Comparison

MIDIPlex vs BambooSilk

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

Head to head
About

MIDIPlex

Features
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MotionMIDI transforms your iPhone into a powerful motion-based MIDI controller. Use the built-in motion sensors to control MIDI notes and continuous controller (CC) data through expressive gestures. Connect wirelessly via Bluetooth MIDI or use compatible CoreMIDI connections to perform with your favorite music apps and hardware. Features: • Motion-controlled MIDI performance • Bluetooth MIDI support • MIDI Note Mode • MIDI CC Mode • Real-time gesture control • Adjustable sensitivity and calibration • Presets optimized for popular music apps • Low-latency performance • Clean, performance-focused interface Whether you're creating expressive synthesizer performances, controlling effects, or experimenting with new ways to interact with music, MotionMIDI offers a simple and intuitive way to make movement part of your performance. Compatible with CoreMIDI-enabled apps and hardware that support MIDI input.

About

BambooSilk

Explore 12 traditional Chinese instruments with intuitive touch controls or MIDI. Record, shape your audio with effects, and seamlessly integrate into compatible music production hosts via AUv3.

Highlights
  • 12 traditional Chinese instruments
  • Intuitive touch performance surfaces
  • MIDI keyboard and controller support
  • Audio recording and shaping
  • AUv3 instrument and effect integration
  • Pentatonic scale MIDI processing
Features
Currently charting
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Play 12 traditional Chinese instruments, record a phrase, shape your audio, and continue in a compatible AUv3 host. A breath moves through bamboo. A fingertip wakes a silk string. Bronze rings, a drum answers, and a melody begins. BambooSilk was created for that first musical moment—when an idea is still small, immediate, and alive. Touch the instrument, follow the phrase, record it, then carry it into a larger production without leaving its character behind. FROM ONE TOUCH TO TWELVE INSTRUMENTS Open the app and begin playing. Twelve traditional Chinese instruments are arranged in four families: • Strings: Guqin, Guzheng, Yangqin • Winds: Dizi, Xiao, Suona • Plucked: Pipa, Zhongruan, Sanxian • Percussion: Tanggu, Bianzhong, Paigu Each instrument has its own performance surface. Play multiple notes at once, move between techniques, change octave, and capture a take directly from the portrait interface. Connect a USB MIDI keyboard or pair a Bluetooth MIDI controller to play the selected instrument with velocity, sustain, and pitch bend. A quiet Guqin phrase, a bright Dizi line, a rapid Pipa figure, or the pulse of Paigu can all begin beneath your fingers. LET A RECORDING FIND ITS SPACE Sometimes the story begins outside the app. Import a WAV, AIFF, M4A, or MP3 recording from Files and see it unfold across the waveform. Scrub to the exact moment, listen before and after, then shape warmth, tone, stereo width, echo, resonance, and wet/dry balance until the performance sits naturally in its own space. Your installed AUv3 audio effects can join the same workspace. Scan compatible effects, switch plug-ins, compare with bypass, open a plug-in’s native interface, or use a generic parameter view when needed. TAKE BAMBOOSILK INTO YOUR HOST The standalone app is only the beginning. Three included AUv3 tools let the same musical language continue inside a compatible production host. BambooSilk Effect Give an audio track warmth, tonal shape, stereo space, echo, and a natural tail. Ducking keeps the original performance clear while the effect returns between phrases. Parameters support host automation, preset recall, Mix Lock, A/B comparison, bypass, and state restoration. BambooSilk Instruments Perform all 12 included Chinese instrument timbres from MIDI. It supports 16-voice polyphony, sustain, pitch bend, performance techniques, and an on-screen audition keyboard. Use the MIDI modulation wheel for expressive vibrato on Dizi, Xiao, and Suona. BambooSilk MIDI Scales Turn incoming notes toward Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, or Yu pentatonic modes. Choose the root and target instrument, then shape transpose, quantize strength, velocity, timing, variation, and note probability. The chosen instrument can travel downstream through MIDI Program Change. A COMPLETE PATH FOR A MUSICAL IDEA Begin with touch. Save the performance. Refine a recording. Then continue arranging and automating in compatible hosts such as GarageBand, Logic Pro, Cubasis, and AUM. AUv3 availability and routing options depend on the host. An interactive in-app guide helps you get started with touch performance, USB/Bluetooth MIDI, audio polishing, and plug-ins. From bamboo breath to silk resonance, BambooSilk gives traditional colors a place in a modern music workflow. Supports English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and French.

Screenshots

MIDIPlex3 screens
BambooSilk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BambooSilk at daily against MIDIPlex's every 9 days. BambooSilk also leads on chart position (#190 vs unranked) and price ($2.99 vs $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

MIDIPlex costs $4.99 and BambooSilk $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDIPlex ships an update every 9 days, BambooSilk daily. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
MIDIPlex versus BambooSilk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDIPlexBambooSilk
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
Best chart rank—#190 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBRADLEY WAYNE MYERS宁 徐

In-app purchases

None

MIDIPlex

No in-app purchases

None

BambooSilk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDIPlex free?
MIDIPlex costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BambooSilk free?
BambooSilk costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do MIDIPlex or BambooSilk have ads?
Neither MIDIPlex nor BambooSilk shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDIPlex or BambooSilk?
MIDIPlex ships an update every 9 days, and BambooSilk daily. Most recently, MIDIPlex was updated on October 31, 2026 and BambooSilk on October 29, 2026.

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