Comparison

instant PLAYER · Soundboard vs MIDI Controller

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

Head to head
About

instant PLAYER · Soundboard

Features
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Free of charge! No ads! pegelWERK instant PLAYER is a 64-pad soundboard for live shows, theatre, podcasts and studio work — built to work hand-in-hand with its companion app pegelWERK easy EDITOR. Tap to play, tap again to stop. Stack voices in MULTI mode, replace them with cross- fade in SINGLE mode. Save the entire show — every audio file, every setting — into a single .pwshow bundle and reload it in seconds on a different iPad. WORKS WITH pegelWERK easy EDITOR — THE FLAGSHIP FEATURE instant PLAYER and easy EDITOR are designed as a pair. From inside your show, tap CHOOSE, pick the pad you want to clean up, and the audio is sent over to easy EDITOR. Trim the silence, fine-tune the cut points with sample-accurate handles, normalise to broadcast-grade EBU R128 (-23 LUFS) with inter-sample peak protection — then tap SEND BACK. instant PLAYER springs to the foreground and drops the edited audio straight back into the same pad, with cue point and colour preserved. No exporting, no file-juggling, no broken takes. Editing a cue takes seconds, and your show file stays the single source of truth. KEY FEATURES • 64 pads in 4 banks (A / B / C / D), 16 slots per bank. • Tap to play, tap to stop. Pads show a green progress ring while playing. • MULTI mode: pads stack — every tap adds another voice. • SINGLE mode: any tap stops everything else, like a classic studio cart machine. Cross-fades when FADE > 0. • FADE button cycles OFF / SHORT / MEDIUM / LONG (0.5 / 1.5 / 4 s) for musical pad-stop and pad-change. • AUTO-CUE skips leading silence so cues fire on the first audible sample. • LOOP toggle for beds and ambient material. • Master volume on iPad. iPhone uses the device volume keys. • Save / load complete shows as portable .pwshow bundles — manifest plus all 24-bit WAVs in one ZIP file. AirDrop the bundle to another iPad and the show is ready. • Hardware keyboard support: 1234 / QWER / ASDF / ZXCV trigger the 16 visible pads, F5–F8 switch banks, Esc stops everything. • Universal — iPhone (portrait + landscape) and iPad (all four orientations). • Dark interface tuned for live use. No ads, no analytics, no account. USE CASES • Theatre and live show — sound effects on cue, with cross-fade between scenes. • Podcast and broadcast — jingles, stings, beds at a tap. • Studio — pre-rolled cues during interviews and remote sessions. • Practice room — backing tracks with one-tap stop. PRIVACY instant PLAYER does not contact any server, does not collect personal data, and does not include any third-party SDKs. Audio stays on your device. SUPPORT More pegelWERK apps and contact: pegelwerk.com

About

MIDI Controller

Features
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Turn your iPhone or iPad into a portable MIDI controller for Mac. MIDI Controller - Ctrlly sends standard MIDI messages to GarageBand, Logic Pro, and other MIDI-compatible music apps on your Mac. Play software instruments, trigger pads, and control assignable parameters without buying an additional MIDI controller. MAIN FEATURES • 4×4 multitouch pads Customize MIDI channel, note, velocity, and label. • 8 faders Send MIDI CC with precise 0–127 values and configurable ranges. • Knobs and buttons Use 8 knobs and 8 buttons. Buttons support momentary and toggle modes and can send CC or Program Change messages. • Touch keyboard Play with multiple fingers and use octave controls, Pitch Bend, and Modulation. • Custom presets Save, rename, duplicate, and delete your MIDI mappings. Presets stay on your device, and no account is required. • Connect to Mac Use Apple Network MIDI or Bluetooth MIDI. Choose an output destination, send a test note, and follow the built-in Mac setup guide. • MIDI Monitor See recently sent notes, CC, Program Change, and Pitch Bend messages to quickly check your connection and mappings. • Panic Immediately release active notes and send All Notes Off if a note becomes stuck. FREE FEATURES Connection management, the Bluetooth MIDI entry point, the Mac setup guide, test notes, MIDI Monitor, purchase restoration, and Panic are free to use. MIDI CONTROLLER PRO Sending performance MIDI from the pads, faders, knobs, buttons, and keyboard, as well as editing mappings and managing presets, requires a MIDI Controller Pro subscription. Weekly and annual subscriptions are available. Prices and currency are shown in the App Store. No free trial is offered. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account when you confirm your purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it at any time in your Apple ID subscription settings. BEFORE YOU START This app does not produce sound. You need a Mac running GarageBand, Logic Pro, or another MIDI-compatible app to hear your software instrument. This version is designed for Mac. It does not promise support for Windows, external MIDI hardware, MPE, SysEx, sequencing, recording, or project-level two-way DAW control. This app uses Apple's standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

instant PLAYER · Soundboard3 screens
MIDI Controller3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: instant PLAYER · Soundboard at none against MIDI Controller's 2. On price, ads, 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

Both are free to download. MIDI Controller sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. instant PLAYER · Soundboard asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
instant PLAYER · Soundboard versus MIDI Controller: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterinstant PLAYER · SoundboardMIDI Controller
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 11 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSascha Hoemske明航 李

In-app purchases

None

instant PLAYER · Soundboard

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

MIDI Controller

Subscriptions2
  • MIDI Controller Pro Weekly$4.997 Days
  • MIDI Controller Pro Annual$24.991 Year

Questions

Is instant PLAYER · Soundboard free?
instant PLAYER · Soundboard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MIDI Controller free?
MIDI Controller is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do instant PLAYER · Soundboard or MIDI Controller have ads?
Neither instant PLAYER · Soundboard nor MIDI Controller shows ads.

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