iFretless Guitar vs MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iFretless Guitar
This app offers a unique, touch-optimized guitar fretboard for iOS devices. It allows for expressive, one-touch note playing with real-time pitch control, enabling fast melodies, scales, and arpeggios. It's a powerful new instrument for making music, not just a simulation.
- One-touch-per-note design
- Real-time pitch control
- Audio unit support
- Fretless note bending
- Velocity sensitive instruments
- MIDI input and output
- Built-in reverb and EQ
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iFretless is a guitar fretboard re-designed for maximum playability on iOS devices. It replaces two handed playing and strumming with a one-touch-per-note design that enables fast, precise playing of melodies, scales, and arpeggios and real-time control over the pitch of each individual note. iFretless is not an imitation guitar for your iPhone; it's a powerful new way to make music. FEATURES 1) Audio unit support allows you to connect to a software effects chain or record directly in DAW apps 2) Fretless note bending 3) Velocity sensitive multi-sampled instruments 4) 10 different velocity sensitive guitar sounds 5) MIDI input and output 6) built-in reverb and Eq Sounds: 1) Nylon String Folk 2) Picked Steel String 3) Grunge Telecaster 4) Snarling Synth 5) Bridge-Mid Pickup Bright Strat 6) Blues Neck Pickup Strat 7) Hollow Body Electric 8) Classical 9) Clean bridge pickup 10) Clean neck pickup
MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin
This app generates MIDI note data to simulate guitar strumming and picking. It includes a soundfont player, definable chord pads, and a pattern editor for creating custom strumming and picking sequences. You can also chain patterns into songs and apply various audio effects.
- Simulate guitar strumming and picking
- Generate MIDI note data
- Import and use soundfonts (.SF2, .DLS)
- 16 definable chord pads
- Pattern editor for creating sequences
- Song mode to chain patterns
- 6 and 12 string emulation
- Built-in audio effects
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MIDI Strummer is an AUv3 plugin designed to simulate guitar strumming and picking techniques. It can used to generate MIDI note data which can be sent to either an external synth of choice or the internal soundfont engine. The inbuilt soundfont player allows you to import all your favourite .SF2 and .DLS soundfonts and use them as a sound source. MIDI strummer has a set of 16 definable chord pads that can hold a series of chords, which in turn can be triggered remotely via MIDI messages or by tapping the pads. Use the pattern editor to create a series of picking or strumming patterns that can be tranposed to the selected chord pad. Song mode allows you to chain these chord patterns together to form songs combining both picking and strumming patterns within the same song. Enable 6/12 string on a particular part to emphesize a pert by adding depth. Strummer also features a number of audio effects that can be used to enhance the audio from the soundfont player. These include overdrive, distortion, tremolo, chorus, phaser, graphic EQ, digital delay and reverb. Key Features: • 6 and 12 string emulations. • Simulate strum up/down with variable speeds. • Create patterns up to 64 steps in length. • Load up to 6 pattern variations. • Ramdomize and rotate options. • Songs can be up to 255 steps in length. • Built in ARP function. • Import your own soundfonts. • 8 different effect types (reverb, delay, phaser, chorus, overdrive, distortion, tremelo and EQ). • Paramter Automation from your DAW using MIDI. • Built in Sampler. • Comprehensive Help pages included. Please Note: This version is now compatible with GarageBand running on iOS14.
Screenshots
Verdict
iFretless Guitar and MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin both sit at 4.2 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin's written reviews are positive against 55% of iFretless Guitar's. MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin also leads on price ($6.99 vs $9.99). On rating, ratings volume, 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
iFretless Guitar costs $9.99 and MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for iFretless Guitar against 4.3 for MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 29 and 51 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of iFretless Guitar's written reviews are positive against 75% of MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin's.
iFretless Guitar ships an update every 2 months, MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iFretless Guitar | MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $6.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (29 ratings) | 4.3 (51 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | 75.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 29 | 51 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 201 MB | 386 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Mangoo Consulting Company Limited | 4Pockets.com |
Customer experience
iFretless Guitar
MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin
Bugs and requests
iFretless Guitar
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin
Reported bugs
15 issues- App support is not opening
- App support website is gone/suspicious
- App keeps crashing when hosted in AUM
- Plugin corrupts entire track and makes project impossible to open
- Crashes constantly when used in AUM
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- Latest update causes failed to load in IMPC pro 2 and standalone
- App crashes and help function doesn't work
- Audio unit extension quit messages
- Crashes when selecting a preset
- Soundfonts not working when loaded as an instrument in AUM
- Sometimes stops all internal sounds
- Pop up menus not accessible for VoiceOver
- MIDI channel out returns to default on every startup
- Chords bug out and change half the chord in latch mode
- Preset/chords would not save in AUM
Requested features
34 requests- Include pattern lengths of 3, 5, 7
- Piano to guitar chords and manual strumming
- Offset notes in pattern editor for swing/triplet tempos
- Add swing/humanize to patterns
- Functionality for capo or real-time key change with MIDI
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- Pattern latch function in real-time with MIDI
- More guitar sounds and strum patterns
- Optimize for M1 Macs
- Save and export patterns to MIDI
- Tap or strum patterns manually and record
- Interface similar to Helium for saving/exporting MIDI
- Interface reminiscent of Guitarism
- Stronger colors for chosen/played chords
- Modulation in song creation (change key)
- Access MIDI parameters in Piano to Guitar mode
- More detailed documentation on chord formation
- Ability to reorder saved settings
- MIDI learn for CC messages
- Add more layers of pads for chords (7ths, sus, etc.)
- Double size pad page for more chords
- MIDI in functionality
- Ability to touch fretboard for custom chords/voicings
- Construct chords from scratch
- Control over pedal damping
- Add open tunings
- Change chords on every half and quarter beat
- Display current preset name at the top
- Add bend of notes and note sustain
- Improve interface for ARP/strum grid to match guitar tabs
- Save chord chains, chord pads, and custom strumming patterns separately
- Include custom chords in future versions
- More Soundfont files
- More presets
- Faster BPM adjustment
In-app purchases
iFretless Guitar
No in-app purchases
MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iFretless Guitar free?
Is MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin free?
Which has better reviews, iFretless Guitar or MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin?
Do iFretless Guitar or MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin have ads?
Which is updated more often, iFretless Guitar or MIDI Strummer AUv3 Plugin?
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