# WatsonMIDI — MIDI Recording for Organists > Professional MIDI recording and playback app for organists. (iPhone/iPad app by Dusti Watson.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watsonmidi/id6757377108 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Dusti Watson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1866486447) - Category: Music, Utilities - Price: $1.99 with in-app purchases - Rating: 5.00/5 from 8 App Store ratings · 7 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 36 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-01-28 - Data updated: 2026-08-25 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watsonmidi/id6757377108/reviews.md ## What is WatsonMIDI? WatsonMIDI™ is the professional MIDI recording and playback app for pipe organ and electronic organ musicians. Developed with over 20 years of organist input, WatsonMIDI™ captures, organizes, and shares your musical performances. RECORD & PLAYBACK Capture performances with a single tap. Records all MIDI data including notes, expression pedal movements, and registration changes. Play back through any MIDI-connected organ exactly as performed, or route to virtual organ software like GrandOrgue and Hauptwerk. ORGANIZED LIBRARY Build a recording library with custom folders for each venue, season, or occasion. Search instantly across hundreds of recordings. Import existing MIDI files from other systems. SERVICE PLAYLISTS Create playlists for worship services, concerts, recitals, and special events. Arrange recordings in any order and play through them seamlessly. Perfect for substitute organists. PROFESSIONAL FEATURES Instant transposition - shift playback up or down without re-recording Tempo adjustment - speed up or slow down for practice Loop playback - repeat recordings continuously Play-along mode - play live while a recording plays back Listening mode - hear playback through your device speakers MIDI Monitor - view incoming MIDI data in real-time PROTECT YOUR WORK Share recordings with military-grade AES-256 encryption. Set play limits and expiration. Your intellectual property stays protected — only WatsonMIDI™ can play your shared content. MAESTRO - FOR ORGANISTS & TECHNICIANS For musicians who play multiple instruments and technicians who service them: Organ Profiling - capture any instrument's complete stop list, divisions, and MIDI channel mapping. Build a profile library of every organ you play or maintain. Translation Engine - a first for the organ world. Record at one church, play back at another with stops mapped automatically. Tag your existing library with a profile, then translate to any profiled organ — a recording from a Rodgers digital organ can play back on a 43-rank pipe organ. Professional Tuning - chromatic strobe tuner with four display modes, real-time pitch detection, wireless remote tuning via Bluetooth from inside the chamber, historical temperament support, cents offset, chromatic walk, interval checks, and reference tone generation. UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY Pipe Organs - Peterson ICS, Syndyne, Matters, and MIDI-equipped consoles Digital Organs - Rodgers, Allen, Johannus, Viscount, Lowrey Digital Pianos - Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Nord Theater Organs - Wurlitzer, legacy instruments with MIDI Virtual Organs - GrandOrgue, Hauptwerk via IAC Driver or virtual MIDI Keyboards & Synthesizers - any MIDI-capable keyboard FLEXIBLE PRICING All one-time purchases, no subscriptions: Practice ($1.99) - 5 recordings, 1 playlist Audition ($49.99) - 50 recordings, 5 playlists, folders Recital ($199.99) - Unlimited recordings and playlists Symphony ($499.99) - All features plus encrypted sharing and audio recording Maestro ($999.99) - Organ Profiling, Translation Engine, Professional Tuning, Apple Watch and Console Power Control CONNECTIVITY Bluetooth MIDI or wired USB/Lightning. Auto-reconnect remembers your last device. Separate MIDI Routing for virtual instrument setups. Whether you're a church organist, concert artist, substitute musician, or organ technician, WatsonMIDI™ is the essential tool for modern MIDI organ work. From Watson Pipe Organ Company - Music for Generations. ## Key features - MIDI recording and playback - Organized library with custom folders - Service playlist creation - Instant transposition and tempo adjustment - Encrypted sharing with usage controls - Universal compatibility with MIDI instruments ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: $1.99. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Recital | $199.99 | one-time | | Symphony | $499.99 | one-time | | Audition Tier | $49.99 | one-time | | Maestro | $999.99 | one-time | ## Chart rankings - #195 in Top Paid · Music (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (7 of 7) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watsonmidi/id6757377108/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Outstanding package! *2026-08-17* I’ve been looking to this app for 10 years!! Dusti’s app works exactly as advertised, out of the box, no learning curve required. It just works!! Sent in a feature request and got an almost instant response that the next update already includes the feature. You can’t ask for better support. Highly recommended!! John from Trinity Lutheran in Port Huron MI ### 5/5 — This app is amazing *2026-07-31* Mr. Watson’s app works great for a large instrument. We have a large theater where tours are given with a sizable symphonic instrument. We now are able to showcase the instrument on tours of the building. He was also a great help getting the application to work with our specific instrument. And the app is built with great respect to organists, as well as having a clean, reliable and powerful interface. Well done! ### 5/5 — Works Phenomenally on Allen Organs! *2026-07-27* This app is a truly great tool for any organist! I almost exclusively play Allen Organs and the app works flawlessly on Allen Instruments. If you’re not using WatsonMIDI, you’re not getting the full potential out of your instrument! ### 5/5 — Solved our problem! *2026-07-25* Dusti Watson’s well-made app has really hit the mark at our church! We haven’t been able to afford an organist for a long time and we’ve been using an old diskette system to play hymns on our A. E. Schleuter organ. Now, all our hymns are digital and played through Bluetooth and Dusti’s app on an iPad. No more shuffling diskettes, frustrating Sunday morning button punching. Easy to use and versatile. Get it - you won’t regret it! ### 5/5 — Awesome App *2026-05-12* Dusti is an organ expert and this app shows off his expertise. As a new organist it has been so helpful as well as educational to have the ability to record, playback, and store my music. Long live the organ! Cheers and thank you! ### 5/5 — Very helpful if your church can’t find a full-time organist!! *2026-02-08* Our congregation is in a rural location and our organist retired so we found this app and found an organist to record our services for us so we can use our organ that we have!!! So grateful 💜🙏 ### 5/5 — MUCH needed App *2026-01-30* I just started using this app at three different organs, it works amazing for my church’s and allows me to play at multiple churches on sundays! ## Frequently asked questions about WatsonMIDI ### What is WatsonMIDI? WatsonMIDI is a professional application designed for recording and playing back MIDI data specifically for pipe and electronic organs. It allows musicians to capture performances, manage a library of recordings, and create playlists for various events. ### What are the different pricing tiers for WatsonMIDI? WatsonMIDI offers flexible one-time purchase options: Practice for $1.99 with 5 recordings, Audition for $49.99 with 50 recordings and folders, Recital for $199 with unlimited recordings, and Symphony for $499 with all features plus encrypted sharing. ### Does WatsonMIDI work with various types of organs and instruments? Yes, WatsonMIDI is universally compatible with any MIDI-enabled instrument, including pipe organs, digital organs, digital pianos, theater organs, virtual organs, and MIDI-capable keyboards and synthesizers. ### Can I share my recordings securely with WatsonMIDI? Yes, Symphony tier users can share recordings with military-grade AES-256 encryption. This includes setting usage controls like play limits and expiration dates to protect your intellectual property. ### How does WatsonMIDI handle connectivity? WatsonMIDI connects via Bluetooth MIDI or wired USB/Lightning adapters. It features auto-reconnect and separate MIDI routing, which is ideal for virtual instrument setups on Mac. ### What are the practice features in WatsonMIDI? For practice, WatsonMIDI offers instant transposition to shift playback without re-recording, tempo adjustment to speed up or slow down, and loop playback to repeat recordings continuously. It also includes a play-along mode. ### Is WatsonMIDI suitable for substitute organists? Absolutely. The service playlist feature allows you to arrange recordings in any order and play through them seamlessly, making it perfect for substitute organists or for planning and executing planned services. ### What is the age rating for WatsonMIDI? WatsonMIDI has an age rating of 4+, indicating it is suitable for users of all ages. The app is designed for musical professionals and enthusiasts. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.20.0 — 2026-08-22 Hymn Builder Build a complete hymn performance from your recordings. Plan your verses, set the order, and WatsonMIDI plays the assembled hymn straight through on your organ. Record an introduction, verses, and ending once, then reuse them across services. Re-Record in Place Replace any recording without losing its place in your library. Arm a recording from the Player or from the Library row menu, record your new take, and choose Replace or Discard when you stop. Title, folder, and service placements all stay put. Available on iPhone and iPad. Also in this release: refinements and fixes throughout recording, playback, and library management. Questions or feedback: support@watsonpipeorgan.com ### 1.18.0 — 2026-08-11 New in this release: Keyboard Mode plays recordings from any WatsonMIDI profiled pipe organ on your digital piano or keyboard, with stop changes filtered and the pedal line placed correctly. Also includes wrist-tuning display enhancements, improved pitch detection on soft stops, more accurate Library sorting, and general fixes. ### 1.17.7 — 2026-08-04 Add a Layer - Build a performance one part at a time. Play along with any recording in your library and WatsonMIDI combines what you play with the original into a new recording - the original is never changed. Add a pedal line, a descant, or a countermelody. Choose a slower practice speed while you record your part; the finished recording plays at full tempo. A count-in gets you started on the beat. On consoles with moving stop controls, draw the stops for your part before you begin - your registration is preserved when playback starts. Also in this version: New sharing options: choose your format when sharing recordings, and WatsonMIDI bundles now include organ profiles so recordings arrive ready to play Smaller shared files Improved responsiveness throughout the app A cleaner iPad layout - features appear when you're using them Cleaner audio preview in Listening Mode on certain instruments Connection improvements when multiple Apple devices are nearby ### 1.17.0 — 2026-07-27 TRANSLATION ENGINE IMPROVEMENTS Recordings translated between organs now sound more musical than ever. Stop matching has been substantially refined: chimes, celestes, tremulants, and percussion now only ever match their own kind, and pitch footages are matched strictly, so a translated registration lands the way an organist would draw it. Editing a translation map mid-session now cleanly resets the console before the new map takes over. SAVE A TEMPO FOR EVERY RECORDING Found the perfect tempo for a piece? Tap the pin next to the tempo slider and that recording plays at your tempo every time, on every visit. GENTLE STOP A new option in Settings: with Gentle Stop on, pressing Stop mid-piece lets the sounding notes ring out for a moment instead of cutting off sharply. Press Stop a second time for instant silence. SMOOTHER SERVICES AND PLAYLISTS - While music plays, tapping another playlist item queues it to begin the moment the current piece finishes. Tap it again to change your mind. - Pressing Stop clears anything still queued, so nothing unexpected plays later. - During playback, the player keeps your playlist and what's next together at the top of the screen. REBUILT MIDI MONITOR The monitor now captures all MIDI traffic in both directions from launch, tags every message, marks each piece in the log, and can email a complete diagnostic report to Watson support with one tap. ALSO IN THIS UPDATE - Improved support for larger Peterson ICS consoles: Stop now cancels every stop, and stop-change framing is preserved exactly in recording and playback. - Seek anywhere with the playback scrubber; stops, expression, and held notes restore at the new position. - Many smaller refinements and fixes. ### 1.16.1 — 2026-07-17 TIME-LIMITED SHARING (Symphony tier) Share a recording or playlist with an expiration date, from 3 months to a year, or any custom date you choose. Perfect for licensing your recordings to a church for a season rather than forever. Renewing is as simple as sharing again with a new date. SAVE YOUR TEMPO Every recording can now remember its own playback tempo. Adjust the tempo slider until a piece feels right, then tap the pin to save it. That recording will play at your saved tempo from then on, every time, until you change or clear it. CRESCENDO SHOE (Maestro tier) Control volume during playback with a true crescendo shoe. Author up to three named crescendo ladders on a profiled organ, each position holding a complete stop registration, then drag the shoe to swell or soften the sound in real time. SMARTER SEEKING Dragging the scrubber to a new position in a recording is faster and more reliable. The app now verifies and restores the correct stop registration before resuming playback, so seeking forward or backward always sounds right. IMPROVED TRIM Skip to First Note has been refined to collapse dead space between registration changes, not just before the first note. If you like to take your time pulling stops before playing, your recordings now start crisply without losing any of that registration. FIXES Playback no longer resets your organ's registration when a recording contains no stop changes. Recordings on unmapped MIDI channels now play correctly in Listening Mode ## Apps similar to WatsonMIDI | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [KQ Audio Player](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kq-audio-player/id6743190146) | 5.0 (1) | $4.99 | Music | | [Musk MIDI Keyboard](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musk-midi-keyboard/id781446125) | 3.0 (2) | $1.99 | Music | | [Pitea](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pitea/id683230702) | 5.0 (6) | $29.00 | Music | | [BureaMini](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bureamini/id922509811) | — | Free | Music | | [Autoharp](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autoharp/id366274361) | 3.8 (9) | $1.99 | Music | | [Allen GeniSys Remote](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/allen-genisys-remote/id1373791780) | 2.8 (9) | Free | Music | --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*