Comparison

Drum vs SignatureEQ

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

Head to head
About

Drum

This app recreates the distinctive sound of early 1980s electronic drum modules combined with sampled real cymbal sounds. It offers a virtual analog engine for drum synthesis and a separate engine for realistic cymbal playback, providing a unique sonic palette for music production.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog engine for 80s drum sounds
  • Sampled real cymbal sounds
  • Dual sound engines for drums and cymbals
  • Multiple output options
  • Built-in effects (limiter, delay, reverb)
  • Unlimited program storage
Features
Read full description

Please note: 1) This App comes with an AUv3 plugin extension. 2) To play the cymbal samples, a separate download (free, in-app) of ~180 MB is required. The App also works without the cymbal samples. INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND We all know and use electronic drums today, but at the beginning of the 80's the first electronic drums were a real novelty that revolutionized not only the sound of music of those years, but also the workflow in the recording studio. Many producers preferred to record the sound of electronic drums rather than acoustic drums because it saved time and money, avoiding having to mount microphones, find the right positions, spend hours equalizing and correcting the recorded material. With an electronic drum set it was quicker: it was enough to connect the cables and maybe find the right sound for the song, which was a perfect scenario especially for many low-cost productions, for example those of pop music. The first electronic drums were completely analog, they generated the sounds of the drums using only a few elements such as an oscillator and a white noise generator, plus a couple of envelopes and a filter. The sound wasn't exactly realistic but it was peculiar, and perfect for creating certain sounds never heard before. The downside was that electronic drums could only generate the sound of drums but not cymbals. For this reason, the sound of real cymbals was recorded alongside the sound of electronic drums. This kind of setup was also used live quite often. It was common to see a drummer on stage playing the typical hexagonal pads but combined with a set of real cymbals. GSi Drum-80 reproduces that exact scenario. It contains two separate sound engines that can play at the same time. One engine recreates the sounds of the famous electronic drum module known as the Simmons SDS-V (very similar to the later SDS-8 model); at the same time, the exclusive GSi WLF Engine plays a multi-sample of real cymbals recorded exclusively for Drum-80. Main features - Virtual Analog Engine based on the famous SDS-V drum module - Optional VCO phase reset - Supports multiple outputs (one stereo mix, six individual drum synth channels, one stereo channel for Cymbals) - Sampled Cymbal sounds (Hi-Hat, Ride, 4 Crashes, 3 Splashes) provided by the exclusive GSi WLF Engine - Full Polyphony - Separate section with adjustments for Cymbal sounds (tuning, leveling and EQ) - Stereo 1176-Style Limiter - Stereo Delay effect - Stereo Reverb effect - Built-in programmer with unlimited Programs - Embedded user's manual - Available as Stand-alone application and audio plugin (AUv3 for iPad) - Very low CPU and RAM usage Visit home page for audio and video demos.

About

SignatureEQ

This professional 6-band parametric equalizer offers real-time sound shaping for musicians and producers. Its interactive interface allows precise adjustments to frequency, gain, and Q using intuitive gestures. Designed for performance, it integrates seamlessly with AUv3 compatible hosts on iPhone and iPad.

Highlights
  • 6 fully parametric bands
  • Real-time frequency response display
  • Intuitive gesture controls
  • Supports 7 filter types per band
  • AUv3 integration
  • Preset and automation support
  • Zero audio thread allocation
Read full description

Signature EQ is a professional 6-band parametric equalizer designed as an AUv3 audio unit extension for iPhone and iPad. Load it in AU EngineCore or any AUv3 compatible host and shape your sound with precision, in the studio or on stage. Real-Time Interactive Interface The entire interface is a live frequency response display. Drag nodes to adjust frequency and gain, pinch to control Q, double-tap to reset. No sliders, no menus, just the curve, responding to your touch in real time. Six Parametric Bands - Low Shelf at 80 Hz for bass body and warmth - F1 at 250 Hz for low-mid control - F2 at 1 kHz for mid presence and clarity - F3 at 3.5 kHz for upper-mid attack and definition - F4 at 8 kHz for presence and air - High Shelf at 12 kHz for brilliance Every band supports 7 filter types: High Pass, Low Shelf, Peak, Notch, Band Pass, High Shelf, and Low Pass. Any band can be any filter type at any time. Built for Performance Zero allocation on the audio thread. Zero locks. No artifacts, no interruptions regardless of buffer size or host load. Full AUv3 Integration Presets save and recall instantly. Scene changes in the host reflect immediately in the interface. Features - 6 fully parametric bands - Real-time frequency response display with band nodes - Drag, pinch, and double-tap gestures - Full preset and automation support - Double-precision DSP - zero audio thread allocation - Universal: iPhone and iPad

Screenshots

Drum3 screens
SignatureEQ3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SignatureEQ at $5.99 against Drum's $14.99. SignatureEQ also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Drum's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Drum costs $14.99 and SignatureEQ $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drum holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 2 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Drum's written reviews are positive against 100% of SignatureEQ's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Drum versus SignatureEQ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrumSignatureEQ
Price$14.99$5.99 — better
Rating4.8 (5 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 7 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGenuine SoundwareAntonio Sorin TASU

Customer experience

Drum

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

SignatureEQ

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Drum

No in-app purchases

None

SignatureEQ

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drum free?
Drum costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SignatureEQ free?
SignatureEQ costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drum or SignatureEQ?
Drum is rated higher. Drum averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while SignatureEQ averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Drum or SignatureEQ have ads?
Neither Drum nor SignatureEQ shows ads.

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