Comparison

Grainsmith Field vs AE975

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

AE975

Enhance audio tracks with presence, articulation, and density using a parallel processing path. This AUv3 audio effect offers subtle polish and detailed control for mixing and mastering.

Highlights
  • Parallel processing with sidechain
  • Sound-shaping controls (Focus, Enhance, Texture, Saturation, Density)
  • AUv3 compatibility for DAWs
  • Standalone companion host app
  • 92 categorized factory presets
  • iCloud preset sync
  • MIDI Learn for controller mapping
Read full description

Give tracks presence without flattening the source. Add air, articulation, and density through a tuned parallel path. AE975 is an AUv3 audio effect for subtle polish, forward detail, and playable control. AE975 keeps the dry signal as the foundation, listens to a Focus-controlled sidechain, generates source-derived harmonic texture, and blends the result back in parallel. The goal is mix-ready lift without treating brightness like a simple EQ boost. Sound-shaping controls: - Focus sets the responsive region from 600 Hz to 6 kHz, with 3 kHz at center. - Enhance controls the parallel return depth. - Texture changes harmonic color and complexity. - Saturation adds intensity inside the enhancement generator, not as a full-band clipper. - Density moves from clean transient sparkle to smoother sustained glow. - Mix, Output, and Bypass make level-matched comparison simple. Built for DAW workflows: - Use AE975 as an audio effect in compatible AUv3 hosts. - Open the standalone companion host app to audition the processor with generated test audio, or compatible hardware I/O. - Browse 92 categorized factory presets for mastering, mixing, buses, vocals, guitars, bass, drums, synths, strings, brass, woodwinds, and sound design. - Save user presets locally and mirror them with iCloud preset sync. - Map hardware controllers with MIDI Learn, direct CC assignment, reset-to-default controls, and feedback broadcast support. Use it when a vocal needs to read forward, drums need more snap, guitars need pick detail, synths need shine, strings need rosin, buses need polish, or a master needs a controlled final lift.

Screenshots

Grainsmith Field3 screens
AE9754 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Grainsmith Field at $11.99 against AE975's $19.99. Grainsmith Field also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1). AE975's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Grainsmith Field costs $11.99 and AE975 $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Grainsmith Field against 5.0 for AE975. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grainsmith Field has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Grainsmith Field versus AE975: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrainsmith FieldAE975
Price$11.99 — better$19.99
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlastic Factory LLCChristian Thompson

Customer experience

Grainsmith Field

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

AE975

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Grainsmith Field

No in-app purchases

None

AE975

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Grainsmith Field free?
Grainsmith Field costs $11.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AE975 free?
AE975 costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Grainsmith Field or AE975?
Grainsmith Field and AE975 are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Grainsmith Field or AE975 have ads?
Neither Grainsmith Field nor AE975 shows ads.

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