ScaleGen vs SimpLoop
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
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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.
SimpLoop
This audio effect plugin offers a straightforward approach to live looping, inspired by classic hardware pedals. It allows for simple one-button operation or advanced MIDI control for dynamic performances. Export your creations as WAV files.
- One-button looping
- MIDI controller support
- Reverse and half-speed toggles
- Multiply function for loop extension
- Auto-record option
- Variable record fade time
- Export loops as WAV
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SimpLoop - A (Fairly) Simple Looper Plugin (AUv3) SimpLoop is an audio effect plugin that can run standalone, or in any AU compatible host application such as Logic Pro or GarageBand. Overview - SimpLoop is a fairly simple looper What does "fairly simple" mean? Well, SimpLoop can be configured to be a very simple one button looper - tap to record a loop, tap again to play your loop, then tap to stop and clear the loop. Alternatively, you could assign 6 button functions and two expression controllers to a MIDI hardware controller for an extremely dynamic live looping setup. To help understand what SimpLoop is, it might be easier to cover what SimpLoop is not... SimpLoop does not have any form of tempo sync capability, or support for multiple sync'd loop tracks or A/B "verse" / "chorus" sections, etc. SimpLoop also does not have an undo function or support for importing audio files (*), and it does not remember the recorded loop between sessions. There are several more advanced looper apps that do those sort of things, but if you're new to looping, or you just need a compact and basic looper to include in your setup, SimpLoop was designed for you! (*) You can export your recorded loops as .WAV files. SimpLoop was also designed for live, "on the fly" looping, and could almost be considered "old-school" now, as it draws inspiration from hardware guitar looping pedals that started becoming popular in the early 2000's. As a live looping "veteran" myself, I wanted to create a looper that included some of my favourite hardware pedal features, plus a few things I wished that those pedals had back in the day! As well as basic looping functionality with a 60 second maximum loop time, SimpLoop includes reverse and half-speed toggles, and a multiply function that doubles the current loop length. For example, you could record a one-bar rhythmic loop, then tap Multiply twice to create a four-bar loop made up of 4 repeats of your original recording. Additional features include an auto-record option, variable record fade time for seamless loops (great for creating drones!) as well as different mode settings to determine how the loop, stop and clear commands work. For maximum hands-free looping enjoyment, I recommend using SimpLoop with some kind of MIDI controller that can send MIDI CCs via buttons / switches or knobs / expression pedal inputs. For more info and support please visit: www.waverley-instruments.com/robjackson
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ScaleGen at 4.7 against SimpLoop's 4.0. ScaleGen also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 60%) and ratings volume (12 vs 4). SimpLoop's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 29 months) and device support (4 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases 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
ScaleGen costs $3.99 and SimpLoop $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ScaleGen holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of ScaleGen's written reviews are positive against 60% of SimpLoop's.
ScaleGen ships an update every 29 months, SimpLoop every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScaleGen | SimpLoop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (12 ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.6% of reviews — better | 60.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 29 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gestrument AB | Rob Jackson |
Customer experience
ScaleGen
SimpLoop
In-app purchases
ScaleGen
No in-app purchases
SimpLoop
No in-app purchases








