Comparison

Fugue Machine Rubato vs Low Poly Synth

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

Head to head
About

Fugue Machine Rubato

This app offers a unique musical canvas for creating and manipulating MIDI sequences. It features a nonlinear time engine that allows for expressive acceleration, deceleration, and directional changes of playheads, along with robust parameter automation for notes and other elements.

Highlights
  • Time-bending playheads
  • Parameter automation
  • Nonlinear time engine
  • Sculpt envelopes with curves
  • Up to eight playheads
  • Per-playhead note echoes
  • Multiple MIDI outputs
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Bend time. Automate notes. A single grid as a multi-dimensional musical canvas — for iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Fugue Machine Rubato dives deeper into the multi-playhead piano roll concept of Fugue Machine Classic by adding time-bending playheads, parameter automation, and much more. At the heart of the sequencer is a nonlinear time engine that lets playheads move with a natural — or surreal — feel. Unlike conventional sequencers, where time advances at a constant rate, time in this engine can expressively accelerate, decelerate, freeze, and change direction. Playheads are now free to swing, strum, bounce, move elastically, and more. Built upon the time engine is a robust parameter automation system with time-bending automation playheads and envelopes sculpted with points, curves, and shapes. Nearly everything can be automated — even the notes. Eight years in the making, Fugue Machine Rubato is rock-solid and absolutely packed with features. HIGHLIGHTS • Bend time with curves, rates, and offsets • Automate notes and nearly everything else • Sculpt envelopes with curves and shapes • Position playheads anywhere on the grid • Play up to eight playheads at once • Apply note echoes per-playhead • Arpeggiate notes from multiple playheads • Blend notes from multiple playheads • Offset, stack, spread, and invert pitches • Clamp, compress, and expand velocities • Program drums via per-note Drum Trigs • Route notes to up to eight MIDI outputs • Organize patterns in nestable folders • Launch patterns quantized to the beat • Revert state via auto-saved Snapshots • Learn contextually via popovers • Explore ~150 built-in patterns • Control via touch, keyboard, and cursor • Resize Mac window at native resolution COMPATIBILITY Fugue Machine Rubato supports iPad, iPhone, Mac (Intel & Apple Silicon), Ableton Link, MIDI, and AUv3* MIDI. With the included AUv3 MIDI plugin, you can run multiple instances of Fugue Machine Rubato within AUv3 host apps — like AUM, Logic Pro for iPad, Loopy Pro, and Cubasis. UNIVERSAL APP — ONE-TIME PURCHASE Pay once and use on iPad, iPhone, and Mac. LEARN MORE — TRY A FREE DEMO To learn more or try a free demo via TestFlight, visit fuguemachinerubato.com.

About

Low Poly Synth

Generate unique, atmospheric melodic sounds with billions of presets. Explore new timbres through random generation or precise editing. Record and export your creations in various formats.

Highlights
  • Billions of unique timbres
  • Random sound generation
  • MIDI control
  • Real-time audio recording
  • WAV and SunVox export
  • Audio Unit Extension (AUv3)
Features
Read full description

Low Poly Synth is a generator of melodic atmospheric sounds with billions of unique timbres. The app is built on modified synthesis algorithms from Fractal Bits, Relic Waves, and Relic Flow, with the addition of pure tone generation code. The sound space is divided into 4294967296 presets, each corresponding to a set of 8 sample textures. The volume of an individual sample can be adjusted in the top panel or via MIDI (Settings -> MIDI Mapping). The bottom panel is a classic musical keyboard that sets the note for the sounds in the set. Each note triggers all 8 samples at once - together they form a complex harmonic pattern that almost never repeats over time due to the different lengths of the looped fragments. Features: * search for new sounds with three buttons: next random set, edit code, previous set; each set of 8 sounds corresponds to a code of 8 characters (you can save/copy/paste it as plain text); * three types of keyboards for live performing: on-screen, PC keyboard, MIDI input; for the on-screen keyboard, you can set the number of displayed octaves and scale; * 20+ parameters can be controlled via MIDI or directly through the app interface: Settings -> MIDI Mapping; * real-time audio recording to WAV (32-bit); * export to: WAV (one file or a set), SunVox (samples + effects in one file), text clipboard; * the LCK button freezes individual samples - they will not change during the search for new sets; * Audio Unit Extension (AUv3), Wi-Fi export/import. Double clicking on a parameter opens a window for setting the exact value. If you enable the Hold option, the notes will play endlessly, without reacting to key release (noteOff) events; turning the note on again works like turning it off; there are two ways to enable this option: 1) using the Hold parameter in the "MIDI Mapping" window; 2) by pressing the HOLD button, which appears in place of LCK while playing the musical keyboard: press HOLD, release the desired notes - then the released notes will continue to play.

Screenshots

Fugue Machine Rubato4 screens
Low Poly Synth3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Low Poly Synth at $1.99 against Fugue Machine Rubato's $39.99. Low Poly Synth also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 75%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Fugue Machine Rubato's advantage is chart position (#109 vs unranked) and ratings volume (68 vs 18). On rating, 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

Fugue Machine Rubato costs $39.99 and Low Poly Synth $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Fugue Machine Rubato against 4.8 for Low Poly Synth. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 18 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Fugue Machine Rubato's written reviews are positive against 88% of Low Poly Synth's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Fugue Machine Rubato versus Low Poly Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFugue Machine RubatoLow Poly Synth
Price$39.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (68 ratings)4.8 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews74.6% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68 — better18
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#109 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexandernautAlexander Zolotov

Customer experience

Fugue Machine Rubato

All ratings68 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive74.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative19.0%

Low Poly Synth

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

Bugs and requests

Fugue Machine Rubato

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Doesn't work with Logic Pro
  • Compatibility issues with older macOS versions

Requested features

2 requests
  • Add a parameter randomizer feature
  • Improve documentation and provide a complete manual

Low Poly Synth

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Fugue Machine Rubato

No in-app purchases

None

Low Poly Synth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fugue Machine Rubato free?
Fugue Machine Rubato costs $39.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Low Poly Synth free?
Low Poly Synth costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Fugue Machine Rubato or Low Poly Synth?
Fugue Machine Rubato and Low Poly Synth are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 68 and 18 ratings respectively.
Do Fugue Machine Rubato or Low Poly Synth have ads?
Neither Fugue Machine Rubato nor Low Poly Synth shows ads.

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