iFretless Brass vs Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer
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
Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer
This virtual instrument app allows users to play a chromatic hammered dulcimer on their iPad. It features realistic sound and playability, with adjustable hammer types, drag roll effects, and note display options.
- Realistic hammered dulcimer sound
- Adjustable hammer tones (bright/piano)
- Drag roll effect for repeated notes
- Toggleable note name display
- Full instrument or bridge-only view
- Adjustable drag roll sensitivity
- Optimized sound for speakers/headphones
Read full descriptionHide full description
Experience playing the full, lush tones of a Dusty Strings D550 chromatic hammered dulcimer right on your iPad. This virtual dulcimer sounds and plays like the real thing! The D550 is one of the popular Chromatic Series models made by Dusty Strings, builders of hammered dulcimers in Seattle, WA since 1979. This model features standard fifth-interval hammered dulcimer tuning, plus an extended bass range (down to G2) and some additional chromatic notes to enable playing in any key. The overall range is 3.75 octaves, with a fully chromatic range of 3.5 octaves. To play, just touch the strings next to the black and white bridge markers. The Treble bridge (in the middle) has playable notes on either side, which are a fifth interval apart. The Bass bridge (on the right) can be played to the left of the markers, and the Superbass bridge (on the left) has the lowest notes, playable to the right of the markers. Toggle between a bright, clear ringing tone using hard hammers and a gentler, more piano tone using soft hammers by touching the image of the hammer in the upper left corner. To get repeated note "drag roll" effects, drag quickly horizontally across the strings. The drag roll sensitivity can be set on the settings screen. The higher the sensitivity, the shorter distance you need to move your finger to get the effect. Touch the ABC button on the upper left area to toggle the note names on/off. Touch the iPad icon on the playing area controls to toggle between "Full" and "Treble/Bass Bridge Only" style instruments. "Full" provides the full D550 instrument including the Superbass bridge. "Treble/Bass Bridge Only" focuses on the treble and bass bridges and provides the maximum string spacing for easier play on smaller screens like the iPad Mini. Touch the mixer icon on the upper left area to show the controls screen where you can adjust the balance and pan for the bass and treble bridges, enable or disable the drag rolls, as well as set the sensitivity for how far you need to drag to get the roll effect. The "Hammer Touches" setting chooses between no visible touches, visible touches, and visible touches + note label highlighting. On the controls screen you may use the "Soft Hammer Filter" control to choose between equalization of the soft hammer sounds for best sound through the iPad speaker or through headphones. The "iPad" setting optimizes the soft hammer equalization for playback through the iPad speaker. The "Headphones" setting optimizes the soft hammer sound equalization for headphones or for use when connected to an amplifier through the headphone jack. The "Headphones" setting allows the full fidelity of the lowest sound to pass through for best quality. On the iPad Pro, with its amazing stero speakers, set the "Soft Hammer Filter" to "Headphones" for best quality sound when playing with the soft hammers. From the controls screen you can also visit the Dusty Strings website to learn more about their amazing hand-crafted instruments. Touch the "Shhh" icon on the upper right corner to quiet all the strings. The app may be used as a MIDI sound module for use with CoreMIDI-enabled MIDI file player apps or controlled from an external MIDI keyboard using a hardware MIDI interface. Select the MIDI channel on the controls page. When used via MIDI, the app responds to MIDI note-on (with velocity), note-off, and volume change messages on the selected MIDI channel. The treble bridge volume and panning is used for all MIDI sounds and will respond to MIDI volume messages. The app is also a Audiobus compatible source module. To truly experience the full stereo spread of the instrument, plug in a set of headphones or amplified speakers. If plugged in, switch the "Soft Hammer Filter" setting to "Headphones" for the fullest possibly sound when playing with the soft hammers.
Screenshots
Verdict
iFretless Brass and Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 92% of Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer's written reviews are positive against 68% of iFretless Brass's. Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.6). iFretless Brass's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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 Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for iFretless Brass against 4.8 for Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 10 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of iFretless Brass's written reviews are positive against 92% of Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer's.
iFretless Brass ships an update every 6 weeks, Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iFretless Brass | Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (10 ratings) — better | 4.8 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.0% of reviews | 92.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 241 MB | 153 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Mangoo Consulting Company Limited | Michael Eskin |
Customer experience
iFretless Brass
Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer
In-app purchases
iFretless Brass
No in-app purchases
Dusty Strings D550 Dulcimer
No in-app purchases





