Comparison

TEFview vs Strum Machine

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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,

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

TEFview4 screens
Strum Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TEFview ships an update every 5 months, Strum Machine fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
TEFview versus Strum Machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTEFviewStrum Machine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (303 ratings)4.7 (118 ratings)
Positive reviews91.1% of reviews — better88.5% of reviews
Number of ratings303 — better118
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#161 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.1 — better15.4
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTablEditLuke Abbott LLC

Customer experience

TEFview

All ratings303 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral3.6%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews190 reviews
Positive91.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative5.8%

Strum Machine

All ratings118 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.2%

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

None

TEFview

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Strum Machine

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month

Questions

Is TEFview free?
TEFview is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Strum Machine free?
Strum Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TEFview or Strum Machine?
TEFview and Strum Machine are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 303 and 118 ratings respectively.
Do TEFview or Strum Machine have ads?
Neither TEFview nor Strum Machine shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TEFview or Strum Machine?
TEFview ships an update every 5 months, and Strum Machine fortnightly. Most recently, TEFview was updated on September 22, 2026 and Strum Machine on September 24, 2026.

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