Comparison

Uraha vs PanStrobe

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

Head to head
About

Uraha

Features
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Why a shamisen-dedicated tuner? The shamisen's distinctive tone β€” shaped by its percussive attack, rapid decay, rich harmonic overtones, and the characteristic sawari buzz β€” makes it notoriously difficult for general-purpose digital tuners to detect accurately. Uraha is purpose-built and optimized specifically for the shamisen. Why choose Uraha? β–  Record Your Own Shamisen β€” Recorded No two shamisen sound alike. Record your instrument at its perfectly tuned pitch, then play that recording back before every performance to tune your strings to it β€” not a generic reference pitch, but the character of your own instrument. Hear each take before you keep it, add a quick memo, and swipe away any you no longer need. Found in no other shamisen tuner app. β–  [New in Version 4.0] The Whole Tuning on One Screen Choose your key and tuning from two pickers, then work across the three strings side by side. Each string shows its note, its octave and its exact frequency, and keeps a check mark once you have held it in tune β€” so you can see at a glance how far through the instrument you are. Hold a string in tune for a second and Uraha advances to the next one on its own. β–  [New in Version 4.0] A Tuner That Measures the Right String The needle now reads against the string you selected, not simply the nearest note. Play the wrong string, or catch an overtone instead of the fundamental, and Uraha tells you so rather than reporting a confident match. β–  Ear Tuning with Authentic Shamisen Tone Uraha plays a synthesized tone that closely recreates the resonance and timbre of a real shamisen, so you can tune by ear the way musicians have for centuries. One tap sounds a string; hold to repeat it. Fine-tune the timbre to match your own instrument and preference. β–  Digital Tuner Optimized for Shamisen Calibrated specifically for the shamisen's pitch range and harmonic structure, Uraha detects the fundamental pitch far more reliably than conventional chromatic tuners β€” use it alongside ear tuning for precision you can see and hear. β–  Instrument-Type Presets Fine-tune the synthesized tone for Tsugaru shamisen, nagauta, jiuta, and more, then save up to three configurations as presets β€” ideal if you own multiple instruments or switch between genres. β–  Full Support for All Three Traditional Tunings Hon-choshi, Ni-agari, and San-sagari β€” accurate reference pitches for every standard shamisen tuning, one tap away. β–  Saved Tunings with Memos Save a key and tuning together with a note β€” the song, the piece, the player β€” and call it straight back from the saved list. Ideal for teachers tracking students' setups or performers managing multiple pieces. β–  Accessible by Design Every primary control β€” record, play, save, tune β€” includes VoiceOver labels, and the app fully supports both Light and Dark Mode. Who is Uraha for? Anyone who has struggled to tune a shamisen with a standard tuner; players of Tsugaru shamisen, nagauta, jiuta, or other specific styles; those who play multiple instruments or switch between genres; performers who need to match pitch with others in an ensemble; and anyone who needs reliable, repeatable tuning at rehearsal or on stage. A tuner built for the shamisen, by a shamisen player. Uraha supports your performance.

About

PanStrobe

Features
Read full description

PanStrobe is a harmonic strobe tuner built for handpan makers, tuners and players. A handpan note is not one frequency β€” it is a fundamental with an octave and a compound fifth tuned above it. PanStrobe shows all of them at once as true strobe motion: each ring is one partial, position is phase, and drift speed is exactly how far off you are. When a ring stands still, that partial is in tune. TUNE BY SIGHT β€’ Half-circle strobe disc or horizontal strobe rows β€” one band per partial β€’ True strobe physics: left = flat, right = sharp, stillness = in tune β€’ Live cents readouts with glitch rejection β€” and no averaging: the wobble you see is real signal β€’ Strobe divisors (Γ·2, Γ·3, Γ·5) slow the pattern for far-off notes HEAR THE WHOLE NOTE β€’ Real-time spectrum with a piano-key axis and labelled peaks β€’ Waterfall view: watch each strike's harmonics evolve over time β€’ Automatic note detection, or lock to the note you are working on BUILT FOR THE WORKSHOP β€’ Chromatic notes with octave control, adjustable A4 reference, global cents offset β€’ Band editor with multi-partial templates (1:2:3 and more) β€’ Pitch pipe on every band β€” double-tap a strobe for a reference tone β€’ Dark, glare-free UI designed for metal shops β€’ Works fully offline β€” audio never leaves your device, no account, no tracking FREE TRIAL, FAIR PRICING Every install starts with a full-featured 8-day trial. After that, the free tier stays a single-band chromatic strobe tuner. PanStrobe Pro adds what the app is really for β€” every partial of a note at once, the spectrum analyser, the band editor and the pitch pipe β€” monthly, or yearly at about 20% less. Made by Panlab β€” we build and tune handpans in Hong Kong. This is the tuner we use ourselves. Privacy Policy: https://panstrobe.app/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Uraha4 screens
PanStrobe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Uraha at none against PanStrobe's 2. PanStrobe's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.1). On price, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. PanStrobe sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Uraha asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Uraha versus PanStrobe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUrahaPanStrobe
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” better
Requires iOS26.115.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size29 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerζ ͺ式会瀾OHANAPanlab Limited

In-app purchases

None

Uraha

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

PanStrobe

Subscriptions2
  • PanStrobe Pro7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • PanStrobe Pro Yearly$76.991 Year

Questions

Is Uraha free?
Uraha is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PanStrobe free?
PanStrobe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Uraha or PanStrobe have ads?
Neither Uraha nor PanStrobe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Uraha or PanStrobe?
Uraha ships an update weekly, and PanStrobe weekly. Most recently, Uraha was updated on September 19, 2026 and PanStrobe on September 28, 2026.

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