VU950 vs Baethoven 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
VU950
This app emulates the behavior of early digital samplers, focusing on sound shaping through intentional limitations and artifacts. It offers a full timestretch workflow, reduced bit depth processing, and MIDI control for a hands-on experience. Standalone mode includes multi-track sequencing, effects, and the ability to host other AUv3 apps.
- Classic sampler sound emulation
- Full timestretch workflow
- Reduced bit depth processing
- MIDI-controllable parameters
- Multi-track sequencing
- AUv3 hosting
- Built-in effects
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VU950 is not about realism. It is about behavior. Sound shaped by limits, gain interaction and audible artifacts — the same forces that defined early digital samplers. Draws inspiration from classic midi sequencers combined with samplers. Why it sounds the way it does Instead of emulating a single piece of hardware, VU950 recreates the way early samplers behaved internally. Resolution limits, imperfect filtering and non-linear stages are treated as musical decisions, not technical flaws. What shapes the sound VU950 sample rate: 7.5 kHz to 48 kHz Full timestretch workflow with classic hardware sampler tone Reduced bit depth processing for early-digital density User-adjustable anti-aliasing behavior Stereo signal path with selectable left or right input channel Dedicated input gain stage with drive and circuit bias Multiple filtering stages including bandwidth limitation Built-in low-pass filter for tone shaping Anti-aliasing tuned for musical artifacts, not transparency Non-linear processing across the entire signal path Output gain stage that affects tone and density, not just level MIDI-controllable parameters for hands-on workflow Maximum sample length: 63 seconds Truncate option to trim sample Precise mode for precise trimming on start and end screen One or eight voices of polyphony Precise start and end point control for trimming Chop function with selectable amount of slices And that was just VU950 AUv3 plugin. In Standalone: 8 tracks Support for hosting AUv3 apps to change VU950 sound engine to any sound You like. Build in multi sampler - VU20. Build in midi device - VUMIDI. Mixer with 4 inserts per track. 17 build in effects like filters, eq, compressors Possibility to use 4 AUv3 effects per channel Step Sequencer Piano Roll. Song Mode Live Mode Export wav with stems. Loading samples to build in turntable and record samples to VU950/VU20 or another AUv3 plugin with inputs Classic and modern UI template (Modern is fully customisable) In app purchases drumkits are downloadable after purchase (MPC60 drumkit for free) You can check also my another beatmaking app - VU202 - which is free and it is also a AUv3 instrument so You can use VU202 in VU950!
Baethoven 2
Create and export melodic pad banks for Akai MPCs directly from your mobile device. Features original samples, multiple banks, and MIDI controller support for seamless beatmaking.
- 379 original melodic samples
- 8 pad banks with individual octaves
- Tune samples across pads
- Export native MPC kits
- MIDI controller support
- Built-in sample browser
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Baethoven 2 turns any sound into a playable melodic or chord kit, then hands that kit to your Akai MPC. You don't need to play keys: pick a key, pick a sound, and every pad is already in tune and in scale. Built by a producer, for producers. 8 BANKS, 16 PADS EACH Every bank is SCALES, CHORDS, DRUMS or CUSTOM, with its own sound, octave, tuning, volume and POLY / MONO. One good note fills a whole melodic bank, pitched across all 16 pads. Change the key and every bank follows instantly. CHORDS THAT BELONG TOGETHER Diatonic or fixed chord sets in any key. Set the SIZE (triad to 13th) and VOICE (inversions, drop 2, open). NEXT suggests what usually follows the chord you just played, EDIT lets you pick or BUILD any chord, and RANDOM deals a fresh set in the same key. STRUM rolls the notes UP, DOWN, IN or OUT, and HUMAN loosens them so they play like a hand. PRESETS, FX AND EXPRESSION PRESETS fill all eight banks at once in your key. An FX rack with EQ, COMP, DRIVE, TAPE and REVERB, with GAIN MATCH so every effect stays as loud as it went in. EXPR adds vibrato, bend-in, fall, glide, MORPH between chords, pressure, timbre and drift, plus MPE on MIDI Output. SHAPE EVERY SAMPLE Trim with zero-crossing snap, loop with a crossfade, and set A·D·S·R. NOTE ON and LOOP pads sustain for as long as you hold them. EXPORT TO YOUR MPC Save a complete MPC project (an .xpj with a WAV per pad, already tuned), an MPC 3 program (.xpm), your pads added straight into an MPC Sample project, or your chord banks as MPC progressions. Save to Files, iCloud Drive, or straight onto a USB drive or SD card. THE BAETHOVEN AUv3 Play Baethoven inside GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, Logic Pro for iPad and any app that hosts Audio Units. MIDI IN AND OUT Play the pads from a MIDI keyboard or pad controller. MIDI Output sends your chords, strums and expression to another synth, app or computer, over USB or Wi-Fi, with an X/Y joystick and 64 knobs. YOUR LOOK Four styles (CLASSIC, SOFT, STUDIO, HARDWARE) and seventeen colour palettes, with haptics. Ludwig's tutorials and a searchable HELP walk you through everything. FREE AND PRO Free: every bank and pad, the keys C, A and G, three scales per feel, the first five sounds of every category, FX, EXPR, the SAMPLE drawer, your own files and MIDI in. Pro, a one-time $14.99 purchase with no subscription: every key, scale and sound, PRESETS, every MPC EXPORT, MIDI Output with X/Y and KNOBS, and the AUv3. A killaviccheatcodes.app account that already owns Baethoven unlocks Pro too. Baethoven is part of the Killavic Cheat Codes family of tools for beatmakers and sample-based producers.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Baethoven 2 at Free against VU950's $1.99. Baethoven 2 also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.5). VU950's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days) and chart position (#91 vs unranked). On 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
Baethoven 2 is free to download; VU950 costs $1.99 up front. VU950 sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Baethoven 2 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Baethoven 2 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of VU950's written reviews are positive against 100% of Baethoven 2's.
VU950 ships an update every 2 days, Baethoven 2 every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VU950 | Baethoven 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (10 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #91 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 189 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dariusz Chynek | victor borges |
Customer experience
VU950
Baethoven 2
In-app purchases
VU950
- EMAX drumkit$0.99
- S2400$0.99
- MPC2000$0.99
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- MPC2000 2$0.99
- MPC3000$0.99
- SP1200$0.99
- S900$0.99
- SP202$0.99
Baethoven 2
No in-app purchases









