Chip's Jack Machine vs InkyTune
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
InkyTune
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You don’t need music theory to finish a song. InkyTune is a digital music sketchbook you can actually play. Draw a line with your finger or Apple Pencil, and your stroke becomes a rhythm- and scale-aware melody. InkyTune then builds matching chords, bass, drums, and atmosphere around it. Finish drawing, tap Play, and hear your idea become a complete arrangement. DRAW YOUR MELODY • Horizontal movement controls time • Vertical movement controls pitch • Even a short tap can create a note • Timing and pitch are shaped into a musical result • The rise, fall, and movement of your original line are preserved • Draw with your finger or Apple Pencil FIND YOUR VIBE Choose from Lo-Fi, Pop, House, Chiptune, Ambient, Jazz, and Synthwave. These are more than visual themes. Every style has its own tempo, groove, drum pattern, chord language, bass movement, sound character, and energy curve. SHAPE THE MUSIC, NOT THE THEORY • Energy: calm to intense • Mood: dark to bright • Complexity: simple to rich These three approachable controls make audible changes to tempo, dynamics, harmony, rhythm density, and arrangement detail—without exposing a complicated mixer or piano roll. KEEP WHAT YOU LOVE Mute, lock, or regenerate individual chord, bass, drum, and atmosphere layers. Lock the parts you like, then try another random seed to explore a new variation. Your drawn melody remains yours. PLAY, SAVE, AND SHARE • Play, pause, stop, and loop • Automatically save and restore your latest project • Create and manage multiple musical sketches • Export real WAV, AIFF, or M4A audio files • Share your finished track with the system share sheet • Designed for both iPhone and iPad Core creation and music generation run directly on your device. No account, cloud service, or internet connection is required. Want to go further? InkyTune includes Doodle Synth and Doodle FX extensions for compatible AUv3 music apps. Save a song’s style, controls, and random seed to the AUv3 Shared Library, then recall its matching sound preset inside either extension. One purchase. No subscription. No in-app purchases. Draw a melody. Make a song.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: InkyTune at $1.99 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
Chip's Jack Machine costs $4.99 and InkyTune $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Chip's Jack Machine | InkyTune |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Irwin Eberhart | 宁 徐 |
In-app purchases
Chip's Jack Machine
No in-app purchases
InkyTune
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chip's Jack Machine free?
Is InkyTune free?
Do Chip's Jack Machine or InkyTune have ads?
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