Comparison

Piano Designer vs Henle Library

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

Head to head
About

Piano Designer

This app allows Roland piano owners to deeply customize their instrument's sound. Adjust parameters like pitch, tone, and resonance to fine-tune the audio experience, or select pre-made settings from professional technicians. Connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to easily transfer your personalized sound profiles to your piano.

Highlights
  • Personalize piano sound parameters
  • Adjust pitch, volume, and tonal characteristics
  • Control lid position, string, and hammer resonance
  • Utilize ready-to-play custom sound settings
  • Edit and transfer sound profiles to piano
  • Graphical touchscreen interface
Features
Read full description

Compatible Models: LX708, LX706, LX705, HP704, HP702, RP701, F701, FP-90X, FP-60X, FP-30X, HP701(Region Limited Model), RCP800(Region Limited Model), GP-9M, GP-9, GP-6, GP609, GP607, LX-17, LX-7, HP605, HP603, HP603A, HP601, KF-10, LX-15e, HP508, HP506, HP504, DP603, DP90Se, DP90e, FP-90, FP-80, FP-60 Introduction: The Piano Designer app helps you to personalize the sound of your Roland piano. Inside the instrument are many parameters that allow you to finely adjust the sound elements of the piano, much in the same way that an experienced piano technician fine-tunes an acoustic piano for a particular artist or musical style. These parameters include pitch, volume, tonal characteristics, the extent to which the virtual “lid” is open, states of resonance from the strings and cabinet, and so on. With the Piano Designer app, you can easily control these many elements from the graphical touchscreen on your mobile device. In addition, the app includes many ready-to-play settings, allowing you to enjoy custom sounds created by world-class piano technicians. - Parameters related to lid position, strings, and hammers are listed at a glance, and can be edited and transferred to the piano easily. - Enjoy playing your Roland piano with sounds fine-tuned by famous piano technicians. - Graphically adjust the pitch, level, and tonal character independently for each of the piano’s 88 notes. Notes: * Make sure your Roland piano model is updated with the most current system program. The latest system program and setup instructions can be found at the support pages at www.roland.com. * You can connect your iPad/iPhone to your piano via following connecting ways. : ・Connection via Bluetooth. (Compatible model : LX708, LX706, LX705, HP704, HP702, HP701(Region Limited Model), GP609, GP607, LX-17, LX-7, HP605, HP603, HP603A, HP601, KF-10, DP603, FP-90, FP-60) ・Connection via Wireless LAN, by inserting the WNA1100-RL Wireless USB Adapter (sold separately) or Onkyo UWF-1 into the USB Memory port. (Compatible model: LX-15e, HP508, HP506, HP504, DP90Se, DP90e, FP-80) ・Connection via USB Cable. Lightning-USB Camera Adaptor or Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit for your iPhone/iPad and USB cable are required. (Compatible model: LX708, LX706, LX705, HP704, HP702, HP701(Region Limited Model), GP609, GP607, LX-17, LX-7, HP605, HP603, HP603A, HP601, KF-10, LX-15e, HP508, HP506, HP504, DP603, DP90Se, DP90e, FP-90, FP-80, FP-60)

About

Henle Library

Access high-quality digital Urtext editions of classical music scores on your tablet. Practice, rehearse, and perform with a range of interactive features designed for musicians of all levels. Enjoy annotations, metronome, playback, and more.

Highlights
  • Digital Urtext editions
  • Customizable score purchases
  • Print and export PDFs
  • Score modification and annotations
  • Metronome and recording
  • Part and score switching
  • Explanatory notes access
Features
Read full description

“With the Henle Library app a new era begins for classical musicians.” Daniel Hope An indispensable app for professional musicians, amateurs, students and teachers. The Henle Library app delivers G. Henle Publishers’ reliable Urtext editions straight to your tablet. You can practise, rehearse and make music – whenever and wherever you like. And you can enjoy the many unique features of Henle’s digital scores.  Features: - Filter Henle Urtext according to your individual needs and purchase as required (individual part, single movement, bundles etc.) - Free version available for music students (licences for music colleges) - Print, export PDFs, share - Modify the score to suit your needs - Superimpose alternative professional fingerings (or choose “No fingerings”) - Unlimited possibilities for your own annotations - Easily switch between the part and the score at exactly the same measure - Open explanatory notes (footnotes, Critical Report etc.) at the appropriate place in the score - Record and play back your own recordings - Use the integrated metronome - Navigate extremely rapidly - Create and use playlists Do you like our app? Please consider writing a review. Thank you!

Screenshots

Piano Designer4 screens
Henle Library4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Piano Designer at none against Henle Library's 10. Piano Designer also leads on iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.0). Henle Library's advantage is ratings volume (94 vs 11). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Henle Library sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Piano Designer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.0 for Piano Designer against 3.0 for Henle Library. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Henle Library has 94 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of Piano Designer's written reviews are positive against 35% of Henle Library's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Piano Designer ships an update every 4 months, Henle Library every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Piano Designer versus Henle Library: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPiano DesignerHenle Library
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (11 ratings) — better3.0 (94 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews34.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1194 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.3 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoland CorporationGuenter Henle Verlag

Customer experience

Piano Designer

All ratings10 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative53.3%

Henle Library

All ratings94 ratings
Positive39.4%
Neutral18.1%
Negative42.6%
Written reviews193 reviews
Positive34.7%
Neutral21.8%
Negative43.5%

Bugs and requests

Piano Designer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Henle Library

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • Annotations deleted after app updates or restarts
  • Eraser function fails to remove marks consistently
  • Marks don't record when crossing between staff lines
  • App crashes when opening purchased scores
  • Purchased scores disappear from library
Show 15 more
  • Blank pages appear when turning pages
  • App freezes during export to PDF
  • Infinite loading screen in online store
  • Confirmation emails for credit purchases don't arrive
  • App takes 40+ seconds to start
  • Scores don't load immediately after purchase
  • Annotation dots appear randomly when lifting pen
  • Fingering annotations shrink in upper ledger lines
  • Score skips to random pages during performance
  • Export PDF quality is low resolution and fuzzy
  • Annotation layer prevents writing in certain areas
  • Zoom function jumps back to start of page
  • Eraser requires tapping far from annotation to delete
  • Palm rejection fails with Apple Pencil
  • Print layout produces single-line pages for multi-movement pieces

Requested features

20 requests
  • Undo/redo functionality for annotations
  • Ability to print entire multi-movement pieces together
  • Half-page turning option for performers
  • Playlist or collection grouping system
  • Individual score parts (not just full scores)
Show 15 more
  • Better annotation layer management
  • Improved Apple Pencil support and sensitivity
  • Customizable eraser behavior
  • Page turn animation or visual cues
  • Ability to hide specific staves or parts
  • Microphone-activated page turning commands
  • Difficulty ratings visible before purchase
  • Digital-physical score bundling/discounts
  • Better search and filtering in store
  • Support for foot pedal page turners
  • Ability to import scores from other sources
  • Multiple annotation layers with visibility toggle
  • Customizable metronome settings
  • Landscape orientation improvements
  • Persistent user settings and preferences

In-app purchases

None

Piano Designer

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Henle Library

One-time8
  • 10 Credits$0.99
  • 22 Credits$1.99
  • 55 Credits2 variants$5.99
Show 5 more
  • 100 Credits$9.99
  • 200 Credits2 variants$19.99
  • 300 Credits$29.99
  • 500 Credits$49.99
  • 1000 Credits$79.99

Questions

Is Piano Designer free?
Piano Designer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Henle Library free?
Henle Library is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Piano Designer or Henle Library?
Piano Designer is rated higher. Piano Designer averages 3.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Henle Library averages 3.0 from 94 ratings.
Do Piano Designer or Henle Library have ads?
Neither Piano Designer nor Henle Library shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Piano Designer or Henle Library?
Piano Designer ships an update every 4 months, and Henle Library every 3 months. Most recently, Piano Designer was updated on November 10, 2026 and Henle Library on November 6, 2026.

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