways to make the app even more useful to our users... while keeping it uncluttered and intuitive first and foremost. Discover how Strum Machine can improve your music practice today! Download Strum Machine and play a handful of demo songs instantly, without signing up. For the full experience, including access to all built-in songs and the ability to create your own, start a free trial. Terms of Use: https://strummachine.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://strummachine.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TEFview at none against Strum Machine's 1. TEFview also leads on iOS requirement (11.1 vs 15.4). Strum Machine's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months) and chart position (#161 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Strum Machine sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. TEFview asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for TEFview against 4.7 for Strum Machine. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 303 and 118 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of TEFview's written reviews are positive against 89% of Strum Machine's.
TEFview ships an update every 5 months, Strum Machine fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TEFview | Strum Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (303 ratings) | 4.7 (118 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.1% of reviews — better | 88.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 303 — better | 118 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #161 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.1 — better | 15.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 77 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TablEdit | Luke Abbott LLC |
Customer experience
TEFview
Strum Machine
Bugs and requests
TEFview
Reported bugs
2 issues- Doesn't work with files in iCloud Drive
- Crashes when opening MIDI files
Requested features
3 requests- Left-handed fretboard view
- Chord name display
- Ability to delete downloaded files
Strum Machine
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
TEFview
No in-app purchases
Strum Machine
- Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month









