Comparison

StringVest vs IMPSY

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

Head to head
About

StringVest

Features
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An electronic music groovebox for your iPad or iPhone, that has everything you need to make a track in one app, all tied together in time and in key. 3 instruments to get you rocking with saveable session states so you can come back and start where you left off. 1. A classic take on the 303 bassline synth, with its own generative sequencer and drive control to get super squelchy 2. A great sounding Karplus Strong physical modelling synth, that goes from bass guitar, up to singing leads 3. A Cutdown 808 and Linn drum sounding drum machine, with preset patterns to get you going without any fuss A built in tape recorder to record your jam Mixer with built in dub delay when you want things to get a bit spacey! All functions exposed to midi learn, so you can control via a midi controller.

About

IMPSY

Features
Read full description

Jam with an AI MIDI partner on iPad and iPhone. IMPSY listens to what you play and improvises musical responses. Load it as an AUv3 MIDI Processor in AUM, AudioBus, Cubasis or Logic Pro for iPad, play it from a USB or Bluetooth controller (or the on-screen faders), and route its output to any instrument app. IMPSY also runs on its own: it appears as Core MIDI virtual ports (IMPSY In / IMPSY Out) and connects directly to a plugged-in controller, so you can play it without a DAW. How it works IMPSY runs a Mixture Density Recurrent Neural Network (MDRNN) on-device. Every note, control change or pitch-bend you send becomes input to the model, which predicts what comes next, including the timing of the response. Shape the conversation with: • Threshold: how long IMPSY waits between your input and its reply • Sigma Temperature: randomness of pitch and control values • Pi Temperature: randomness of which musical "idea" the model picks • Timescale: speeds up or slows down the response • MIDI Thru: passes your own playing through to the output alongside IMPSY's Connect anything • Map each model dimension to any MIDI message (notes, CCs or pitch-bend) on any channel, independently for input and output • Connect a controller directly, or use the always-on IMPSY In / IMPSY Out virtual ports • Import and export your mappings as TOML, compatible with the IMPSY Python toolkit Custom models IMPSY ships with a default 9-dimensional model trained for general musical interaction, but you can load any .tflite model trained with the open-source IMPSY research toolkit: synths, drum machines, lighting rigs, or anything that speaks MIDI. Accessibility IMPSY is built to work with VoiceOver and Dynamic Type. Every control is labelled, the sliders are adjustable by VoiceOver, and status shows as text, not colour alone. Full statement: charlesmartin.au/impsy-auv3/accessibility.html Compatibility • AUv3 MIDI Processor, no audio I/O • Hosts in AUM, AudioBus, Cubasis and Logic Pro for iPad, or any other AUv3 host that supports midi processors. • Also runs standalone with Core MIDI virtual ports and direct device connection • Requires iOS 17 • MIDI stays on-device. No network, no telemetry

Screenshots

StringVest3 screens
IMPSY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: StringVest at 15.0 against IMPSY's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
StringVest versus IMPSY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStringVestIMPSY
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPhilip VincentCharles Martin

In-app purchases

None

StringVest

No in-app purchases

None

IMPSY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StringVest free?
StringVest is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IMPSY free?
IMPSY is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do StringVest or IMPSY have ads?
Neither StringVest nor IMPSY shows ads.

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