KeyPad MIDI Controller vs PocketTune

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.

Make chiptune music on your phone with PocketTune. Place notes in a four-channel tracker, shape retro sounds and export your own music. LEARN IN THE REAL COMPOSER The four-chapter tutorial uses the same screen and controls as everyday composing. Follow highlighted targets to make a melody, then add rhythm, bass and harmony. Save your work, move into free editing and return to the remaining lessons when you are ready. START WITH AN IDEA Preview three song templates—Adventure, Battle and Cute—and choose one to arrange. You can also start with an empty project, explore bundled sample songs or insert pattern presets. FOUR CHANNELS OF RETRO SOUND Two pulse channels for melodies and harmonies, a wavetable channel for bass and leads, and a noise channel for percussion. Edit notes, instruments and effects in a vertical tracker with playback controls and undo/redo. SAVE AND KEEP CREATING Manage projects on your device. If a newer working copy is available, the recovery prompt lets you choose how to continue. EXPORT YOUR MUSIC Create WAV audio and visualizer videos, then use the system share sheet to save or share them. Premium also offers advanced export options and per-channel audio export. FREE AND PREMIUM The free version includes composition tools, the tutorial, templates, up to 5 user projects and 3 exports per calendar month. Bundled samples do not count toward the project limit. WAV and video share the export allowance. Free video includes 720p, one loop or 15 seconds, the CRT Pulse theme and a watermark. Ads are shown to free users. Premium is an optional one-time in-app purchase, not a subscription. It unlocks unlimited projects and exports, additional export and visualizer options, watermark removal and an ad-free experience. Restore Purchases is available in Settings. When a rewarded ad is available, completing it can unlock Premium features for one hour. This is temporary access, not a purchase. LOCAL MUSIC CREATION Composition, playback and project storage work offline. Project files stay on your device unless you choose to export or share them. Purchases, ads, usage analytics and crash reporting use network services. SUPPORT support@vjconnect-software.com