Grainsmith Field vs MBR
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.
MBR
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MBR-01 is an expressive polyphonic synthesizer you play by touch. No keys, no menus to get lost in — just a living surface that responds to where and how you press. Slide across the XY pad to bend pitch and open the filter at once. The instrument is locked to the scale you choose, so every note lands in key: explore freely without ever playing a wrong note. SIX VOICES, ONE EXPRESSIVE SURFACE • 6-voice polyphony with glide • Morphing oscillator (sine → triangle → saw → square) plus a sub • Resonant ladder filter with its own range control • Full ADSR envelope ARPEGGIATOR • Up, Down, Up/Down and Random modes • Tempo with tap, adjustable divisions and octave range • Hold to let chords ring LIVE FX RACK • Drive, bitcrusher, ring modulator, pitch shifter, phaser and chorus • Delay, reverb and glide for space and movement • Toggle and tweak everything while you play 31 SCALES From major and minor to whole tone, diminished and blues — through Hirajoshi, Iwato, Kumoi, Pelog, Bhairav, Marwa and more. Set the root and octave range and the whole surface re-tunes. PRESETS A curated library across Bass, Leads, Plucks, Pads and FX — plus save your own. Each preset carries its own reactive visual style. REACTIVE VISUALS A Metal-powered visualizer reacts to your playing in real time, with external display output for performance and visuals. MIDI OUT Send what you play to hardware synths or other apps over Core MIDI, with channel selection. BILINGUAL Full English and Spanish, switchable inside the app at any time. Built for iPad and iPhone. No account, no data collection — just sound.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: MBR at $4.99 against Grainsmith Field's $11.99. On ads, in-app purchases, 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
Grainsmith Field costs $11.99 and MBR $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Grainsmith Field | MBR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $11.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Plastic Factory LLC | Cristopher Alejandro Yescas Arreola |
In-app purchases
Grainsmith Field
No in-app purchases
MBR
No in-app purchases









