How to Condukt

Condukt is a performance-focused MIDI controller that turns your iOS device into a hands-on interface for your hardware synthesizers. It adds more knobs and faders to your synth (and does some cool stuff along the way), but it is not a sequencer.

Sample board with filter and envelope controls, two scenes with a cross fader and two modulators: sine and random (sample and hold with a bit of slew)

The Problem

Hardware synths are amazing, but parameters are often buried in menus. Want to tweak the filter cutoff, resonance, and envelope depth together? Often it’s impossible without external control.

Even worse, if you want to save different parameter combinations for a live set, you're stuck with the synth's own preset system—which might not be flexible enough for performance.

The Solution

There are a lot of great hardware MIDI controllers that do this very well (shoutout to Neuzeit's Drop, FaderFox and Oxi, I use and love all of them), but we wanted to create something that would work great on a touchscreen, so here we are.

Condukt gives you four types of controls that work together to create a powerful, expressive performance system:

1. Faders

These are your direct connections to synth parameters. Drop a fader on your board and map it to a control on your synth: filter cutoff, oscillator pitch, envelope decay, whatever you need.

Each fader parameter can have different extents and curves

A single fader can control the same parameter across multiple tracks. Got a Digitakt with 8 tracks? Map one fader to filter cutoff on tracks 1-4, and now you can sweep all four filters together with a single gesture (the original problem I was trying to solve).

Use faders for:

  • Parameters you want immediate, hands-on control over
  • Controlling the same parameter across multiple tracks simultaneously (e.g., filter cutoff on 4 tracks, or just 4 different controls across 4 different synths)
  • Creating a personalized interface for any synth

Hands-free: Condukt controlling Microfreak, with EP-133 on drums and delay

I also use faders to create a fun control surface for Microfreak: even though Microfreak exposes almost all of its parameters as knobs or encoders, I created a control surface that I can do scene morphs (a la Octatrack), for some very cool transitions and build-ups. That's what you see in the video above.

2. Recalls (Scene Memory)

A Recall is a snapshot button. When you create one, you bind it to specific faders or crossfaders you want to memorize. Tap and hold Recall to store current state of faders; tap it to recall that state, either instantly or with a smooth transition.

Initial State Management: One of the most practical uses for Recalls is setting up your starting point. Before you start a jam session, set all your faders where you want them, then save a Recall. Now you can always return to that home configuration instantly.

Beat-Matched Transitions: Recalls can transition over time or beats. Want your filter to sweep open over exactly 4 beats? Set the transition to 4 beats, and Condukt will smoothly interpolate all bound faders over that time. Or use time-based transitions (seconds) for more fluid, non-rhythmic changes. The beats are defined by BPM set in Edit mode of the board, it is currently not synced from MIDI.

When in Edit mode, tap Assign button and choose which controls will be stored/recalled when pressed.

Use Recalls for:

  • Setting initial synth state at the start of a jam
  • Saving different "scenes" within a track (verse bass sound, chorus lead sound, etc.)
  • Beat-matched transitions that lock to tempo (e.g., roll into a new scene over 4 beats)
  • Time-based smooth transitions for evolving sounds
  • Switching between multiple parameter combinations on the fly
  • Scene morphing (with Crossfaders)

Think of Recalls as: Your own custom presets, but faster and more flexible than relying on the synth alone, with built-in morphing.

Note: When you place a Recall button, you need to assign it to some faders, so it knows what you want to memorize. This way you can have many Recall buttons, all in charge of different aspects of your control surface state.

3. Crossfaders (Scene Morphing)

Here's where it gets interesting. A Crossfader lets you morph between multiple Recall scenes using a single slider. Inspired by the Octatrack's scene crossfader, this control maps its position to multiple faders at once, with independent curves for each.

Example:

  • Recall A: Dark, filtered bass (filter cutoff: 30%, resonance: 70%)
  • Recall B: Bright, open lead (filter cutoff: 90%, resonance: 20%)
  • Crossfader: Smoothly morph between A and B with a single gesture
Assign each side of the Crossfader to a Recall button to morph between the two scenes

Use Crossfaders for:

  • Smooth transitions between saved scenes
  • Dynamic performance gestures (sweep from one sound to another)
  • Complex parameter changes with a single control

Think of Crossfaders as: A scene interpolation engine that gives you continuous control between discrete snapshots.

Note: After you place a Crossfader, you need to assign at least one side of it to a Recall button. When the other side is unassigned it operates similarly to Octatrack's fader: it will try to blend the saved scene with the real-time fader positions.

3b. Crossfader Sets

To make things (a lot) easier, you can plop down a Crossfader Set: it puts down two Recall buttons and a Crossfader between them, pre-assigned and ready to go. In addition, Recall buttons are also pre-assigned to every fader on the board, so that it's very easy to get it going. You just need to tap and hold on a Recall button to store the current state of your controls.

4. LFOs (Modulation)

LFOs auto-modulate faders and crossfaders in real time. Choose from multiple waveforms (sine, triangle, square, saw, random/sample-and-hold), set the rate and depth, and assign the LFO to a fader or a crossfader.

A sample of different LFOs available, assign them to a control to start modulation

Use LFOs for:

  • Adding movement to static sounds (auto-filter sweeps, tremolo, vibrato)
  • Modulating crossfaders for evolving scene morphs
  • Creating rhythmic patterns synced to tempo
  • Automating complex parameter changes

Think of LFOs as: Set-and-forget automation that keeps your sounds alive and moving.

Note: You can play the LFOs as well, just swipe up/down to change LFO depth, and left/right to change the speed.

Synth Channels

For all this to work smoothly, you need to add the synth you're using. At the moment it all happens over USB, and Condukt tries to make it simple: it will auto-detect your synth, then fetch MIDI parameter definitions from midi.guide. But you need to set the MIDI channel you configured on the synth.

Setup one or more synth channels to control over USB MIDI

Some synths, like Digitakt, have several tracks you can control at once. For those you need to add each track you want to control as a Synth Channel, and name them appropriately ("Track 1", "Kick", whatever). Then, you can place a fader for "Kick", and it will control that specific track, on that specific synth.

Synth Channels you define live outside the boards you create, so you can create multiple boards for different songs or performance purposes, using the same MIDI setup.

Putting It All Together

Here's a typical workflow:

  1. Add faders for the parameters you want to control (filter, envelopes, effects, etc.)
  2. Create Recalls bound to those faders to save different parameter combinations (scenes)
  3. Add a Crossfader to morph smoothly between those scenes
  4. Assign an LFO to the crossfader (or individual faders) for automatic movement

Practical Example: Live Bass Performance

Setup:

  • Faders: Filter Cutoff, Resonance, Envelope Decay
  • Recall A: Assigned to the three faders: deep, subby bass (cutoff low, decay long)
  • Recall B: Assigned to the three faders: punchy, plucky bass (cutoff high, decay short)
  • Crossfader: Morphs between A and B
  • LFO: Assigned to the crossfader, slowly oscillates the sound between the two scenes

Result: Your bass sound continuously evolves between two extremes, and you can still manually grab the crossfader or individual faders to take control at any moment.

Practical Example: Multi-Track Digitakt Control

Setup:

  • Digitakt: 4 drum tracks playing kick, snare, hi-hat, clap
  • Fader 1: Mapped to filter cutoff on all 4 tracks simultaneously
  • Fader 2: Mapped to filter resonance on all 4 tracks
  • Recall "Closed": Filters closed, dark drum sound
  • Recall "Open": Filters wide open, bright drum sound with 4-beat transition

Performance:

  • During your intro, hit Recall "Closed" to start with a dark, muted drum section
  • As the track builds, hit Recall "Open": over exactly 4 beats, all four tracks sweep their filters open together
  • During the drop, grab Fader 1 to manually ride the filter cutoff across all drums at once

Result: You're controlling 8 parameters (4 tracks × 2 filter parameters) with 2 faders and 2 buttons, with beat-synced transitions that feel perfectly musical.

So that’s about it, now let's make some noise.