GainX2 vs Strum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GainX2
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GainX2 Dual Gain Utility Plugin (AUv3) GainX2 is an audio effect plugin that can run standalone, or in any AU compatible host application such as Logic Pro or GarageBand. Overview GainX2 is a gain utility primarily designed for use during live performances within an AU host controlled via MIDI CC (*). You can use GainX2 as a "helping hand" to mute or unmute channels, smoothly fade between them, or add additional switchable gain before a guitar amp sim. You could even use GainX2 to automate a one minute fade out at the end of a performance! GainX2 also includes a master volume with variable taper and optional damping. This feature is useful when controlling volume via a MIDI controller in your host, and avoids the "stepping" effect that you sometimes get when mapping MIDI CCs to a volume parameter. NOTE: If all this talk of MIDI CCs isn't making sense, or you primarily make music in a more traditional DAW such as GarageBand or Logic, then you probably won't find GainX2 very useful. Alternatively, if you like to perform live with an iPad and use something like AUM or Loopy Pro, then you might be glad of a "helping hand" to control gain dynamically and smoothly via MIDI. (*) Please note that GainX2 does not have a "MIDI learn" function of its own, so your host needs to support the mapping of plugin parameters to incoming MIDI CC messages. A B Indicators Above the view selector are indicators to show which gain setting is active, and these will be animated according to the fade time so you can see the transition between the two settings. Please note these are not interactive buttons that you click on. Controls Gain - Switch between Gain A and Gain B. Typically, you would map this parameter in your host to a MIDI CC switch (0 or 127) in your host. Note that at start up, GainX2 will default to the A setting, so you should think of this as the default state that you want. Gain A/B - Set the level of A or B. At minimum setting, this is essentially silence which is useful for fade or mute type applications. Please note that GainX2 can boost the incoming signal up to 12dB which could result in clipping, so please monitor, and be careful with your levels. Fade - Sets a linear (Lin) or exponential (Exp) fade between A and B. Exponential typically works best for a more natural sounding attack or decay. Time - Sets the time to Fade between Gain A and B. Volume - Sets the master volume. Typically you would map this parameter in your host to a MIDI CC (0 - 127). Taper - Sets the taper of the volume smoothing to linear (Lin) or exponential (Exp). Sometimes exponential will work better for CCs that are being controlled via MIDI expression pedals. Damping - Sets a variable damping or smoothing time to the volume control. This is useful if you hear "stepping" or sudden jumps when the Volume parameter is being controlled via MIDI. For more info and support please visit: www.waverley-instruments.com/robjackson
Strum
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Strum is a clean, focused tablature editor for ukulele, guitar, and electric guitar. Write a song, drop in chords, set a strum pattern, and hear it back on a real recorded instrument, all on one screen, laid out the way fretted-instrument players think about a song. » Tab-first editing › Choose what you see: standard staff, tablature, beat counters, chord boxes, chord names, strum directions, and lyrics. › Tap a beat to add a chord or frets, then step on to the next without closing. Copy a measure and paste it anywhere, or duplicate whole sections. › Section labels, repeat barlines, and per-section time signatures: a 5/4 bridge inside a 4/4 song is a two-tap change. » Capo, written the way songbooks write it › Set a capo on any song and playback moves to the real sounding pitch, while the tab keeps showing the frets you actually hold. › Chord names do not change (a C shape is still "C"), and a "Capo 3" badge sits on the song and on exported PDFs. › Standard notation follows the capo, because notation shows what you hear. › The tuner knows too: tune the open strings, then check the capoed pitches. » Real instruments, not a synth › In Instrument mode nothing you hear is synthesised. The ukulele was recorded note by note for this app, so chords ring and fade like the real thing, body taps and chucks included. › Guitar and electric guitar are sampled from real instruments too. If you would rather have the lighter built-in synth, it is one switch in Settings, set per device. » Pay once, play forever › No subscriptions, no accounts, no ads. Buy Strum once, and it's yours. » Every tuning, and a tuner that knows them › Ukulele: high-G, low-G, Baritone. Guitar and electric guitar: Standard, E-flat Standard, Drop D, Drop C, each with its own full chord library. › Build a custom tuning at any open-string pitch, or hide the ones you never use. Copy a song into another tuning with the same chord shapes. › The built-in tuner handles all of them, custom ones included, and can set a custom tuning by ear from a plucked string. › An adaptive noise gate learns your room's background noise, so the needle stays steady. › Concert pitch from 415 Hz to 446 Hz: an ensemble at 442 or a baroque group at 415 is one tap away. » Practice › Follow tab highlights the current beat and chord as it plays, auto-scrolling your tab hands-free. › The in-song metronome locks to your sheet music's time signature and subdivision, so it never drifts out of phase. › Rhythm Training builds speed with automated tempo ramps and a live progress dashboard. › Drop-Out Training mutes the click after a few measures, to test whether you drift. » Chords and strum patterns › A library of common ukulele and guitar shapes ready to drop into a beat, plus your own built in the multi-fret finger editor. › Change a fingering globally, or long-press a chord in the beat editor to override it for one song. › Build strum patterns from up and down strokes, arpeggios, fingerstyle, chucks, mutes, and rests. Save them, browse the built-in library by time signature, or set per-song and per-section overrides. » iPhone, iPad, and Mac › Strum scales from a quick lookup on your phone to a full editing surface on iPad or Mac. Your library syncs through your private iCloud account, so a song you wrote on the couch is waiting on your iPad at practice. › Sort each folder by title, artist or last edit, or drag songs into your own order, such as a setlist. » PDF export and sharing › Export any song as a clean PDF or image to print and share, or send the native .strum file to other players. It opens straight from Mail, Messages, AirDrop or Files. » Private by default › Songs, folders, sections, custom chords, tunings, patterns, and preferences sync through your private Apple CloudKit database. › The microphone is used only for tuning. Audio is processed on-device and never recorded or sent anywhere. › No analytics, no third-party servers. Your songs never leave Apple's infrastructure.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: GainX2 at $1.99 against Strum's $3.99. GainX2 also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On update cadence, 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
GainX2 costs $1.99 and Strum $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GainX2 | Strum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rob Jackson | Mateusz Dabrowski |
In-app purchases
GainX2
No in-app purchases
Strum
No in-app purchases









