Comparison

Afro Latin Percussion Machine vs AD

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

Head to head
About

Afro Latin Percussion Machine

Create and perform authentic Afro-Latin rhythms with a vast library of high-quality percussion sounds. Edit existing beats or compose your own, and integrate with other music apps for live sessions.

Highlights
  • Authentic Afro-Latin rhythms
  • High-quality percussion sounds
  • Rhythm editing and creation
  • Live performance pads
  • Song structure creation
  • MIDI controls
  • Audiobus and Inter-App compatibility
Features
Read full description

Afro Latin Percussion Machine is your virtual Latin percussionist. Practice, create, and perform authentic Afro-Latin rhythms like never before. Free to download and keep, with every feature unlocked for the first 7 days. Designed for musicians, producers, and anyone who loves the rhythms of Latin America and the Caribbean, now with AUv3 support. Play hot Latin rhythms with the highest sound quality: son, son montuno, guaguancó, columbia, yambú, bembé, cha-cha-chá, mambo, merengue, bachata, salsa, bolero, songo and bomba, with over 100 rhythms in total. So easy to use, you can edit and create your own in seconds. Key Features: Song Mode: turn your Afro-Latin rhythms into complete arrangements in seconds. Set groove, jam and intensity per part, double-tap to edit, long-press to reorder. Fast and simple. Jamming Tool & Randomizers: add human feel and spontaneity to every groove. No more flat, repetitive loops. Live Pads: trigger fills, switch rhythms and jam in real time with 8 assignable pads, intro and end buttons, and full MIDI control. Share by AirDrop, Mail or Files: send any groove, live pad set or song to another device or to a friend, with no account or cloud service needed. Standalone & AUv3 Compatible: use Afro Latin Percussion Machine inside your favorite DAW or as a standalone app. Latin Percussion Sounds: congas, bongos, timbales, güiros, claves, cowbells, maracas, shakers, shekeres, cajón, pandeiro, agogô, wood blocks and hand claps, all recorded for a true Latin feel. 100+ Authentic Rhythms: from the styles above to traditional Afro-Cuban toques like bembé, abakuá, makuta and yuka, not found anywhere else, all easy to edit or create your own. Groove sharing across Lumbeat apps: exchange grooves, live pads and songs with Pop Drummer, Soft Drummer and iBassist, standalone or in AUv3. Sound Module: use the full kit as a MIDI sampler, standalone or as an AUv3 plugin, triggered from your own MIDI tracks or pads. Percussion Setup View: see your full kit laid out on screen, instrument by instrument. Custom Rhythm Banks: save and organize your own patterns in your own banks. Advanced MIDI Setup: fully customizable MIDI control mapping, shareable MIDI maps, custom note octave naming, MIDI-controllable tempo, and MIDI Clock In/Out. Per-Track Reverb Send: dial in how much reverb each percussion instrument gets, for precise space and depth. Export Effects: export your grooves exactly as they sound, effects included. Ableton Link: sync tempo and transport with other apps and devices over Wi-Fi, and stay in time with the rest of your setup. External Keyboard Support: play, trigger fills, and control tempo from a connected keyboard. Native on iPhone, iPad and Mac: fully optimized for every screen size, with a dedicated vertical layout on iPhone. Try for Free Afro Latin Percussion Machine is free to download and keep, with every feature unlocked for the first 7 days. During the trial there are limits on exports, random grooves, sound changes and how long each session plays. After the trial you keep a reduced version, and a single one-time purchase unlocks everything for good. No subscription.

About

AD

This app emulates a classic 1983 micro synthesizer with modern enhancements like MPE and eight-voice polyphony. It offers a rich sound engine with multiple oscillators, filters, and a comprehensive drive section for unique sonic textures. Enjoy extensive modulation options and a built-in keyboard for immediate creativity.

Highlights
  • Eight-voice polyphony
  • MPE support
  • Classic four-pole lowpass filter
  • Comprehensive drive section
  • AUv3 and standalone operation
  • Preset manager with favorites
  • Built-in chicklet keyboard
Features
Read full description

We rebuilt the legendary micro composer of 1983, then gave it everything the original owners wished for: eight voices, MPE, a sequencer worthy of the name, and a couple of new dirty tricks. The voice is the one you know: a single fat oscillator with sawtooth and pulse (manual, LFO, or envelope PWM), a three-mode sub oscillator, and a noise source, mixed and driven into a classic four-pole lowpass filter. One snappy ADSR, switchable env/gate VCA, and an LFO with triangle, square, stepped random, and noise shapes, complete with onset delay, tempo sync, and retrigger. Portamento with the proper on/auto/off modes, and gate, gate+trig, and LFO trigger modes, exactly like the hardware. And the a sequencer: eight patterns of up to 64 steps, drawn right on the panel, with accent, slide, and octave per step, follow actions and repeats, swing, and tools to randomize in a key and scale, mutate, copy, and rotate. Play a pattern from a held key, transpose it from the keyboard, lock it while you browse presets, and run it from its own clock, the host transport, or an Ableton Link session in the standalone. Sequences save with your presets. • Eight-voice polyphony, or the original mono behavior with the flip of a switch • MPE support with per-note pitch bend and pressure, four aftertouch destinations (VCO mod, VCF mod, filter freq, LFO rate), and adjustable pressure smoothing • MTS-ESP microtonal tuning, retuned continuously while notes sound • SPREAD for stereo voice panning, and AGE, which drifts each voice like forty-year-old components • A full drive section: pre-filter saturation, filter drive, post-VCA distortion, and a tilt EQ • Velocity to filter and amp • A chicklet keyboard with latch and octave shift, playable right on the panel • Full preset manager with favorites and a factory bank • Five faceplate colors, including one for console cowboys • AUv3 and standalone, with an interface that fills whatever window your host hands it AD-202 works everywhere iOS makes noise: AUM, apeMatrix, Logic Pro, GarageBand, Cubasis, and any other AUv3 host, plus a standalone app with its own audio and MIDI settings, Ableton Link, and background audio. No subscriptions. No accounts. No nonsense. Buy it once, own it forever.

Screenshots

Afro Latin Percussion Machine4 screens
AD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Afro Latin Percussion Machine at Free against AD's $6.99. Afro Latin Percussion Machine also leads on ratings volume (137 vs 14). AD's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (86% vs 71%). On rating, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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

Afro Latin Percussion Machine is free to download; AD costs $6.99 up front. Afro Latin Percussion Machine sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AD asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Afro Latin Percussion Machine against 4.7 for AD. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Afro Latin Percussion Machine has 137 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Afro Latin Percussion Machine's written reviews are positive against 86% of AD's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Afro Latin Percussion Machine ships an update every 6 weeks, AD every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Afro Latin Percussion Machine versus AD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAfro Latin Percussion MachineAD
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating4.7 (137 ratings) — better4.7 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings137 — better14
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS1616.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLumbeatAudio Damage, Inc.

Customer experience

Afro Latin Percussion Machine

All ratings134 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral1.5%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative20.8%

AD

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Afro Latin Percussion Machine

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Problems with sync
  • MIDI Sync unstable
  • Glitches where song doesn't save
  • App crashes when saving
  • No sound after phone call
Show 13 more
  • App doesn't respond in Audioshare
  • Audiobus not working
  • App gets locked up with Audiobus
  • Rhythms not staying with drum kit
  • Steps not highlighted in groove sequencer
  • iPhone sounds have lower pitch than iPad
  • No sound output (crackling)
  • App keeps crashing
  • Tempo slider unresponsive
  • Plus/minus tempo keys spotty
  • Doesn't connect properly with Audiobus
  • Not controllable from Audiobus 2 and 3
  • Sounds drowned out in reverb

Requested features

22 requests
  • Add swing options from Hip Hop drummer
  • Add export function to Logic Pro X
  • Add tutorial or manual
  • Add piano and horns for true Latin effect
  • Add MIDI control for live pad control
Show 17 more
  • Add export MIDI file option
  • Add export audio option
  • Add a way to activate/deactivate with a pedal
  • Add more instrument sounds and banks
  • Add groove or shuffle effect option
  • Add ability to input own sounds
  • Add salsa templates
  • Add martillos in bongo patterns
  • Add more mixer slots for instruments
  • Add a constant metronome option
  • Add a help file
  • Add more variation to rhythms
  • Add envelope setting for tuning
  • Add Matanzas style guaguanco
  • Add plena preset
  • Add more Bomba presets
  • Add ability to organize user sounds

AD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Afro Latin Percussion Machine

One-time1
  • Afro Latin Full Access$22.99
None

AD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Afro Latin Percussion Machine free?
Afro Latin Percussion Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AD free?
AD costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Afro Latin Percussion Machine or AD?
Afro Latin Percussion Machine is rated higher. Afro Latin Percussion Machine averages 4.7 out of 5 from 137 ratings, while AD averages 4.7 from 14 ratings.
Do Afro Latin Percussion Machine or AD have ads?
Neither Afro Latin Percussion Machine nor AD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Afro Latin Percussion Machine or AD?
Afro Latin Percussion Machine ships an update every 6 weeks, and AD every 3 weeks. Most recently, Afro Latin Percussion Machine was updated on October 26, 2026 and AD on October 25, 2026.

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