Rithmatic vs Wind Crusher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Wind Crusher
Transform clean audio into something more dynamic with this AUv3 effect. Add air, fizz, bite, and digital texture to vocals, pads, guitars, and snares. Explore subtle quantisation effects or push it for aggressive digital distortion.
- Adds air, fizz, and bite
- Digital texture and movement
- Adjustable Bit Depth
- Swoosh for movement
- Texture Tone control
- Air EQ for high frequencies
- Mix control for wet/dry blend
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Turn clean sounds into something more alive. Wind Crusher is an AUv3 effect for adding air, fizz, bite and digital movement to pads and fragile vocals in particular, but also electric guitars and snares can benefit. It starts where many bitcrushers stop. Instead of immediately destroying your sound with extreme lo-fi distortion, Wind Crusher lets you explore the subtle texture created by quantisation — adding digital residue while keeping the original character intact. Use the large AIR control to mix in and out the sound appropriately, then fine-tune the result with: • Bit Depth for controlling the digital resolution • Swoosh for adding movement and texture • Texture Tone for shaping the character • Air EQ for opening up the high frequencies • Mix for blending the effect with the original Use it subtly to add breath and presence. Push it harder for brittle edges, fizz, aggressive breakup and obvious digital destruction. Wind Crusher is designed to be quick to use, but deep enough to experiment with. A small set of presets helps you explore different characters without needing to understand every DSP parameter. Some of the effects in Wind Crusher rely on sounds within the 350-2000 Hz range and so you may get more audible results if your input sound contains frequencies in that range. Made for musicians, producers and sound designers who want to add a little extra to their clean sounds. Wind Crusher is built as an AUv3 Audio Unit for use with compatible music apps and hosts on Apple platforms.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Wind Crusher at 100% against Rithmatic's 50%. Wind Crusher also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and chart position (#192 vs unranked). Rithmatic's advantage is price (Free vs $0.99) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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
Rithmatic is free to download; Wind Crusher costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Wind Crusher holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Rithmatic's written reviews are positive against 100% of Wind Crusher's.
Rithmatic ships an update every 2 days, Wind Crusher every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Rithmatic | Wind Crusher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #192 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC | ADBC INNOVATION PTY LTD |
Customer experience
Rithmatic
Wind Crusher
In-app purchases
Rithmatic
No in-app purchases
Wind Crusher
No in-app purchases









