Comparison

Rithmatic vs StemDeck Remote

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 with a vast library of classic voices. It allows users to explore, learn, build, and blend sounds, and can be used as a standalone instrument or an AUv3 plugin within DAWs. It offers a visual representation of sound and a patch builder for understanding FM synthesis.

Highlights
  • 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
  • AUv3 plugin for DAWs
  • Patch Builder for learning FM synthesis
  • Sound blending feature
  • On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
  • Arpeggiator and latch functionality
  • WAV recording and 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. Built for iPhone Duo: half open, it stands like a keyboard synth, the waves above the fold and long keys on the flat half. 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. 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. 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, TX7, TX802, the original Volca FM or the M-VAVE FM-1 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 of Yamaha Corporation, M-VAVE of its owner. Rithmatic is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

About

StemDeck Remote

Features
Read full description

StemDeck Remote is the companion app for StemDeck, the desktop app that separates any song into its individual parts — vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano, and more. Pair the two over your home Wi-Fi and your whole stem library goes with you, ready to mix from your phone or iPad. HOW IT WORKS Open StemDeck on your computer, scan the pairing code (or enter its address manually), and your library syncs over your local network. No account, no cloud upload — StemDeck Remote only ever talks to the StemDeck instance you paired with, on your own network. A PORTABLE MIXING CONSOLE Every song opens onto a real per-stem mixer: • Independent volume, mute, and solo for every stem • Live waveform displays for the whole song and each individual part • Adjust playback speed and pitch independently, with looping • Two mixer styles — a simple, casual view for quick listening, and an Advanced view styled after a hardware mixing console, with level meters and precise faders • Built for iPhone and iPad, in portrait or landscape LISTEN YOUR WAY Download stems for offline playback, keep mixing with the screen off thanks to background audio, and control playback from Control Center or your lock screen — just like any other music app. STAY ORGANIZED Search your library, sort it your way, and group songs into folders as your collection grows. TRY IT FIRST No StemDeck instance handy yet? Check Sample Songs from the home screen to explore the full mixer with a few Creative Commons–licensed tracks (fully credited in-app) — no pairing required. ABOUT YOUR CONTENT StemDeck Remote doesn't separate, download, or source audio on its own — it's a personal remote control and player for a StemDeck instance you run yourself. All stem separation happens locally on your own computer via StemDeck; this app only syncs and plays back stems from the instance you paired with, over your own local network, for your personal use. Nothing is uploaded to us or any third party. You're responsible for only processing audio you have the rights to use. StemDeck Remote requires a StemDeck desktop installation on the same local network to sync your own library. Camera access is used only to scan the pairing QR code; local network access is used only to reach your paired StemDeck instance.

Screenshots

Rithmatic4 screens
StemDeck Remote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: StemDeck Remote at none against Rithmatic's 4. Rithmatic's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. StemDeck Remote asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Rithmatic versus StemDeck Remote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRithmaticStemDeck Remote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLCUdaya Sri Senarathne

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Rithmatic

One-time4
  • Small Tip$4.99
  • Medium Tip$9.99
  • Large Tip$19.99
Show 1 more
  • Extra Large Tip$49.99
None

StemDeck Remote

No in-app purchases

Questions

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

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