Comparison

Know the Notes vs GranSample

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

Head to head
About

Know the Notes

Features
Read full description

Unlock your musical potential with Know the Notes, the ultimate ear training companion for musicians of all levels. Whether you're a beginner learning to identify notes or an advanced player refining your pitch, our app offers a responsive simple to use practice environment. Realistic Audio Experience Forget static, low-quality samples. Know Your Notes uses advanced real-time audio synthesis to generate sounds instantly. Piano: Rich, synthesized piano tones. Guitar: Plucked strings using the Karplus-Strong algorithm. Tone: Pure sine waves for focused frequency training. Practice Mode: Freely explore notes on an interactive keyboard with immediate visual feedback. Track your streaks and improve at your own pace. Quiz Mode: Test your skills with customizable quizzes. Choose your quiz length and difficulty. Delayed Feedback enhances real ear-training exams by hiding results until the end of the quiz. Customizable and Learning Difficulty Control: Toggle sharps and flats (black keys) to match your skill level. Settings: Adjust quiz lengths and feedback styles to suit your learning preference. Stop guessing and start knowing. Download Know Your Notes and tune your ear today!

About

GranSample

This app offers a 16-pad sampler with a powerful granular engine for sculpting unique audio textures and sequencing patterns. It functions as a standalone application and an AUv3 plugin for popular DAWs. Unlock advanced features with a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • 16-pad granular sampler
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • Step sequencer
  • Modulation matrix
  • Sample chopping
  • Kit sharing
  • Per-pad effects
Features
Read full description

A 16-pad sampler with a granular engine underneath. Standalone app + AUv3 plugin for GarageBand / Logic / AUM / Drambo / Loopy Pro. Tap pads, sculpt textures, sequence patterns, chain songs. Same engine either way. Free to try. One purchase unlocks GranSample Pro — everything listed at the bottom. No subscription, no ads, no telemetry. NEW IN 1.7 Your Projects in the plugin: open them from the host's preset menu or the plugin's library, save new ones. Free. Export to Files: a free .gskit copy of any project. PATTERN BANK & SONG MODE Eight patterns per project (A–H). Switch live; the change waits for the bar end. Then chain them into a song with repeats per section, looped or played once (song mode is Pro). Patterns, song and BPM save with the project. MODULATION MATRIX (PRO) LFO + ADSR envelope on 8 destinations per pad: grain position / size / pitch / density, volume, pan, pitch, playback start. Depth per lane, host-automatable in AUv3. SAMPLE CHOP (PRO) Slice any sample across the pads — equal grid, transient detection, or manual markers you drag. Audition before you commit. KIT SHARING One .gskit file holds a project — samples, settings, effects, patterns, song. Import and Export to Files are free; sharing is Pro. PAD NAMES, COLORS & CHOKE GROUPS Name your pads, pick from 8 colors, set one of 8 choke groups. AUv3 PLUGIN Load "nono.audio: GranSample" under AU Instruments in any AUv3 host. Same grid and engine, the 10 Scenes and your Projects, Sound, Grain and Sequence tabs. 900 host-automatable parameters. Load your own samples without leaving the host. Sequencer locks to host transport; everything persists in the host project. LIBRARY Scenes + your Projects, shared with the plugin — load, tweak, save. GRANULAR ENGINE Eight knobs per pad. Position scans the sample; grain size + density set the texture from pebbles to glass. Pitch + jitter, spray + stereo spread, four window shapes, an ADSR cloud envelope, Freeze for infinite sustain. 128 grains per voice. CHROMATIC MODE Any pad becomes the root; the grid plays chromatically. STEP SEQUENCER Per-pad patterns at 16/32/64 steps, per-step velocity, drag-to-paint, swing. TRACKS shows every track in one grid; tracks 9–16 need Pro. INT SEQ lets MIDI alone play the pads. SAMPLE EDITOR Waveform view — drag the grain region, trim playback range, loop, reverse, normalize per pad. LINEAR or GRAN preview. Trim works in the plugin too. EFFECTS Per-pad AND master bus. Reverb, Delay, Distortion, EQ, Compressor, Chorus, Filter — up to 8 per chain. Hand-tuned presets; save your own in the app. IPAD Pads bigger than an MPC; recorder, properties and sequencer get their own column. MIDI USB, Bluetooth (built-in browser), or virtual MIDI. MIDI Learn on every knob standalone, per-pad channel routing. Background Audio plays on in other apps. The plugin routes MIDI in through the host and emits MIDI out for pad taps. RECORDING 60 seconds from the mic straight into a pad with a live waveform. Resample the master onto a pad, free or locked to 1–8 bars (Pro). Master bounces to WAV/M4A (Pro). 10 FACTORY SCENES, 16 SAMPLES Late Night Room, Outer Space, Neon City, Midnight Dub, Crystal Cave, and more — each with bespoke granular settings. FREE TIER Pads 1–8 — drums and melody, enough to finish a track — with the full granular engine, effects, pattern bank, mixer, MIDI in/out. Free pads work in AUv3 too. Kit import and Export to Files (.gskit) are free as well. GRANSAMPLE PRO — ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION All 16 pads and tracks unlocked everywhere — standalone AND AUv3 plugin Song mode — chain patterns into an arrangement Modulation matrix — LFO + envelope on 8 destinations per pad Sample chop to pads Resample to pads Kit sharing (.gskit) Per-pad ADSR envelope editor Custom backgrounds — wallpapers or your own photo, with dim and pad-opacity WAV / M4A export Made by one person who wanted a granular beat pad that fit on a phone — and in their DAW.

Screenshots

Know the Notes3 screens
GranSample4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: GranSample at Free against Know the Notes's $1.99. GranSample also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). Know the Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

GranSample is free to download; Know the Notes costs $1.99 up front. GranSample sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Know the Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Know the Notes ships an update fortnightly, GranSample every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Know the Notes versus GranSample: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKnow the NotesGranSample
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating—4.6 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—16 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDAVID MAYR LERNERChih Han Lin

In-app purchases

None

Know the Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

GranSample

One-time1
  • GranSample Pro$5.99

Questions

Is Know the Notes free?
Know the Notes costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is GranSample free?
GranSample is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Know the Notes or GranSample have ads?
Neither Know the Notes nor GranSample shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Know the Notes or GranSample?
Know the Notes ships an update fortnightly, and GranSample every 6 days. Most recently, Know the Notes was updated on November 5, 2026 and GranSample on November 15, 2026.

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