Comparison

Bandish vs Loop/Cycle

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

Head to head
About

Bandish

This app provides authentic tabla, tanpura, and manjira sounds for Indian classical music practice. It offers customizable pitch, tempo, and volume, along with a vast library of taals and variations. Premium features include voice recording, exclusive taals, and advanced pitch tuning.

Highlights
  • Studio-quality tabla, tanpura, and manjira sounds
  • Seamless pitch, tempo, and volume adjustments
  • 75+ taals with 200+ variations
  • Customizable tanpura with different speeds
  • Voice recording and playback (premium)
  • Beat counter and background playback
Features
Read full description

Bandish – Tabla, Tanpura & Manjira: Elevate Your Indian Classical Music Practice Whether you are a seasoned musician or just starting your journey, Bandish is your ultimate digital accompanist for Indian classical music. With authentic tabla, tanpura, and manjira sounds, Bandish transforms your riyaz (practice), teaching sessions, or performances into immersive experiences. Designed for both students and professionals, Bandish offers an intuitive interface, powerful tools, and professional-quality sound. Key Features for Every Musician • Studio-Quality Sound: Enjoy the rich tones of professionally recorded tabla, tanpura, and now manjira, designed to capture the authenticity of live instruments. • Seamless Adjustments: Fine-tune pitch, tempo, octave, and volume instantly without interrupting your practice flow. • 75+ Taals & 200+ Variations: Practice with teentaal, dadra, ektaal, jhaptaal, rupak, and many more—complete with multiple variations and real-time theka display. • Customizable Tanpura: Match your shruti with precision, and choose between different tanpura speeds to suit your vocal training. • Boosted Tabla Volume: Clearer, louder tabla designed for both vocal accompaniment and instrumental practice. • Beat Counter: Train your rhythm with an accurate counter that stays in sync with the taal cycle. • Background Playback: Keep Bandish running seamlessly while you multitask. New in Bandish Plus (Premium) Take your practice to the next level with Bandish Plus: • Voice Recording & Playback – Record your riyaz, lessons, or concerts inside the app and listen back instantly. • New Manjira Instrument – Add manjira patterns to your tabla and tanpura for a fuller, more authentic accompaniment. • Professional Pitch Finetuning – Adjust shruti and fine-tune tabla, tanpura, and manjira to your exact pitch. • Always-on Focus Mode – Keep your device awake with a distraction-free view for long practice sessions. • 50+ Exclusive Premium Taals – Explore advanced thekas and variations beyond the core taal set. • Tap Tempo – Set your BPM by tapping the rhythm you feel. Upgrade to Bandish Plus with a monthly or annual subscription and try it free for 7 days. Extended Tools & Benefits • Favorite Taals – Save and quickly access your most-used taals. • Displayed Thekas – See the current theka and switch between variations easily. • Push Notifications – Stay consistent with reminders for daily riyaz. • Lock Screen Controls – Manage playback from lock screen and notification center. • Accessibility-Friendly – Thoughtfully designed for musicians of all abilities. Why Choose Bandish? • Bandish goes beyond a basic shruti box or tabla app. It combines tabla, tanpura, manjira, metronome, and recording into one app—perfect for Hindustani and Carnatic music. Whether you’re a vocalist, instrumentalist, or composer, Bandish adapts to your needs. • Many musicians switching from iTabla Pro, Rhythm, SurTaal, or iLehra find Bandish familiar yet more streamlined—with features like Tap Tempo, pitch finetuning, voice recording, and modern UI design. • Stay ad-free, practice smarter, and enjoy authentic sound. Download Bandish Today Whether you’re a beginner seeking guidance or a professional preparing for a concert, Bandish is the perfect companion for your Indian classical music journey.

About

Loop/Cycle

Create complex rhythmic patterns and polyrhythms with a modular builder. Explore odd meters and achieve flow-state practice with meditative, minimalist loops. Features three sampled instruments and adjustable BPM.

Highlights
  • Modular loop and rhythmic cycle builder
  • Build sequences with numbered blocks
  • Three sampled instruments (piano, marimba, bass)
  • Adjustable BPM (40-220)
  • Independent volume controls
  • Real-time block highlighting
  • Dark interface for focus
Features
Read full description

Loop/Cycle is a modular loop and rhythmic cycle builder for drummers or any musician ready for advanced rhythmic practice. Turn any combination of time signatures into a meditative, minimalist loop for deep flow-state practice and true mastery of complex rhythms. Two Modes of Creation In Loop mode, stack blocks numbered 1 through 7 to build a repeating sequence. Piano, marimba, and bass weave together automatically, generating fresh melodic patterns with every combination. In Cycle mode, assign blocks independently to each instrument. A 4-block piano against a 5-block bass creates a 20-beat polyrhythmic cycle — the kind of interlocking pattern found in West African drumming and minimalist composition. Features Build loops and polyrhythmic cycles from simple numbered blocks Three sampled instruments: piano, marimba, and bass Adjustable BPM from 40 to 220 Independent volume controls for each instrument and metronome click Real-time block highlighting synced to playback Dark interface designed for focused music-making No account required. No ads. No additional purchases. No internet needed after download. Whether you are exploring odd meters, practicing polyrhythms, or just curious about tapping into the flow state, start tapping blocks and listen.

Screenshots

Bandish4 screens
Loop/Cycle3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bandish at Free against Loop/Cycle's $9.99. Bandish also leads on ratings volume (142 vs 1). Loop/Cycle's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Bandish is free to download; Loop/Cycle costs $9.99 up front. Bandish sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Loop/Cycle asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Loop/Cycle holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bandish has 142 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Bandish versus Loop/Cycle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBandishLoop/Cycle
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.7 (142 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews94.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings142 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMetapod LLCAdam Sturtevant

Customer experience

Bandish

All ratings140 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.0%

Loop/Cycle

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Bandish

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Not able to hear using headphone after update
  • Bluetooth and audio jack no longer work after update
  • App stops playing through Bluetooth speaker after recent update
  • Taalas are out of taal at certain points
  • “To go back “ button missing

Requested features

8 requests
  • Maximize the quality of the tabla
  • Add a timer to automatically stop playing
  • Add a tuner and metronome
  • Add a recording feature
  • Add swarmandal with ragas
Show 3 more
  • Add volume control in the app
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve accessibility for voice over (volume and tempo control)

Loop/Cycle

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bandish

Subscriptions2
  • Bandish Plus - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Bandish Plus - Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
None

Loop/Cycle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bandish free?
Bandish is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Loop/Cycle free?
Loop/Cycle costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bandish or Loop/Cycle?
Loop/Cycle is rated higher. Bandish averages 4.7 out of 5 from 142 ratings, while Loop/Cycle averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Bandish or Loop/Cycle have ads?
Neither Bandish nor Loop/Cycle shows ads.

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