Who needs a MIDI controller when you’ve got an iPhone? Play and record MIDI all from this versatile app for your iOS devices.

Ribn is an iOS app that works as a MIDI controller with 8 assignable ribbons. You can assign a unique MIDI channel and CC (Continuous Controller) to each ribbon if your gear is responsive to MIDI CC messages allowing you to control your instruments, effects, racks or any other devices you have.

The Ribn app is unique in it’s ability to record and loop finger movements so you can create repeating modulations for synths and effects like a complex LFO. The app works simply by using a MIDI interface, wired or bluetooth, to connect your iOS device to MIDI gear and then selecting your interface in the app’s settings. Then you can find out which CC and MIDI channel your gear responds to and enter this in Ribn’s edit view. Then just tap and slide your fingers to control your gear.

Ribn’s features include:

• 8 MIDI CC ribbon pads
• Add modulation to your MIDI hardware synths, effects, eurorack modulars, drum machines, etc.
• Configurable MIDI channel and CC# per ribbon
• Ribbons record and loop your finger movement
• Looping can be turned off to enable standard ribbon sliders
• Choose 2, 4 or 8 ribbons
• Use a wired MIDI interface, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi
• All settings are saved automatically
• Works on iPhone (including iPhone X) and iPad

Examples of how it can be used: 

• Control hardware MIDI synths parameters like the filter cutoff frequency, resonance, oscillator octave, etc.
• Control any soft synth in Ableton Live (or your favorite DAW) by connecting your iOS device to your Mac via Wi-Fi and choosing “Session 1” as the MIDI output in Ribn.
• Control your Eurorack modules by running Ribn through a MIDI to CV converter.
• Control drum machines and effects. For example, try controlling the room size of a reverb effect unit with a looping ribbon or the snappiness of a snare drum on a drum machine. The possibilities are endless.
• Daisy chain your MIDI hardware using MIDI Thru ports and assign each ribbon to a different MIDI channel. This way you can control more than one piece of hardware at a time. For example, you can assign the first 4 ribbons to a synth and the last 4 to an effect unit.

You can get Ribn on iPad and iPhone from the Apple App Store for just $0.99/£0.99/€1.09.