Drumgenius vs Cymbal Builder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drumgenius
Explore an encyclopedia of drum grooves from Jazz to Rock, played by legendary drummers. Practice with expert virtual drummers to develop your time-feel and expand rhythmic knowledge. Includes a smart metronome with "clave" and "swing regulator" features.
- Encyclopedia of 500+ drum grooves
- Play along with master drummers
- Develop time-feel and rhythm knowledge
- Stretchable and loopable drum loops
- Smart Metronome with clave and swing regulator
- Descriptions and discography references
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Master your sense of time by practicing with a drum genius! Created after years of research by Mauro Battisti (experienced musician and specialist in the field), Drumgenius is the choice of top players and leading music academies. An ever-growing rhythm library to practice on — 500+ loops across 21 styles, reproducing real grooves by the best drummers and following authentic patterns of rhythms from around the world. The loop player is packed with dedicated functions that put you in full control of every practice session. In-depth descriptions and insights offer a deeper understanding of the world of rhythm. Plus, using Metrogenius, the smart built-in metronome — with a fully editable library of 9 meters + 22 clave patterns — you can explore everything from basic patterns to the most complex rhythmic cycles. Easy Organization & Backup: Personalize your library by renaming loops, creating custom groups, and starring favorites. Save different practice setlists into single backup files to switch setups whenever you need, restore in a single tap on new devices, or share with friends, students, and fellow musicians. THE LOOP LIBRARY IS CONSTANTLY GROWING AND CURRENTLY INCLUDES: Afro-Cuban — 65 Boogaloo — 9 Brazilian — 53 Caribbean — 22 Country — 4 Disco — 3 Funky — 24 Gospel — 5 Hip-Hop — 5 Jazz — 53 Jazz – 3/4 — 9 Jazz – Ballad — 7 Jazz – Straight 8ths — 10 Jazz – Two Feel — 10 Jungle/D&B — 3 Neo Soul — 3 New Orleans — 14 Odd Time Signatures — 46 Polymeters — 17 Pop — 12 R&B — 3 Rock — 26 Shuffle — 17 Swing Lab — 24 World — 65 12/8 — 7 LOOP PLAYER TOOLS: • Count-in: Activate it if you don't want to miss the one. • Clave: Activate it to hear the rhythm backbone. Perfect for navigating tricky rhythms with confidence. • Play X Cycles: Structure your practice session by setting the exact number of repetitions for each loop. • Internal Loop Recording: Record yourself over the loop. Track your progress and share the recordings with peers and teachers. • Silence Mode (Internalize the Time): Set intervals of silence while the tempo keeps running — the ultimate test of your internal clock. • Time Morph (Rhythmic Elasticity): Accelerate and decelerate the loop in a continuous cycle, training you to react to the tempo in real time. STAY MOTIVATED: • Weekly Goals: Set practice targets, track your consistency, and share your achievements with a tap. WHAT MUSICIANS SAY: ▶ "Mauro Battisti has made it possible for anyone to play along with the greatest drummers in the world, historical and contemporary, with the ability to alter tempo. Drumgenius is a great resource that can bring any player closer to the flame." — Dave Liebman ▶ "Drumgenius sounds very good; I find it very handy to practice my instrument with real drums pattern that I can have always with me in my phone: thanks Mauro for this App." — Dominique Di Piazza, electric bass player (John McLaughlin, Trilok Gurtu, Biréli Lagrène, Dennis Chambers) ▶ "Love this app: these loops sound fantastic! They are real drum loops — not MIDI or sequences — and they loop flawlessly. A fantastic groove reference for musicians of any kind." — Damian Erskine, electric bass player (Peter Erskine, The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Gino Vannelli, Tony Furtado), studio musician, author, adjunct professor at Portland State University ▶ "Drumgenius is a world-class teaching aid that addresses a fundamental challenge to successful performance practice for any musician: it is a virtuoso educational work by a true musical virtuoso!" — Harold Danko, jazz pianist (Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Big Band), composer, Professor of Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media at Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY, USA Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Cymbal Builder
Calculate cymbal weight ranges and visualize bow animations. This tool provides sonic guidelines based on weight, bow depth, and bell size, helping musicians understand cymbal design.
- Cymbal weight categorization
- Sonic guideline based on design
- Bow animation slider
- Analysis of weight, bow depth, and bell size
- Quantifiable design factors
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The Cymbal Builder is a Cymbal Weight Calculator and Cymbal Bow Animation Slider that allows you to categorize a cymbal's weight range by its given weight in grams and provide a sonic guideline based on a cymbal's depth of bow and bell size. While there are many factors that effect a cymbal's overall sound such as hammering, lathing, and other manufacturing factors; weight, bow, and bell size are readily quantifiable factors in the design of a cymbal.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Cymbal Builder at 5.0 against Drumgenius's 4.5. Cymbal Builder also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4). Drumgenius's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 42 months) and ratings volume (226 vs 17). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Drumgenius sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Cymbal Builder asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cymbal Builder holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drumgenius has 226 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Drumgenius ships an update every 10 days, Cymbal Builder every 42 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drumgenius | Cymbal Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (226 ratings) | 5.0 (17 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 226 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 42 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Projazz Lab | Byrne Cymbals |
Customer experience
Drumgenius
Cymbal Builder
Bugs and requests
Drumgenius
Reported bugs
3 issues- Purchased loops disappearing
- Inability to download/play some loops
- Crashes when downloading loops
Requested features
5 requests- Add more world rhythms and genres like Amapiano
- Add more Tony Williams-style medium-uptempo swing tracks
- Add ability to export/share loops
- Add dark mode support
- Improve organization and browsing of purchased loops
Cymbal Builder
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Drumgenius
- 10 credits pack$0.99
- 50 credits pack$1.99
- Infinite Credits pack$7.99
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- Lifetime Access$12.99
Cymbal Builder
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Drumgenius free?
Is Cymbal Builder free?
Which has better reviews, Drumgenius or Cymbal Builder?
Do Drumgenius or Cymbal Builder have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drumgenius or Cymbal Builder?
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