Stompwatch Turns iPhone, iPad + Apple Watch Into MIDI Controllers

stompwatchSecret Base Design has released Stompwatch – a new app for iOS that turns your mobile device into a virtual MIDI pedal board.

You won’t want to step on it – but you can use it to control both apps and MIDI hardware, using the screen, a Bluetooth keyboard, the Audiobus Remote app, or the Apple Watch. It is easy to configure and versatile.

Here’s the official video intro:

The app features ten pages, each with ten pads. Each page can be configured to send MIDI to any number of destinations, while each pad can be configured to send a MIDI note, a chord, or either program change or control change messages. You can move swiftly from one page to another, and use it to control and configure any MIDI gear.

Other features:

  • With MIDI over Bluetooth, you can use also use iPhone to control an iPad.
  • Use your Apple Watch to select different presets on a guitar effects app.
  • With Audiobus Remote, you can control both MIDI gear and Audiobus controls in one location.
  • se the pads to trigger drum samples or play synthesizers.
  • Stompwatch also supports conventional Bluetooth keyboards — if the app is in the foreground, you can trigger pads by typing on the keyboard.

Stompwatch is available for US $4.99 in the App Store.

5 thoughts on “Stompwatch Turns iPhone, iPad + Apple Watch Into MIDI Controllers

  1. wonder what is next for these guys?
    here’s an idea,,streaming music mixer, so you can wirelessly mix several ipad or other tablets together

  2. Thanks for the coverage! (No one is griping about the Apple Watch? I thought that I’d get a lot more flak for that!).

    Up next… More Music IO news in a week or two, the FCB programmer, and if I get some time, a bit of coffee and a few hardware projects. And there is some streaming planned for the future. And maybe some sleep!

      1. The FCB programmer is a universal iOS app — it uploads and downloads FCB1010 configurations using MIDI SysEx. You can change the pad settings using iOS dialogs; a heck of a lot faster than the Behringer Menu Waltz, and easier to see what’s going on. I’ve got SysEx import/export through iTunes file sharing, and I might add email support too.

        Hook up the iDevice to a camera connection kit, then USB-to-MIDI, and on to the FCB — and you’re in business. It doesn’t take much horsepower to run the programmer; I see this as a great thing to have on an older iPhone you might have knocking around. Program the FCB using the app and the iPhone — and then you can turn on MIDI over Bluetooth or WiFi, and have the FCB 1010 control things wirelessly (well, wired to the phone, but you know what I mean). This is sort of the set-up I’ve been using at home — an old iPhone 4S is pretty much permanently attached to the FCB.

        The app will also do basic emulation of the FCB — press on the virtual pad, and it’ll trigger the appropriate MIDI events (as with Stompwatch). So, if you don’t have the FCB with you, you’ve still got the basic functionality (minus the foot pedal part).

        I’m hoping to have a close-to-final version done this weekend, and will get that out to testers through TestFlight (drop me an email at [email protected] if you want to give it a spin). Assuming everything works well, it’s probably three or four weeks away from the App Store.

        I’m supporting only the stock Behringer firmware — so no Uno chips or any of that jazz. I might add that in later (particularly if it turns out there’s a market for it).

  3. Just curious, and please excuse my ignorance.. Would this be able to pair with a Boss GP-10, in that it is able to control synth apps, Sunrizer ect?

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