MIDI Wrench vs KeyPad MIDI Controller
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MIDI Wrench
This app acts as a versatile tool for managing MIDI devices on iOS. It allows you to monitor incoming MIDI messages in real-time and send your own MIDI commands using virtual controls. It's useful for troubleshooting MIDI setups and understanding device communication.
- Monitor incoming MIDI events
- Send MIDI messages
- Virtual MIDI keyboard, buttons, and knobs
- Configurable virtual controls
- Filter MIDI events
- Copy MIDI events to clipboard
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The Swiss army knife for your daily MIDI setup tasks. Connect a MIDI keyboard, MIDI sound expander or any other MIDI device to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch by using the Apple USB camera adapter or any other adapter supported by Apple. Visualize and monitor MIDI messages sent by the connected MIDI device or send MIDI messages to those connected MIDI devices. This is a simple but helpful tool to find problems in your MIDI setup or simply to spot what kind of messages various MIDI devices are sending exactly. This app supports all hardware and software sources for MIDI, including Bluetooth LE MIDI ! Current Features: • Lists all CoreMIDI devices (i.e. attached MIDI accessories) and all so called "virtual CoreMIDI ports" (i.e. audio Apps) on your iPad / iPhone / iPod touch. • Displays incoming MIDI events of external MIDI hardware and local MIDI apps in real-time. • Send MIDI Note-On, Note-Off and Control Change messages by using the virtual MIDI keyboard, buttons and rotary knobs. • Virtual on-screen MIDI controls are fully configurable, so you may assign other MIDI controller numbers and more. • The virtual keyboard keys, rotary knobs and buttons automatically update to the values sent by connected MIDI devices. • Filter out MIDI events you are not interested in. • Copy MIDI events with one tap to the iOS clipboard, and paste them as text in another app like Mail. This app is free, and it does not contain any ads or other annoying things. Really! Anti-Spy Commitment: We take your privacy very seriously. None of our apps contain so called „spy” behaviors and we committed ourself to a very high privacy standard. MIDI Wrench does not collect any information. For more information about our privacy commitment, read our „Privacy Policy for Mobile Apps”.
KeyPad MIDI Controller
Transform your device into a professional MIDI controller with touch-optimized piano keys, drum pads, and performance controls. It supports SFZ, SF2, WAV, and M4A samples, and can control iOS apps, hardware synths, and Mac software wirelessly or wired.
- Touch-optimized piano keyboard
- 9-pad drum grid
- XY performance pad
- Built-in sound engine (SF2, SFZ, WAV, M4A)
- AUv3 plugin support
- Network MIDI for Mac control
- Aftertouch and MPE expression
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Transform your iPad or iPhone into a professional MIDI controller with a touch-optimized piano keyboard, isomorphic grid, drum pads, and XY performance controls. Control iOS apps, hardware synths, and Mac software wirelessly or wired, as a standalone app or an AUv3 plugin in your favorite DAW. Perfect for mobile producers, live performers, beat makers, and sound designers. CORE FEATURES • Built-in sound engine for SF2, SFZ, WAV, and M4A. • Piano keyboard, isomorphic grid, 9-pad drum grid, XY pad, and CC faders. • Scale mode with 12 scales and any root key, on both piano and grid. • Aftertouch and MPE with Mono AT, Poly AT, and XY MPE modes. • Aftertouch and Mod Wheel remapping to any MIDI CC or Pitch Bend. • Velocity, Pitch Bend, and Modulation faders, plus a latching sustain button. • AUv3 plugin for GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, BeatMaker, and Drambo. • Network MIDI, OSC output, and 16 MIDI channels + Omni. • Adaptive interface for all iPad and iPhone sizes. VIEW MODES Switch between six layouts from the View menu: Piano: a familiar 2-octave keyboard with height-based velocity. Piano Fader: four CC faders in place of the XY pad and drum pads. Assign any CC to each fader and save CC sets as presets. Grid: Isomorphic: every row and column keeps the same interval, so chords and scales have one shape anywhere. Grid: 2 Rows: a piano-style pair of rows, naturals below, sharps above. Grid: Minor Thirds: columns step up by 3 semitones, rows move chromatically. Grid: Big Piano: large naturals with quarter-size sharps. Your view, layout, and root note persist across sessions. SCALE MODE Choose from 12 scales - Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian, Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Minor, Blues, and Whole Tone - in any of the 12 root keys. On the grid, cells remap so only in-scale notes are laid out, putting every note under your fingers. On the piano, the keyboard keeps its familiar black and white pattern. Out-of-scale keys dim and stop responding to touch, so only the keys in your key are labelled and playable. Switch back to Chromatic anytime for the full keyboard. GRID EXPRESSION Every grid layout includes a dedicated mod-wheel row. A vibrant gradient highlights roots and notes, optional labels show note names, and per-note MPE with pitch bend gives each finger independent control. BUILT-IN SOUND ENGINE Play sounds without any external app. Load SF2 SoundFonts with multi-preset selection, or import SFZ, WAV, and M4A samples. The low-CPU engine maps samples across the keyboard automatically, and sounds persist across sessions. AFTERTOUCH & MPE EXPRESSION Mono AT applies uniform pressure across chords, Poly AT sends independent pressure per note, and XY MPE allocates per-note MIDI channels (2-16) with Y on CC74 and X on Pitch Bend. Remap aftertouch or mod wheel to any MIDI CC or Pitch Wheel. A green gradient on pressed keys shows pressure in real time. CONNECT TO YOUR MAC Control Logic Pro, Ableton Live, or any Mac music software from your iPad or iPhone. Connect wirelessly over your local network with Bonjour, or plug in via USB for a rock-solid, zero-latency link. STANDALONE OR AUV3 Load KeyPad inside GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, BeatMaker, Drambo, or any AUv3 host to play your instruments without switching apps, with settings saved in your project. Or run it standalone to drive hardware synths, route MIDI to other iOS apps, or control your Mac. TOUCH-OPTIMIZED PERFORMANCE Height-Based Velocity: Touch keys at different vertical positions for dynamic velocity, with three curves to shape the response. XY Performance Pad: Control two parameters at once with multi-touch. Assign any MIDI CC to each axis for filter sweeps, effect morphing, or live sound manipulation. Smart Layout: Scales to the window, keeping the full layout with controls and pads on iPhone, iPad, Split View, and AUv3 plugin windows.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: KeyPad MIDI Controller at every 4 days against MIDI Wrench's every 5 months. KeyPad MIDI Controller also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 89%). MIDI Wrench's advantage is ratings volume (71 vs 15) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
KeyPad MIDI Controller holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 71 and 15 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of MIDI Wrench's written reviews are positive against 100% of KeyPad MIDI Controller's.
MIDI Wrench ships an update every 5 months, KeyPad MIDI Controller every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MIDI Wrench | KeyPad MIDI Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (71 ratings) | 4.9 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 71 — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte | DiscoDSP LLC |
Customer experience
MIDI Wrench
KeyPad MIDI Controller
Bugs and requests
MIDI Wrench
Reported bugs
6 issues- No sound at all
- No audio when pressing keys
- Cannot clear screen, only pause
- Connection sometimes disconnects after a break
- App needs to be updated by developers
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- May slow down phone due to lack of update
Requested features
19 requests- Display raw MIDI messages (hex)
- Manually construct/send MIDI messages (hex/simplified)
- Import .mid files
- Audio output for testing
- Clear screen functionality
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- Larger or adjustable keyboard size
- MIDI out capabilities (USB/network)
- Filter out Active Sense and clock signals
- Send data out of any MIDI CC number
- Change key range
- Set keys to different scales
- Control desktop VSTs
- In-app purchase for additional options
- MIDI patchbay functionality
- Echo all inputs to outputs for routing
- Show data source
- Filter by device
- Update for newer iOS versions
- Regularly schedule maintenance time
KeyPad MIDI Controller
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MIDI Wrench
No in-app purchases
KeyPad MIDI Controller
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MIDI Wrench free?
Is KeyPad MIDI Controller free?
Which has better reviews, MIDI Wrench or KeyPad MIDI Controller?
Do MIDI Wrench or KeyPad MIDI Controller have ads?
Which is updated more often, MIDI Wrench or KeyPad MIDI Controller?
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