# Seaboard 5D

> iOS music app enabling expressive sound creation via touch dimensions and MIDI controller integration. (iPhone/iPad app by ROLI Ltd..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seaboard-5d/id1173937855 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [ROLI Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1011132018)
- Category: Music
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 3.40/5 from 124 App Store ratings · 190 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 170 MB
- Released: 2016-11-11
- Data updated: 2026-09-08
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seaboard-5d/id1173937855/reviews.md

## What is Seaboard 5D?

SEABOARD 5D: THE iPHONE and iPAD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD THEM BEFORE


Seaboard 5D  unlocks the extraordinary potential of your iOS device as a touch-responsive surface for making music. It recreates the expressive possibilities of the Seaboard RISE, the award-winning instrument from ROLI. Shape sounds on-screen through the Five Dimensions of Touch: Strike, Glide, Slide, Press and Lift. You’ll discover the power and fun of Seaboard 5D as soon as you touch the screen. Seaboard 5D not only turns your iOS device into a powerfully expressive musical instrument, it is also the ultimate portable sound engine for your favorite MIDI controller.


ADD NEW DIMENSIONS 
Play a gentle woodwind melody, a rich textured pad or a killer synth lead. Players of any ability can pick up Seaboard 5D, make some tunes — and put the instrument back in their pockets.
The unique playing surface of Seaboard 5D is laid out like a piano keyboard from the future. Instead of white and black piano keys you now have a continuous set of “keywaves” — just like the Seaboard RISE. You can bend the pitch by gliding your fingers from side to side, modulate a sound by moving up and down a keywave, and — on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 — deepen sounds by pressing into the surface. You can create an astonishing variety of sounds and effects through the Five Dimensions of Touch. 


FIND YOUR SOUND
Seaboard 5D comes with the Fundamentals Soundpack, which offers 25 diverse, custom-crafted sounds. Polyrhythmic Loops morphs as you play up and down the keywaves. Breath Flute lets you simulate breath control on a wind instrument through pressure. Smoky Rhodes is a cool, modern reinterpretation of the Fender Rhodes.
Expand your collection with additional Soundpacks. Hybrid Acoustic comes with over 500MB of unique samples. Expressive Electronic includes both vintage synths and contemporary pads. Synthetic Leads is for when you really just need to shred!


POWER YOUR KIT
Seaboard 5D is also the ultimate mobile sound engine for a range of MIDI controllers. Using MIDI over Bluetooth, the app lets you make music wirelessly — with just a mobile device and a MIDI controller — wherever you want. 
It is also one of the first apps with MPE (Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression) Mode, and it works plug-and-play with any MPE-compatible controller.
To get the most out of Seaboard 5D,  try it with our own Seaboard RISE, the multi-award-winning MIDI controller hailed as “the future of the keyboard” (MusicRadar). The Seaboard RISE and Seaboard 5D are the ultimate tools for making music on the go. 


THE WORLD OF ROLI
At ROLI, we are creating a set of connected tools for modern music creation. The Seaboard RISE, Seaboard GRAND, and ROLI BLOCKS are part of our family of beautifully designed, technologically cutting-edge products. Learn more at www.roli.com. 


KEY FEATURES
- Tweak your sounds with onscreen macro controls and XY Touchpad
- Vary the size of the onscreen keywave surface to suit your screen and preferences 
- Octave shift buttons and an onscreen sustain pedal add depth to real-time performance
- Control Five Dimensions of Touch: Strike, Press, Glide, Slide and Lift
- Purchase Soundpacks in-app and build your collection of sounds
- Recreate the Seaboard RISE experience on the iPhone 6s and make the most of its new 3D Touch feature


MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Seaboard 5D is designed for:
- iPhone 5c and above
- iPad Pro
- iPad Air 2 and above
- iPad Mini 2 and above
- Please note that while Seaboard 5D works well as a sound engine on all supported iPhones and iPads, you will only be able to use all of the Five Dimensions of Touch with an iPhone 6s or iPhone 7.

## Key features

- Five Dimensions of Touch (Strike, Glide, Slide, Press, Lift)
- Continuous 'keywave' playing surface
- On-screen macro controls and XY Touchpad
- Diverse built-in and expandable soundpacks
- MIDI over Bluetooth connectivity
- MPE (Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression) Mode

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hybrid Acoustic | $3.99 | one-time |
| Expressive Electronic | $3.99 | one-time |
| Synthetic Leads | $3.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Seaboard 5D?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🎵 Excellent sound quality and instruments
- 🎹 Expressive 3D Touch keyboard controls
- 💰 Free app with quality features
- 📱 Works well with Seaboard hardware via Bluetooth
- 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive interface design
- 🔊 Rich, professional-grade synthesizer sounds
- 👍 Fun and engaging to play with

**Cons**

- ⏸️ No updates in 7-9 years (abandoned app)
- 🔌 No Audiobus or Inter-App Audio support
- 📱 Poor responsive design on newer devices (iPhone 15/16 Pro Max)
- 🐛 Bluetooth connection crashes frequently
- 💾 Cannot record or export audio
- 🎚️ No effect customization or bypass options
- 🔗 Not compatible with GarageBand or DAWs
- 📦 Limited sound library compared to desktop version
- 🎛️ No user preset saving capability
- ⚙️ MIDI settings forgotten after app closes
- 🔐 Login/password field incompatible with iOS password manager
- 🎵 Reverb and effects cannot be disabled on presets

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes when connecting to Bluetooth
- Black screen on launch
- UI elements too small on newer iPhones
- Buttons and text misaligned since iOS 15
- Font rendering issues in preset banks
- In-app purchases fail to download
- Cannot restore purchases after device reset
- Polyphony not working as expected
- Pitch sliding controls not responding correctly
- MIDI input settings not persisting
- App crashes on iPad M1 when pressing Bluetooth Connect
- Purchased sound packs disappear after failed downloads
- Responsive layout broken for iPhone 16 Pro Max
- Intermittent latency issues with Bluetooth headphones

**Most requested features**

- Audiobus and Inter-App Audio (IAA) support
- Audio Unit (AUv3) plugin compatibility
- Recording and audio export functionality
- GarageBand and DAW integration
- Background audio playback support
- Effect customization and control
- User preset saving and management
- More sound packs and instruments
- MIDI learn functionality for parameters
- Transpose by semitones for live performance
- Ableton Link support
- Import Equator patches
- Shared sound library with Noise app
- Screen-off playback capability
- Responsive UI for modern device sizes
- Looping and layering features
- Custom effects editing

## Recent user reviews (10 of 190)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seaboard-5d/id1173937855/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Great but….

*2026-07-24*

Sounds are as good as the Roli Player desktop app, but a small update with auv3 is needed

### 5/5 — Incroyable

*2026-07-02*

L’application est juste une dinguerie, j’aurais juste aimé que les touches s’allume une dès qu’on appuie dessus au lieu de juste voir des rondes qui s’accumule dès qu’on appuie dessus ou trois petites choses, j’aurais bien aimé que vous fassiez un nouvel appareil en cinq dimensions qui gère le midi, polyphonie, expression et qui fasse la lumière. Merci beaucoup Aurélie je vous dis ça et pour votre application géniale et pour les appareils incroyables je rêve d’avoir.

### 3/5 — No auv3 support

*2026-06-16, version 1.8.5*

Please add!

### 1/5 — Can’t use with Garage Band as External Instrument

*2026-05-12, version 1.8.5*

Garage band doesn’t see Seeboard 5D as an external source this means, and also it can’t be used alongside Noise

### 1/5 — Nulla

*2025-12-26, version 1.8.5*

Seaboard 5D, oggi è di fatto un’app morta.
Nove anni senza aggiornamenti non sono una pausa, sono un epitaffio tecnico.

### 1/5 — One star

*2025-12-03*

It is almost as they do not care for the application version of this device. It defeats the purpose of it being so small and mobile, it almost makes you want to return the device you purchased. So far I would not recommend this product to anyone if you have to relay on the application to provide support, 8 Year old reviews with the same issues makes it difficult to enjoy the possibilities of support. Save yourself the headache and do not get a product by them for mobility and just for the desktop. So Far I cannot recommend this to anyone.

### 5/5 — Use this w/exquis mpe everyday

*2025-08-11, version 1.8.5*

I have dozens of iPad synths but for mpe controller use on iPad this is the best.  I often use it on Mac in place of Equator 2.  The sounds are first rate!

### 1/5 — App is crushing once I go to Bluetooth

*2025-08-02, version 1.8.5*

I have seaboard rise. I would love to use this application as it used to be, but every time I click on connect to Bluetooth, the apps goes off. It crashes and stop working now. I cannot connect my keyboard rise on this app.

### 2/5 — We really need the option to use this with GarageBand

*2025-06-17, version 1.8.5*

This is alright but could be so much better if you could actually connect it to your music apps

### 5/5 — Fun

*2025-04-19, version 1.8.5*

Super fun app

## Frequently asked questions about Seaboard 5D

### What does Seaboard 5D do?

Seaboard 5D transforms your iPhone or iPad into a touch-responsive musical instrument. It allows you to shape sounds using five dimensions of touch: Strike, Glide, Slide, Press, and Lift, offering an incredibly expressive way to create music directly on your device.

### What are the key features of Seaboard 5D?

Key features include a unique 'keywave' playing surface, the ability to tweak sounds with on-screen macro controls and an XY Touchpad, and access to diverse soundpacks. It also supports MIDI over Bluetooth and MPE Mode for integration with MIDI controllers.

### How much does Seaboard 5D cost?

The app itself is free to download and use, offering a starting set of sounds. Additional soundpacks are available for purchase within the app, allowing you to expand your sonic library.

### What devices is Seaboard 5D compatible with?

Seaboard 5D is designed for iPhone and iPad devices. Specific touch features, like deepening sounds by pressing, are available on iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 models and later.

### Who would benefit from using Seaboard 5D?

Musicians of any skill level can enjoy Seaboard 5D. It's ideal for those who want to experiment with expressive sound design, create music on the go, or use their iOS device as a portable sound engine for their MIDI controllers.

## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.8.5 — 2016-11-16

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

- Seaboard 5D has now been optimised for Retina Displays
- Updated launch screen artwork

### 1.8.2 — 2016-11-11

No release notes.

## Apps similar to Seaboard 5D

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Poly 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poly-2/id1477029326) | 4.8 (686) | Free | Music |
| [Cubasis 3 - DAW & Music Studio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cubasis-3-daw-and-music-studio/id1207839273) | 4.6 (3,492) | $29.99 | Music |
| [Pianoteq 8](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pianoteq-8/id1642344241) | 4.6 (133) | Free | Music |
| [Groovebox - Beat Synth Studio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/groovebox-beat-synth-studio/id1242847278) | 4.7 (4,735) | Free | Music |
| [LE01 \| Bass 808 Synth + AUv3](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/le01-bass-808-synth-plus-auv3/id1502480224) | 4.8 (1,129) | Free | Music |
| [Synth Pro: Analog Synthesizer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/synth-pro-analog-synthesizer/id1635988723) | 4.6 (549) | Free | Music |

## More apps by ROLI Ltd.

- [NOISE](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noise/id1011132019)
- [ROLI PLAY](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roli-play/id1260988305)
- [ROLI Learn: Piano Lessons](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roli-learn-piano-lessons/id1481450834)

All apps by ROLI Ltd.: https://appshunter.io/developer/1011132018

## Related topics

[geoshred](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/geoshred)

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-08.*