Comparison

MIDIRack vs StrumTune

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

StrumTune

Features
Read full description

StrumTune tunes your guitar, bass, ukulele and more — accurately, and completely free. No ads. No subscriptions. No accounts. Nothing is collected, and the app never connects to the internet. TUNE ANY STRING Play a string and StrumTune names it, shows how far off you are in cents, and turns green the moment it lands. The needle settles quickly, so you spend less time watching the screen and more time playing. CHROMATIC MODE Not every note is an open string. With a capo on, on a fretted note, or with an instrument that has no preset, chromatic mode reads any of the twelve semitones instead of forcing your note onto the nearest string. MANUAL MODE Prefer to tune by ear? Tap a string to hear a clean reference tone and match it. Works even without microphone access. 9 INSTRUMENTS, 25 TUNINGS Guitar (Standard, Drop D, Drop C, Half Step Down, Full Step Down, Open G, Open D, Open E, Open C, DADGAD), 7-string guitar, bass, 5-string bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, violin and cello. YOUR OWN TUNINGS Set any note on any string, save it under a name, and it is waiting for you next time. Edit or delete it whenever you like. BUILT-IN METRONOME 30 to 240 BPM, time signatures 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8, tap tempo and an accented downbeat. The click is scheduled sample-accurately, so the tempo never drifts. MADE FOR PLAYERS - Left-handed mode mirrors the fretboard - Reference pitch adjustable from 430 to 450 Hz for orchestras and period instruments - Note names as C D E or Do Re Mi - The screen stays awake while you tune - Your instrument and tuning are remembered between sessions Everything listed above is included. There is no paid tier and nothing to unlock.

Screenshots

MIDIRack4 screens
StrumTune4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: StrumTune at Free against MIDIRack's $14.99. StrumTune also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

StrumTune is free to download; MIDIRack costs $14.99 up front. MIDIRack sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. StrumTune asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
MIDIRack versus StrumTune: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDIRackStrumTune
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKai ArasCafo Kajmer

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MIDIRack

One-time1
  • Graph Editor Unlock$7.99
None

StrumTune

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDIRack free?
MIDIRack costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is StrumTune free?
StrumTune is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MIDIRack or StrumTune have ads?
Neither MIDIRack nor StrumTune shows ads.

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