Microtonal Lab vs KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Microtonal Lab
Explore music beyond the traditional 12-note scale with this comprehensive microtonal studio. Create custom scales, play a microtonal keyboard, sequence patterns, and perform live with a launchpad. Export your creations as MIDI files for further production.
- Harmonic Galaxy visualizer
- Microtonal keyboard with custom scales
- 32-step sequencer with FX
- Launchpad for live performance
- Extensive world scale library
- Multiple tuning systems support
- MIDI export for DAWs
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Microtonal Lab is a complete microtonal music studio for iOS. Break free from the 12-note octave and explore the infinite space between the notes. AUv3 PLUGIN Use MicrotonalLab as a plugin inside GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, Drambo, and any AUv3-compatible host. The full step sequencer, tuning system, and SF2 instruments are available directly in your DAW. Record sequences as MIDI regions with automatic tempo sync. HARMONIC GALAXY Discover musical intervals as a visual universe. Every dot is an interval above the root — its size shows consonance, its color shows its position in the octave, and its number shows the exact distance in cents. Pinch to zoom and new microtones emerge from the depths. Build custom scales by tapping intervals and save them to your library. MICROTONAL KEYBOARD A fully playable keyboard with exact microtonal tuning. Choose from piano, strings, marimba, vibes, bass, pad, flute, or synthesized waveforms. Activate any scale from the library and the keyboard reconfigures to show precisely those notes. Supports glide between notes for expressive playing. STEP SEQUENCER A 16-step sequencer with microtonal note assignment per step, velocity, gate, and swing control. Syncs to the host tempo in AUv3 mode. LAUNCHPAD A grid-based launchpad for live performance. Rows correspond to scale degrees, columns to time — tap to toggle notes and play your patterns in real time. SCALE LIBRARY Browse world scales from dozens of musical traditions, including Arabic maqam, Indian ragas, Persian dastgah, Javanese gamelan, and many more. Preview any scale, then activate it across all views with one tap. TUNING SYSTEMS Switch between 12-TET, 19-TET, 24-TET, 31-TET, and 53-TET. Full access to all scale degrees in the sequencer for every tuning system. MIDI EXPORT Export your sequences to standard MIDI files with full microtonal pitch bend on each channel. Import directly into any DAW for further production. FX Filter (low-pass with cutoff and resonance), reverb (from small room to cathedral), and delay — all controllable via XY pads in real time during playback. Microtonal Lab is built for composers, sound designers, music theorists, and anyone curious about the music that lives between the keys.
KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker
This music creation tool allows users to record sounds by holding pads, then chop, sequence, and apply effects to build tracks. It offers extensive export options for popular DAWs and includes unique features to prevent programmed sounds.
- Hold-to-record sampling
- Automatic sound chopping
- 96 PPQN sequencer
- 41 built-in effects
- DAW export options
- Performance effects
- Resampling capability
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It records for exactly as long as you hold the pad. Open a record screen, record, then decide which pad the sound belongs on — and by the time you have done all that, the sound you wanted has already happened. In KIZUNA you hold a pad, it records while you hold it, and when you let go the sound is already there, on that pad. One decision instead of three. From the thing you caught to the finished track, on an iPhone or an iPad. The sampler, the sequencer, the effects and the export all live in the same place. CAPTURE - Record from the microphone, a line input, or KIZUNA's own output (resample) - Threshold auto-start waits for the sound and begins on its own - A short pre-roll is kept, so the transient itself is never clipped - Import from the Files app, iCloud Drive, or any other cloud provider CHOP - EQUAL by division, ATTACK by detected onsets, or LIVE by tapping while it plays - Slices land straight across a bank, one per pad - A share of them can come out reversed, so the loop stops sounding like the record it came from SO IT DOESN'T SOUND PROGRAMMED - DRIFT moves the pitch and level a little on every hit - VEL > FILTER makes softer hits darker, not merely quieter - FEEL adds timing and velocity looseness, seeded from the pattern itself — the same groove plays back the same way every time, and a bounce matches what you heard - LO-FI KIT: dusty drums, a Rhodes, an upright bass, a vinyl bed, a tape stop BUILD - A 96 PPQN sequencer, 1 to 99 bars, 99 patterns per bank - Swing is stored separately for eighths, sixteenths and thirty-seconds, so dialling one in never disturbs another - Each bank can run its own pattern length — two bars of drums under four bars of chords - 99 scenes and a 99-position song chain - Knob movements are written into the pattern, so a filter sweep follows the part it was written for SHAPE IT — 41 EFFECTS - Per-pad inserts: 19 types across 2 slots (filters, drive, crush, phaser, flanger, ring mod and more) - Send effects: 6 types on 2 buses, so delay and reverb can run at once - Performance effects: 16 momentary types, held down, several at a time, with a downward drag for pressure - A four-slot master chain: VINYL, TAPE, SHELF EQ, LIMITER - Four time-stretch algorithms, chosen per pad: REPITCH, BEATS, TONAL, TEXTURE GRAB A BAR - Capture the last quarter-bar to four bars of the output and hold it, tempo-locked - Not a sample loop — whatever the machine just played - Length and position can both be moved while it runs EXPORT - Ableton Live Set (.als) - DAWproject for Bitwig Studio, Studio One and Cubase - Tempo-correct stems, MIDI for the parts, and written import steps for FL Studio, Logic Pro and GarageBand - WAV of a single pad, of the mix, or per-bank stems — all the same length, all starting at the same instant - Bounces run the same engine as playback, offline. There is no separate render path to drift away from what you heard CONNECT - Includes a KIZUNA AUv3 instrument. Installing the app registers it with Logic Pro, GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis and other hosts on the same device - Core MIDI in and out over USB, Bluetooth and network, plus KIZUNA's own virtual port - MIDI clock received and sent, with start and stop PRIVACY No account. No ads, no analytics, no tracking. The app contains no networking code at all, so your recordings and projects stay on your device — or in your own iCloud Drive, if you put them there. SPECIFICATION - 4 banks of 16 pads (switchable to a 3x4 grid), 24 voices, choke groups - 48 kHz, 32-bit float internally, 24-bit WAV on export - Recording capped at 40 seconds mono, 20 seconds stereo - Both starter kits are synthesised inside the app, so nothing you release from them carries a sample licence - iPhone and iPad, iOS 18.0 or later The interface is currently in English; other languages are planned.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker at 5.0 against Microtonal Lab's 1.0. KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and price ($2.99 vs $6.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Microtonal Lab costs $6.99 and KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Microtonal Lab ships an update every 2 months, KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Microtonal Lab | KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #196 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 90 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Martin Adler | Code and DESIGN inc. |
Customer experience
Microtonal Lab
KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker
In-app purchases
Microtonal Lab
No in-app purchases
KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Microtonal Lab free?
Is KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker free?
Which has better reviews, Microtonal Lab or KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker?
Do Microtonal Lab or KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Microtonal Lab or KIZUNA Sampler & Beat Maker?
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