Comparison

Oriental Strings vs XinematiX

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

Head to head
About

Oriental Strings

This professional sound module app provides authentic oriental and Arabian string instrument sounds for musicians. It offers high-quality stereo samples, master tune, scale tuning, and integrated effects. Connect via Bluetooth MIDI or use it as a virtual instrument within your favorite DAW.

Highlights
  • Authentic oriental and Arabian string sounds
  • High-quality stereo samples
  • Master Tune & Scale Tuning
  • Integrated effects with 18 presets
  • MIDI velocity response curve editor
  • Audio Unit, Audiobus, and Inter-App Audio support
  • MIDI Player/Recorder
Read full description

Oriental Strings is a professional sound module app for oriental keyboard players and for musicians who simply want to resemble the typical sound of the Orient and Middle East in their songs. Connect an external MIDI keyboard to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch by using Bluetooth MIDI or by using the Apple USB camera adapter or another adapter supported by Apple, or launch Oriental Strings as virtual instrument directly within your favourite DAW app on your iOS device!¹ Watch and listen to the demo video on our product website! This app supports "Audio Unit", "Audiobus" and Apple's "Inter-App Audio" System for audio & MIDI connections from/to other audio apps, as well as Bluetooth LE MIDI ! The sounds of Oriental Strings were exclusively recorded with players who are professionally dedicated to oriental style of music. Typical string instrument sounds for the Arabian genre are covered by this app. Besides rather exotic instruments like the Chinese erhu, typical western string instruments were used as well, but since the players of the recording sessions are focused on oriental music, those western instruments sound completely different than you might be used to from western orchestra players. The sounds of this app were once again created by Kurt Ader, winner of the NAMM 2015 "Best Sound Designer of the Year" award. 32 Sounds are included with this App: • Chinese Erhu 1 - 3 • Chinese Erhu Trill • Turkish Strings 1 - 4 • Arabian Strings 1 - 3 • Tremolo Strings 1 - 5 • Spiccato Strings • Oriental Spiccato Strings • Oriental String Quartet 1 - 3 • Oriental Staccato Strings • Arabian Solo Strings 1 - 3 • String Quartet • Oriental String Ensemble 1 - 5 • Slow Oriental Strings There is no in-app purchase in this app. So all sounds and all app features are immediately available to you as one buy. General Features: • Sounds based on high quality stereo sample set. • Master Tune & Scale Tuning (including factory presets for common Arabian & Turkish scales). • Low latency disk streaming. • Configurable audio latency down to 1 ms. • Polyphony up to several hundred stereo voices.² • Integrated effects with 18 presets. • 16 parts. • App States: Save app's entire state as user presets. • MIDI velocity response curve editor to fine tune the feeling of your MIDI keyboard. • 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. • Audio Unit plugin version of this app, to be used as virtual instrument directly within third-party multi-track DAW apps. • Audiobus support. • Supports Apple's "IAA" system for audio & MIDI streaming between other apps. • 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 Some 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.

About

XinematiX

This app provides a vast library of premium sounds for iOS, developed with meticulous recording and programming. It offers unlimited creative possibilities with a high-quality sound engine, advanced features like round robin triggering, and extensive customization options for professional music production.

Highlights
  • 25 GB premium sounds
  • Round Robin sample triggering
  • Multi-program stacking
  • Customizable envelopes, filters, and reverb
  • Live Mode for performance
  • Standalone & AUv3 support
  • MIDI Learn functionality
Features
Read full description

XinematiX establishes a new high-level standard for sound libraries for iOS®.   XinematiX delivers over 25 GB of premium sounds that are the result of over 3 years of recording and programming work by legendary sample sound producer KARO Sound Development, brought to you by music app guru Harry Gohs. Unlimited creative possibilities and ease of use - that's what XinematiX is all about. Non-compromise sound quality – Harry Gohs’ top-notch sound engine offers excellent dynamics via extensive velocity switching and clever programming. Advanced features like Round Robin sample triggering will make your performances and productions sound richer and more natural than ever before. The App already includes 2 beautiful multi sampled sounds: A phrase choir using round robin to give you different articulations on each key repetition and the standard XinematiX Choir preset. 990 programs - carefully curated sound programs selecting from 62 preset packs across all thinkable sound categories now available with a single in-app purchase. Multi power - Up to 3 different programs can be stacked simultaneously in a multi and either be crossfaded or layered for dramatic sound sculpting with the intuitive color-coded on-screen fader. Flexible and customizable – pro features like envelopes, filters, and reverb effects make it easy to adapt any program/multi to your needs and save it as your own user preset. A special “white mode” allows effective manipulation of all programs loaded in a multi at once. Live Mode - organize your multis and programs for quick access in a dedicated Live Mode with 128 scenes and 16 tiles per screen. Unlimited seamless transitions – No matter if you are performing or just browsing through sounds: To ensure you stay in the flow, special care is given that your sound never cuts off or glitches. MIDI Learn - A comprehensive MIDI Learn feature makes it easy to map any MIDI controller to all relevant functions. List of sound categories: • Bell & Mallet • Brass • Motion & Pad • Orchestra • Piano & Key • Plucked & Guitar • Sound FX • Strings • Synth & Airy • Vocal & Choir • Woodwind & Reed Further features include: • Standalone & AUv3 for integration in Logic Pro, Cubasis and other compatible hosts • Bridge to AudioLayer App for enhanced sound design • Dynamic control fader compresses the response of your keybed on the fly • ‘Dice’ button suggests random multi for instant inspiration • Hermode Tuning function for purest harmonies • Compatible with MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) • optional SSD disk streaming

Screenshots

Oriental Strings4 screens
XinematiX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: XinematiX at Free against Oriental Strings's $7.99. XinematiX also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Oriental Strings's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 28) and review sentiment (69% vs 54%). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

XinematiX is free to download; Oriental Strings costs $7.99 up front. XinematiX sells 28 one-off in-app purchases. Oriental Strings asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

XinematiX holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: XinematiX has 295 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Oriental Strings's written reviews are positive against 54% of XinematiX's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Oriental Strings ships an update every 2 months, XinematiX fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Oriental Strings versus XinematiX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOriental StringsXinematiX
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (11 ratings)4.6 (295 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.0% of reviews — better54.2% of reviews
Number of ratings11295 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB598 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian Schoenebeck d/b/a CrudebyteHarry Gohs

Customer experience

Oriental Strings

All ratings11 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative27.6%

XinematiX

All ratings295 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral2.0%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews142 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral7.0%
Negative38.7%

Bugs and requests

Oriental Strings

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

XinematiX

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Purchased sound packs not loading or available
  • Morphing and blending features not functioning as expected
  • Inconsistent behavior across different iOS versions
  • Reverb and effects not working correctly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to preview sound packs before purchase
  • Improved sound organization and management
  • More customization options for the user interface
  • MIDI learn and automation support
  • Ability to import user samples

In-app purchases

None

Oriental Strings

No in-app purchases

28 purchases

XinematiX

One-time28
  • Trombones & Trumpets$4.99
  • XinematiX Choir$4.99
  • XinematiX Pads$4.99
Show 25 more
  • Airy Crystal$6.99
  • Brass Sections$6.99
  • Bells & Tube$6.99
  • Class Orchestra$6.99
  • Epic Orchestra$6.99
  • Vocal & Choir$6.99
  • Woodwinds$6.99
  • Analogue Motion$6.99
  • Airy Pads$9.99
  • Church Organ$9.99
  • Choir Strings & More$9.99
  • Dynamite Pianos$9.99
  • Guitar Pack$9.99
  • Guzheng & Santoor$9.99
  • Lydian Pads$9.99
  • Flying FX$9.99
  • Full Orchestra$12.99
  • Marcato Strings$12.99
  • Starter Set$12.99
  • Chamber Strings$14.99
  • Orchestral Strings$14.99
  • Phrase Choir$14.99
  • XinematiX Strings$14.99
  • Concert Grand Piano$14.99
  • Complete access pass$29.99

Questions

Is Oriental Strings free?
Oriental Strings costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is XinematiX free?
XinematiX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Oriental Strings or XinematiX?
XinematiX is rated higher. Oriental Strings averages 4.2 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while XinematiX averages 4.6 from 295 ratings.
Do Oriental Strings or XinematiX have ads?
Neither Oriental Strings nor XinematiX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Oriental Strings or XinematiX?
Oriental Strings ships an update every 2 months, and XinematiX fortnightly. Most recently, Oriental Strings was updated on September 22, 2026 and XinematiX on September 24, 2026.

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