Comparison

Rithmatic vs StrumTune

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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. 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. • Every voice is credited to the archive it came from, and to its designer where a bank names one. 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. • Keys, shortcuts and every synth term, explained under Help. 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 (mkI/II), TX7, TX802 or the original Volca FM 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 are trademarks of Yamaha Corporation. Rithmatic is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.

About

StrumTune

Features
Read full description

StrumTune tunes your guitar, bass, ukulele and more — accurately, and completely free. No ads. No subscriptions. No accounts. Nothing is collected, and the app never connects to the internet. TUNE ANY STRING Play a string and StrumTune names it, shows how far off you are in cents, and turns green the moment it lands. The needle settles quickly, so you spend less time watching the screen and more time playing. CHROMATIC MODE Not every note is an open string. With a capo on, on a fretted note, or with an instrument that has no preset, chromatic mode reads any of the twelve semitones instead of forcing your note onto the nearest string. MANUAL MODE Prefer to tune by ear? Tap a string to hear a clean reference tone and match it. Works even without microphone access. 9 INSTRUMENTS, 25 TUNINGS Guitar (Standard, Drop D, Drop C, Half Step Down, Full Step Down, Open G, Open D, Open E, Open C, DADGAD), 7-string guitar, bass, 5-string bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, violin and cello. YOUR OWN TUNINGS Set any note on any string, save it under a name, and it is waiting for you next time. Edit or delete it whenever you like. BUILT-IN METRONOME 30 to 240 BPM, time signatures 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8, tap tempo and an accented downbeat. The click is scheduled sample-accurately, so the tempo never drifts. MADE FOR PLAYERS - Left-handed mode mirrors the fretboard - Reference pitch adjustable from 430 to 450 Hz for orchestras and period instruments - Note names as C D E or Do Re Mi - The screen stays awake while you tune - Your instrument and tuning are remembered between sessions Everything listed above is included. There is no paid tier and nothing to unlock.

Screenshots

Rithmatic4 screens
StrumTune4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Rithmatic at 4 against StrumTune's 1. Rithmatic also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Rithmatic versus StrumTune: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRithmaticStrumTune
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLCCafo Kajmer

In-app purchases

None

Rithmatic

No in-app purchases

None

StrumTune

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rithmatic free?
Rithmatic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StrumTune free?
StrumTune is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Rithmatic or StrumTune have ads?
Neither Rithmatic nor StrumTune shows ads.

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