BAND BOY vs S
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BAND BOY
Enhance your instrument practice with a versatile tool that offers vocal, LR, and bass cuts for karaoke-style sessions. Adjust key and speed, integrate with other audio apps, and utilize various effects and recording capabilities.
- Vocal/LR/Bass Cut
- Key and Speed Control
- Inter App Audio Integration
- Microphone/Guitar Input
- Various Effectors
- Recording Functionality
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BAND BOY is the BEST tool for instrument practice with plenty of awesome features! BAND BOY will absolutely help you practice instruments in lots of ways. [VOCAL/LR/BASS CUT] Use Vocal Cut for a vocal practice like KARAOKE! Play a part of your favorite band with a guitar/piano-reduced sound by LR cut or a bass-reduced sound by Bass cut! [KEY/SPEED CONTROL] You can change the key and the speed. Control the key and the speed freely as you like for the practice! [INTER APP AUDIO] You can use effect applications of Inter App Audio such as "Amplitube". Moreover this application is available on other applications such as "Garage Band" as sound sources of Inter App Audio. [MICROPHONE(LINE) INPUT/VARIOUS EFFECTORS] Connect to a microphone or a guitar through an audio interface with a 3.5mm 4 pole plug!*2 Reverb, EQ etc. various effectors are available.*3 You can also switch effectors using "iReg Blueboard". (Please execute pairing of it and an iOS device by iRig Blueboard app, and change the setting to "CONTROL CHANGE MODE".) [RECORDING] Recording system is certainly equipped!*4 You can take out the recording file through iTunes. There are plenty of other useful functions on BAND BOY. Surely brings you a marvelous experience, download BAND BOY now! *1 Download add-on within the application. *2 Interfaces using a DOCK connector are not available. Internal microphone is effective when normal stereo earphones are connected. *3 To use more than two effectors at the same time, purchase "Release Effector Restriction". *4 To record longer than 20 seconds, purchase "Release Recording Time Restriction".
S
This app is a polyphonic synthesizer that works with specific hardware. It offers a variety of sound engines, filters, and effects for creating unique audio textures. Advanced modulation options and a flexible routing system allow for deep sound design.
- Dual engine slots per voice
- Multiple sound flavors (analog, wavetable, FM, speech)
- Classic and Modern filter modes
- Advanced FX rack
- Two free-routing LFOs
- Unified mod matrix
- Standalone, AU, and AUv3 formats
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s-2 is a polyphonic synthesizer designed to work with the Roland AIRA Compact S-1. ENGINE Each voice runs two parallel engine slots that mix together. Pick a sound flavor per slot, including: • Classic analog — saw, square, sub, noise, pulse-width • Wavetable • FM • Speech • Chord • Plucked string FILTER AND FX Classic mode runs a vintage-style ladder filter into a simple Delay → Chorus → Reverb chain. Modern mode swaps in a multi-mode SVF (LP / BP / HP) followed by a 3-slot Advanced FX rack with Bitcrusher, Drive, Flanger, Phaser, Auto-Filter, Tape Delay, Plate Reverb and Chorus. MODULATION Two free-routing LFOs (sine / triangle / saw / square / random / noise, with optional clock-sync), a dedicated filter envelope with two destination slots, and a unified mod matrix dialog that visualizes every routing in one place. Click any knob in Learn mode to assign — no digging through menus. FORMATS • Standalone for iOS • Audio Unit (AU) for Logic Pro and other AU hosts • AUv3 plugin for iPad / iPhone in AUM, GarageBand, Cubasis and more - s-2 is an independent third-party application. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Roland Corporation. "Roland", "AIRA", "AIRA Compact", and "S-1" are trademarks of Roland Corporation, used here only to describe MIDI compatibility between this app and that hardware.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BAND BOY at 50% against S's 0%. BAND BOY also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 16.0). S's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, ads and device support 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. BAND BOY sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. S asks for nothing beyond the download.
BAND BOY holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of BAND BOY's written reviews are positive against 0% of S's.
BAND BOY ships an update every 5 months, S every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BAND BOY | S |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.5 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hiroaki Iwai | Mathias Kirkerød |
Customer experience
BAND BOY
S
In-app purchases
BAND BOY
- Release Effector Restrictions$0.99
- Release Recording Time Restrictions$0.99
- Release Advertisement$0.99
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- Release All$1.99
S
No in-app purchases









