Comparison

Chip's Jack Machine vs Tonkro

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

Head to head
About

Chip's Jack Machine

Create classic house music with this pocket-sized drum machine. Features a 16-step sequencer, hands-on controls, and the ability to load your own samples. Export your creations as WAV or individual stems.

Highlights
  • 16 synthesized and sampled voices
  • Per-voice sound shaping controls
  • 4 scenes with instant switching
  • 16/32-step patterns with swing
  • Step recording
  • Load custom audio samples
  • Export WAV or stems
Features
Read full description

Chip's Jack Machine is a pocket-sized classic house drum machine — 16 voices, a 16/32-step sequencer, and the hands-on knob-per-function workflow of the original hardware, with no menus to dig through. Most of the kit is synthesized live rather than played back from a sample library, so every knob genuinely reshapes the sound instead of filtering a recording. A few voices are built from recordings where a real one simply sounded better. FEATURES • 16 voices — bass drum, snare, low/mid/hi tom, clap, closed and open hat, cowbell, rim shot, maracas, low/mid/high conga, claves, and cymbal. • Per-voice TUNE, DECAY, TONE, SNAPPY, LEVEL, PAN and VERB — every one of them live. • 4 scenes (A/B/C/D) with instant switching, copy and paste. Each scene keeps its own pattern, bar length, mute/solo state and knob settings. • 8, 16 or 32-step patterns with swing. • Step recording — arm RECORD and play the pads in. • Load your own audio into any voice with SAMPLE. • Low-latency audio engine built for playing, not just playback. • Export a pattern as WAV, or export every voice separately as stems. • Save and load projects as .house files and move them between your devices — the same format the whole Architect Series uses. Runs on iPhone and iPad. Buy it once and it's yours. No subscription, no account, no ads, no in-app purchases, and no network connection — the app works entirely offline, forever. Part of the Time2Jack Architect Series.

About

Tonkro

Features
Read full description

MAKE MUSIC BY TOUCHING THE MACHINE Tonkro is a playful music workstation for iPad: part synthesizer, sampler, drum machine, sequencer, recorder, editor, mixer, and DJ performance space. SHAPE ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTS Explore distinctive synth and drum engines through four expressive controls. Each workshop is built to feel immediate: touch the illustrated machinery, hear the result, and let the characters react to your performance. SAMPLE THE WORLD Record through the microphone or import audio. Play one sound chromatically, divide it into untransposed slices, or map multiple samples across keys and pads. Trim, crop, loop, reverse, fade, change speed, transpose, and preserve the original recording with non-destructive editing. FIND RHYTHMS YOUR WAY Seven sequencer personalities turn taps, held notes, patterns, gestures, and playful systems into musical motion. Tempo, transport, MIDI, and recording stay connected, so a sketch can become an arrangement without breaking the flow. RECORD AND ARRANGE Build with eight stereo tracks. Record audio or notes, edit clips and piano-roll performances, overdub, punch, loop, lift, drop, mix, export stems, and save portable project bundles. PERFORM WITH MONSTER DECKS Load two tracks, set beat grids, sync, use key lock, cue points, hot cues, quantized loops, EQ, filters, pitch bend, and the crossfader. Record the performance or print it directly into the tape arrangement. MADE FOR PLAY Tonkro keeps its creative tools visible, touchable, and full of character. It works without an account, advertising, or third-party analytics. Your projects, recordings, and imported samples remain on your iPad unless you choose to export or share them.

Screenshots

Chip's Jack Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Tonkro at Free against Chip's Jack Machine's $4.99. On ads, in-app purchases, 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

Tonkro is free to download; Chip's Jack Machine costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Chip's Jack Machine versus Tonkro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChip's Jack MachineTonkro
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Every 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIrwin EberhartBipasha Nayak

In-app purchases

None

Chip's Jack Machine

No in-app purchases

None

Tonkro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chip's Jack Machine free?
Chip's Jack Machine costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tonkro free?
Tonkro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Chip's Jack Machine or Tonkro have ads?
Neither Chip's Jack Machine nor Tonkro shows ads.

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