MIDIRack vs VAPolyPro
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.
VAPolyPro
Create a wide range of sounds with this polyphonic synthesizer, featuring multiple oscillator and filter types, MPE support, and built-in effects. It functions as a standalone app or an AudioUnit Extension for Mac and iOS devices, with iCloud Drive integration for project sharing.
- Multiple VCO and VCF types
- Stereo VCF and VCA
- MPE support
- Built-in effects
- Step sequencer
- Audio Unit Extension (AUv3)
- iCloud Drive project sharing
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VAPolyPro features three types of VCOs and three types of VCFs that can generate a wide range of sounds, from warm analog synths to FM-synthesized acoustic instruments. It also includes a stereo VCF and VCA for spacious sound, and MPE for expressive sound. VAPolyPro operates as a stand alone or as an AudioUnit Extension (AUv3) for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Stand Alone supports Ableton Link, MIDI and audio file export. Built-in Effects include delay, chorus, flanger, reverb, eq and compressor. Project files can be saved in iCloud Drive, so that the project can be accessed from iPhone, iPad or Mac. Main Features 3 types of VCO includes Analog, Unison and FM. 3 types of VCF includes Cascade, Ladder And Sallen-Key. Stereo VCF and VCA. Support MPE through MIDI2.0 MPE Profile. Pseudo velocity/ pressure for iOS piano keyboard. 3 channel analog style step sequencer. Maximum 8 voice polyphony. it depends on performance of the device it is running. Built-in effects and piano roll sequencer. Audio Export. Linear PCM format (AIFF, WAV and CAF) and compressed format (AAC) Support Audio Unit Extension (AUv3). Support MIDI 2.0. Support Ableton Link, Bluetooth MIDI, MIDI In / Out. Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Support iCloud Drive to share project files between the platforms. Support MIDI Foot Pedal (CC#11, CC#64) MIDI CC Settings are saved. It will be recovered when the app launched in the next time. Selectable UI Color. Font size for title of controls are adjustable. - Factory Preset 336 - Effects Preset 40 System Requirements (This app is offered as universal purchase for iOS and macOS) iOS 17.0 or later macOS 14.0 or later Devices with Apple Silicon are recommended. A13 Fusion or above is highly recommended. AudioUnit Extension (AUv3) requires host application which support AudioUnit Extension. AudioUnit Extension is supported by Apple Logic and Apple Garage Band on iOS and macOS. For any other DAW, it depends on the application and some of them don’t support AudioUnit Extension.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: VAPolyPro at none against MIDIRack's 1. VAPolyPro also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). MIDIRack's advantage is price ($14.99 vs $19.99) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On update cadence, 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
MIDIRack costs $14.99 and VAPolyPro $19.99 up front. MIDIRack sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. VAPolyPro asks for nothing beyond the download.
VAPolyPro 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.
MIDIRack ships an update every 4 days, VAPolyPro every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MIDIRack | VAPolyPro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 — better | $19.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kai Aras | Ryo Togawa |
Customer experience
MIDIRack
VAPolyPro
In-app purchases
MIDIRack
- Graph Editor Unlock$7.99
VAPolyPro
No in-app purchases









