Comparison

Tune Librarian 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

Tune Librarian

Organize and manage your purchased music from various Transported Productions apps. Create medleys of your favorite tunes. Instructions and support are available online.

Highlights
  • Collect purchased tunes
  • Support for ECDTunes, A Little Couple Dance Musik, CDSS Gems
  • Medley creation
  • Instructions available online
  • Screen capture restriction
Features
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Use this app to collect the tunes you purchased in ECDTunes, A Little Couple Dance Musik, CDSS Gems, and other Transported Productions apps. Medley creation is also featured in this app. You can find instructions for this app at http://www.TransportedProductions.com/iDeas As with other tune apps from Transported Productions, taking screen captures of protected content is not allowed.

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
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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 review sentiment: Strum Machine at 89% against Tune Librarian's 20%. Strum Machine also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and rating (4.7 vs 1.9). Tune Librarian'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; Tune Librarian costs $4.99 up front. Strum Machine sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Tune Librarian asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Strum Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Strum Machine has 120 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of Tune Librarian's written reviews are positive against 89% of Strum Machine's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tune Librarian ships an update every 7 months, Strum Machine fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
Tune Librarian versus Strum Machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTune LibrarianStrum Machine
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating1.9 (13 ratings)4.7 (120 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews88.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13120 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 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
Size13 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTransported ProductionsLuke Abbott LLC

Customer experience

Tune Librarian

All ratings13 ratings
Positive23.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative76.9%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

Strum Machine

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

In-app purchases

None

Tune Librarian

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Strum Machine

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month

Questions

Is Tune Librarian free?
Tune Librarian costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Strum Machine free?
Strum Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tune Librarian or Strum Machine?
Strum Machine is rated higher. Tune Librarian averages 1.9 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Strum Machine averages 4.7 from 120 ratings.
Do Tune Librarian or Strum Machine have ads?
Neither Tune Librarian nor Strum Machine shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tune Librarian or Strum Machine?
Tune Librarian ships an update every 7 months, and Strum Machine fortnightly. Most recently, Tune Librarian was updated on October 24, 2026 and Strum Machine on October 29, 2026.

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