Everything Inside LitPads

LitPads uses a hardware-inspired pad grid layout across all platforms. Each pad displays its name, a waveform visualization, and a volume fader. Pads are color-coded with 12 color options and auto-scale when more than 12 are added to a board.

The grid adapts to each platform: 3 columns on iPhone, 4 columns on iPad and Mac. iPad pads dynamically size to fit 12 pads on screen in landscape. Mac adds full keyboard navigation for mouse-free performance.

Four play modes cover every use case. One Shot plays the full sound once and supports rapid retriggering. Loop plays continuously until stopped. Toggle starts and stops on each tap. Hold plays only while the pad is pressed, releasing when the finger lifts.

One Shot mode offers two retrigger behaviors. Restart stops the previous playback and starts from the beginning. Layer lets the tail play out while starting a new hit, creating natural overlap like a real drum machine with a 4-voice round-robin pool.

Every pad in LitPads has its own parametric equalizer with a high pass filter, low pass filter, and a fully adjustable parametric band. A real-time spectrum analyzer displays the actual frequency content behind the EQ curve during playback.

The high pass filter cuts from 20 Hz to 2,000 Hz to remove rumble and mud. The low pass filter cuts from 1,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz to tame harshness. The parametric band offers surgical control with adjustable center frequency (20 Hz to 20 kHz), gain (-24 dB to +24 dB), and Q/bandwidth (0.1 to 10.0).

The spectrum analyzer runs a 2048-point FFT with Hann windowing at 30 fps. It displays 128 frequency bins normalized against the EQ curve, showing exactly what the audio sounds like after processing. An enable/bypass toggle lets you A/B compare with and without EQ instantly.

LitPads shifts pitch up or down by 24 semitones (two full octaves) in two modes. Pitch mode changes pitch without affecting playback speed. Speed mode changes pitch and speed together like a vinyl record or tape machine.

Fine tuning adjusts pitch by plus or minus 50 cents for precise tuning between semitones. Quick preset buttons at -12, -5, 0, +5, and +12 semitones speed up common adjustments. A visual pitch meter shows the current offset and a preview button plays the result before committing.

LitPads connects to any USB or Bluetooth MIDI controller including keyboards, pad controllers, and foot pedals. MIDI Learn maps any note to any pad with a single button press. Velocity sensitivity scales pad volume based on how hard you hit.

CoreMIDI integration requires no special permissions and auto-detects connected devices with hot-plugging support. Note On triggers the mapped pad, Note Off releases Hold mode pads, and MIDI velocity (0 to 127) scales the pad volume proportionally. All connected MIDI sources are monitored simultaneously.

Setlist mode organizes pre-programmed sequences of audio cues for live shows, theatre, worship services, and events. Each setlist contains an ordered list of cues, and each cue can trigger multiple sounds simultaneously from existing pads or standalone audio files.

Three advance modes control cue progression. Manual waits for the operator to press GO. Auto When Done advances automatically when all audio in the cue finishes. Timed advances after a configurable delay from 0.5 to 30 seconds.

The performance UI shows a vertical scrolling cue list with numbered cues, a prominently highlighted current cue with expanded notes, and a large GO button at the bottom. Past cues are grayed out with checkmarks. Auto-scroll keeps the current cue centered. On Mac, the spacebar advances cues.

No competitor offers setlist mode. This feature alone makes LitPads the only soundboard app suitable for professional theatre and live event production.

LitPads assigns any letter, number, or function key as a global hotkey to a specific pad on Mac. Hotkeys work when the app is not focused, triggering sounds while gaming, streaming, or browsing. Modifier support includes plain key, Ctrl+key, and Ctrl+Shift+key.

Assignment uses a record-style binding in Pad Settings. Press the Record button, hit the desired key, and the hotkey saves immediately. Hotkeys automatically disable when typing in text fields or search bars to prevent accidental triggers. A settings toggle enables or disables all global hotkeys at once.

LitPads automatically lowers the volume of all other pads when a designated duck trigger pad plays. Mark specific pads as duck triggers, mark others as duck exempt, and adjust the duck amount from 5% to 80% with configurable fade times.

A 30-step volume envelope creates natural-sounding dips instead of abrupt cuts. Volume restores automatically when all duck trigger pads stop. Ducking only affects pads on the same board and only in Layer mode. The primary use case is background music that automatically dips when a sound effect fires.

LitPads provides a waveform-based trim editor with draggable start and end handles, pinch-to-zoom up to 20x on iOS, and a real-time playhead cursor during preview playback. Trimming is non-destructive: the original file is preserved and trim points are stored as metadata.

Large 60-point invisible hit areas around handles make finger grabbing easy on touchscreens. The editor opens full screen on iPad for maximum waveform detail. Duration display shows start time, end time, and selected duration. On Mac, press spacebar to preview the trimmed selection.

LitPads organizes pads into boards. Each board holds a collection of pads and can be named, color-coded, and switched instantly. Two board play modes control how pads interact: Layer mode plays all pads simultaneously, Exclusive mode stops other pads when a new one fires.

The free tier includes 2 boards with 12 pads each. Pro unlocks unlimited boards and unlimited pads. Board switching uses tab capsules on iPhone and a sidebar on iPad and Mac. Search filters pads by name across the current board with live results as you type.

Quick Access favorites let you star any pad in Edit mode. Starred pads appear in a collapsible favorites bar at the bottom of every board. On Mac, a floating favorites panel stays on top of all windows for triggering pads from any app.

LitPads imports audio from the Files app (including iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive), the iOS Music Library, direct microphone recording, drag and drop from Finder on Mac, and the system share sheet from any app. Supported formats include MP3, WAV, AIFF, M4A, FLAC, and AAC.

An import preview sheet lets you play and select individual files before importing. The built-in recorder captures audio in M4A format with a visual duration timer and pulsing recording indicator. Entire boards can be exported as .soundboard files (ZIP bundles) and shared via AirDrop, Messages, or Mail for import on another device.