FrankenJazz vs Octal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FrankenJazz
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Write a jazz progression, hear it immediately, and study what makes the changes connect. FrankenJazz is a private lead-sheet and harmony workshop for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Enter chord symbols in a compact chart, choose a key and tempo, then play the form with a responsive chord-tone piano. The app reads Roman-numeral context, traces guide-tone movement, and lets you compare five practical voicing families. Use the bundled progression library as a starting point or build your own. Change the key, tempo, groove, instrument, and voicing while the chart remains editable. Playback includes seeking and looping for close listening and practice. When the chart is ready, export a FrankenJazz document, plain text, or a standard MIDI file. Local recovery protects the current session if the app closes unexpectedly. FrankenJazz works without an account or network connection. It includes no telemetry, advertising, sample downloads, or cloud processing.
Octal
This app transforms your phone into a musical instrument with eight intuitive buttons that always create harmonious chords or notes. Easily record loops, layer beats, and arrange them into full songs. Explore a variety of sounds and share your creations.
- Eight-button chord/note interface
- Loop recording and editing
- Song arrangement
- Diverse sound library
- Undo/history functionality
- Audio file sharing
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Octal turns your phone into an instrument. The eight buttons play chords or notes that always go together, so whatever you press sounds like music. The bead under your other thumb changes their mood or behavior as you play. MAKE A LOOP Press record and play a few bars. Open the wheel, pick drums or a bass, and play over the top. Swipe over to the Loop Deck to see your loop and change it bar by bar. TURN LOOPS INTO A SONG Pinch the Loop Deck and chain your loops into a song. SOUNDS Synths, keys, drum kits, textures and acoustic instruments, a tap away on the wheel. NEVER LOSE AN EDIT Every edit is kept. The history tool lets you wind back to any of them. SHARE IT Send the mix as an audio file, or send the loop or song itself to a friend who has Octal. Making music in Octal is free, with four saved loops and one song. THE FULL VERSION One purchase, no subscription. MIDI and stems to finish your song in a DAW, MIDI out to play other synths, the bead lab to make and keep sounds of your own, and as many loops and songs as you like. PRIVACY Octal collects no data. The microphone is only on while you record a sound or play a Vocoder.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FrankenJazz at none against Octal's 1. FrankenJazz also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price and ads 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
Both are free to download. Octal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. FrankenJazz asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | FrankenJazz | Octal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Daily |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jeffrey Emanuel | RYAN JAMES,GALANG ELLIS |
In-app purchases
FrankenJazz
No in-app purchases
Octal
- Octal, the full version$9.99









