Sidecar MIDI Controller
Sidecar MIDI Controller
Download on App Store

This page is not an official page of the app or its developer, but an independent editorial publication created for informational and commentary purposes. Unless expressly stated otherwise, neither the app nor its developer is affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, authorized by, or otherwise officially connected with MWM, Apple, Google Play, the app publisher, or the app's developer, and nothing on this page implies that the app was developed using MWM's services. Any trademarks, logos, screenshots, and other content remain the property of their respective owners.

Logo of Sidecar MIDI Controller
Download on App Store

Sidecar MIDI Controller

Stop playing on glass and start performing with tactile precision. Use your iPad Magic Keyboard or game controller to trigger chords, map MIDI CCs, and control your favorite iOS synths with full AUv3 and Slide-Over support.

Key Figures

Downloads

0

User Rating

4.5/5

Total Ratings

0

Publisher

Patrick Madden

Category

Music

Locales

1

Latest Version

1.9

Size

6.2 MB

First Released

Jan 18, 2016
Features

Elevate Your Mobile Music Production

Sidecar turns your existing QWERTY hardware and game controllers into professional MIDI surfaces, giving you tactile feedback and advanced mapping for all your iOS synthesizers.

Tactile Performance

Turn your iPad keyboard into a melodic MIDI controller with piano-style mapping and 10 quickly switchable presets.

Pro DAW Integration

Stay in your creative flow with AUv3, Slide-Over, and Split-View support to control any background synth or effect.

The following screenshots and description are sourced directly from the app's official store listing and are the property of the app developer.

App Store

Screenshots

Sidecar MIDI Controller - Sidecar MIDI Controller interface showing MIDI pads mapped to QWERTY keyboard keys for chords and parameters

Sidecar MIDI Controller interface showing MIDI pads mapped to QWERTY keyboard keys for chords and parameters

Sidecar MIDI Controller - Sidecar MIDI Controller app configuration screen showing how QWERTY keys are mapped to pads and piano notes for music production.

Sidecar MIDI Controller app configuration screen showing how QWERTY keys are mapped to pads and piano notes for music production.

Sidecar MIDI Controller - Sidecar MIDI Controller app scale configuration menu showing root note and musical scale selection

Sidecar MIDI Controller app scale configuration menu showing root note and musical scale selection

Description

There are hundreds of great iOS synth apps, but playing them with on-screen keyboards can be a challenge. Sidecar turns your ordinary QWERTY keyboard into a powerful MIDI controller.  The lower part of the keyboard is mapped piano-style, letting you play melodies with the physical keys -- much easier to keep your fingers in the right place, and to get the notes you want. The app is configurable; you can have ten different set-ups, and switch between them quickly with a tap on the "QWERTY" row. There are also ten configureable pads for each set-up, which you can trigger with the number keys. Each pad can play a specific note, a chord, generate a program change message, or send a control code. Because Sidecar operates in slide-over and side-by-side mode on the iPad, you can use your physical keyboard with any MIDI app, even if the other app is running in the background. On screen, you have access to each of the pads -- map the knobs and sliders of your synth apps to MIDI CC messages, and then use Sidecar to adjust these sliders as you play. Sidecar also provides a scale-configurable virtual keyboard. Pick the scale you want, and then you can't hit a wrong note. In addition to external keyboards, Sidecar also supports many game controllers. The app is now universal; while the iPhone doesn't support slide-over, you can still take advantage of the configuration options of the app. * Easy MIDI Configuration With ten separately configurable MIDI destinations you can quickly set up a set of assignments for each of the MIDI apps that you use. Have a set of chords for Animoog, choose different presets for ToneStack, or assign pads to different samples for DM1. Each MIDI destination has ten configurable pads, which can be assigned to chords, single notes, a program change message, or a controller change message. For notes and chords, the touch position controls note velocity. For controller change messages, the location of a touch on screen can be used to determine the controller value. * QWERTY Keyboard Support Toggle on support for the external keyboard, and you can switch between the ten MIDI destinations quickly (using the keys in the QWERTY row). Toggle on or off any of the ten pads by pressing the number keys. The two lowest rows of keys are mapped as a standard piano keyboard, providing a musical play surface with an ordinary text keyboard. Note that QWERTY keyboards only send "key press" information to your iPad -- to silence a sounding note, you simply tap the space bar. * AUv3 Support Add the plug-in to your favorite DAW or looper, and Sidecar will give you easy access to multiple synths. Many AUv3 hosts will also let you map the keyboard keys to the transport controls. * Game Controller Ready Sidecar also supports the iON iCade game controller, mapping the buttons of the iCade to the pads. Because the iCade was designed for games, it sends button press and release information, which makes it easy to toggle on and off the pads. * MIDI Relay If you have an external MIDI controller, you can have it send MIDI events to Sidecar -- and these will be relayed to any of the ten MIDI destinations you select. Use this to quickly switch from one synth to another. *Control Background Synths Because Sidecar sends MIDI messages, it can be used to control background synthesizers, sequencers, and effects apps. Sidecar is designed to work along side your other iOS music apps.

Download

Download on App Store

This page is not an official page of the app or its developer, but an independent editorial publication created for informational and commentary purposes. Unless expressly stated otherwise, neither the app nor its developer is affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, authorized by, or otherwise officially connected with MWM, Apple, Google Play, the app publisher, or the app's developer, and nothing on this page implies that the app was developed using MWM's services. Any trademarks, logos, screenshots, and other content remain the property of their respective owners.