For Logic Pro and Ableton Live
Every knob. Every plugin.
KnobShift turns your iPad into the controller for whatever you’re playing. Open a synth or effect and its knobs, faders and switches appear instantly – sorted like the plugin itself, in full MIDI 2.0 resolution. No mapping, no templates.
You need both: the iPad app and the free Mac bridge that connects it to Logic Pro or Ableton Live.
This is the real interface. Drag a knob, then press Listen – everything you change, you hear.
- Logic Pro
- Ableton Live
- AU & VST3 plugins
- Ableton’s own devices
Two parts. Five minutes.
The iPad app is what you touch. The free Mac bridge talks to your DAW. Install both, open a plugin, play.
iPad app
The surface: modules, knobs, faders, dashboards. Connects over USB or Wi-Fi.
Mac bridge
A menu-bar companion plus the bridge plugin for Logic and a remote script for Ableton Live.
Open any plugin
Load your synth in the bridge in Logic, or just select a device in Ableton Live.
KnobShift reads it
The plugin describes its parameters over MIDI-CI. KnobShift sorts them into oscillators, filters, envelopes, effects and more.
Play it with your hands
Every move is a 32-bit MIDI 2.0 value. Automation records in your DAW and plays back on the iPad.
Mapped the moment you open it.
No learn mode, no controller templates. KnobShift lays out every plugin the same way: oscillators, filter, envelopes, LFOs, effects – each with its own color, each module with the curve it controls.
Smooth as analog.
Classic MIDI knows 128 steps per control. KnobShift sends 32-bit values over MIDI 2.0 – filter sweeps glide instead of stepping. Drag the fader and compare.
Automation that plays back.
Set Logic to Touch and move a fader on the iPad – Logic records it. Press play and the controls move by themselves. Switch plugin windows and the iPad follows.
Your layout for every synth.
Put the eight controls you need live on one page. Make one dashboard for Ableton and another for Logic. Share it with one tap – or download one from the community.
Built with the people who use it.
Request features, vote on what comes next, report bugs. The public roadmap shows what’s being worked on.
Questions, answered
What do I need?
An iPad with iPadOS 17 or later, a Mac with macOS 14 or later, and Logic Pro or Ableton Live. Wi-Fi connections need macOS 26.4 or later; USB always works.
Which plugins work?
In Logic, any AU instrument or effect you load into the bridge plugin. In Ableton Live, the selected device – including Ableton’s own instruments and effects.
Do I have to map anything?
No. KnobShift reads the plugin’s parameters over MIDI-CI and builds the layout itself. Dashboards are optional – for when you want your own selection.
What does it cost?
The Mac bridge is free. The iPad app is currently in its test phase.
Why does macOS warn me when installing the bridge?
The test release isn’t notarized by Apple yet. You allow it once in System Settings → Privacy & Security; the download page shows every step.
Get your hands on your plugins.
Install the iPad app and the free Mac bridge. Five minutes later, every plugin is under your fingers.