Umphrey's McGee vs Polyrhythm Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Umphrey's McGee
This music app offers an immersive listening experience, allowing users to control individual instrument levels, solo, mute, and pan. Access lyrics and create a personalized mix, similar to being at a recording studio's mixing board.
- Adjust instrument levels
- Solo and mute instruments
- Pan audio
- Loop sections
- Access lyrics
- Immersive listening experience
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Umphrey's McGee - Asking For A Friend has been made available as a Myxstem app. Myxstem (pronounced "mix-stem") is a new format that empowers fans to completely control the listening experience by adjusting levels of each instrument (stem) to solo, mute, pan, loop and access lyrics in a fun and immersive way, similar to being at the mixing board of a recording studio.
Polyrhythm Explorer
Learn and master complex rhythmic patterns with interactive guides and visual tools. Explore polyrhythms through written lessons, video tutorials, and customizable sound options. Ideal for musicians of all levels seeking to deepen their rhythmic understanding.
- Written guides and video tutorials
- Linear and Grid Layout Modes
- Voice Count for isolated rhythms
- Customizable sounds (drums, keyboard)
- Polymeter visualization
- Sample-accurate timing
- Full-Screen Mode
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Master Polyrhythms with Ease—No Prior Knowledge Needed... Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced musician, Polyrhythm Explorer provides you with everything you need to understand and master polyrhythms. Polyrhythm Explorer features: - Written guides and video tutorials teach you what polyrhythms are and how to understand a polyrhythm step-by-step. - Linear and Grid Layout Modes: Easily visualize how two rhythms interact with each other in a polyrhythm. See how the rhythms relate to help you understand them. - Voice Count: Isolate one rhythm or the other in a polyrhythm and hear it counted out loud. - Full-Screen Mode: Hide controls for an immersive, focused learning experience. Perfect for creating videos teaching polyrhythms. - Customizable Sounds: Experience polyrhythms on a drum kit or as melodic keyboard patterns. - Polymeters: With subdivisions on, you can hear a polyrhythm as a polymeter. - Sample-accurate timing. Can be used as a metronome. - Seamless Integration with PolyNome --- Polyrhythm Explorer is the perfect companion to PolyNome (also available on the App Store). Export polyrhythms to PolyNome to view them as notation or circular visuals. PolyNome also supports 3-way polyrhythms and offers numerous features beyond polyrhythms. Start Your Rhythmic Journey Today! Transform your musical skills and explore the complexity of rhythms with Polyrhythm Explorer.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Polyrhythm Explorer at $4.99 against Umphrey's McGee's $14.99. Polyrhythm Explorer also leads on ratings volume (12 vs 4). Umphrey's McGee's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). On update cadence, 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
Umphrey's McGee costs $14.99 and Polyrhythm Explorer $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Umphrey's McGee holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 12 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Umphrey's McGee's written reviews are positive against 88% of Polyrhythm Explorer's.
Umphrey's McGee ships an update every 10 days, Polyrhythm Explorer every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Umphrey's McGee | Polyrhythm Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better | 4.5 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 87.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 12 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 412 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Myxstem | PolyNome Ltd |
Customer experience
Umphrey's McGee
Polyrhythm Explorer
In-app purchases
Umphrey's McGee
No in-app purchases
Polyrhythm Explorer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Umphrey's McGee free?
Is Polyrhythm Explorer free?
Which has better reviews, Umphrey's McGee or Polyrhythm Explorer?
Do Umphrey's McGee or Polyrhythm Explorer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Umphrey's McGee or Polyrhythm Explorer?
Other comparisons
