Streichfett vs PocketStrum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Streichfett
Experience the sound of legendary 70s and 80s string synthesizers on your iPad. This app recreates the classic String Machine experience with a dual sound engine for polyphonic strings and an eight-voice solo section, complete with ensemble, phaser, and reverb effects.
- Dual sound engine (String & Solo sections)
- Polyphonic String Section
- Eight-voice Solo Section
- Ensemble Effect
- Phaser and Reverb effects
- Animate Effect for sound morphing
- AUv3 support
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The sound engine of the legendary Waldorf Streichfett hardware is now available for iPad including AUv3 format. The Streichfett takes you back to the days of the legendary String Machines. In the old days, there was no choice – to create a massive wall of sound, you simply needed a String Machine. It was the time when composing contemporary music had no resemblance to doing your annual tax return on a PC. It was the golden years of rock and pop, when even keyboard players simply plugged their instrument into the amp and started playing, instead of labouring over endless preset lists in search of the perfect sound. Now there is Streichfett – and the good old days are coming back. Experience what a real String Synthesizer sounds like. Experience how a homogeneous, extremely dense, floating web of sounds can be created from a raw, basic electronic sound in just a few simple steps. Streichfett combines the best of the previously extinct species of String Synthesizers of the 70s and early 80s. Its dual sound engine features a fully polyphonic String Section and an eight voice Solo Section, which is essential for recreating classic movie sounds from the 70s and 80s. The Ensemble Effect provides depth and movement to the String Section, while the Effects Section adds adjustable Phaser and Reverb effects. Additionally, the Animate Effect can be used to modulate the Strings Registration, allowing spectacular sound morphs. The Solo Section offers presets named Bass, E-Piano or Clavi, and just like with a typical String Machine, the sound has little to do with that name. Instead, these are shimmering and slightly percussive sounds that blend well with the String Section. Although the User Interface is simple and easy to comprehend, it controls a rather complex sound engine which is capable of delivering rich and creamy pads unlike any other instrument.
PocketStrum
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The beloved electronic autoharp of the early '80s — the strum-anything wonder heard on records by Gorillaz, David Bowie and Brian Eno — reborn as a pocket instrument anyone can play in seconds. Press a chord button with your left thumb. Sweep your right thumb across the SonicStrings-style strumplate. That's it — you're making music. Every string is always in tune, because the plate re-tunes itself to whatever chord you're holding. MADE FOR INSTANT MUSIC • 12-string touch strumplate with true multitouch and velocity — strum slow and soft or fast and bright, with a haptic tick on every string • 108 chords from a 3 × 12 panel: hold Maj+7 for maj7, Min+7 for m7, Maj+Min for dim, all three for aug, plus Sus4 and Add9 keys • Four voices — Omni, Harp, Celeste, Organ — from a real-time polyphonic synth engine with shimmering delay, hall reverb and vibrato • A sustained chord-organ layer with its own volume fader, for that warm held-pad-plus-sparkle sound the originals were famous for • Seven built-in demo songs that play the instrument for you — and a LEARN MODE that turns every one into an interactive lesson: the song pauses at each chord change, the keys to press light up, and it rolls on the moment you play them • Tape mode: gentle wow & flutter, like a loved cassette • Left-handed strumplate option • Record your performance and share it anywhere with one tap • MIDI out: a "Pocket Strum" virtual source plays GarageBand, Logic, AUM or hardware synths straight from the strumplate • Six voices: Omni, Harp, Celeste, Organ, Bell and Pad A BAND IN YOUR POCKET • Five rhythms with drums and an auto-bass that follows your chords: Rock, Slow rock, Waltz, Bossa nova and Hip hop • Tempo fader from 60 to 180 BPM with a running-beat LED • Keeps playing in the background and mixes with Apple Music or Spotify, so you can jam along with anything TWO LOOKS, ONE INSTRUMENT • Classic: a cream-and-red hardware skin with bevelled plastic keys, red LEDs and ruler-ticked faders, straight out of 1981 • Modern: a flat, dark, stage-friendly UI • Switch anytime — your choice is remembered HONEST BY DESIGN • Pay once, own it forever • No ads, no subscriptions, no accounts, no tracking — the app collects no data at all • Works in portrait and landscape on any iPhone running iOS 17 or later Whether you're sketching songs, adding dreamy texture to a track, or handing your phone to someone who's "not musical" and watching them light up — Pocket Strum makes playing feel like magic.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PocketStrum at $9.99 against Streichfett'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
Streichfett costs $14.99 and PocketStrum $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Streichfett | PocketStrum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $9.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (19 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Waldorf Music | Tony McMahon |
In-app purchases
Streichfett
No in-app purchases
PocketStrum
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Streichfett free?
Is PocketStrum free?
Do Streichfett or PocketStrum have ads?
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