Comparison

1874 Sakura vs Sampledex Effect Shift

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

Head to head
About

1874 Sakura

Features
Read full description

1874 Sakura Studio writes complete pieces of Japanese and Chinese music and plays them on koto, guzheng, shakuhachi, erhu and a taiko ensemble. Press generate and you get a whole piece in jo-ha-kyΕ« form, the shape of nearly every Japanese performing art: a slow opening called by a temple bell or a pair of wooden clappers, a development, a still centre where a flute plays alone over the shō, a rapid finish where the whole ensemble converges on the melody, and a closing that thins back to nothing. One melody carries each piece. It is previewed, stated, slowed down alone over the drone, and lifted an octave for the finish β€” so you can hum it back after one listen. The harmony works the way this music does: no chord changes, but a tone centre that moves by fourth or fifth over a tonic the shō never leaves. Every instrument is synthesised from how it makes sound. Plucked strings β€” koto, guzheng, shamisen, biwa, pipa β€” are modelled as vibrating strings, with the koto's pressed-string bend. Flutes β€” shakuhachi, dizi, xiao, hichiriki β€” are mostly air, with the pitch arriving from underneath. The erhu slides and sings. Temple bowls and bells ring from inharmonic partials. The taiko ensemble plays from real recordings, or switch them off and every drum is modelled. The pieces come from chaos maths. A Lorenz attractor picks the melody's rhythm and shape and then its notes; a logistic map drives the percussion, so no two bars need be alike. A small model learns as it writes, rewarded for the fourths, fifths and steps this music is built on. The CHAOS / TASTE slider decides how much say each one gets. Twelve styles. Eight traditional β€” Sakura folk, Gagaku court music, Guzheng, a Taiko ensemble, Zen meditation, Silk Road, Kabuki theatre and Neo-Tokyo fusion β€” and four fast action styles built for games: Samurai, Shinobi, Wuxia and Cyber Edo. Twelve pentatonic and Chinese scales, from hirajōshi and in-sen to gong and yu. Choosing a style loads its melody instrument and its ensemble. Every piece is built from its seed. Write the seed down and you can have that exact piece again, note for note. A seed from the browser version rebuilds the same piece here. You can play over it, too. The pads are the notes of the piece's scale rather than a piano keyboard, so nothing you touch is wrong, and the sixteen-step lane follows the piece and your host. Both play the melody or any part of the ensemble. Turn on RADIO and it keeps playing, picking a new style, key, scale and tempo for every piece. You also get: β€’ 12 styles, 12 scales, 12 keys, tempo and density β€’ 24 instruments and 13 one-click ensembles β€’ A full instrument editor: string, breath, bell, vibrato, filter and envelopes β€’ Sampled or synthesised taiko, switchable β€’ Six-part mixer with a meter on every part β€’ Temple reverb, tempo-synced echo, ensemble width and a filter sweep β€’ MIDI in, so your keyboard plays whichever part you have selected β€’ Export a MIDI file, a WAV mix, or stems β€” one WAV per part (in the app; in a host you record the audio there) β€’ A note and a MIDI channel for every drum β€’ UI scale, so the panel is not tiny on a big iPad β€’ Live spectrum and waveform, and the chaos engine drawn as it runs Two Audio Units, an instrument and a MIDI processor. Each part sends on its own MIDI channel and every drum has a note and a channel of its own, so one instance can drive a rack of your own sounds. The MIDI version passes your keyboard through. Both follow your host's tempo and transport, and one install registers both. The app is free and nothing in it is held back. Using the Audio Units inside other apps is a one-time purchase, and each AUv3 session plays for two minutes first so you can try them properly. No account, no ads, no subscription. Works offline.

About

Sampledex Effect Shift

Features
Read full description

Give your sound a new direction. Sampledex Effect Shift brings 50 effect choices, seven hands-on macro controls and the seven-band Bender EQ to iPhone and iPad. Add drive to a drum loop, movement to a synth or space around a melody, then shape the result to fit your track. FIND A STARTING POINT Choose from 51 factory presets: Default plus a starting sound for each of the 50 effects. A factory preset recalls a complete sound. Use the separate effect menu when you want to change the algorithm while keeping your other settings. CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER Explore drive, digital textures, filters, chorus, flanging, phasing, tremolo, ring modulation, delay and reverb. Start with an effect, then turn Amount, Tone, Time, Mix, Dimension, Sparkle and Output to make it your own. SHAPE IT WITH BENDER EQ Follow seven colored band curves and their numbered handles. Select a band to adjust frequency, gain and Q directly. Use Fine for smaller graph movements, or lock dragging to frequency or gain. High-pass, low-pass and Prism controls give you more ways to shape the response. COMPARE AND KEEP YOUR IDEAS Use EQ A/B to compare two settings and copy a favorite into the other slot. Save the full sound as a preset and import or export preset documents when moving between your workflows. Each instance keeps its own sound in your host's project state. BUILT FOR TOUCH Move between Effects, Bender EQ and Advanced pages. Scroll to reach every control, enter a precise value or turn a textured macro knob. Switch Light or Dark directly from the touch header, or use the theme menu in Advanced. Your theme and settings return when the instance is restored. BRING IT INTO YOUR MUSIC WORKFLOW The included AUv3 audio effect extension loads in compatible hosts. The containing app also offers live input processing: connect headphones or an audio interface, then enable live input. Microphone permission is requested when you enable input. Your host manages audio when you use the extension. GO FURTHER Explore HoloRune character, spatial modes, EQ routing, parallel mix and Mid/Side levels in Advanced. Sidechain ducking requires a compatible host and a routed sidechain source.

Screenshots

1874 Sakura4 screens
Sampledex Effect Shift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sampledex Effect Shift at none against 1874 Sakura's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. 1874 Sakura sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sampledex Effect Shift asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 4 level
1874 Sakura versus Sampledex Effect Shift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter1874 SakuraSampledex Effect Shift
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size17 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSoft Brew MobileRobert Clemons

In-app purchases

1 purchases

1874 Sakura

One-time1
  • AUv3 Unlock$2.99
None

Sampledex Effect Shift

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 1874 Sakura free?
1874 Sakura is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sampledex Effect Shift free?
Sampledex Effect Shift is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do 1874 Sakura or Sampledex Effect Shift have ads?
Neither 1874 Sakura nor Sampledex Effect Shift shows ads.

Other comparisons