Comparison

StreetSampler vs 1981 FM

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

Head to head
About

StreetSampler

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THE WORLD IS YOUR SAMPLE LIBRARY StreetSampler is a sampler that turns everyday sounds into music. Record a train, a door, a voice, or the sound of the street wherever you find it. Trim and shape the sound, play it on 16 pads, and build a sequence while the inspiration is still fresh. CAPTURE FAST • Start recording instantly from the REC widget • Import audio from video • Automatically add clear, location-based titles • Create offline SHAPE YOUR SOUND • Trim intuitively with a clear waveform • Adjust pitch, speed, volume, pan, and looping • Play sounds on 16 responsive pads • Copy and rearrange pads without interrupting your flow BUILD THE BEAT • Create patterns with the built-in step sequencer • Set the BPM and save your work as a project • Automatically share recordings and projects with StreetSampler on Mac, with easy DAW import PLAY THE FX PAD • Drag a finger across the FX Pad to add effects to the whole song while it plays • Five effect banks: Aggressive, Spatial, Glitch, Shimmer and Chaos • Record your performance with REC and keep it as a new sound YOUR FILES, YOUR WAY • Recordings are saved as WAV files in the Files app, ready to open in other apps • Share projects and recordings from Projects with Messages, Mail, AirDrop and more FROM STREET TO STUDIO Pair with StreetSampler on Mac to automatically sync recordings and projects over your local Wi‑Fi network. Some sync features require Pro. STREETSAMPLER PRO UPGRADE • Unlimited saved projects • Unlimited automatic sync with Mac • StreetSampler for Mac: export, drag to DAW and more with the same purchase • One-time purchase with no subscription The Free version includes recording, editing, 16 pads, sequencing, the FX Pad, sharing, three saved projects, and 15 Wi‑Fi transfers. One purchase unlocks Pro on iPhone, iPad and Mac signed in with the same Apple Account.

About

1981 FM

This app generates complete, unique musical tracks using chaotic mathematical principles. It offers various styles, modes, and keys, with customizable FM synth sounds and effects. Tracks can be recreated using seeds and exported via MIDI.

Highlights
  • Chaos-driven track generation
  • Four-operator FM synth engine
  • Multiple musical styles and modes
  • MIDI export and input
  • Customizable effects (chorus, delay, reverb)
  • Offline functionality
Features
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1981 FM writes complete tracks. Press generate and you get 64 bars with an intro, verses, choruses, a break and an outro, played by a four-operator FM synth. Lead, bass, arp, pad and a drum machine, through chorus, delay and reverb. Nothing is sampled. Every note is made on the fly and no two tracks come out the same. The music comes from chaos maths. A Lorenz attractor shapes the melody, rhythm and mood. A Hénon map keeps the arpeggio moving. A logistic map handles the drum fills: turn it down and they repeat every bar, turn it up and they never do. Chaos on its own is noise, so a small model filters it. It gets rewarded for consonant intervals and practises over the chord changes before it writes anything. The CHAOS / POLICY slider decides how much say each one gets. Ten styles, and they are properly different. Funk plays a 16th-note slap line with ghost notes between the backbeats. Bebop walks the bass and puts the ride in charge of the time. Bossa runs a clave. Space strips the kit back to a pulse. Every track is built from its seed. Write the seed down and you can have that exact track again, note for note, whenever you want it. You can play over it, too. The pads are the notes of the song's key rather than a piano keyboard, so nothing you touch is wrong, and the sixteen-step lane runs in time with the song and follows your host. Both play any part you like: lead, bass, arp or pad, through that part's sound and out on its MIDI channel. Choose which sections the lane plays in - just the choruses, say - and preview it on its own without starting the song. Turn on RADIO and it keeps playing, picking a new key, mode, style and tempo for each track. You also get: • 10 styles, 6 modes, 12 keys, tempo and density • Four-operator FM engine, 6 algorithms, 11 presets, random patch • Five-part mixer, chorus, delay, plate reverb and filter • A PLAY panel: pads in the song's own key, and a 16-step lane running in time with the song and only in the sections you pick • MIDI in, so your keyboard plays whichever part you have selected • MIDI export: five tracks, one per part • Live spectrum, waveform and a view of the chaos engine at work Two Audio Units, an instrument and a MIDI processor. Each part sends on its own MIDI channel, drums on 10, so one instance can drive five instruments. The MIDI version passes your keyboard through instead of swallowing it. Both follow your host's tempo and transport. One install registers both. The app is free and nothing in it is held back. Using the Audio Units inside other apps is a one-time purchase, and each AUv3 session plays for two minutes first so you can try them properly. No account, no ads, no subscription. Works offline.

Screenshots

StreetSampler4 screens
1981 FM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: 1981 FM at every 2 weeks against StreetSampler's every 6 weeks. 1981 FM also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. StreetSampler sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and 1981 FM sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StreetSampler ships an update every 6 weeks, 1981 FM every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
StreetSampler versus 1981 FM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStreetSampler1981 FM
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTomocreate, Inc.Soft Brew Mobile

In-app purchases

1 purchases

StreetSampler

One-time1
  • StreetSampler Pro$9.99
1 purchases

1981 FM

One-time1
  • AUv3 Unlock$2.99

Questions

Is StreetSampler free?
StreetSampler is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is 1981 FM free?
1981 FM is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StreetSampler or 1981 FM have ads?
Neither StreetSampler nor 1981 FM shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StreetSampler or 1981 FM?
StreetSampler ships an update every 6 weeks, and 1981 FM every 2 weeks. Most recently, StreetSampler was updated on October 31, 2026 and 1981 FM on November 6, 2026.

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