sqsl Mantra vs ostinata
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
sqsl Mantra
This experimental MIDI sequencer generates musical patterns with multiple tracks, scales, and transformation options. It allows for deep customization of triggers, pitch, and rhythm, with features for pattern evolution and saving to MIDI files.
- 3-track MIDI sequencing
- Heptatonic scales quantizer
- Scale morphing
- Pattern evolution
- MIDI file export
- Velocity modulation via LFO
- Preset saving
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Experimental MIDI sequencer/pattern generator designed for iPhones. // FEATURES - 3 tracks (A, B, C) - Triggers for each track (3 × 8 triggers) - Pitch values shared across tracks (row of 8 values) - Heptatonic scales quantizer (5 scale patterns × 7 modes × 12 roots) - Scale morphing using Triadic transformations - Degree mask per track (exclusion of specific degrees from the scale) - Degree shift (degree transposition) per track - Gate length per track - Track length control for Track A and Track B (with optional reset synced to Track C) - Track C Pause control (Track C will wait 0-8 steps before looping back to start) - Clock divider per track - Random step jump per track (probability) - Clock acceleration linked to B Track's playhead position - Swing and BPM clock control - Velocity and MIDI channel (1–3) per track - Velocity can be modulated by LFO (per track) with Rate and Amount control - Pattern evolution synced to Track C loop - Evolution has selectable groups of processes/transformations - Variations generator based on current pattern and evolution settings (16 x 4 variations) - Optional automatic capture of output to .MID files (synchronized to Play button) // EVOLUTION When evolution is triggered (Track C loop), it will randomly select one of the enabled transformation groups and apply one of the transformations contained in that group. Transformation groups can also be "locked-in" so they happen each time when evolution is triggered. List of available groups and transformations within them: PITCH - The order of pitch values is reversed - Two pitch values are swapped TRIGS - Two trigger states are swapped (within a single track) - Trigger patterns of two tracks are swapped - The trigger pattern of a single track is reversed SHIFT - The degree is shifted randomly on a single track MORPH - One of the 3 triads defining currently selected scale is rotated (replaced MODE transformation from previous version) PAUSE - Empty steps are added at the end of track C (0-8) FLIP - The pitch values of single track are inverted - The pitch values of all tracks are inverted STEPS - The track length of A or B track is randomized MASK - The degree mask is shifted horizontally by one step (left or right) BPM - BPM is halved or doubled - BPM is inverted (120 BPM taken as the axis) - BPM jumps to a random value READ 1ST - First variation on current variation page is loaded (this transformation is excluded from variation generation). ACCELERATE - Acceleration parameters is randomized (speed up of clock depending on Track B playhead position) RANDOM POSITION A - Random step parameter of Track A is randomized // PRESETS There are 5 × 24 available slots for user presets. BPM and scale settings can be ignored when loading a preset. Evolution variations (64) are saved within presets. // SAVING TO MIDI FILES Output can be automatically saved to a .MID type. File will be located at the “On My iPhone/sqsl Mantra” folder and named using the current date and time. Takes start when PLAY is activated and end/save when PLAY is deactivated. File saving can be enabled (“AUTO SAVE” setting on the MIDI page) even after playback has started, since note events are always automatically captured in memory. Important notes: - Mantra does not make any sounds on its own, it generates MIDI messages (notes). - Mantra is standalone application and it can not be loaded as AUv3 in other apps/hosts. For more information visit: https://www.seqsual.com
ostinata
Visualize and share your music discovery journeys. Map connections between artists, albums, and genres, explaining your reasoning. Explore and remix others' musical paths or create discovery challenges for the community.
- Create visual music discovery paths
- Connect artists, albums, and genres
- Add reasoning to connections
- Search music via MusicBrainz
- Fork and remix existing journeys
- Post community discovery challenges
- Private iCloud data sync
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ostinata lets you map the actual paths you take through music. ever gone from radiohead to aphex twin because kid a changed how you think about electronic music? from miles davis to j dilla because someone sampled a love supreme? ostinata turns those invisible threads into visual, shareable directed graphs. — how it works — create a journey by adding nodes — artists, albums, genres, emotions, or concepts. connect them with directed edges that show which discovery led to which. add reasoning text to explain the connection. the result is a map of your taste that others can explore, fork, and build on. — search & discover — search for artists and albums via musicbrainz, the open music encyclopedia. album nodes display cover art. long-press any node to open its musicbrainz page for deeper exploration. — fork & remix — see a journey that resonates? fork it. you get a copy of the entire graph — all nodes, edges, and reasoning — that you can extend, rearrange, or take in a completely different direction. — bounties — post discovery challenges for the community. set a topic like "find the link: kraftwerk to detroit techno," define seed nodes as starting points, and offer resonance as a reward. other users form guilds of five to tackle the challenge together. — your data, your cloud — everything syncs privately via icloud. we store nothing on our servers. your journeys, your data, your control. — design — black canvas. white lines. ibm plex mono. all lowercase. album art in grayscale. ostinata is built for people who care about how things look as much as how they sound. ostinata — discovery through human curation.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ostinata at Free against sqsl Mantra's $14.99. ostinata also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
ostinata is free to download; sqsl Mantra costs $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for sqsl Mantra against 5.0 for ostinata. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
sqsl Mantra ships an update every 3 months, ostinata every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | sqsl Mantra | ostinata |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michal Macura | Joachim Groeger |
In-app purchases
sqsl Mantra
No in-app purchases
ostinata
No in-app purchases









