Chordbot vs Topline

Chordbot is a songwriting app and backing-track generator for creating and playing chord progressions in different musical styles. It is available on Android and iOS. Its library includes more than 60 chord types in all inversions, with over 70 comping-style presets and the option to build styles from more than 400 instrument tracks. An automatic or manual inversion selector helps shape chord transitions, while repeatable song sections can each use a different comping style or arrangement. Song-O-Matic can generate progressions when users need ideas. Songs can be exported as MIDI for DAW editing or as WAV for sharing. Song files use JSON and can be shared through file-sharing apps; only JSON files can be imported back into Chordbot. Lite is free, but saving and exporting are disabled. Pro costs $4.99, paid once and enables both. The maker permits commercial use of creations in recordings and performances under a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free license.

Topline is Abbey Road Studios’ multitrack recording app for songwriters who want to capture music ideas. A project can contain up to three audio layers, with lyrics, notes, tags and pictures available to keep material together. Import audio from Mail, iCloud, Google Drive or Dropbox; projects can also sync to those cloud services. Tags and a map feature help organize projects and identify where recordings were made. Users can export projects as M4A on iOS or MP3 on Android and share them by email. The help information also describes sharing a project WAV through the phone’s file-sharing system, and records audio at 44.1 kHz. iOS-specific tools include reverb with nine impulse responses, a mixer panel, Bluetooth headphone support and automatic mono-to-stereo conversion for imported tracks. Topline is free for personal, non-commercial use. Its terms require users to be at least 18 to accept them and download the app.