Comparison

Surface Builder vs Drone Pad mobile

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

Drone Pad mobile

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Drone Pad generates one or more sustained reference tones — in equal or just intonation — with a fully customizable sound character. ◆ THREE REASONS MUSICIANS AND MEDITATORS CHOOSE DRONE PAD 1. It tunes your ear, not just your instrument. A continuous, pitch-perfect drone lets you hear immediately whether your fifths, thirds, and sevenths are in tune — no piano, no tuner required. Ideal for strings, winds, brass, and singers. 2. It breathes. Every single time. Unlike static drone apps, Drone Pad creates a living sound space: up to 7 oscillators per voice with natural beating frequencies, an LFO with individual phase offsets per voice, and a synthetically calculated reverb — the result is organic, never mechanical. 3. It holds space for stillness. A deep, slowly breathing fundamental tone helps the mind settle. Drone Pad runs stable for hours without interruption or repetition — trusted in sound healing, meditation, yoga, and bodywork. —— FEATURES - Concert pitch: 432, 440, 442 Hz or any custom pitch - 16 intervals from unison to perfect twelfth — each individually switchable - Equal and just intonation — switch and hear the difference instantly - Up to 7 oscillators per voice with continuous detune - 4 waveforms per voice: sawtooth, sine, triangle, square - LFO amplitude modulation with live wave animation - Synthetic reverb with adjustable mix and room size - Lowpass filter with resonance and attack envelope - 10 color themes — from black to pastel - 5 saveable presets - No account. No ads. No interruptions. Support: haakemusic.com

Screenshots

Surface Builder4 screens
Drone Pad mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Drone Pad mobile at Free against Surface Builder's $14.99. On ads, in-app purchases, 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

Drone Pad mobile is free to download; Surface Builder costs $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Surface Builder versus Drone Pad mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurface BuilderDrone Pad mobile
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1313.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB3 MB
Age rating4++4
Developer4Pockets.comThomas Haake

In-app purchases

None

Surface Builder

No in-app purchases

None

Drone Pad mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surface Builder free?
Surface Builder costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Drone Pad mobile free?
Drone Pad mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Surface Builder or Drone Pad mobile have ads?
Neither Surface Builder nor Drone Pad mobile shows ads.

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