Comparison

MIDIWriter vs Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer

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

Head to head
About

MIDIWriter

This app transforms keyboard input into musical notes and sounds. Type characters to instantly generate MIDI messages, or input phrases to create musical sequences with adjustable tempo and looping. It includes a built-in sound engine and supports external MIDI devices and apps.

Highlights
  • Text to MIDI conversion
  • Built-in General MIDI sound engine
  • Phrase playback with tempo control
  • Drum mode with multiple kits
  • External MIDI output
  • Hardware keyboard support
  • Wi-Fi MIDI networking
Features
Read full description

[[ A STRANGE MUSIC TOOL FOR MANIAC MUSIC LOVERS! ]] MIDIWriter is a unique app that converts keyboard input into MIDI note messages. Each character you type instantly produces sound. You can also enter a phrase and play it back as a sequence with adjustable tempo and loop options. KEY FEATURES: Built-in Sound Engine: No external app required! MIDIWriter includes a built-in General MIDI sound engine with 128 instruments and 9 drum kits. Just type and hear the sound immediately. Phrase Playback: Enter any text and play it as a musical sequence. Adjust the tempo (1-480 BPM), enable loop mode, and let your words become music. Space characters can be used as rests. Drum Mode: Switch to drum mode to play percussion sounds. Choose from 9 GM drum kits including Standard, Room, Power, Electronic, 808/909, Jazz, Brush, and Orchestral. MIDI Output: Send MIDI to other apps or external devices. Configure MIDI channel (1-16), program change (0-127), and destination. Works with Virtual MIDI and MIDI Network Session. Can be used simultaneously with the built-in sound engine. Keyboard Support: Use the on-screen software keyboard, or connect a Bluetooth/USB hardware keyboard for a real typing experience. Supports Japanese input with proper IME handling. MIDI Network Session: Connect to Mac or other iOS devices over Wi-Fi to control CoreMIDI-compatible sound generators remotely. Dark Mode & Rotation: Full support for light and dark modes. Works in portrait and landscape orientations on both iPhone and iPad. Note: Playback stops when the app goes to background. Using the Built-in Sound: Simply launch MIDIWriter and start typing. Each key produces a unique sound based on its character code. Enable drum mode in Settings for percussion sounds. Using with External MIDI Apps (Virtual MIDI): 1. Open a CoreMIDI sound generator app. 2. In MIDIWriter Settings, turn on "MIDI Output" and select the destination. 3. Type any key to hear sound from the external app. Using with Mac (MIDI Network Session): 1. Connect iPhone and Mac to the same Wi-Fi network. 2. Open MIDIWriter on iPhone. 3. On Mac, open "Audio MIDI Setup" and configure Network MIDI. 4. Connect your iPhone to the session. 5. Open a CoreMIDI app on Mac and select the network session as MIDI input. 6. Type on MIDIWriter to play sounds on Mac. Credits: Built-in sound engine uses "GeneralUser GS" SoundFont by S. Christian Collins. https://schristiancollins.com/generaluser.php

About

Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer

This app generates five independent voices of your input signal across five octaves, offering extensive sound shaping capabilities. It features individual saturation, detune, delay, and EQ for each voice, plus cabinet simulators and room emulation for a complete audio solution. It works as an AUv3 plugin on Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Five independent voices across five octaves
  • Individual voice saturation, detune, and delay
  • Attack envelope and tuned EQ per voice
  • Stereo panning and mixer interface
  • Cabinet simulators and room emulation
  • AUv3 plugin support for iOS and Mac
  • Over 60 factory presets
Features
Read full description

Zodiak Taurus is not your grandparents' octavizer. Zodiak Taurus is a mammoth multi-voice beast that takes the puniest tone and turns it into full frontal sonic assault. Slap it on your guitars, drums, bass, vocals, or even your keyboards. Then let Taurus elevate your sound. Taurus generates five independent voices — or reconstructions — of your input signal in realtime. These voices together span a whopping five octaves. With a few tweaks, you can double track your guitar, add a bass, a sub bass, and even a high frequency overtone. The result is a big, spacious sound that covers the whole stereo field. But that’s only the beginning, because this is a Zodiak effect. To sweeten the pot, each Taurus voice features its very own saturation stage (tuned specifically for it); a detune control for obtaining non-octave intervals or even natural chorus or ADT effects; a regenerative delay stage that can be used for staggering the voices, changing their timbre, or even causing them to self oscillate; an attack envelope that can have each voice fade in at different rates; a tuned EQ submodule, as well as stereo panning and other parameters — all collected in a familiar mixer-like interface. Newly developed algorithms deliver crystal clear signal reconstruction, and operate so efficiently that Taurus is as responsive when playing live as it is well-behaved in the studio. A special post-FX module includes cabinet simulators, room emulation, variable EQ, and compression to produce an easy to use, all-in-one audio solution. Zodiak Taurus also works as an AUv3 effects plugin on your iPad, iPhone, and Silicon Mac computer. It comes with over 60 factory presets to start you off in your journey, as well as many other advanced features like patch save/share, MIDI learn, and more. The latest offering in Yonac’s new Zodiak series of effects, Taurus is jam packed with sonic easter eggs. Whether your goal is to emulate diverse instruments, create enormous walls of sound, or paint complexly layered psychedelic soundscapes, Taurus has a roadmap for you somewhere across its controls.

Screenshots

MIDIWriter4 screens
Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer at 71% against MIDIWriter's 0%. Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer also leads on rating (4.6 vs 1.5) and update cadence (weekly vs every 35 months). MIDIWriter's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $14.99). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

MIDIWriter costs $0.99 and Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer has 15 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of MIDIWriter's written reviews are positive against 71% of Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDIWriter ships an update every 35 months, Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
MIDIWriter versus Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDIWriterZodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer
Price$0.99 — better$14.99
Rating1.5 (2 ratings)4.6 (15 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews71.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings215 — better
Update frequencyEvery 35 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMasayuki AkamatsuYonac Inc.

Customer experience

MIDIWriter

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral21.4%
Negative7.1%

In-app purchases

None

MIDIWriter

No in-app purchases

None

Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDIWriter free?
MIDIWriter costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer free?
Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MIDIWriter or Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer?
Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer is rated higher. MIDIWriter averages 1.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer averages 4.6 from 15 ratings.
Do MIDIWriter or Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer have ads?
Neither MIDIWriter nor Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDIWriter or Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer?
MIDIWriter ships an update every 35 months, and Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer weekly. Most recently, MIDIWriter was updated on October 23, 2026 and Zodiak Taurus Mega Octavizer on October 25, 2026.

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