What Features Would You Like To See On An iPad MIDI Controller?

simplemidipad

Chris Randall has submitted a new MIDI control app for the iPad, SimpleMIDIPad, to the App Store.

It’s a pretty basic controller – offering 4 customizable pad controllers – but the price is right, $1.99.

SimpleMIDIPad will support hardware MIDI via a USB MIDI interface & the Camera Connection Kit or WiFi MIDI to an OS X machine.

Randall is looking for feedback on the features people would like to see in an iPad MIDI controller:

Assuming it is approved and those of you that try it provide some good feedback, I’ll adjust the framework accordingly and bang out a couple of the other simple ideas I have. Then we’ll give porting the Axon sequencer a whirl, which is necessarily a much more involved process. If you have a request for a specific MIDI generator for the iPad, now is the time to bring it up.

I’ll be interested to see how Randall develops this.

The first generation of iPad MIDI control apps basically try to solve the problem of replacing a static MIDI control surface with software. This is useful, but just scratching the surface of what the hardware is capable of.

Second generation iPad MIDI control apps are going go a lot deeper, adding algorithmic generators, randomizers, LFO’s, logic and more.

What would you like to see on future iPad MIDI controllers?

 

31 thoughts on “What Features Would You Like To See On An iPad MIDI Controller?

  1. i allways had something in mind like this:
    some kind of magnifier for a small portion of a control (let's say, the good ol' Filter Cutoff between 50 and 500 Hz) without limiting the overall range. Problem is: I have some kind of sweetspot i need very particular control over, but I dont want to limit myself on this portion completely, going a bit more loose for the rest of the range ( i.e. my Filter sweet spot should be half of the knob instead of like a sixth, leaving the other half for very low and very high)

  2. C'mon, it's 2011 now, we want Xenakis dreams to came true! A meta control surface and sequencer in one, MIDI and OSC, maybe even without sound engine — we still have a bunch of outboard and software to control.

  3. So far, no one has incorporated any sort of working physics into controllers – ala' the Lemur. Where's my awesome kick butt XY ball that I send spinning and bouncing around the window? Will tweakable settings to set just how long it bounces, how much gravity to apply, etc?

    The other fantastically silly shortcoming of every iPad controller app so far is EXTENSIVE routing capabilities. To date, the SoftStep foot controller is the only piece of hardware or software I know of that gives you enormous MIDI message and routing capabilities. I should be able to assign any number of CCs/MIDI notes/PCs to a particular button or function within an iPad app.

  4. And how's about combining the 2? I move an XY around the screen and within that screen space there are 'zones of control' in which any number or types of messages are sent went I hit that area. Maybe there's a little zone in the lower left and my XY ball hits that area. Suddenly I've got certain return levels within Ableton Live getting increased or decreased…or I've got new clips that have launched…or FX device parameters are moved…etc etc etc.

    To date, only Konkreet Performer has offered any real creatively awesome direction in terms of MIDI controller apps. Everything else is pretty much STUCK in this 'let's make it like a piece of hardware' mentality.

  5. So why aren't people doing more of this? Seems like the iPad's potential as a controller is going mostly untapped; even while we get an endless slew of ported old audio apps and underpowered music gadgets, that mostly serve to make the iPad look like a joke compared to a standard laptop.

  6. How have you not done a post on the FANTASTIC MIDI Touch? http://iosmidi.com/apps/midi-touch/
    Not to trump Chris's app, which i'll buy as well to support what he's doing, but with MIDI Touch you can create your own MIDI interfaces with buttons, sliders, rotary knobs, X/Y, etc. You assign any type of message, CC, Note, Sysex, Channel, even multiple messages per object. You can change the sizes, colors, nest control sets in tabs, have multiple presets. etc. It also has MIDI In, so that programs like Ableton will update clip LEDS, and automation will pick up sliders, etc.

    It's the next best thing to having a Jazzmutant Lemur. The beauty of it, is that it just WORKS. No third party software you have to run, you just plug in your camera kit and a class compliant MIDI device and go. It also works over DSMIDI and MIDI network if you're on a Mac.

  7. How have you not done a post on the FANTASTIC MIDI Touch? http://iosmidi.com/apps/midi-touch/
    Not to trump Chris's app, which i'll buy as well to support what he's doing, but with MIDI Touch you can create your own MIDI interfaces with buttons, sliders, rotary knobs, X/Y, etc. You assign any type of message, CC, Note, Sysex, Channel, even multiple messages per object. You can change the sizes, colors, nest control sets in tabs, have multiple presets. etc. It also has MIDI In, so that programs like Ableton will update clip LEDS, and automation will pick up sliders, etc.

    It's the next best thing to having a Jazzmutant Lemur. The beauty of it, is that it just WORKS. No third party software you have to run, you just plug in your camera kit and a class compliant MIDI device and go. It also works over DSMIDI and MIDI network if you're on a Mac.

  8. How have you not done a post on the FANTASTIC MIDI Touch? http://iosmidi.com/apps/midi-touch/
    Not to trump Chris's app, which i'll buy as well to support what he's doing, but with MIDI Touch you can create your own MIDI interfaces with buttons, sliders, rotary knobs, X/Y, etc. You assign any type of message, CC, Note, Sysex, Channel, even multiple messages per object. You can change the sizes, colors, nest control sets in tabs, have multiple presets. etc. It also has MIDI In, so that programs like Ableton will update clip LEDS, and automation will pick up sliders, etc.

    It's the next best thing to having a Jazzmutant Lemur. The beauty of it, is that it just WORKS. No third party software you have to run, you just plug in your camera kit and a class compliant MIDI device and go. It also works over DSMIDI and MIDI network if you're on a Mac.

  9. How have you not done a post on the FANTASTIC MIDI Touch? http://iosmidi.com/apps/midi-touch/
    Not to trump Chris's app, which i'll buy as well to support what he's doing, but with MIDI Touch you can create your own MIDI interfaces with buttons, sliders, rotary knobs, X/Y, etc. You assign any type of message, CC, Note, Sysex, Channel, even multiple messages per object. You can change the sizes, colors, nest control sets in tabs, have multiple presets. etc. It also has MIDI In, so that programs like Ableton will update clip LEDS, and automation will pick up sliders, etc.

    It's the next best thing to having a Jazzmutant Lemur. The beauty of it, is that it just WORKS. No third party software you have to run, you just plug in your camera kit and a class compliant MIDI device and go. It also works over DSMIDI and MIDI network if you're on a Mac.

  10. How have you not done a post on the FANTASTIC MIDI Touch? http://iosmidi.com/apps/midi-touch/
    Not to trump Chris's app, which i'll buy as well to support what he's doing, but with MIDI Touch you can create your own MIDI interfaces with buttons, sliders, rotary knobs, X/Y, etc. You assign any type of message, CC, Note, Sysex, Channel, even multiple messages per object. You can change the sizes, colors, nest control sets in tabs, have multiple presets. etc. It also has MIDI In, so that programs like Ableton will update clip LEDS, and automation will pick up sliders, etc.

    It's the next best thing to having a Jazzmutant Lemur. The beauty of it, is that it just WORKS. No third party software you have to run, you just plug in your camera kit and a class compliant MIDI device and go. It also works over DSMIDI and MIDI network if you're on a Mac.

  11. How have you not done a post on the FANTASTIC MIDI Touch? http://iosmidi.com/apps/midi-touch/
    Not to trump Chris's app, which i'll buy as well to support what he's doing, but with MIDI Touch you can create your own MIDI interfaces with buttons, sliders, rotary knobs, X/Y, etc. You assign any type of message, CC, Note, Sysex, Channel, even multiple messages per object. You can change the sizes, colors, nest control sets in tabs, have multiple presets. etc. It also has MIDI In, so that programs like Ableton will update clip LEDS, and automation will pick up sliders, etc.

    It's the next best thing to having a Jazzmutant Lemur. The beauty of it, is that it just WORKS. No third party software you have to run, you just plug in your camera kit and a class compliant MIDI device and go. It also works over DSMIDI and MIDI network if you're on a Mac.

  12. nrpn, rpn, system exclusive, midi clock synchronized 16 step cc/pc sequences that can respond to midi notes as triggers, being able to share those difficult nrpn
    pn and system exclusive templates for a specific synth/ sampler / anything that responds to midi. So that if someone manages to make a controller using all those nrpn/rpn/system exclusives of a certain device, all other owners of that device will be able to download it. And +/- buttons that allow you to adjust the currently touched controller by steps of 1. And the controllers should adjust to the current settings of a preset. So after a program change you won't have parameter jumps to worry about.

  13. That's what I'm talkin 'bout! This is the kind of thing the iPad is brilliant for…yet when someone does it, it goes without notice. I guess people are too busy with the latest iOS TR-909 emulation.

  14. Same way it lets you scrub videos – a slider at the top of the screen moves left or right – when your finger is close to the slider it scrubs over the whole video, as you move your finger downwards it takes larger left or right movements to scrub over a smaller portion of the video, giving finer control.

  15. Umm – MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  16. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  17. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  18. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  19. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  20. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  21. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  22. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  23. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  24. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  25. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  26. Umm – back in November we posted that MIDI Touch "lets you design your own ultimate MIDI controller."

    If you've build some interesting MIDI Touch controllers – add a link to that page. We'd be interested in seeing what you've put together.

    I'd still consider MIDI Touch a 1st gen iPad MIDI controller, though……

  27. I just heard that some apps are beginnning to sense velocity using the internal accelerometer or gyroscope. That would be a great advance for modeling musical instruments (keyboards, drum pads, etc.)

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