Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3 vs Maxy MIDI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3
Transform your device into a professional string instrument with a wide array of articulations and textures. Explore and shape sounds using an intuitive touch interface, or integrate it into your favorite music production software.
- Interactive Morphpad for sound blending
- Nine sampled string articulations
- Standalone and AUv3 plugin compatibility
- Extensive MIDI connectivity
- Built-in arpeggiator
- EQ, reverb, and delay effects
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Pure Strings is an inspiring professional iOS app that allows musicians to transform their iPhone or iPad into a richly expressive string instrument. With nine expertly sampled articulations and textures, it offers a wide range of string ensemble options. At its core is the Morphpad, a touch-sensitive interface that allows seamless blending and shaping of sounds. Simply slide your finger to explore and morph through a variety of string sounds and effects. Pure Strings combines the high-quality sound typically associated with desktop virtual instruments with the intuitive, tactile experience of mobile devices, delivering an expressive, versatile and responsive instrument. Pure Strings responds fluidly to your creative impulses. Swipe across the Morphpad to blend, mix and layer string tones with simple finger movements. Whether you're exploring classic sounds or venturing into modern sonic landscapes, the app provides a large variety of strings sounds, including sustain, pizzicato, staccato, harmonics, trills and tremolo articulations, as well as string machine, synth and vintage tape string sounds. Pure Strings lets you access the full dynamic range - from soft piano to bold fortissimo - not only through keyboard velocity, but also through the Dynamics Strip next to the Morphpad, Mod Wheel or automation. In addition, the built-in arpeggiator transforms chords played with short articulations into synchronised arpeggios that follow your host tempo, adding an extra dimension of musical expression. Customise your sound with control over attack and release time, or shape your tone with the Con Sordino button, which softens the sound to create a uniquely mellow and emotional atmosphere, replicating the effect of a mute used by string players. To further enhance your sound design options, Pure Strings includes a versatile EQ, high-quality reverb and a delay effect that syncs to the host tempo. These effects morph seamlessly as you explore the Morphpad, but they can also be set as master effects by disabling the Morphpad control, giving you even more flexibility in sound design. Pure Strings works as a standalone app or as an AUv3 plug-in within your favourite iOS DAW. Whether you want to open the app in standalone mode using USB, standard MIDI, network or Bluetooth MIDI connections, or integrate it as an AUv3 plug-in into music apps such as Logic Pro, GarageBand or Cubasis, Pure Strings offers connectivity and integration across a wide range of workflows. Feature Overview: • Interactive Morphpad - morph, blend and mix string sounds with simple finger movements • Nine different sounds - navigate between nine core string sounds: sustain, pizzicato, staccato, harmonics, trill, tremolo, string machine, synth, vintage tape string • Extensive Connectivity - Connect via USB, direct or Bluetooth MIDI, Inter Device Audio (IDAM), Network MIDI • Standalone and AUv3 plug-in compatible - Plug and play or use within your favourite music production software • Multiple dynamics control options: velocity, on screen dynamics strip, modwheel, automation • Arpeggiator for short articulations - transforms chords into synchronised arpeggios that follow your host tempo • Con Sordino button - soften the sound to create a mellow and emotional atmosphere, replicating the effect of a mute used by string players • Zynaptiq QREV Reverb - Add extra atmosphere and depth to your sound • 3-Band EQ and Delay - Get creative with customisable EQ and temposynced Delay effects • Attack and release envelope control • Studio Quality Audio at Ultra-low Latency • Save and Load Your Own Presets - Wherever you land on the Morph Pad, if you like the sound you hear – save it and recall it again later • Customisable velocity curve • Transposition and tuning options • 24-bit, 44.1 kHz • 905MB installation
Maxy MIDI
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Maxy MIDI turns an iPhone or iPad into a MIDI controller you design yourself. Drop knobs, faders, pads, keyboards, launch grids, mixer strips and DJ controls onto a page, set what each one sends, and play. Boards and pages Every board is a set of pages, each on its own MIDI channel, laid out on a grid. Tap a tab to change page while you play. Boards are saved on the device, exported as files and shared by AirDrop, so a layout built on an iPad can be opened on a phone. Controls Rotary knobs and endless encoders, vertical and horizontal faders, motorised faders that follow the DAW, XY pads, ribbons, pitch and modulation wheels, buttons and toggles, velocity pads and drum racks, a piano keyboard, Launchpad-style clip grids, transport buttons, mixer strips, crossfaders, three-band DJ EQ with kills, and a deck with a jog wheel. Velocity is measured by where your finger lands, by how much glass it covers, or fixed. Getting to your computer Wi-Fi network session for a Mac or for rtpMIDI on Windows, Bluetooth LE, USB cable, and virtual ports for other apps on the same device. MIDI 2.0 is used where the port supports it. There is a MIDI monitor for when something is not arriving. Speaking your DAW's language Mackie Control for mixers and transport, HUI for Pro Tools, and OSC over UDP for Reaper, Bitwig, Resolume, TouchDesigner and VCV Rack. An Ableton Live remote script is bundled and can be sent to your Mac. Controller scripts for Bitwig and Reaper can be generated from a board. Generators A clock that sends MIDI clock or follows one, an arpeggiator, chord pads, a step sequencer with conditional trigs and probability, a Euclidean sequencer, an LFO to any CC, note repeat, a note echo, a Turing machine melody, and a beat generator with hand-written patterns for two dozen genres. Ableton Link is supported when the LinkKit framework is added. Made to be simple Every control works the moment it is dropped on a page, with a sensible default. The inspector shows the common settings first and hides the rest. MIDI Learn wires a control to whatever you move in the DAW. More than sixty templates give you a layout to start from, from Serum and Diva to Logic Pro, a drum rack and a DJ board. What you need to know MIDI does not tell software what to do by itself. It sends numbers on channels, and the software at the other end decides what those numbers mean. A template is a layout whose numbers never clash. Hardware boards are wired from the maker's MIDI chart; the Logic, Bitwig, Cubase, Studio One and Pro Tools boards speak Mackie Control or HUI, which those DAWs take once you add the surface; Ableton Live has a bundled script. For everything else you map the controls in your DAW, usually by moving a control in Maxy MIDI while the DAW is listening. Each template says which it is, and the app has a walkthrough that sends each control in turn to make learning quick. Free and Pro The free app gives you one board of three pages, one of each kind of control on a page and one generator at a time, and lets you open and play every template within those limits. Maxy MIDI Pro is a one-time purchase that removes the limits, keeps templates as boards of your own, turns on board export and sharing, OSC sending and the rest of the beat genres.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Maxy MIDI at Free against Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3's $29.99. Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (16 vs 18.0). On ads and device support 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
Maxy MIDI is free to download; Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3 costs $29.99 up front. Maxy MIDI sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3 asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3 | Maxy MIDI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (54 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 69.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 54 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 878 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | e-instruments lab GmbH | PDS Technology LTD |
In-app purchases
Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3
No in-app purchases
Maxy MIDI
- Maxy MIDI Pro$9.99
Questions
Is Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3 free?
Is Maxy MIDI free?
Do Pure Strings Instrument & AUv3 or Maxy MIDI have ads?
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