Sidecar MIDI Controller vs Circa Looper

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.

IMPORTANT: Circa is an AUv3 plugin. It requires an AUv3 host such as AUM (recommended), Garageband, Logic, or Cubase. It will not run on its own. Circa is a six-layer stereo looping instrument for iPad, built for players and producers who want a looper that does more than loop. Each layer is independent, fully modulatable, and deeply controllable, with a touch-first interface designed for live performance and studio exploration alike.Inspired by modern loopers like the BOSS RC-505 and MLRE on the Monome Norns, Circa pairs the playability of a hardware looper with the routing and modulation of a serious production tool. Capture a spontaneous take, carve it up with slices, pitch it, scrub it, route it through built-in effects, and let gesture recorders play your UI back like a second instrument. SIX LAYERS Six independent stereo loop layers, each with its own transport, sync mode, trigger mode, filter, and effect sends. Layers can sync to the host, sync to a master loop, or run free. Triggers can fire on sync, on audio input, or freely. Record from the stereo input or self-record through an internal buss for feedback loops and generative behavior. TOUCH-FIRST PERFORMANCE Dedicated pages for Speeds and Positions let you perform loops with your hands. The position strip can be divided into slices for chopped playback. Speed, position, filter, and sends are all continuous and playable. Damper, scrub, and slice controls are built for tactile manipulation, not mouse input. GESTURE RECORDERS Six UI loopers that record and play back your actual control movements. Almost every parameter in Circa can be captured as a gesture, then looped or played as a one-shot. Trim silence from the front, toggle loop mode, or fire gestures from MIDI. Build evolving performances without touching the interface twice. MODULATION Deep modulation across the plugin. Continuous targets include layer delay and reverb sends, output levels, A/B selectors, play position, and more. Momentary targets cover mute, solo, and toggle states. Assign multiple modulators to any target and build performances that develop on their own. FULL MIDI CONTROL A complete MIDI controller system with continuous, momentary, and hold assignments. Use any controller to drive most of Circa's functions. MIDI modulation assignments light up briefly when triggered, so you can see your rig working at a glance. BUILT-IN EFFECTS Studio-grade reverb, delay, parametric EQ, and compressor drawn from Audio Damage's effect library. Send any layer to reverb and delay independently, then route through the stereo bus EQ and compressor on the way out. SEVEN OUTPUTS Six assignable stereo outputs plus a dedicated cue output. Send any layer to any output. Solo, record, and edit through the cue bus without the audience hearing. CROSS-PLATFORM PRESETS Circa's user presets are XML-based and cross-platform. A preset made on iOS opens on macOS, Windows, or Linux, and vice versa. Sessions built in GarageBand or Logic on iOS open on desktop if you have a license to the desktop version. WHAT'S INCLUDED Six independent stereo loop layers Slice-based position playback Gesture recorders for UI automation Continuous and momentary modulation system Full MIDI controller mapping Built-in reverb, delay, EQ, and compressor Six assignable stereo outputs plus cue Cross-platform XML preset format AUv3 plugin for iPad Also available as a desktop plugin for macOS, Windows, and Linux in VST3, AU, AAX, and CLAP formats at audiodamage.com.