Comparison

Orphion vs iFretless Brass

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

Head to head
About

Orphion

Create expressive music and melodies with a unique virtual instrument. Explore your creativity through intuitive finger movements on virtual pads, generating sounds between string and percussion. Ideal for both beginners and experienced musicians.

Highlights
  • Unique string and percussion sound
  • Expressive polyphonic music
  • Intuitive finger pad interaction
  • Customizable pad layouts
  • MIDI and Audiobus support
  • Multiple articulations
Features
Read full description

## Featured by Apple as "Band in your Hand" and 'Explore your creativity' ## Orphion is a musical instrument with a unique sound between string instrument and percussion. Everyone can play expressive, wonderful sounds and easy or virtuosic melodies on it just by moving fingers on virtual pads. This video shows you more: https://vimeo.com/35131490 What can I do with it? • Express the sounds you feel • Play polyphonic music very expressively • Crazy drumming • Dream and relax • Create soundscapes and melodies without musical knowledge • Visually explore music and music theory Features: • Different articulations from soft to plucked to hardly slapped • Natural interaction • Extend your ways of expression as a percussionist, guitarist, pianist or other musician • 15 transposable pad layouts with different tonalities from easy to complex • 8 individual voices for 8 fingers • MIDI support: Play your favorite synth with the revolutionary Orphion interface • Audiobus support: Stream live audio from Orphion directly to other Audiobus-compatible apps • Orphion Editor (availible as upgrade): Create and share your own custom pad layouts. Download new pad layouts from Orphion Universe What others say about Orphion: "We love this instrument! So cool. Great for Deep House, IDM, Ambient, and whatever!" - iPadloops "A simple but profoundly beautiful and expressive music app" - Evolutionaryarts.org "Orphion is very customizable and flexible — truly functioning as a full-fledged electronic instrument" - Harrison Weber, The next web Follow on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Orphion or Twitter: https://twitter.com/OrphionApp

About

iFretless Brass

This app allows string instrument players to create expressive music using a variety of brass and synth sounds. It features detailed sample libraries and advanced touch sensitivity for natural performance. Supports MIDI and Audio Unit integration for external devices and recording apps.

Highlights
  • Expressive brass and synth sounds
  • Detailed sample library
  • Advanced touch pressure detection
  • Natural vibrato and slides
  • MIDI input/output support
  • Audio Unit integration
Features
Read full description

iFretless Brass enables guitar and string instrument players to play expressive music with a variety of instruments. It includes a detailed library of samples from real brass instruments as well as a collection of classic synth sounds. Each note is sampled at nine different volume levels in order to capture the full range of tones produced by the original instrument. Key features: 1) Supports MIDI input and output for interface with external devices such as digital pianos and electronic wind instruments as well as virtual MIDI compatible iOS apps. 2) A patented algorithm uses the accelerometer accurately detects touch pressure on the screen and respond with dynamic selection of samples of the appropriate timbre and volume. 3) Responds to fretless vibrato and between-note slides in a natural way, making it one of the most expressive performance interfaces available anywhere. 4) MPE MIDI support 5) Audio Unit support allows you to use the app as a virtual instrument inside of audio recording and mixing apps such as GarageBand Sound library includes: Euphonium Trombone Trumpet Trumpet 2 Flugelhorn Tuba French Horn Muted Trumpet and a collection of classic synth samples

Screenshots

iFretless Brass4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: iFretless Brass at 4.9 against Orphion's 4.0. iFretless Brass also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). Orphion's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $9.99) and review sentiment (85% vs 68%). On update cadence and ads 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

Orphion costs $3.99 and iFretless Brass $9.99 up front. Orphion sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iFretless Brass asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iFretless Brass holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 10 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 85% of Orphion's written reviews are positive against 68% of iFretless Brass's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Orphion ships an update every 2 months, iFretless Brass every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Orphion versus iFretless Brass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOrphioniFretless Brass
Price$3.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.0 (31 ratings)4.9 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.7% of reviews — better68.0% of reviews
Number of ratings31 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS7.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB241 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBastus TrumpBlue Mangoo Consulting Company Limited

Customer experience

Orphion

All ratings31 ratings
Positive71.0%
Neutral9.7%
Negative19.4%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive84.7%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.0%

iFretless Brass

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative24.0%

Bugs and requests

Orphion

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Audio crackling and distortion on iPadOS 18 and M4 devices
  • App crashes on startup with recent iPad OS versions
  • UI elements out of place on iPad mini
  • MIDI not working in AUM and other DAWs
  • Virtual MIDI instruments not detected when loaded as IAA
Show 9 more
  • App stops playing audio when iPad is closed
  • Bluetooth headphone connectivity issues
  • Orientation stuck on iOS 11+
  • Pad sensitivity issues after iOS 8 update
  • Velocity feature removed after forced Apple update
  • App crashes intermittently even after reboot
  • Incompatibility with newer iPad models (10.5 inch)
  • SoundCloud upload function non-functional
  • Forum support page returns errors

Requested features

15 requests
  • Recording and export functionality
  • Additional sound patches and voices
  • Custom scale and layout editor
  • Pitch bend and modulation wheel controls
  • AudioCopy/Paste support
Show 10 more
  • AirPlay support for wireless speaker output
  • More velocity increment options
  • Adjustable timbre per touch type
  • Finer sensitivity slider adjustment
  • Support for different scales (Dorian, Hijazkiar, etc.)
  • Sequencing and arranging features
  • iPhone version of the app
  • More pad layout options
  • CC support for different synths
  • Mono output option

iFretless Brass

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Orphion

One-time1
  • Orphion Editor$0.99
None

iFretless Brass

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Orphion free?
Orphion costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is iFretless Brass free?
iFretless Brass costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Orphion or iFretless Brass?
iFretless Brass is rated higher. Orphion averages 4.0 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while iFretless Brass averages 4.9 from 10 ratings.
Do Orphion or iFretless Brass have ads?
Neither Orphion nor iFretless Brass shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Orphion or iFretless Brass?
Orphion ships an update every 2 months, and iFretless Brass every 6 weeks. Most recently, Orphion was updated on October 13, 2026 and iFretless Brass on October 15, 2026.

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