MIDI Device Manager vs Rithmatic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MIDI Device Manager
This application offers professional MIDI control and management for musicians. It allows users to control individual devices, multiple devices simultaneously, and entire live scenes or setlists through an intuitive one-touch pad interface. It can also import patch names directly from instrument backup files or capture them automatically.
- One-touch programmable control pads
- Control multiple MIDI devices simultaneously
- Import patch names from instrument backup files
- Capture patch names automatically
- Create Live Scenes and Setlists
- Trigger pads from external MIDI controllers
- Bluetooth and USB MIDI support
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Control Your Entire MIDI Environment MIDIDeviceManager is a professional MIDI control and management application built around an intuitive one-touch pad interface. Control individual devices, multiple devices simultaneously, complete Live Scenes and entire Live Setlists from a single application. Pads can be triggered directly from the screen or remotely using compatible MIDI foot controllers, external MIDI controllers and other MIDI-enabled applications. Unlike traditional patch editors, MIDIDeviceManager is designed to control devices rather than edit sounds. Your Patch Names, Already There Typing hundreds of patch names by hand is the reason most musicians never finish setting up their rig. MIDIDeviceManager can read a backup or bulk dump file produced by your instrument's own software and turn it into a searchable index — every patch name, in the right bank and slot, without connecting anything. Where an instrument supports SysEx communication, MIDIDeviceManager can also request its patch list directly over MIDI. And where neither is possible, it can step through the equipment's patches and capture the names automatically as it goes. Confirmed with equipment like Line 6 Helix, ASM Hydrasynth and Korg minilogue xd, with more added regularly. Universal MIDI Compatibility MIDIDeviceManager works with virtually any MIDI-compatible hardware using standard MIDI messages including: • Program Change • Control Change • Bank Select (MSB/LSB) • MIDI Learn • Passive MIDI Monitoring • External MIDI Triggering • Standard and device-specific SysEx communication Device Pads, Scene Pads and Live Setlist Pads can all be triggered from external MIDI controllers, foot pedals or other MIDI applications, allowing MIDIDeviceManager to integrate naturally into virtually any MIDI setup. MIDIDeviceManager recognises multi-port MIDI interfaces and Bluetooth adaptors, and identifies your equipment correctly even when it is connected behind one. Selected devices get deeper, dedicated support — from the classic POD 2 and GT-Pro to the modern GR-55 and BigSky — with more added regularly. And it isn't only hardware: MDM can drive other MIDI-enabled apps too. If it speaks MIDI, MDM can talk to it. Key Features • One-touch programmable control pads • Sliders and Buttons for continuous and on/off control • Custom Pad colours for at-a-glance identification • Control one or multiple MIDI devices simultaneously • Device management • Import patch names from instrument backup files • Capture patch names automatically by stepping through your instrument • Search, sort and filter patch lists using categories or custom text • Create reusable Live Scenes • Create Live Setlists for performances • Trigger pads from external MIDI pedals and controllers • Trigger pads from other MIDI-enabled applications • MIDI Learn • Bluetooth MIDI and USB MIDI support • Keeps receiving MIDI in the background on iPhone and iPad (iOS 26+) • Continues receiving MIDI alongside another app in iPad Split View • Automatic detection of the patch currently selected on your instrument • Live connection status for every device • Built-in help at each step • SysEx Lab for advanced device work • Backup and Restore Why SysEx Matters Standard MIDI devices are normally controlled using one of the available MIDI channels. When compatible devices support SysEx communication, MIDIDeviceManager can communicate directly with individual devices using their unique manufacturer and device identifiers. Multiple compatible devices can therefore share the same MIDI connection while remaining individually addressable. This enables more scalable MIDI systems and advanced device management beyond the limitations of standard MIDI messaging. Requirements Compatible with iPhone and iPad. Supports USB MIDI and Bluetooth MIDI. Some advanced features require compatible external MIDI hardware. Background MIDI reception requires iOS 26 or later. On earlier versions, MIDIDeviceManager must stay on screen to receive MIDI.
Rithmatic
This app is an FM synthesizer featuring a vast library of classic voices. It allows users to explore, learn, build, and blend sounds using an intuitive interface and an AUv3 plugin for DAWs. It offers a comprehensive synthesis engine and various playback options.
- 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
- AUv3 plugin for DAWs
- Patch Builder to learn FM synthesis
- Sound blending feature
- On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
- Arpeggiator and latch function
- WAV 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 review sentiment: MIDI Device Manager at 100% against Rithmatic's 67%. Rithmatic's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. MIDI Device Manager sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
MIDI Device Manager ships an update every 10 days, Rithmatic every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MIDI Device Manager | Rithmatic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.6 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christian Mc Cormick | MADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC |
Customer experience
MIDI Device Manager
Rithmatic
In-app purchases
MIDI Device Manager
- 30-Day TrialFree
- Unlock MDM$22.99
Rithmatic
- Comrade!$4.99
- Major Supporter$9.99
- Supporting Member$19.99
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- Underwriter$49.99
Questions
Is MIDI Device Manager free?
Is Rithmatic free?
Do MIDI Device Manager or Rithmatic have ads?
Which is updated more often, MIDI Device Manager or Rithmatic?
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