Comparison

Waveguide Flute vs Arch Carrier Instrument Lab

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

Head to head
About

Waveguide Flute

Features
Read full description

Waveguide Flute turns your iPad or iPhone into a physically modeled wind instrument — a Cook/STK-style waveguide flute you play from an on-screen piano roll or a MIDI wind controller (EWI). FEATURES • Authentic waveguide physical modeling — not a sample library • Deep Sound page: shape jet ratio, reflection, loop damping, noise, and more • Expression controls for live performance: blow intensity, breathiness, pitch bend, auto-vibrato • Built-in reverb with 7 factory spaces • On-screen piano roll with velocity and breath control • Full MIDI support — notes, breath (CC#2), pitch bend • Compatible with Akai EWI and other MIDI wind controllers that send breath and pitch bend • Remembers your last settings, with one-tap reset to defaults • Bluetooth MIDI support, plus a configurable Breath Control input (Mod Wheel or custom CC) for keyboard players without a wind controller Play it like a real wind instrument: breathe into the sound, bend pitch, add vibrato — all rendered by a genuine physical model, not recordings.

About

Arch Carrier Instrument Lab

Features
Read full description

Draw a shape. Tap it. Hear it ring. Arch Carrier turns drawn shapes into a playable physical modelling instrument. A ring, a plate and a tuning fork each have their own resonances. Change the outline, cut a hole or move your strike, and explore how the sound changes. PLAY AND SHAPE • Strike up to three resonant bodies by touch. • Add and subtract material without degrading untouched contours. • Watch sand trace nodal patterns, and tilt your device to move it. • Start from five seeds or save your own instruments. TUNE AND SEQUENCE • New shapes start at A3, 220 Hz. • Tune by frequency, semitone or octave, with note names and cents. • Audition a tuning or hear the natural model. • Place four mallets and set strength and modal focus for each step. • Choose seven mallet speeds, from 0.25Ɨ to 2Ɨ. • Record looping mallet motion, synchronized to each rhythm. MIDI PATHS • Add editable traces with independent MIDI note ranges and channels. • Each key selects a strike position; velocity sets its strength. • Play from a connected MIDI keyboard while Arch Carrier is in the foreground. • Show the paths when you need them, then hide the overlay while MIDI keeps playing. KEEP YOUR INSTRUMENT • Save shapes, tuning, rhythms, motion, tempo, damping, tone and MIDI mappings together. • Resume your last instrument without automatic playback. • Record stereo 24-bit WAV files and export them to Files or other apps. Free. No account, advertising or in-app purchases. Designed for iPhone and iPad.

Screenshots

Waveguide Flute2 screens
Arch Carrier Instrument Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

Waveguide Flute and Arch Carrier Instrument Lab are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Waveguide Flute versus Arch Carrier Instrument Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWaveguide FluteArch Carrier Instrument Lab
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTomonori YamasakiJeroen Rombouts

In-app purchases

None

Waveguide Flute

No in-app purchases

None

Arch Carrier Instrument Lab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Waveguide Flute free?
Waveguide Flute is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Arch Carrier Instrument Lab free?
Arch Carrier Instrument Lab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Waveguide Flute or Arch Carrier Instrument Lab have ads?
Neither Waveguide Flute nor Arch Carrier Instrument Lab shows ads.

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