MIDI Magnet vs Rithmatic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MIDI Magnet
Transform your iPhone or iPad into a tactile control surface for MIDI hardware. Easily map and adjust every CC parameter with intuitive knobs and buttons, then save and recall presets for seamless sound design and live performance.
- Real-time CC parameter control
- Customizable knob and button layouts
- Save and recall presets
- Cloud sync for presets
- Bluetooth and USB MIDI support
- Custom device creation
- Parameter randomization and reset
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MIDI Magnet — hands-on control for your MIDI hardware. Stop digging through tiny screens and cryptic menus. MIDI Magnet turns your iPhone or iPad into a control surface for your synths, drum machines, and effects units — every CC parameter laid out as a knob you can actually touch. EVERY PARAMETER AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Pick your device from a growing library of brands and models, and MIDI Magnet instantly maps its CC parameters to a clean, touch-friendly layout. Tweak filters, envelopes, LFOs, and effects in real time — values are sent to your hardware the moment you move a knob. CONNECT YOUR WAY Works over Bluetooth MIDI for fully wireless control, or plug in over USB. Connect your device and you're good to go — no drivers, no setup headaches. SAVE AND RECALL PRESETS Dial in a sound you love? Save it as a preset and recall it anytime — all parameter values and the MIDI channel are restored and sent to your hardware with a tap. Sign in to sync your presets to the cloud and keep them safe across all your devices. MAKE IT YOURS Reorder parameters with drag and drop to match your workflow • Organize controls into custom groups with their own colors • Switch any parameter between knob and button control • Edit parameter names, ranges, and CC numbers • Light and dark themes TOOLS FOR SOUND DESIGN Randomize all parameters for instant inspiration — lock the ones you want to keep • Reset to defaults with one tap • Send Program Change messages to switch patches on your hardware • Send all current values at once to bring your hardware in sync YOUR GEAR NOT LISTED? Create a custom device with your own parameter mappings — perfect for rare gear, DIY synths, or anything with a MIDI spec sheet. Whether you're shaping sounds in the studio or tweaking live on stage, MIDI Magnet puts your hardware's full potential one touch away.
Rithmatic
This app is an FM synthesizer with a vast library of classic voices. It allows users to explore, learn, build, and blend sounds, and can be used as a standalone instrument or an AUv3 plugin within DAWs. It offers a visual representation of sound and a patch builder for understanding FM synthesis.
- 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
- AUv3 plugin for DAWs
- Patch Builder for learning FM synthesis
- Sound blending feature
- On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
- Arpeggiator and latch functionality
- WAV recording and export
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Rithmatic is an FM synthesizer with 36,118 classic DX7 voices built in, and an AUv3 plugin for GarageBand on iPad and your DAW on the Mac. Browse them by family and by character, learn how FM works by watching it shape each one, build and blend your own, and play them from the on-screen keys or a MIDI keyboard. No account, no ads, nothing locked. Built for iPhone Duo: half open, it stands like a keyboard synth, the waves above the fold and long keys on the flat half. IN YOUR DAW • Put it on a track in GarageBand on iPad, or in an Audio Unit host on the Mac such as Ableton Live. • Its window is the app's own Patches screen and Patch Builder, with your library. • Your bank appears as the plugin's presets, and Brightness, Attack, Decay, Release and Feedback can be automated. The patch is saved with your project. A LIBRARY THAT SHIPS FULL • 36,118 unique DX7 voices come with the app: no download, no account, no network. • Start with Essentials: the famous sounds and the songs they're on. • Browse by family, or by character: percussive, plucked, metallic, bright, sustained, swell, evolving, mellow. Or search by name. • Patch of the day: one classic voice each day, in the app and in a widget for iPhone, iPad and Mac. PLAY IT • A DX7-compatible synthesis engine runs inside the app, so every patch plays with nothing plugged in. • Play from the on-screen keys, your Mac's keyboard, or any MIDI keyboard you connect. • Pitch bend, mod wheel, breath, sustain and aftertouch, with aftertouch set to vibrato, tremolo or swell. • Velocity from a MIDI keyboard, or turn it off and choose how hard every note plays. • An arpeggiator (up, down, up and down, random or as played, over up to three octaves) and a latch that holds each key. • Record what you play and share it as a WAV. • Five tunings: equal, just, and Wendy Carlos's Alpha, Beta and Gamma scales. • Light or dark, as your device is set or as you choose. Drag the keys taller or shorter. SEE THE SOUND The waveform follows what you play: each operator's envelope, how hard you hit, the pitch, the LFO's wobble, and a chord as one layer per note. Resize it, go full screen, or watch the output itself in the Scope look. PATCH BUILDER: LEARN HOW FM WORKS FM is famous for being hard to program. The Patch Builder shows you why a sound sounds the way it does. • All six operators on a graph, each cable carrying its wave: see a modulator reshape its carrier as you drag. • Draw a cable and the builder snaps to the nearest of the 32 algorithms, so you learn routing by doing it. • Plain words beside the jargon. Edit each operator's ratio, level, envelope and tuning, the LFO and pitch envelope, or use FEEL: thickness, touch and brightness. BLEND Pick two patches and Rithmatic blends them into eight new ones. Play each, and keep the ones you like. YOUR BANK AND FILES • Gather patches from anywhere into your bank, then drag pads to swap or reorder them. • Export the bank as standard DX7 .syx files. Open .syx banks, or a .zip of them, from Files, Mail, AirDrop or the Finder. • Share a sound as a short clip of it playing, with a card and a code that brings the patch into anyone's Rithmatic. WITH A SYNTH, IF YOU HAVE ONE Hardware is optional. Choose your synth in Settings: • Korg Volca FM2 (firmware 1.10 or later, over MIDI): read its current patch, write to any of its 64 memory slots, back up and restore all 16 sequencer patterns, and capture the whole instrument to a snapshot. • DX7 family: send patches and 32-voice banks to a DX7, TX7, TX802, the original Volca FM or the M-VAVE FM-1 over standard Yamaha voice dumps. FREE AND PRIVATE Every feature is free; tips are optional and unlock nothing. Rithmatic works offline and collects no personal data: no account, no analytics, no ads. KORG and volca are trademarks of Korg Inc., DX7 and TX of Yamaha Corporation, M-VAVE of its owner. Rithmatic is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MIDI Magnet at none against Rithmatic's 4. MIDI Magnet also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Rithmatic's advantage is ratings volume (9 vs 1). On price, ads, monetization model and device support 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
Both are free to download. Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. MIDI Magnet asks for nothing beyond the download.
MIDI Magnet holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rithmatic has 9 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | MIDI Magnet | Rithmatic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.6 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Morningstar Engineering | MADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC |
In-app purchases
MIDI Magnet
No in-app purchases
Rithmatic
- Small Tip$4.99
- Medium Tip$9.99
- Large Tip$19.99
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- Extra Large Tip$49.99









