Comparison

Laney vs MidiStep

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

Head to head
About

Laney

This app offers a comprehensive bass amplifier and effects suite, emulating vintage FET and tube sounds with extensive customization. It includes a stomp section with four pedals, a versatile cab section with mic options, and a powerful FX rack for shaping your bass tone.

Highlights
  • FET/Tube preamp channels
  • Stomp section with 4 pedals
  • Cab section with 3 Laney cabs and mic options
  • FX rack with EQ, maximizer, and limiters
  • Parallel processing with adjustable order
  • Built-in recorder and tuner
Features
Read full description

Laney Digbeth A widely-known, acclaimed FET/Tube bass amp for modern players looking for vintage sound. What’s inside - Stomp section with 4 pedals with adjustable processing order. - Cab section with 3 Laney cabs and an array of mic options. - Output section with full 10-band graphic EQ and a limiter. - Full parallel processing with adjustable section order. - FX section (EQ, maximizer, and 2 limiters). - FET / TUBE preamp channels (mixable). - Bass dynamics section with sidechain. - 3-band EQ with 4 mid-band modes. - Mammoth processing section. Stomp Section Three pedals from Black Country Customs: - The 85 Bass-interval a bass octave pedal with two parallel octaver modes. - The Custard Factory bass compressor pedal with three modes. - Blackheath distortion pedal with 2 distortion modes and an overdrive. Fourth pedal is addition from Aurora DSP: - Gamma Burst Bass-tortion three channels of drive with various characters. The Amp Digital recreation of the legendary 500 watt Digbeth bass head, with all its features: - FET / TUBE preamp channels with option to mix both of them. - 3-band EQ with 4 mid-band modes for different characteristics. - TILT "EQ Seesaw" knob for an all-around tonal adjustment. Cab section - Four mics to choose from, for diverse tonal characters. - Tone mixer for sound shaping and balancing. - External IR loader. - Three powerful and dynamic Laney cab models: 
-DBV212-4 
-DBV410-4 
-DBV810-4 FX rack Signal chain designed specifically for bass guitars, combining top-tier analog modeling and digital processing to deliver a powerful, punchy, and refined bass sound. This rack is built with the following iconic modules: - 10-band EQ A classic graphic EQ, with 10 bands of +/- 12dB gain, proportional Q and VU meters. Enhanced with an additional drive module for vintage saturation. - Sonic optimizer An advanced signal processor for adjusting the character of the sound. Useful for improving the low-end definition, adding some high-end clarity, as well as adjusting the overall feel. - Limiting amplifier Based on a legendary FET compressor/limiter known for its fast attack times and transparent compression widely used in studios for bass to achieve punchy and smooth dynamics. - Leveling amplifier Modeled after an optical tube-based compressor with a warm, smooth character. With a slow attack and release, it's a favorite for bass processing, due to its natural-sounding compression. BASS DYNAMICS - An adjustable compressor with a filtered sidechain. - "Placement" options for fitting the low-end better into the mix. IN - Crossover with 3 different modes and adjustable frequency (and an option to disable parallel processing completely). - Low-cut and high-cut filtering. OUT - Bass/Treble mixer for controlling the levels after the parallel processing. - Slam limiter for final dynamics adjustments. - Full 10-band graphic EQ. Additional features: - Noise gate - Tuner - Metronome - Built-in recorder for capturing riffs - Cross-platform preset sharing - Studio environment mode for headphones with control room simulation Available in AUv3 and standalone

About

MidiStep

Create complex rhythms and generative music with a powerful step sequencer. Control randomization for notes, chords, velocity, and more to generate unique, ever-changing musical patterns. Automate synth parameters with independent modulation lanes.

Highlights
  • User-controlled randomization for musical parameters
  • Polyphonic chord playback per step
  • Variable step sequence lengths
  • Multiple linked patterns
  • 8 independent modulation lanes
  • Real-time modification of randomization
Features
Read full description

MidiStep is a powerful and inspirational polyphonic step sequencer, and a dream for lovers of complex rhythms and generative music creation tools. The program uses sophisticated, user-controlled randomization to generate notes with a variety of parameters, including note values, note length, chords, patterns, velocity, gate, dividers, repeats, swing, and many more. You have complete control over what, when, and how much is randomized on a step-by-step basis. You can easily create patterns that have little to no variation, patterns that maintain a recognizable pattern but have some degree of variations to the notes, velocity, etc., all the way to patterns with extreme randomness with every pass – the degree of randomization is completely under your control for every parameter and for every step of a pattern. Features include per-step polyphonic chord playback, variable step sequence lengths for all parameters such as pitch, octave, velocity, note duration, beat divisions etc, and the capability to create multiple patterns which can be linked together in various ways. MidiStep also features 8 additional modulation lanes with independent play speeds. These can be used to automate parameters within your favourite synths. MidiStep uses sophisticated randomization settings for note values, note lengths, velocity, gate, dividers, repeats, swing, pitch bend and modulation. In addition, by setting different cycle lengths, step skips, step repeats, jumps, rewinds, cursor positions, pattern jumps, octave shifts, and many other parameters, you can create an infinite number of non-repeating sequences. The degree and types of randomizations for each of these parameters is up to you! Aleatoric music, also known as chance music, allows you to create patterns and entire compositions with user-controlled randomisation. The word 'aleatory' is derived from the Latin word 'alea' meaning dice. MidiStep allows you to turn on/off randomisation on a stepwise basis for almost all parameters, set the percent probability that the randomisation will occur, set min/max values, set exactly which parameters will be randomized, etc. The exact realization of the music will vary with each pass of the sequence, resulting in unique and captivating aleatoric renditions. All randomization controls can be modified in real-time. Features include: •Each of the 16 sequences can have unlimited types and degrees of randomness that you control. •8 independent sequencer lanes: Notes, Chords, Octaves, Velocity, Gate, Divider, Repeat, Delay. •8 independent Modulation sequencer lanes. •16 Patterns and 4 types of pattern switching, independent for each pattern. •Up to 16 steps per pattern, 16 patterns, and 16 cycles per pattern for a maximum sequence length of 4096 notes. •Independent sequencer length (1–16 steps) for each of the 16 lanes. •A Master step cursor independent of all other lanes. •Independent randomization parameters for each of the 16 lanes, with probability, min/max values, default values, skips, repeats, etc. •Unlimited variety of sequences, from slight variation to wildly different sequences on every pass. •126 scales and 126 chords – in every key, along with a scale and chord editor for you to create your own. •Chord complexity for 2–8 note chords, with notes specified or randomly generated. •Chord Articulation options – Block chords, Strum up/down, Arp up/down – with accent, length, speed, and random note order parameters. •Master lane and Chord lane previews. •Pattern Creator - automatic melody, chord, bass and drum backing. •Auto-scroll chord lane. •7-octave range for notes and chords (from C1–C8), with static and random octave offsets. •11 note lengths – from 1/32 note to 4 full measures, plus ties across notes, rests, repeated notes, and delays. •Two types of Swing with adjustable offset. •Humanize settings for note velocity and note timing. •Transposition of sequences using a keyboard – mono for single notes, and poly for chords.

Screenshots

Laney4 screens
MidiStep4 screens

Verdict

The call

Laney and MidiStep both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Laney's written reviews are positive against 81% of MidiStep's. MidiStep's advantage is ratings volume (26 vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Laney holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MidiStep has 26 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Laney's written reviews are positive against 81% of MidiStep's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Laney ships an update every 9 days, MidiStep every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Laney versus MidiStep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLaneyMidiStep
Price$14.99$14.99
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.8 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better81.3% of reviews
Number of ratings426 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size240 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAurora DSP4Pockets.com

Customer experience

Laney

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

MidiStep

All ratings25 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.8%

In-app purchases

None

Laney

No in-app purchases

None

MidiStep

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Laney free?
Laney costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MidiStep free?
MidiStep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Laney or MidiStep?
Laney is rated higher. Laney averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while MidiStep averages 4.8 from 26 ratings.
Do Laney or MidiStep have ads?
Neither Laney nor MidiStep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Laney or MidiStep?
Laney ships an update every 9 days, and MidiStep every 2 weeks. Most recently, Laney was updated on October 24, 2026 and MidiStep on October 30, 2026.

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