Comparison

Lacquer vs Loopie Sessions

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

Head to head
About

Lacquer

Features
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Lacquer turns your iPad or iPhone into a bulletproof recorder for your DJ sets. Park it at the end of your chain β€” mixer master out β†’ USB audio interface β†’ iPad β€” and capture the whole night in pristine 24-bit. Its one promise: it will not lose your set. RECORDING IS FREE, AND UNCAPPED No time limit. No limit on how many sets you keep. No watermark, no trial countdown, nothing withheld from the recording itself. Record a six-hour night and take the full-quality 24-bit WAV master home β€” free, forever. A recorder you can't trust before you've paid isn't worth trusting after, so the entire capture path is free: the durability engine, the markers, the crate, playback, and your master file. Lacquer Pro is a single one-time purchase for the work that happens after the gig. No subscription β€” the DJ tools you already pay monthly for cost more in a quarter than Lacquer costs once. THE SET IS SACRED A DJ set is a once-only, irreplaceable event. Lacquer's recording engine is decoupled from the audio hardware, so if a cable gets pulled, a call comes in, or the system hiccups mid-set, it keeps writing and resumes the instant the signal returns β€” and clearly flags any take that dropped out, so you always know exactly what you captured. The master file is written continuously and is never modified, so it stays playable even in the worst case. CAPTURE β€’ True 24-bit at your interface's native rate (up to 96 kHz), in stereo β€” record with headroom and never ride gain again β€’ Works with any class-compliant USB audio interface (e.g. Focusrite Scarlett), or the built-in mic β€’ 12+ hour recordings, with live level meters, a free-space countdown, and a charging check β€’ Drop markers live with one tap to bookmark each DJ change or moment YOUR CRATE Every set lands in the Crate as a record. Browse your collection, play sets back, scrub the waveform, and jump between markers. EXPORT β€” ALWAYS FREE β€’ Your 24-bit WAV master, the whole take, out via the share sheet β€’ Trim and fades, so you can top and tail the night β€’ Recordings appear in the Files app for drag-and-drop, with human file names like "2026-06-22 Club X" LACQUER PRO β€” ONE PAYMENT, NO SUBSCRIPTION Everything that turns a capture into deliverables: β€’ Split at markers β€” one file per DJ, in a single pass β€’ Loudness processing β€” normalize to a target for SoundCloud / Mixcloud, or gently flatten the night's loudness creep while leaving the drops intact, plus a safety limiter β€’ The full loudness report β€” LUFS, true-peak and clipping. Lacquer measures every take as you record it, so unlocking reveals the analysis of sets you have already recorded, with nothing to re-process β€’ ALAC and AAC export, with artwork and tags baked in β€’ Gig profiles β€” venue, genre and artwork presets, stamped on every take Your original 24-bit master is never touched by any of it. LIVESTREAM (OPTIONAL) Go live over RTMP to a destination you choose, such as Mixcloud Live. Audio-only and best-effort β€” a dropped stream never affects your recording. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything stays on your device. No account, no tracking, nothing uploaded unless you choose to stream or share. Lacquer β€” record, master & livestream.

About

Loopie Sessions

Features
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Practice, create and share West African rhythms with a global drumming community. PLAY Practice your favourite West African rhythms and discover new ones, with a shared library from drummers around the world and options to visualise ballet-style duns. CREATE Build and save your own solos, accompaniments and variations with flexible time signatures and more control over parts. COLLABORATE Share rhythms, variations, and solos with the Loopie community, discover what others have published, and star and comment on other players’ creations. β€” CORE FUNCTIONALITY Loopie gives you everything you need to learn, practise and play West African rhythms with confidence: ● Play djembe, dundun, sangban, kenkeni and bell parts ● Follow clear, interactive notation as each rhythm plays ● Tap through variations, adjust tempos and loop rhythms for focused practice ● Enjoy high-quality, realistic percussive sound ● Explore a growing library of traditional rhythms ● Save favourites and your own rhythms for easy access ● Access the app and all its content free, with no subscriptions or paywalls ● Enjoy an ad-free experience with no third-party trackers or analytics.

Screenshots

Lacquer4 screens
Loopie Sessions4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Loopie Sessions at none against Lacquer's 1. Loopie Sessions also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Lacquer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Loopie Sessions asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lacquer ships an update every 6 days, Loopie Sessions every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Lacquer versus Loopie Sessions: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLacquerLoopie Sessions
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 2 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” better
Requires iOS18.015.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size6 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian WeinmayrLukas Steiner

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lacquer

One-time1
  • Lacquer Pro$22.99
None

Loopie Sessions

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lacquer free?
Lacquer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Loopie Sessions free?
Loopie Sessions is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Lacquer or Loopie Sessions have ads?
Neither Lacquer nor Loopie Sessions shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lacquer or Loopie Sessions?
Lacquer ships an update every 6 days, and Loopie Sessions every 2 days. Most recently, Lacquer was updated on October 18, 2026 and Loopie Sessions on October 24, 2026.

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