We analyzed 24 negative reviews from the top 5 Mastering Assistant apps on the App Store. Here's what users hate most.
Ranked by frequency — how often each complaint appears in negative reviews.
29% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"I purchased ($49.99) in good faith thinking all the boards are interactive, where I can turn dials to do adjustment, but these are just fixed images."
"Each rack comes with three buttons. With no visible values or changes."
21% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"Okay please explain to me why I paid 21 bucks for an app that I can not export any tracks unless I pay an additional 13 bucks?"
"The app is constantly asking me to enter my Apple password and trying to upgrade me to a subscription! I paid 19.95 for the actual app"
17% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"I bought this app which is was already skeptical about but then I actually try to use it but I can't! It just crashes!"
"I need a refund because every time I import a file I get no type of sound what so ever"
17% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"It ended up causing clipping and distortion."
"I loved it on mobile but on my mac it is super noisy and I can't use any of the mixes because of the static."
8% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"THEY DON'T ANSWER CUSTOMERS' EMAILS, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT MONEY AND THIS APP IS USELESS TO ME BECAUSE THEY DON'T CARE TO HELP ME U"
13% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"None of the presets work you can use any of the tools in this app"
"there is really no difference in sound from each"
Design and usability issues driving negative reviews.
UI shows realistic hardware rack images with knobs and dials that appear interactive but are actually static images with only preset buttons
"The demos/screens implied that there are a handful of hardware racks to modify and master your audio. This is not true at all!"
Users struggle to understand what justifies the $20-$50 price point when GarageBand is free and seemingly more capable
"I feel like GarageBand is much better than this and free."
Users cannot see what the app is doing to their audio or understand the changes being applied
"There is no way to adjust what the preset is doing or to view the processing being app"
Features that initially worked begin to break after updates or usage
"At first it was good but the option to make wave files started malfunctioning"
Get the complete Mastering Assistant market intelligence report — including missing features, pricing insights, build recommendations, and competitor weaknesses.
View Full Report — $9.9930-day money-back guarantee