iFretless Brass vs Heavy Brass
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iFretless Brass
This app allows string instrument players to create expressive music using a variety of brass and synth sounds. It features detailed sample libraries and advanced touch sensitivity for natural performance. Supports MIDI and Audio Unit integration for external devices and recording apps.
- Expressive brass and synth sounds
- Detailed sample library
- Advanced touch pressure detection
- Natural vibrato and slides
- MIDI input/output support
- Audio Unit integration
Read full descriptionHide full description
iFretless Brass enables guitar and string instrument players to play expressive music with a variety of instruments. It includes a detailed library of samples from real brass instruments as well as a collection of classic synth sounds. Each note is sampled at nine different volume levels in order to capture the full range of tones produced by the original instrument. Key features: 1) Supports MIDI input and output for interface with external devices such as digital pianos and electronic wind instruments as well as virtual MIDI compatible iOS apps. 2) A patented algorithm uses the accelerometer accurately detects touch pressure on the screen and respond with dynamic selection of samples of the appropriate timbre and volume. 3) Responds to fretless vibrato and between-note slides in a natural way, making it one of the most expressive performance interfaces available anywhere. 4) MPE MIDI support 5) Audio Unit support allows you to use the app as a virtual instrument inside of audio recording and mixing apps such as GarageBand Sound library includes: Euphonium Trombone Trumpet Trumpet 2 Flugelhorn Tuba French Horn Muted Trumpet and a collection of classic synth samples
Heavy Brass
This virtual instrument app provides realistic trumpet, trombone, and saxophone sounds for music production and live performance. It offers a wide variety of articulations and sound categories, supporting integration with other music apps and external MIDI controllers.
- Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone sounds
- Multiple brass section samples
- Switchable and crossfadeable articulations
- Audio Unit v3, Inter-App Audio, Audiobus support
- External MIDI keyboard and controller support
- Integrated effects with presets
- MIDI player and recorder
Read full descriptionHide full description
Heavy Brass delivers the most flexible and innovative approach to modern brass sounds ever provided by a virtual MIDI instrument!¹ With this ultimate brass app your productions and live performances will gain such powerful and amazing tone you previously were only able to retrieve from a real brass section! This app contains the following instruments: Trumpet, Trombone and Saxophone sampled in four different brass sections. Watch and listen to the demo video on our product website! Minimum requirement: at least iPad 3 / iPad Air 1 / iPad mini 2. This app supports Audio Unit v3, Inter-App Audio and Audiobus, so you can directly use it with other apps as well! External MIDI keyboards and controllers are supported as well of course, both via Lightning/USB cable connection, as well as wireless via Bluetooth LE MIDI.¹ There are 3 fundamental sound categories: „Singles“, „Switches“ and „Combis“, where „Switch Sounds“ allow you to either switch or crossfade between configurable articulations. Some „Combi Sounds“ allow you to switch or crossfade between predefined articulations as well. 24 Single Sounds: Solo Trumpet, Solo Sax, Solo Trombone, Heavy Brass 1-4, Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Crescendo, Growl, Doiks, Shaker 1, Shaker 2, Staccato 1, Staccato 2, Staccato Sax 1, Staccato Sax 2, Falls 1, Falls 2, Falls 3, Falls 4. Switch Sounds: Five base sounds: Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4 and Crescendo, which are switchable or crossfadeable to four alternative articulations: Shaker, Growl, Doiks or Falls. 16 Combi Sounds: Sections Velocity Layer 1, Sections Velocity Layer 2, Sections Velocity Layer 3, Sections Velocity Layer 4, Sections Velocity Layer 5, Sections Velocity Layer 6, Sections Modwheel Layer 1, Sections Modwheel Layer 2, Staccato Layer 1, Staccato Layer 2, Staccato Round Robin 1, Staccato Round Robin 2, Staccato Round Robin 3, Sections & Staccato Round Robin 1, Sections & Staccato Round Robin 2, Sections & Staccato Round Robin 3. General Features: • Low latency disk streaming. • Polyphony up to several hundred stereo voices.² • Configurable audio latency down to 1 ms. • Integrated effects with 18 presets. • App States: Save app's entire state as user presets. • 16 parts. • Provides Audio Unit v3 plugin version of this app, which allows it to be used as virtual instrument directly within third-party multi-track DAW apps. • Support for Apple's "Inter-App Audio" system. • Audiobus support. • MIDI velocity response curve editor. • Master Tune & Scale Tuning. • App can keep running in the background, so you can play on your keyboard while e.g. using Safari or another app to display scores or surfing the Internet. • Virtual on-screen piano keyboard with velocity support, scalable & scrollable. MIDI Player / Recorder: • Record, save and load your songs in standard MIDI file format. • Share your songs easily as audio file. • Unlimited amount of tracks. • Configurable target MIDI channel per track. • Unlimited recording and playback length. • Open MIDI (.mid) files directly from other apps (i.e. from Safari, Mail). • Download or upload MIDI files with iTunes. • Load your favorite songs as MIDI files from the Internet, and watch at the virtual keyboard how to play it. • Metronome. • Use the "Tempo Zoom" dial knob to i.e. slow down playback at any time and learn your favorite songs more easily. ¹ For more information about adapters and connecting external MIDI keyboards: https://doc.crudebyte.com/iOS/External_MIDI_devices/ ² Various sounds are using several voices per note. Polyphony depends on the exact device model being used. You find a polyphony table on our product website. Anti-Spy Commitment: We take your privacy very seriously. None of our apps contain so called „spy” behaviors and we committed ourself to a very high privacy standard. For more information read our „Privacy Policy for Mobile Apps”.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: iFretless Brass at 4.9 against Heavy Brass's 4.2. iFretless Brass also leads on chart position (#198 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). Heavy Brass's advantage is review sentiment (81% vs 68%) and ratings volume (37 vs 10). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
iFretless Brass costs $9.99 and Heavy Brass $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iFretless Brass holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 37 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of iFretless Brass's written reviews are positive against 81% of Heavy Brass's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
iFretless Brass ships an update every 6 weeks, Heavy Brass every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iFretless Brass | Heavy Brass |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (10 ratings) — better | 4.2 (37 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.0% of reviews | 81.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 37 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #198 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 241 MB | 353 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Mangoo Consulting Company Limited | Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte |
Customer experience
iFretless Brass
Heavy Brass
In-app purchases
iFretless Brass
No in-app purchases
Heavy Brass
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iFretless Brass free?
Is Heavy Brass free?
Which has better reviews, iFretless Brass or Heavy Brass?
Do iFretless Brass or Heavy Brass have ads?
Which is updated more often, iFretless Brass or Heavy Brass?
Other comparisons















