Comparison

Trompong vs PentaMonochord

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

Head to head
About

Trompong

Experience the authentic sounds of Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar with this app. It features a row of 10 gongs, offering a realistic playing experience with high-quality sampled sounds and interactive controls. Explore detailed instrument views and customizable notation displays.

Highlights
  • Authentic sampled sound bank
  • Realistic playing experience
  • Ultra-low latency audio
  • Zoomable instrument views
  • Customizable cipher notation
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

World's first iPhone/iPad implementation of the main instruments of a Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar! A Trompong is a row of 10 gongs or kettles mounted on a frame, and is played by four players in the Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar. It plays the interlocking or kotekan parts and also marks the music by the patterns it plays. * Authentic sound bank sampled directly from real instruments * User interaction designed to replicate true playing experience * Playing sound can be stopped --- essential for Gamelan! * High-quality photos showcasing real instruments * Optimized for ultra-low latency audio playback * Zoomable views for detailed instrument exploration * Customizable display of cipher notations to suit your preferences * Completely ad-free for uninterrupted enjoyment

About

PentaMonochord

Explore the relationship between pitch and string length with a digital monochord. Build scales, hear intervals, and learn about Pythagorean music theory through interactive blocks and historical context.

Highlights
  • Build two-octave G pentatonic scales
  • Hear and see interval relationships
  • View Hertz frequencies and string lengths
  • Play pentatonic tunes
  • Scale-building game mode
  • Background information on monochord system
  • Historical timeline
Features
Read full description

The Pythagoreans’ foremost innovation was to correlate pitch relationships to calibrated speaking lengths of a string on a monochord. Now, for the first time, there’s an app for that! Use IntervalBlocks to build a two-octave G pentatonic scale on the PentaMonochord using only octaves and fifths. Touch any block to see and hear its interval again, and watch the Hertz box to see how the frequencies of the two notes relate inversely to the string lengths represented by the IntervalBlock. Touch the note labels any time to play a pentatonic tune. Press “Switch to Game” to join the Pythagorean pantheon by building the whole scale with the minimum number of steps. The Intro and the Background Information explain the monochord system in detail, and the Timeline puts it all in perspective.

Screenshots

Trompong4 screens
PentaMonochord4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PentaMonochord at $1.99 against Trompong's $4.99. PentaMonochord also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Trompong costs $4.99 and PentaMonochord $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Trompong ships an update every 33 months, PentaMonochord every 24 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Trompong versus PentaMonochord: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrompongPentaMonochord
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 33 monthsEvery 24 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeremacsian Company LimitedLucy Hudson

Customer experience

Trompong

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

PentaMonochord

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Trompong

No in-app purchases

None

PentaMonochord

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Trompong free?
Trompong costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PentaMonochord free?
PentaMonochord costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Trompong or PentaMonochord have ads?
Neither Trompong nor PentaMonochord shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Trompong or PentaMonochord?
Trompong ships an update every 33 months, and PentaMonochord every 24 months. Most recently, Trompong was updated on November 1, 2026 and PentaMonochord on November 3, 2026.

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