Grainsmith Field vs Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Grainsmith Field
Transform any sound into unique sonic textures using a powerful granular synthesizer. Manipulate audio with multiple playheads, record live input, and play it like an instrument via MIDI. Optimized for mobile, it offers extensive control and export options.
- Granular synthesis engine
- Multiple independent playheads
- Live audio recording and manipulation
- MIDI instrument mode
- AUv3 music effect
- Performance recording with Live Activity
- Built-in reverb and filter
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Grainsmith Field is a granular instrument for iPad and iPhone. Load a sound or record one live, then pull it apart into grains. Stretch and scatter it until it stops sounding like the source, or pitch it and play it like an instrument. It shares its granular engine with our desktop Grainsmith plugin, but it's rebuilt for touch. Field is a single multitouch screen: four XY pads control paired parameters (Density and Size, Jitter and Spread, Pitch and Reverse, Cutoff and Resonance), and a Morph control sweeps several at once. THREE PLAYHEADS Run up to three independent grain streams from one sample at the same time. Each head has its own position, speed, pitch, level, pan, grain size, and spread. Grab a playhead line on the waveform to move it independently, or move them as a group. Double-tap to gather them. Set a second head a fifth or an octave away and the streams blend into a single granular texture. MODULATION Six modulation slots drive the controls: LFOs and Euclidean patterns with per-route depth, assigned by long-pressing a knob. The MOVE dial sets the Morph macro itself in motion, and each destination drifts on its own phase. Rates sync to tempo, in the app or from the host clock. RECORD AND MANGLE Capture audio from your hardware input and granulate it as it comes in, or loop a phrase and let the engine chew on it. Scrub the waveform directly. Freeze the grain cloud to hold a sound for as long as you want. Run the stereo delay to smear the grain tails into echoes; it syncs to tempo too. Export captures as WAV to the Files app. RECORD YOUR PERFORMANCE Start a recording from the presets menu and everything you play is captured to a WAV file. Keep playing through app switches and screen locks; a Lock Screen Live Activity shows while recording runs. Recordings save to the Files app and share straight from Field. PLAY IT AS AN INSTRUMENT Switch to Instrument mode and play the grain engine from a MIDI keyboard: four-voice polyphony, an attack/release envelope, and a root-note control. The pitch ribbon snaps to musical intervals: Free, Chromatic, Scale, Octaves, or Oct+5ths, with twelve scale options and a probability control. Works with hardware MIDI in the standalone app and with host MIDI in AUv3. USE IT IN YOUR HOST The AUv3 music effect loads in AUM, Logic for iPad, and other AUv3 hosts. Parameters are exposed for host automation and MIDI learn. Your patch saves and restores with the session, including head count, every per-head control, the modulation slots, and pitch snap mode. ALSO IN THE BOX - Ten factory presets grouped by character, with a browser and a Favorites section for your own - Background audio: the standalone keeps playing when you switch apps - Reverb, stereo delay with tempo sync, filter, grain-shape windows, pitch randomization - Runs on iPhone with a compact layout No account and no subscription. Field collects no data.
Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel
This app analyzes music in real-time, identifying chords, their functions within a key, and recording progressions. It also includes a tuner, metronome, and key detection for producers and musicians.
- Real-time chord and key identification
- Chord function labeling (I, IV, V, etc.)
- Recording of musical progressions
- MIDI input with built-in synth
- Real-time tuner and metronome
- Key detection for DJs
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The Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel is a musician and producer toolkit — a tuner for chords and a measurement device for the vitals of the music in front of you. Point it at your mic or play it over MIDI, and it reads the harmony as it happens — the chord, the key, and the job that chord is doing. Works on piano, guitar, or recorded music with clear harmonic movement. It identifies each chord's role, not just its name, using the Beat Kitchen Ten Chord Toolkit (explained in the guidebook built into the app): the tonic (I) you keep coming back to, the IV that opens things up, the V that wants to resolve, a V/vi setting up a detour, a bVII pulled from the parallel minor. The matching wedge lights up as you play. What it does Hears chords from your mic in real time, right on your device — nothing leaves your phone Labels the wheel by function, not just by chord name: I, ii, IV, V, V/vi, bVII, and the rest Records what you played so you can study the path a progression took Tap any wedge to hear the chord Takes MIDI in, wired or over Bluetooth, with a built-in synth Locks to your key so the wheel orients to the music you're in A Learn tab that walks through what you're looking at If you've reached for a circle of fifths or a key finder before, you're in the same neighborhood — except this one works in real time, while the music is still playing. Producer Tools A tuner and a metronome, built for the studio. Check your tuning. Tap a tempo or let the mic detect it for you, then read it in BPM and in milliseconds for every subdivision — with your own click sound on each one. Watch the beat pulse from across the room and feel it in your pocket with haptics (iPhone). And because the wheel already reads your key in real time, it doubles as a key detector for DJs lining up harmonic transitions. Who it's for Producers, DJs, songwriters, students, and anyone who can tell a progression is doing something to them but can't always say what. You don't need to read music. You need to be curious about why a few chords in a row can move you. It's theory you can hear before you can spell it. Beat Kitchen is a school that teaches harmony by ear and by function first. Harmony Wheel puts that same way of listening on your phone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel at $6.99 against Grainsmith Field's $11.99. Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Grainsmith Field costs $11.99 and Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel $6.99 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 Grainsmith Field against 5.0 for Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 9 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Grainsmith Field ships an update every 3 days, Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Grainsmith Field | Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $11.99 | $6.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Plastic Factory LLC | Beat Kitchen LLC |
Customer experience
Grainsmith Field
Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel
In-app purchases
Grainsmith Field
No in-app purchases
Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Grainsmith Field free?
Is Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel free?
Which has better reviews, Grainsmith Field or Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel?
Do Grainsmith Field or Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel have ads?
Which is updated more often, Grainsmith Field or Beat Kitchen Harmony Wheel?
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