ScaleGen vs touchscaper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ScaleGen
Generate and edit musical scales with intricate detail. Explore traditional and experimental tunings, audition your creations, and export them as MIDI files or to other applications. Ideal for composers and students seeking to expand their musical horizons.
- Generate and manipulate musical scales
- Detailed scale definition and editing
- Audition scales within the app
- Export as MIDI or to Gestrument
- Predefined scales from various traditions
- Explore microtonal and experimental tunings
Read full descriptionHide full description
ScaleGen - the ultimate scale generator and editor! Generate and manipulate musical scales in any way you can imagine. You think you know what a scale is - think again. In ScaleGen you can do all that you would traditionally imagine when it comes to scales and pitch organisation, and then much, much more. Define or change scales in the most detailed and intricate way. Audition the scales you make from within the app or export it as a MIDI file or to our app Gestrument - the revolutionary gesture-instrument. This is the tool for anyone who wants to go beyond the traditional tonalities in whichever genre. ScaleGen comes with predefined scales of all kinds - from the traditional western scales and early music (Baroque/Renaissance) scales to asian scales from India, Indonesia and elsewhere as well as more conceptual scales based in the classical contemporary music. This is the ultimate tool for experimental composers in any genre as well as for musicians who want to explore new ways of thinking about music. The educational aspects of how pitches can be organised makes ScaleGen a must have for serious music students. But the directness of the app makes the learning both fun and artistically developing. What is a scale? For most people it is a collection of pitches within one octave, with equal temperament (all half tone steps equally long) or with microtonal intonation. That kind of scales are of course possible to make and edit in ScaleGen which gives you a keyboard with complete control of up to 24 pitches within one octave. But the most interesting things with ScaleGen is when you start to think of a scale as something more open. Consider these questions: What if your scale was different in every octave? Why must a scale always go from down to up? What if you could use a variation of the overtone series as a scale? How does it sound if you divide the octave in five steps instead of twelve? In ScaleGen we define a scale as any list of MIDI pitches that you can manipulate in many ways. You can start with a keyboard to input pitches, you can use the concept of the overtone series with multiplication of frequencies, you can define the number and size of the steps in the scale or you can import MIDI files and use them as scales. Then you can fine-tune your scale in a matrix with a number of tools. You can then try and play your scale directly in the app, using built-in sounds or control your favorite external synthesizer/app through MIDI. If you want to try and play on your newly created scales in another way we recommend you open them in the app Gestrument - the revolutionary gesture-instrument. But you can also save the scales as text, Scala, or MIDI files and open them in another program.
touchscaper
Create music on your iPad by simply touching the screen. This app offers a semi-generative engine to guide note selection and allows for deep customization of chords, keys, and scales. Explore a variety of built-in sounds and effects to craft unique musical pieces.
- Multi-touch interface with radar, ribbon, and keyboard surfaces
- Semi-generative engine for note selection
- Full control over chords, keys, and scales
- Layerable built-in sounds and effects
- Chord navigator and looper with Ableton Link
- Sequencer for touch, drums, and synth automation
- Inter-App Audio and MIDI out support
Read full descriptionHide full description
Touchscaper is an instrument designed for anyone who wants to make music on their iPad simply by touching the screen. You don’t have to be a serious musician to enjoy touchscaper, but if you are, touchscaper is highly configureable under the hood. Main features: • Multi-touch based interface with “radar”, “ribbon” and keyboard surfaces • Touch the screen to play a note, move your fingers to change the sound • Semi-generative engine selects the “good notes” for you • Touch movement can control volume and pan for each individual note • Total control over chords, keys and scales (fully chromatic) • Multiple chords can be generated from keys and scales to create “scenes” • Chord "navigator" helps you create inspiring chord progressions • 40 built-in sounds can be combined in 2 layers to create “instruments” • Built-in sounds include samples from moodscaper, pianoscaper, numerous analog synths and guitars • Comes with preset example scenes and instruments • Random instrument generator function with one tap of a button • Hold and orbit modes for hands-free evolving soundscapes • Ribbon style keyboard with touch vibrato • Chord looper with Ableton Link support • Arrangement view for longer / more complex chord progressions • 16 step probability-based sequencer for touch, drums, percussion and synth automation • "jam grid" sequencer view for live performances • Supports file sharing for scenes and instruments • Built-in effects including ping-pong delays, reverb, limiter and EQ • Supports IAA (Inter-App Audio) as a generator • Control other music apps using MIDI out and CCs with optional MPE support There are several demo videos in circulation which should give you a better idea of what touchscaper can do - just search for “touchscaper”. *** Please note that this app is now in maintenance mode / updates for bug fixes only. This is due to the heavy dependency on deprecated technology such as IAA ***
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: touchscaper at weekly against ScaleGen's every 29 months. touchscaper also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 71%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). ScaleGen's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
ScaleGen costs $3.99 and touchscaper $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
touchscaper holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: touchscaper has 147 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of ScaleGen's written reviews are positive against 93% of touchscaper's.
ScaleGen ships an update every 29 months, touchscaper weekly. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScaleGen | touchscaper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (12 ratings) | 4.9 (147 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.6% of reviews | 93.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 147 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 29 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 359 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gestrument AB | Rob Jackson |
Customer experience
ScaleGen
touchscaper
Bugs and requests
ScaleGen
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
touchscaper
Reported bugs
6 issues- Does not show up as an available audio unit in Logic or GarageBand
- Cannot get any MIDI connectivity to work
- MPE via MIDI out does not work if there is no MIDI out for the app
- Pops when adding more than 2 sounds
- Hold Mode design is awkward, especially for note placement
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- App lost its mind and control animations ran wild after 10 hours of use
Requested features
12 requests- AUv3 version/compatibility
- More sophisticated mixer
- Second bank of patterns
- Panels to tweak oscillators, LFOs, etc.
- Orchestral type sounds
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Light background theme in UI
- Attack vector like ADSR function
- Variable Release function
- Mixer for each drum line
- MIDI out functionality (mentioned multiple times)
- Toggle on/off for Hold Mode
- Ability to nudge/fine-tune node placements in Hold Mode
In-app purchases
ScaleGen
No in-app purchases
touchscaper
No in-app purchases








