Comparison

Guide Track vs ARPJAM

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

Head to head
About

Guide Track

This tool helps musicians quickly create precise guide tracks for recording. It allows users to input song structure, chords, and beat styles to generate smart click tracks, chord charts, and even basic drum and bass lines.

Highlights
  • Create precise guide tracks
  • Input song structure, chords, and beat styles
  • Generate smart click tracks
  • Create chord sheets
  • Automated bass track
  • Over 35 stock drum patterns
  • Supports Inter-app audio and Audiobus 2
Features
Read full description

From the US Store: Songwriter's pre-production tool extraordinaire ! ***** by Mythmongrel - Version - 1.2.0 - Oct 31, 2014 The best app for easily laying out the form of a composition. It's does exactly what it's meant to do and it keeps getting better. Highly recommend it. Accept No Substitutes. ***** by Focusking - Version - 1.2.0 - Oct 9, 2014 Get this app, and you are in for a pleasant surprise; it's versatile, it's multi-purpose, and it knocks the competition out of the game. And, unlike other developers, this dev responds promptly, and positively. Are you a songwriter, electronic composer or are you in a band? Do you record your music and sometimes have trouble getting started or laying down tracks to record on top of? If the answer to either of these questions is yes then you owe it to yourself to own Guide Track! Guide Track is the primary go-to tool when you want to quickly create a precise guide track for recording when you know the song structure and the style. Simply enter in the time signature (which you can change at any time during the song), which chords (or rests) for how many beats and the beat style—Guide Track does the rest for you! Use inter-app audio or AudioBus 2 or save your track to file and you are ready to start recording for real with a perfect smart click track and guide chords, drums and bass. Save hours of messing around and get to what matters—your creativity. Once done you can mute the guide track to reveal your perfectly structured recording. It's like a sculptor using a mold when casting, except instead of bronze, you end up with perfectly structured music. You may want to even keep your guide track in there or record one of the parts such as bass or arpeggios as a real track, especially if you use a professional synth via MIDI out. You can also use Guide Track to print out chord sheets for your band or to capture song ideas or for recording aid. Features • Records stereo WAV file that can be copied and pasted, saved to Dropbox or emailed • Supports Inter-app recording and Audiobus 2 • Saves 5-track Type 1 MIDI files • Direct output to any MIDI device • All major chord families covered with chord inversions with choice of accidentals • Independent automated bass track with separate octave and sound controls • Change bass note to any desired value for a given chord change • Over 35 stock drum patterns • Click and Count-in • Add lyrics to your score • 128 GM Sounds on two different synths • Several chord play styles including 6 arpeggio patterns • Instant chord sheet which can be printed or emailed as PDF • Add various rests or chords as needed • Transpose songs any time • Time signatures that readjust beat structures for you • Preview chords before inserting • Undo and Redo • Automate changes to tempo, time signature, volume, play style and more during playback • Define up to 6 reusable named sections for ultra fast song creation • Innovative section navigator helps you move around your song • Rearrange or insert chords, rests or sections • Looping playback

About

ARPJAM

This app generates evolving ambient music using two independent arpeggio engines. It features a generative drum machine, sound design tools, and external instrument synchronization. Save and recall your favorite musical setups.

Highlights
  • Dual arpeggio engines
  • Generative drum machine
  • Sound design controls
  • External instrument sync (Ableton Link, MIDI Clock)
  • Save and recall presets
  • Built-in timer
Features
Read full description

ARPJAM is an arpeggio synthesizer that generates ever-evolving ambient music. Layer two independent arpeggio engines, each with its own waveform, scale, and pattern, and let the app weave an endless soundscape that shifts and breathes on its own. ■ Two Arpeggio Engines ARP A and ARP B run simultaneously, each with its own mode, scale, range, waveform, filter, and envelope. Five pattern modes: Random & Chord, Repeat, Random Single, Skank, and Drone. ■ Generative Drums A probability-based drum machine. Tune the firing density, double-hit chance, and open/closed hi-hat ratio for kick, snare, and hihat to create rhythms that evolve naturally alongside the arpeggio. ■ Sound Design Four waveforms — sine, triangle, sawtooth, square. Adjust the low-pass filter, attack, and overdrive per engine. Add depth with ping-pong delay and reverb. ■ Sync with External Instruments [NEW in v1.4] Ableton Link support — wirelessly sync tempo and bar phase with Ableton Move, Live, Koala, and other Link-enabled instruments on the same Wi-Fi network. USB-C MIDI Clock reception is also supported. Sample-accurate timing alignment, with a fine-tune Offset slider for each setup. ■ Redesigned Settings Panel [v1.4] Settings are now organized into five colored sections — Oscillator, Filter, Envelope, Algorithm, and Effects. Each section collapses individually or in bulk, and the state persists between launches. Jump directly to any section via the side rail (iPad) or sticky bar (iPhone). Clear square ON/OFF switches and vivid theme colors — orange for ARP A, lime for ARP B, cyan for Drums — make the whole panel far easier to navigate. ■ Save & Recall Four start presets (Default + SAVE 1/2/3) let you recall your favorite setups with a single tap from the start screen. Presets can be exported and imported as .arpjam files to share with other ARPJAM users. ■ Built-in Timer Choose countdown or infinite mode. The timer fades out with a gentle resolving chord — perfect as a sleep timer or as a companion to meditation. • 8 scales including pentatonic modes • 12 keys (Just Intonation / Equal Temperament switchable) • Groove control for swing feel • BPM 30–200 • English / Japanese language support • Ableton Link / MIDI Clock sync

Screenshots

ARPJAM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ARPJAM at Free against Guide Track's $3.99. ARPJAM also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.9) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 months). Guide Track's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (50% vs 33%). On ads and iOS requirement 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

ARPJAM is free to download; Guide Track costs $3.99 up front. ARPJAM sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Guide Track asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ARPJAM holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guide Track has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Guide Track's written reviews are positive against 33% of ARPJAM's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Guide Track ships an update every 2 months, ARPJAM daily. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Guide Track versus ARPJAM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGuide TrackARPJAM
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (8 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechné MediaTakashi Tsunoda

Customer experience

Guide Track

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

ARPJAM

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

Guide Track

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ARPJAM

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99

Questions

Is Guide Track free?
Guide Track costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ARPJAM free?
ARPJAM is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Guide Track or ARPJAM?
ARPJAM is rated higher. Guide Track averages 3.9 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while ARPJAM averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Guide Track or ARPJAM have ads?
Neither Guide Track nor ARPJAM shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Guide Track or ARPJAM?
Guide Track ships an update every 2 months, and ARPJAM daily. Most recently, Guide Track was updated on October 3, 2026 and ARPJAM on October 4, 2026.

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