Wire oscillators, filters and sequencers on a canvas and hear your own synth take shape. A standalone modular sketchpad for iPad — no rack, no DAW, no subscription.
Waveboard is a modular synth you build by hand.
Instead of handing you a fixed instrument and a wall of presets, Waveboard hands you the parts. Drop components onto a canvas, draw wires between their ports, and hear the signal follow the wire. The patch you draw IS the instrument — a subtractive synth, a step sequencer, an effect chain, whatever the wiring adds up to.
Wire an idea into sound in about twenty seconds. No rack to boot, no DAW to host it in, no subscription.
EVERYTHING IS A COMPONENT
• Inputs: on-screen keyboard, XY touch pad, step sequencer, sliders, switches and trigger pads
• Oscillators, envelopes, filters and effects
• Math nodes for modulation and control
• An output node you wire the whole board into
WIRING YOU CAN SEE
Signal flows down the cables you draw, so the patch explains itself. Reroute a wire and the sound changes under your finger — the mental model of a hardware modular rig, minus the cost and the cable spaghetti.
PLAY IT WITH YOUR HANDS
The keyboard, XY pad, trigger pads and sliders are components too. Map a pad's X to filter cutoff and its Y to oscillator pitch and you've built a performance instrument, not just a diagram.
BRING YOUR OWN MIDI
Waveboard takes CoreMIDI input, so a hardware or Bluetooth MIDI keyboard can play your patch. Save a board and it's yours — no account, no cloud, no login.
HONEST ABOUT WHAT IT IS
• iPad only — it's a canvas-and-cables interface and wants the screen.
• A standalone instrument, NOT an AUv3 plugin. Waveboard does not host inside AUM, apeMatrix or Cubasis as an Audio Unit.
• No Ableton Link — treat it as a self-contained sketchpad, not a synced member of a live rig.
• One-time paid. No in-app purchases, no subscription, no ads.
Rebuilt for modern iPadOS. First released in 2012, back and running on today's iPad.
Too bad nothing indicates what works with what.which is needed on EVERY modular anything. So at least a choice exists to ease the first time people ,..into this ,rather than to debase their lack of knowledge.plus some actual cool setups that lure us more and show us were to get the BEST results ! Peace christo
Developer Response
Hey Christo, thanks for your feedback. Waveboard has just relaunched after many years off the App Store. There is a manual available at https://apps.lukebradford.xyz/waveboard/ which explains how it works in detail.
Brilliant Modular Synth
SpaceCadet-528hz
I was not expecting it to sound this good. Modular synthesis is a bit enigmatic, but this app makes the process very approachable and quite enjoyable. I do not know where it was hiding, but I am certainly glad I found it. I now have every modular synth for iOS and this sits on my top shelf. :-). Bravo!
Hidden Gem
vurnt22
I'm surprised that Waveboard has been overlooked by the iOS musician community; this is a great sounding easy-to-grasp modular environment with tons of potential. I hope that Luke keeps working on it; perhaps adding Audiobus support, Drum Machine sound editing, sample playback etc. a randomize function for the step sequencer, etc.
Developer Response
Thanks for your suggestions! Waveboard has just relaunched after many years off the App Store, and I'll consider these features for a future update.
What's Up With The Updates
Modular Mike
What happened to the promised updates?! This could have been an amazing app but has been abandoned to the netherworld of apps who's creators just made tons of empty promises and not enough cash. Don't support these bums they don't care about the end user. Either finish coding your app or don't bother.
Developer Response
You were right to be annoyed — I let Waveboard sit untouched for years, and that's on me. The good news is it's back: I've rebuilt it from the ground up for modern iPad and iPadOS 26. Sorry it took so long to come back to it. — Luke
Connect a Bluetooth MIDI keyboard to play your patches — there's now a pairing option in Settings.
Cleaner touch indicators — the numbered finger markers on the touch pad are now simple discs, with a Liquid Glass look on iOS 26.
Version 1.6
The developer, Luke Bradford, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Luke Bradford
Size
15.1 MB
Category
Music
Compatibility
Requires iPadOS 12.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 12.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
