Comparison

Surface Builder vs Dagger synth

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

Head to head
About

Surface Builder

Create custom MIDI control surfaces for audio applications. Design interfaces with buttons, knobs, and faders to send and receive MIDI data, control audio clips, and customize appearance. Supports AUv3 plugins and standalone use.

Highlights
  • Customizable MIDI control surfaces
  • AUv3 plugin and standalone modes
  • Send/receive MIDI data (notes, controllers, pitch bend)
  • Audio clip playback control
  • Multi-scene interface design
  • Drag and drop interface customization
Features
Read full description

Surface Builder is a tool for creating control surfaces that send MIDI data to one or more audio components in order to simplify remote control tasks. You start by creating a surface of a given size, adding buttons, knobs, faders, etc. to the surface and configuring them to generate the required MIDI output. Surface Builder allows you to send note on/off, controller change and program change values as well as being able to emulate modulation wheel and pitch bend data. Buttons can also be configured to send bulk MIDI data using a single key press. You can build surfaces that span multiple scenes and link between them for large complex interfaces. Incoming MIDI data can also be used to control or trigger elements of the interface, giving a bi-directional stream of MIDI data. Surface Builder can be added as a pure MIDI plugin which allows processing of MIDI only, or as an instrument plugin, allowing you to process audio passing through it. You can even load it as an intrument and configure a surface to start and stop audio clips either manually or remotely. Surface Builder was designed to be used as an AUv3 plugin within your favourite DAW, but it can also be used in standalone to send MIDI directly to MIDI hardware using direct access to their MIDI ports. Many different object types are supported including buttons, switches, lights, rotary knobs, faders, sliders, XY-Pad, keyboards, as well as text, image and box objects. Each object has many different styles and colours, so no two surfaces look the same. Drag and drop an audio file onto a button and that button becomes a clip player. Attach rotary knobs to control the clips volume and pan. Throw on top of that a LP/HP filter knob and you are cooking on gas. Drop PNG transparent image icons on buttons to customise the look and feel. A button can record and playback bulk MIDI commands, on both button press and release. So pressing a button could send the notes of a chord when pressed, and appropriate note offs on release. A surface can consist of up to 6 scenes for really complex designs. Buttons and switches can be used to switch scenes and also to show and hide other objects to make better use of screen space. Once your surface is complete switch to presentation mode to hide all the toolbars. Each surface can be saved with compressed audio and images all in a single surface file. Features ○ AUv3 and standalone modes. ○ Bluetooth MIDI support. ○ Drag and Drop interface. ○ Send and Receive Note On/Off. ○ Supports all Control Change parameters. ○ Supports Program Change commands with bank support. ○ Multiple Audio Clip playback. ○ Record and playback bulk midi data. ○ Multi-Scene. ○ Multi-level undo/redo. ○ MIDI Monitor ○ Presentation Mode. ○ iPhone and iPad compatible.

About

Dagger synth

This app offers a powerful analog modeling paraphonic synthesizer with a raw, big sound. It features advanced circuit modeling and an intuitive interface, providing extensive sound design possibilities for musicians.

Highlights
  • Monophonic and paraphonic modes
  • 2 rich oscillators with wave shape morphing
  • Spice mode for component simulation
  • Multiple low pass filter models
  • Multi-mode modulator
  • ADSR envelope generator
  • Randomize and preset options
Features
Read full description

Dagger is a compact and powerful analog modeling paraphonic synth with a big, raw analog sound. Thanks to advanced analog circuit modelling engine and meticulous attention to details, Dagger rivals the sound of the best desktop-class synthesizers. Dagger's user interface is simple, fast and intuitive, but it's possibilites will surprise you. You cannot get more for the money. Features • Monophonic and paraphonic mode (4 oscillator sections) • 2 rich oscillators with wave shape morphing and hard-sync • "Spice" mode to simulate faulty components • "Japanese style" naughty 12db high pass filter • 4 low pass filter models: Steiner parker, 2x transistor ladder and 1 diode ladder. (8x oversampled) • Amplifier with warm diode clipper • Multi-mode modulator (LFO, Decay envelope, VCO) • ADSR envelope generator • Modulation targets: oscillator waveform, pitch, phase, amplifier, filter cutoff Hit randomize button or use one of 60 built-in presets. User manual and audio demos available on www.beepstreet.com

Screenshots

Surface Builder4 screens
Dagger synth2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dagger synth at $4.99 against Surface Builder's $14.99. Dagger synth also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). 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

Surface Builder costs $14.99 and Dagger synth $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dagger synth holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 43 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Surface Builder's written reviews are positive against 100% of Dagger synth's.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Surface Builder versus Dagger synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurface BuilderDagger synth
Price$14.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.7 (15 ratings)4.9 (43 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1543 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13 — better14.4
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer4Pockets.comBeepStreet

Customer experience

Surface Builder

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral13.3%
Negative6.7%

Dagger synth

All ratings43 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Surface Builder

No in-app purchases

None

Dagger synth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surface Builder free?
Surface Builder costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dagger synth free?
Dagger synth costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surface Builder or Dagger synth?
Dagger synth is rated higher. Surface Builder averages 4.7 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Dagger synth averages 4.9 from 43 ratings.
Do Surface Builder or Dagger synth have ads?
Neither Surface Builder nor Dagger synth shows ads.

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