# Surface Builder — Auv3 MIDI Controller > Tool for creating custom MIDI control surfaces for audio applications. (iPhone/iPad app by 4Pockets.com.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surface-builder/id6449735778 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [4Pockets.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/370131860) - Category: Music, Utilities - Price: $7.99 (on sale, was $14.99) - Rating: 4.70/5 from 15 App Store ratings · 15 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 13 · 32 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2023-06-19 - Data updated: 2026-09-01 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surface-builder/id6449735778/reviews.md ## What is Surface Builder? Surface Builder is a tool for creating control surfaces that send MIDI data to one or more audio components in order to simplify remote control tasks. You start by creating a surface of a given size, adding buttons, knobs, faders, etc. to the surface and configuring them to generate the required MIDI output. Surface Builder allows you to send note on/off, controller change and program change values as well as being able to emulate modulation wheel and pitch bend data. Buttons can also be configured to send bulk MIDI data using a single key press. You can build surfaces that span multiple scenes and link between them for large complex interfaces. Incoming MIDI data can also be used to control or trigger elements of the interface, giving a bi-directional stream of MIDI data. Surface Builder can be added as a pure MIDI plugin which allows processing of MIDI only, or as an instrument plugin, allowing you to process audio passing through it. You can even load it as an intrument and configure a surface to start and stop audio clips either manually or remotely. Surface Builder was designed to be used as an AUv3 plugin within your favourite DAW, but it can also be used in standalone to send MIDI directly to MIDI hardware using direct access to their MIDI ports. Many different object types are supported including buttons, switches, lights, rotary knobs, faders, sliders, XY-Pad, keyboards, as well as text, image and box objects. Each object has many different styles and colours, so no two surfaces look the same. Drag and drop an audio file onto a button and that button becomes a clip player. Attach rotary knobs to control the clips volume and pan. Throw on top of that a LP/HP filter knob and you are cooking on gas. Drop PNG transparent image icons on buttons to customise the look and feel. A button can record and playback bulk MIDI commands, on both button press and release. So pressing a button could send the notes of a chord when pressed, and appropriate note offs on release. A surface can consist of up to 6 scenes for really complex designs. Buttons and switches can be used to switch scenes and also to show and hide other objects to make better use of screen space. Once your surface is complete switch to presentation mode to hide all the toolbars. Each surface can be saved with compressed audio and images all in a single surface file. Features ○ AUv3 and standalone modes. ○ Bluetooth MIDI support. ○ Drag and Drop interface. ○ Send and Receive Note On/Off. ○ Supports all Control Change parameters. ○ Supports Program Change commands with bank support. ○ Multiple Audio Clip playback. ○ Record and playback bulk midi data. ○ Multi-Scene. ○ Multi-level undo/redo. ○ MIDI Monitor ○ Presentation Mode. ○ iPhone and iPad compatible. ## Key features - Customizable MIDI control surfaces - AUv3 plugin and standalone modes - Send/receive MIDI data (notes, controllers, pitch bend) - Audio clip playback control - Multi-scene interface design - Drag and drop interface customization ## Chart rankings - #132 in Top Paid · Music (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (10 of 15) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surface-builder/id6449735778/reviews.md ### 3/5 — Surface import no longer works *2025-08-28* Error since last update: Surface import via “Open with” no longer works. ### 3/5 — Great app! Just one problem *2025-03-17* I use this app heavily for live performance. The only problem, is that when I export my surfaces to the Cloud and try to import them to my surface app under the same Apple account on a different iPad (with the same IOS version) the app imports the surface successfully, but when I launch it, it closes out the app immediately (making the imported surface of no value except on the iPad on which the surface was created). Very unfortunate. Otherwise, if you create and only use the surface on the iPad on which it was created, you are good. The Export/Import doesn’t work at this time. If it can be shared across iPads, this is a five star!! ### 5/5 — Excellent surface builder. *2024-10-03* There are a few midi surface builder apps out there, but this is by far the best. Clean, intuitive design, AUv3 support is a game changer. 5 stars. ### 4/5 — Kadar Woody *2024-07-23* Good plugin but still kind of find it difficult. I was hoping that I can make my vocal sound like whatever audio I’ve import on here as reference audio and it doesn’t do anything to my vocals I’m only limited to the effects I can use and not the ones I want to create, I was really looking forward to re-creating plug-ins I don’t have access or effects. I just want to make for fun. I think there should be an option where we could just support reference audio and have the effect sound accurate to whatever we import like I think there should be a knob that allows me to import my own audio, it would make things easier so that way I can actually apply the effect I want to my vocals perhaps an options to add presets onto my effect something like a convolution effect to add to my vocals it could work for reverb ### 4/5 — Doesn’t allow remapping of incoming CCs? *2024-07-22* This plugin is really impressive and deep! I was able to quickly create a complex control panel for my vintage synth. After a bit of a learning curve, I had over 30 on screen controls correcting controlling the synth. And the panel looked good! I ran into an issue when it was time to control the plug-in with my MIDI CC knob box. The problem is that when you map an on-screen control to an INCOMING MIDI CC number, it also sets the OUTPUT control number to the same number. My MIDI knob box has fixed controller numbers for the knobs. My synth (Sequential Circuits Six-Trak) and my CC knob box (keyfax phatboy) are both vintage pieces that don’t allow the CC numbers to be re-assigned. I was thinking this plug-in would be the “go between” between my knobs and my synth. Not only could I operate the synth from my iPad screen, but also from my knob box, while watching the changes on screen (so I thought). There IS a MIDI learn feature in the plug-in, but it’s deep in the edit menu for each separate control. And again it's just one setting, the input and output CC number has to be the same. They need to add a faster MIDI mapping function (outside of the edit mode) where you can enter a learn mode, wiggle each on-screen control and then turn a physical knob or fader on your MIDI contoller, all in rapid succession without entering an edit menu for each single control. In other words, once you’ve made your perfect control panel, you won’t be able to go through and quickly map your CC numbers like you can on most popular synth plugins (TAL U no, Model D, Synth One, etc) Let me know if I’m wrong, but there is no way to have an on-screen knob RESPOND to one MIDI CC number while TRANSMITTING a different CC number. (I’m not talking about the value but the controller number). ### 1/5 — Crashes with show/hide function *2024-01-28* I bought the app to replace my Liine Lemur interface for MakeMusic Finale. Generally speaking the app it is not as good as I expected for several reasons, I'll name just a few of them: basic editing shortcuts missing (copy, paste, selecting more than one object at a time etc.); the grid can be helpful but in most cases it would better to determine objects sizes in a more precise way (pixels?); images and custom icons needs a lot of work to look good; using HSB for colors is already complicated, it is made even more complicated by the fact that you have to convert all the values in 256th; you can't set the size of each surface preciseley, only with increase decrease of 50px... But the what made it impossible to use was a bug: when you use the show/hide function it works only if you have a few objects in the surface, otherwise it crashes the editor (this happens on a iPad, on a MBPm1 and on an iPhone)... ### 5/5 — Great app. One little bug… *2023-12-08* Incredibly flexible and highly functional. I’ve used another similar product that feels like an old Win95 application. Would *like* some flashier appearance options (But you *can* use a picture for backgrounds which is outstanding!) Easy to learn and a great complement to any hardware controller. One little bug though. Setting any control to send a cc127 and then saving the changed value resets the value to cc0. Set it to cc126 and it saves fine. ### 4/5 — Kadar Woody *2023-11-22* Good plugin but still kind of find it difficult. I was hoping that I can make my vocal sound like whatever audio I’ve import on here as reference audio and it doesn’t do anything to my vocals I’m only limited to the effects I can use and not the ones I want to create, I was really looking forward to re-creating plug-ins I don’t have access or affect. I just want to make for fun. I think there should be an option where we could just support reference audio and have the effect sound accurate to whatever we import like I think there should be a knob that allows me to import my own audio, it would make things easier so that way I can actually apply the effect I want to my vocals ### 5/5 — Midi control made easy *2023-08-31* I just made an interface for the Elektron Digitone. All I can say is I’m impressed. One of the easiest interface builders I’ve used. It’s on patchstorage.com and called Digitone. It took a lot of time to create, but quick simple things and be done in minutes, if you have a little MIDI know-how. ### 5/5 — L’Excellence! *2023-08-06* Juste pouvoir sauvegarder la fenêtre maximisée…pour le confort en live play. Une sixième étoile ? Soon. ## Frequently asked questions about Surface Builder ### What is Surface Builder? Surface Builder is a tool for creating custom MIDI control surfaces. It allows users to design interfaces with various controls like buttons, knobs, and faders to send and receive MIDI data for audio applications. ### What devices does Surface Builder support? Surface Builder is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices, offering flexibility for users across Apple's mobile ecosystem. ### How much does Surface Builder cost? Surface Builder is a paid application priced at $14.99. This one-time purchase grants access to all its features for creating and using custom MIDI control surfaces. ### Can Surface Builder be used offline? Yes, Surface Builder can be used in standalone mode to send MIDI directly to MIDI hardware using direct access to their MIDI ports, which can be done without an internet connection. ### Does Surface Builder have ads? No, Surface Builder does not contain advertisements. As a paid application, it offers an uninterrupted user experience focused on creating and managing MIDI control surfaces. ### How often is Surface Builder updated? Surface Builder was last updated on December 13, 2025, with version 1.22. This indicates a commitment to ongoing development and feature enhancements for the application. ### What kind of MIDI data can Surface Builder send? Surface Builder can send note on/off, controller change, and program change values. It also supports emulating modulation wheel and pitch bend data, and buttons can be configured to send bulk MIDI data. ### What is the age rating for Surface Builder? Surface Builder has an age rating of 4+. This suggests that the content and functionality of the app are considered appropriate for young children and general audiences. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.23 — 2026-07-10 v1.23 B79 Fixed an issue with the interface menus not displaying as expected inside of a DAW. ### 1.22 — 2025-12-13 v1.23 B78 Update to comply with Age Ratings. ### 1.21 — 2025-12-02 v1.21 B77 Fix for UI issue on some devices using iOS26.1. ### 1.20 — 2025-11-20 v1.20 B76 Fixed toolbar and menu content issue misalignment in iOS26.1 (due to bug in iOS 26.1 was fiine in 26.0) ### 1.19 — 2025-06-27 v1.19 B75 Fix for Snapshots triggering scene changes if scene buttons are on the surface. v1.18 B74 Fixed an issue with the Save Surface not allowing users on small iPhone screens to be able to pick Save. Pressing return closes the keyboard allowing the save button to be accessible. ## Apps similar to Surface Builder | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [FAC Smash](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fac-smash/id6480281404) | 4.3 (6) | $9.99 | Music | | [Toyphonic Micraliser](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/toyphonic-micraliser/id6747669744) | 4.8 (4) | $0.99 | Music | | [FAC Punchlab](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fac-punchlab/id6472346517) | 5.0 (26) | $14.99 | Music | | [Dagger synth](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dagger-synth/id6451140338) | 4.9 (43) | $4.99 | Music | | [Riffler Flow](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/riffler-flow/id6467568526) | 4.1 (25) | $14.99 | Music | | [PD Space Guitar Synthesizer 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pd-space-guitar-synthesizer-2/id1545446186) | 4.8 (16) | $12.99 | Music | ## More apps by 4Pockets.com - [Meteor Multitrack Recorder](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meteor-multitrack-recorder/id417726727) - [Tone Generator Ultra](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tone-generator-ultra/id514273546) - [PocketRTA Ultra](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocketrta-ultra/id514903914) - [StompBox Band](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stompbox-band/id845046209) - [Audio Toolbox](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audio-toolbox/id1353387223) - [Audio Compressor AUv3 Plugin](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audio-compressor-auv3-plugin/id1426387457) All apps by 4Pockets.com: https://appshunter.io/developer/370131860 --- *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 2026-09-01.*