Rivet 04 vs Rithmatic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rivet 04
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Rivet 04 - Comb is a resonant comb filter built for techno and industrial. Put it on drums, synths, or any bus to create metallic resonance, pipe tones, and reverb-like tails, from subtle shimmer to aggressive industrial texture. Comb works both as a standalone app and an AUv3 plugin. Comb combines feedback resonators with internal saturation for rich harmonic colour. Pitch the resonance to your key, add chord intervals for harmonic resonance, or push it into metallic destruction with the HOT mode. KEY FEATURES • Resonant comb filter with pitchable tuning and chord modes • DRIVE saturation inside the feedback loop • LFO modulation for shimmer and movement RIVET SERIES / OPEN SOURCE • Comb is part of my Rivet series of AUv3 effects plugins targeting techno and industrial genres. Comb uses algorithms by Chris Johnson (Airwindows), made available under MIT license. AUv3 Effect • Works in AUv3 hosts such as AUM, Drambo, Logic, and Cubasis IN-APP PURCHASE Comb includes In-App Purchases for optional tipping. Tipping does not unlock any additional features as all features are already available.
Rithmatic
This app is an FM synthesizer featuring a vast library of classic voices. It allows users to explore, learn, build, and blend sounds using an intuitive interface and an AUv3 plugin for DAWs. It offers a comprehensive synthesis engine and various playback options.
- 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
- AUv3 plugin for DAWs
- Patch Builder to learn FM synthesis
- Sound blending feature
- On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
- Arpeggiator and latch function
- WAV export
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Rithmatic is an FM synthesizer with 36,118 classic DX7 voices built in, and an AUv3 plugin for GarageBand on iPad and your DAW on the Mac. Browse them by family and by character, learn how FM works by watching it shape each one, build and blend your own, and play them from the on-screen keys or a MIDI keyboard. No account, no ads, nothing locked. Built for iPhone Duo: half open, it stands like a keyboard synth, the waves above the fold and long keys on the flat half. IN YOUR DAW • Put it on a track in GarageBand on iPad, or in an Audio Unit host on the Mac such as Ableton Live. • Its window is the app's own Patches screen and Patch Builder, with your library. • Your bank appears as the plugin's presets, and Brightness, Attack, Decay, Release and Feedback can be automated. The patch is saved with your project. A LIBRARY THAT SHIPS FULL • 36,118 unique DX7 voices come with the app: no download, no account, no network. • Start with Essentials: the famous sounds and the songs they're on. • Browse by family, or by character: percussive, plucked, metallic, bright, sustained, swell, evolving, mellow. Or search by name. • Patch of the day: one classic voice each day, in the app and in a widget for iPhone, iPad and Mac. PLAY IT • A DX7-compatible synthesis engine runs inside the app, so every patch plays with nothing plugged in. • Play from the on-screen keys, your Mac's keyboard, or any MIDI keyboard you connect. • Pitch bend, mod wheel, breath, sustain and aftertouch, with aftertouch set to vibrato, tremolo or swell. • Velocity from a MIDI keyboard, or turn it off and choose how hard every note plays. • An arpeggiator (up, down, up and down, random or as played, over up to three octaves) and a latch that holds each key. • Record what you play and share it as a WAV. • Five tunings: equal, just, and Wendy Carlos's Alpha, Beta and Gamma scales. • Light or dark, as your device is set or as you choose. Drag the keys taller or shorter. SEE THE SOUND The waveform follows what you play: each operator's envelope, how hard you hit, the pitch, the LFO's wobble, and a chord as one layer per note. Resize it, go full screen, or watch the output itself in the Scope look. PATCH BUILDER: LEARN HOW FM WORKS FM is famous for being hard to program. The Patch Builder shows you why a sound sounds the way it does. • All six operators on a graph, each cable carrying its wave: see a modulator reshape its carrier as you drag. • Draw a cable and the builder snaps to the nearest of the 32 algorithms, so you learn routing by doing it. • Plain words beside the jargon. Edit each operator's ratio, level, envelope and tuning, the LFO and pitch envelope, or use FEEL: thickness, touch and brightness. BLEND Pick two patches and Rithmatic blends them into eight new ones. Play each, and keep the ones you like. YOUR BANK AND FILES • Gather patches from anywhere into your bank, then drag pads to swap or reorder them. • Export the bank as standard DX7 .syx files. Open .syx banks, or a .zip of them, from Files, Mail, AirDrop or the Finder. • Share a sound as a short clip of it playing, with a card and a code that brings the patch into anyone's Rithmatic. WITH A SYNTH, IF YOU HAVE ONE Hardware is optional. Choose your synth in Settings: • Korg Volca FM2 (firmware 1.10 or later, over MIDI): read its current patch, write to any of its 64 memory slots, back up and restore all 16 sequencer patterns, and capture the whole instrument to a snapshot. • DX7 family: send patches and 32-voice banks to a DX7, TX7, TX802, the original Volca FM or the M-VAVE FM-1 over standard Yamaha voice dumps. FREE AND PRIVATE Every feature is free; tips are optional and unlock nothing. Rithmatic works offline and collects no personal data: no account, no analytics, no ads. KORG and volca are trademarks of Korg Inc., DX7 and TX of Yamaha Corporation, M-VAVE of its owner. Rithmatic is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Rithmatic at 4 against Rivet 04's —. Rithmatic also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price 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
Both are free to download. Rivet 04 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Rivet 04 | Rithmatic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.6 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 days |
| Ads | — | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | — | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joe Topjian | MADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC |
In-app purchases
Rivet 04
- Tip - Small$0.99
- Tip - Medium$1.99
- Tip - Large$3.99
Rithmatic
- Comrade!$4.99
- Major Supporter$9.99
- Supporting Member$19.99
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- Underwriter$49.99









