Comparison

ECD Tunes vs Strum Machine

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

Head to head
About

ECD Tunes

This app provides a digital library for English Country Dance musicians, allowing them to organize and access sheet music. It supports various file formats and lets users create and share event schedules.

Highlights
  • Digital sheet music library
  • Supports PDF, GIF, TIF, PNG
  • Add custom music volumes
  • Capture images via camera
  • Create and share events
  • AirDrop and email sharing
Features
Read full description

ECD Tunes is meant for English Country Dance musicians. It contains a copy of the Blue and Red Barnes and allows users to add their own volumes of music by creating ZIP archives of PDF, GIF, TIF, and PNG files. Users can also capture images using their iPad's camera and image library. Events can be created and shared via AirDrop, email, and file sharing apps. You can find instructions for this app at http://www.TransportedProductions.com/iDeas

About

Strum Machine

Generate realistic backing tracks for practice with real instrument audio. Customize chord progressions, keys, and tempo. Features a large song library, song editor, and band customization options. Works offline and syncs across devices.

Highlights
  • Realistic instrument audio backing tracks
  • Customizable chord progressions, keys, and tempo
  • Extensive song library
  • Simple song editor
  • Band and instrument customization
  • Cross-platform syncing and offline mode
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Elevate your music practice with customizable backing tracks generated with audio from real instruments (guitar, mandolin, and standup bass). Strum Machine can play any chord progression, in any key, at any speed. It's the only backing-track app built specifically for players of bluegrass, old-time, fiddle tunes, and other such genres. (Although it works pretty good for some jazz/swing now, too!) Why musicians of all levels love Strum Machine: • Realistic Sound: Backing tracks are assembled in real time from studio-quality instrument recordings. • Quick Adjustments: Instantly adjust the speed/tempo, change the key, loop part of a song, etc. • Auto-Speedup: Gradually increase the BPM at the end of every repetition for training purposes. • Chord Reference: Clean, beautiful chord charts, which can be displayed in letters or numbers (i.e. "1-4-5"). • Extensive Library: Over 1,300 songs (mostly from bluegrass and old-time) ready to go, with thousands more posted on the community forum. • Simple Song Editor: Add your own songs (or edit existing ones) in minutes. Almost every chord you can play on a guitar is available for use. • Customize the Band: Choose from a variety of built-in band styles, then optionally customize each instrument individually – adjust the strumming pattern, add automatic bass runs, and more. • Organize & Share: Create song lists for practicing or even performing, and share them with your friends or on the community forum. • Cross-Platform: Sync your custom songs, lists, and preferences with any device you use Strum Machine on: phone, tablet, or computer. (It works offline, too!) • Responsive Support: If you run into any problems or have questions, write us an email or post a message on the forum and someone will get back to you within a few days! Strum Machine is under active development and we're always working on ways to make the app even more useful to our users... while keeping it uncluttered and intuitive first and foremost. Discover how Strum Machine can improve your music practice today! Download Strum Machine and play a handful of demo songs instantly, without signing up. For the full experience, including access to all built-in songs and the ability to create your own, start a free trial. Terms of Use: https://strummachine.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://strummachine.com/privacy

Screenshots

Strum Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Strum Machine at Free against ECD Tunes's $40.99. Strum Machine also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (89% vs 50%). ECD Tunes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Strum Machine is free to download; ECD Tunes costs $40.99 up front. Strum Machine sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. ECD Tunes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Strum Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Strum Machine has 120 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of ECD Tunes's written reviews are positive against 89% of Strum Machine's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ECD Tunes ships an update every 35 months, Strum Machine fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
ECD Tunes versus Strum Machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterECD TunesStrum Machine
Price$40.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (3 ratings)4.7 (120 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews88.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3120 — better
Update frequencyEvery 35 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#188 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTransported ProductionsLuke Abbott LLC

Customer experience

ECD Tunes

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

Strum Machine

All ratings118 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive88.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative8.1%

In-app purchases

None

ECD Tunes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Strum Machine

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month

Questions

Is ECD Tunes free?
ECD Tunes costs $40.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Strum Machine free?
Strum Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ECD Tunes or Strum Machine?
Strum Machine is rated higher. ECD Tunes averages 4.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Strum Machine averages 4.7 from 120 ratings.
Do ECD Tunes or Strum Machine have ads?
Neither ECD Tunes nor Strum Machine shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ECD Tunes or Strum Machine?
ECD Tunes ships an update every 35 months, and Strum Machine fortnightly. Most recently, ECD Tunes was updated on October 23, 2026 and Strum Machine on October 29, 2026.

Other comparisons