MIDIRack vs Wind Chimes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MIDIRack
Design custom MIDI control surfaces with a variety of instruments and sequencers. Unlock advanced features like a visual MIDI processing graph for complex routing and generative music creation. Use it standalone, as an AUv3 plugin, or to control desktop DAWs.
- Customizable touch surface design
- KB-1 keyboard suite with MPE support
- Advanced step and matrix sequencers
- Visual MIDI processing graph
- Built-in instruments and samplers
- Connects to desktop DAWs via USB or Bluetooth
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MIDIRack is a MIDI toolkit for iPad. Build a custom touch surface from the KB-1 keyboard suite, an all-new sequencer suite, knobs, faders, buttons and more — then unlock a visual MIDI processing graph (one time in-app purchase) and wire it into anything, from a simple custom controller to a full-on groovebox or a self-playing generative composer. Play it on its own and send MIDI anywhere, as an AUv3 plugin in your favourite host or a standalone instrument. THE BASE APP — PERFORMANCE SURFACE Design a custom control surface on a snapping grid: • The KB-1 keyboard suite — piano, diatonic chord pads, scale-locked keyboard, MPE Seaboard ribbon, MPE Strings grid (4ths), and a 4×4 GM drum-pad grid. Each is its own routable node with latch and octave shift. Successor to the KB-1 Expressive Keyboard Suite. • A suite of sequencers — drum, melody, chord, analog and CC step grids and a Matrix note grid, with a moving playhead, swing and microtiming. Per-step velocity, probability, tie and trigger conditions; pattern chaining and 4-pad scene switching for full arrangements; a knob-per-step analog machine that re-roots live as you play. • Knobs, faders, XY pads, buttons and live visualizers — bind to raw MIDI CC or graph parameters. On its own: a rich custom control surface builder — send MIDI and CC to any synth, app or hardware, no graph required. WITH YOUR DESKTOP DAW Expressive MPE hardware costs hundreds. MIDIRack turns the iPad you already own into a controller for Logic, Live, Bitwig, Cubase or any desktop DAW: • Two MPE surfaces — the Seaboard ribbon and the Strings grid send per-note pitch bend, slide and pressure to any MPE-capable instrument on your desk. • A controller that changes per track — MPE ribbon for the lead, drum pads for the beat, chord pads for the progression, faders mapped to CC for a mix move. Rearrange in seconds; save a surface per project. • Sequence it too — clock the step lanes to your DAW and drive its tracks. • Easy to connect — one USB cable to a Mac via IDAM (Inter-Device Audio and MIDI), or wirelessly over Bluetooth MIDI. No driver, no helper app. UNLOCK — MIDI GRAPH (in-app purchase) Wire MIDI In → processors → MIDI Out on a visual canvas: • 60+ node kinds — arpeggiators, scale/key quantizers, transposers, chords, echoes, swing, humanize, euclidean rhythms, random/generative melodies, LFOs, CC tools, an analog knob-per-step sequencer, a Matrix sequencer and a Counter. • Built-in instruments — Synth, Drums, a Sampler and a loop Slicer make sound right in the graph; no external synth required. • Emergence generators — Conway's Game of Life, Turing machine, Wolfram rules, Markov, bouncing balls, Lorenz attractor — for evolving, living patterns. • Presets — factory patches grouped by category (control surfaces, generators, keyboards, utilities): Amen Engine, Starfield, Conway Choir, Turing Bass, Cellular Drums… Save your own. ROUTING & MPE • MIDI Out exposes all 16 channels plus an MPE connector — multitimbral, multi-instrument setups. The built-in synth responds to MPE. • Every keyboard is its own node — process and route each one independently. PLAYS OUT OF THE BOX • Built-in polyphonic synth, drum kit, sampler & slicer or send MIDI to your gear via CoreMIDI and an always-on virtual port.
Wind Chimes
This app generates MIDI notes based on a physics simulation of colliding wind chimes. Customize chime properties, scales, and timing for unique generative music. It runs as an AUv3 MIDI generator in compatible hosts or standalone with a built-in sampler.
- Physics-based wind chime simulation
- Generative MIDI note output
- Customizable chime properties
- AUv3 MIDI generator support
- Standalone sampler included
- Visual themes and timing options
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Wind Chimes is a generative MIDI instrument built around a physically simulated row of wind chimes. A simulated wind field sways the chimes, and when two collide, the struck one fires a MIDI note. Play it by hand, or let the wind play on its own. REAL WIND, REAL COLLISIONS • Up to 16 chimes hang in a graduated row • Chimes ring by knocking into each other, not a clapper • Tap, hold, or drag any chime to play it by hand • Gusts sweep across the row instead of hitting all at once CUSTOMIZE EVERY CHIME • Choose anywhere from 2 to 16 chimes • Spread the row from tightly packed to wide open • Length and Weight shape each chime's swing and reach • Go full screen for a bigger, more zen performance A GENERATIVE MIDI PLAYGROUND • Every chime's note comes from the current key and scale • Turn any chime's note off, or reassign it freely • Every chime's real swing angle can drive generative CC modulation • Up to 16 chimes across up to 16 channels, endless generative variety MAKE IT YOURS • Pick from a set of beautifully designed visual themes • Switch between Free timing and a quantized grid • New Wind reseeds the sequence, keeping every setting the same • Randomize rolls a brand-new layout, tuning, and wind in one tap BUILT FOR AUV3 HOSTS • Runs as a full AUv3 MIDI Generator in any compatible host • Automate every wind and tuning parameter from the host • MIDI timing is sample-accurate, synced to the host's own tempo • Presets sync over iCloud across devices, the app, and AUv3 Play standalone with a built-in sampler for instant sound, or load Wind Chimes as a silent-audio AUv3 MIDI Generator and route it into any instrument you like.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Wind Chimes at $4.99 against MIDIRack's $14.99. Wind Chimes also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). MIDIRack's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1). On update cadence, ads 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
MIDIRack costs $14.99 and Wind Chimes $4.99 up front. MIDIRack sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Wind Chimes asks for nothing beyond the download.
Wind Chimes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MIDIRack has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of MIDIRack's written reviews are positive against 100% of Wind Chimes's.
MIDIRack ships an update every 4 days, Wind Chimes every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MIDIRack | Wind Chimes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kai Aras | Cem Olcay |
Customer experience
MIDIRack
Wind Chimes
In-app purchases
MIDIRack
- Graph Editor Unlock$7.99
Wind Chimes
No in-app purchases







