M2DX vs Orbeat

M2DX is a 6-operator, 32-algorithm FM synthesizer for iPhone, built from the ground up in pure Swift 6. Open it and play immediately — tap the built-in on-screen keyboard and start making sound with M2DX's own hand-crafted presets. No external hardware or MIDI controller is required. The FM engine is a bit-exact port of the open-source Dexed / msfa DSP, verified sample-for-sample against the reference. It is also compatible with the classic DX7 patch format: bring your own DX7-format .syx banks and play them alongside M2DX's originals. KEY FEATURES - Built-in on-screen keyboard with velocity and octave control — play standalone, no hardware needed - 6-operator, 32-algorithm DX7-style FM synthesis - M2DX's own original FM presets, plus DX7-format .syx bank import (bring your own) - A 6-stage FX chain: EQ, Drive, Chorus, Reverb, Stereo, Maximizer - Low-latency audio with AVAudioSourceNode direct rendering - AUv3 plug-in — use M2DX as an Audio Unit (AUv3) in compatible hosts OPTIONAL MIDI (not required to use the app) - Connect any MIDI controller over Bluetooth or USB if you have one - Native MIDI 2.0 — UMP with 16-bit velocity and 32-bit controllers - MIDI-CI Property Exchange — patch names appear on compatible controllers (for example, KORG KeyStage) - MIDI Learn for hands-on control MIDI 2.0 done natively, classic FM done faithfully. The FM engine is built on Dexed / msfa (Apache License 2.0). M2DX is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Yamaha Corporation. DX7 and Yamaha are trademarks of Yamaha Corporation. iOS 18 or later.

Orbeat is a drum machine in the round. Instead of a grid, your rhythm lives on a glowing mandala — concentric lanes of light that orbit a single play button. Tap the rings, watch the playhead sweep, and feel the groove move. Built to be played, not programmed. Open it and you're already making beats. A CIRCULAR SEQUENCER — UP TO TWELVE LANES Six lanes wrap the screen as rings, and the circle can grow to twelve: the mandala opens a second page of rings in its own electric color set, so every lane keeps its full size. Tap to place hits, lock a lane you love, mute and solo as you build the groove layer by layer. The whole pattern turns as it plays. FOUR DRUM KITS Classic, Acoustic, Glitch, and 8-bit — one tap reskins every voice while your pattern stays put. From clean and punchy to broken and chiptune. BRING YOUR OWN SOUNDS Build a custom kit and drop your own audio into any lane — WAV, AIFF or mp3, up to ten seconds, played at its original pitch and in stereo. Imported samples run clean to the output, while the lanes you leave alone keep their synth voice, so a hi-hat you recorded yourself sits right next to Orbeat's own drums. Your first custom kit is free. GENERATORS THAT SURPRISE YOU Roll the dice for an instant pattern, or use Euclidean rhythms to spread hits evenly around a ring. Like what you hear? Tap the ring to write it in and edit by hand. MAKE IT BREATHE, MAKE IT DRIFT Add swing to push the feel off the grid, draw velocity per step for accents that live, and pan each lane across the stereo field. With Probability, hits fire by chance; with polymeter, each lane gets its own length so the phases drift in and out of sync. TAKE IT ANYWHERE Bounce any loop to a stereo WAV — named with the beat, its length and its tempo, so it still makes sense in your DAW next month — or run Orbeat as an AUv3 instrument with MIDI in & out — sequence other instruments, or play Orbeat's lanes from your host's piano roll inside GarageBand, AUM, Logic, and other AUv3 hosts. Standalone, play the pads live from any MIDI controller and sync the whole groove to external MIDI clock. PLAY IN SYNC WITH THE ROOM Ableton Link keeps Orbeat in time with every Link-enabled app and device on your network — Ableton Live, AUM, Loopy, a friend's iPad across the table. Tempo follows the session, start and stop are shared, and everyone stays in phase. No cables, no setup. PLAY FREE. UNLOCK ONCE. The full instrument is free forever — every kit, the six-lane circle, Euclidean generators, swing, velocity, pan, your first custom kit with your own samples, MIDI in & out, and Ableton Link. Orbeat Pro is a single one-time purchase (no subscription, ever) that unlocks room to grow the circle to twelve lanes, plus Probability, polymeter, WAV export, unlimited saved beats, and extra custom kits. Made for iPhone and iPad. No account, no ads, no tracking — your beats never leave your device unless you share them. Tap the rings. Make it move.