Comparison

Tapko Tuner vs Ambience.

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

Head to head
About

Tapko Tuner

A highly accurate chromatic tuner designed for bass and guitar, offering real-time pitch detection. It functions as a standalone app using your device's microphone or as an AUv3 effect within compatible music applications.

Highlights
  • High-accuracy chromatic tuning
  • Real-time pitch detection
  • Standalone microphone tuning
  • AUv3 extension support
  • Adjustable reference pitch
  • Low-noise idle behavior
Features
Read full description

Tapko Tuner is a precise chromatic tuner for guitar and bass, from 5-string low B up to the top frets of a guitar. Use it on its own with your device microphone, or load it as an AUv3 effect in AUM, GarageBand, Loopy Pro and other hosts. The audio passes through untouched. Features: - Accurate real-time pitch detection, steady even on low bass notes - Clean horizontal meter that shows flat, in tune and sharp at a glance - Large note name with octave and live frequency readout - Adjustable reference pitch (A4 = 420-460 Hz) - Adjustable indicator width and height - No ghost readings when the room is quiet - MIDI CC output in AUv3 hosts, one CC per tuning zone Notes: - Microphone permission is required for standalone tuning. - MIDI output is available when Tapko Tuner runs as an AUv3 plugin.

About

Ambience.

Features
Read full description

Generative ambient pads for worship. Prayer, altar moments, broadcast - texture that sits behind the vocal without getting in the way. WHAT IT IS Most pad apps play back recorded loops sold per-key. Norcoast Ambience generates every voice in real time. The pad breathes, the chord moves, the arp evolves. It never loops. Set the key, press play, walk away. FIVE LAYERS Foundation - sub layer, slow detuned saws. Pads - four timbres: Lush, Warm, Choir, Celestial. Texture - granular dulcimer. Arp - generative arpeggiator with three voices: Bloom, Hush, Glow. Movement - drum machine with four named patterns: Pulse, Mist, Stride, Roam. Plus a custom 3x16 step sequencer. CHORDS All 12 keys. Smooth crossfades between them. Switch on a whisper mid-song without a click. Major, Minor, Sus2, Sus4, Maj7. Plus a custom chord builder for any combination of major-scale degrees. STUDIO FX Plate reverb with shimmer. Juno-style chorus. BPM-synced delay. 4-band EQ. Oversampled saturation. High-pass and low-pass filters at 12 or 24 dB per octave. Stereo width LFO. Soft limiter. No plugins, no extra purchases. MIDI AND TEMPO MIDI clock in and out. Ableton Link. Bluetooth MIDI. MIDI Learn for any controller knob, fader or footswitch. Tap tempo. BPM 50 to 200. Time signatures 4/4 or 6/8. EASY AND ADVANCED MODES Easy mode for fast set-up on a Wednesday night. Advanced mode for the deep dive on a Saturday afternoon. Switch any time without losing your sound. NAMED SETLISTS Save the sound, name it (Gratitude, Prayer and Ministry), drag to reorder. Run the whole service from a tap. Setlists sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac via iCloud. WORKS OFFLINE No internet connection required after install. Useful when church Wi-Fi is patchy or the iPad lives in airplane mode at the back of the platform. PRIVACY No analytics, no telemetry. No account, no sign-in. Bluetooth permission used only for MIDI controller pairing. iCloud used only for preset sync. WHO MADE IT Tim Gosden. Producer, songwriter, musician. Fifteen years on worship records with a few hundred million streams behind them, plus a long run as music director at a big church. Based in Norwich, England. Built because the joy and the chaos of running a Sunday platform aren't theory. The kit didn't exist, so I made it!

Screenshots

Tapko Tuner1 screens
Ambience.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Tapko Tuner at Free against Ambience.'s $4.99. Ambience.'s advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Tapko Tuner is free to download; Ambience. costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tapko Tuner ships an update every 5 weeks, Ambience. every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Tapko Tuner versus Ambience.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTapko TunerAmbience.
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid Lars GuvaNorcoast Audio Ltd

In-app purchases

None

Tapko Tuner

No in-app purchases

None

Ambience.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tapko Tuner free?
Tapko Tuner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ambience. free?
Ambience. costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Tapko Tuner or Ambience. have ads?
Neither Tapko Tuner nor Ambience. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tapko Tuner or Ambience.?
Tapko Tuner ships an update every 5 weeks, and Ambience. every 5 days. Most recently, Tapko Tuner was updated on November 5, 2026 and Ambience. on November 9, 2026.

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