Sessions is the performance-oriented plug-in host that puts all your virtual instruments and effects at your fingertips. With powerful features and a streamlined workflow, musicians can enjoy ultimate freedom to explore, create, play and perform without a DAW.
Refreshingly straightforward, Sessions is designed to keep you ‘in the moment’ however you make music. Thanks to the fluid drag-and-drop interface and innovations like the Always-On Recorder, producers, songwriters and sound designers can quickly experiment with new ideas and jump-start the creative process. For live players, Sessions has everything you need for an impromptu jam or a professional stage performance including MIDI layers and splits, flexible audio mixing, seamless sound switching, MIDI control, Ableton Link support and so much more…
COMPATIBILITY
* AUv2* and AUv3 instrument and effect plug-ins
* Mac / iPad compatible multi-channel audio interfaces
* MIDI keyboards and controllers
* MPE controllers and plug-ins
MIXER
* Unlimited Audio Input, Instrument and Auxiliary Channels
* 1 Master Output Channel per Scene
* Unlimited effect plug-ins on each Channel
* Channels can be routed to Plug-in Side Chain inputs
* 8 sends per Channel, switchable pre / post fader
* Auxiliary Channels can be routed to independent external outputs
MIDI
* Layers and splits using MIDI device, channel, note and velocity
* Note transposition on each Instrument Channel
* MIDI CC control for switching Scenes and controlling Macros, Start/Stop and more
PLUG-INS AND WIDGETS
* Plug-ins are represented in the Mixer by Widgets
* Widgets can be customized with knobs, sliders and switches to control up to 12 plug-in parameters
* Over 30 beautiful Widget themes, many inspired by the classic hardware of yesteryear
* Flexible Mixer / Plug-in split screen options: auto-sized, fixed 50/50 or full width
* A plug-in’s own UI can be displayed in the main app window or in separate floating windows*
SCENES
* 12 Scenes, each with its own independent Mixer
* Seamless switching between Scenes
* Seamless layering using Pinned Scenes
* Session Mix view for ‘big-button’ Scene switching and pinning
* Customizable with color, icon and name
MACROS
* 16 Macro Controls and 1 Big Knob per Scene
* Macros auto-map to the first 16 Widget parameters by default
* Macros can be configured to control multiple parameters, each with its own scale and range
PATCHES AND PROJECTS
* Save individual Channels and Scenes to the Patch Library
* Save the content of all 12 Scenes, Macros and the Beat Clock as a Project file
* Move Patches and Projects between Mac and iPad (third party plug-in availably may vary between platforms)
RECORDING
* The Always-On Recorder continuously records the last 5, 10 or 15 minutes
* Loop playback of recorded or selectable region
* Export recorded or selectable region as M4A or WAV
* Manual direct-to-file recorder for recordings of unlimited duration
BEAT CLOCK
* Start / Stop, Tempo and Time Signature controls
* Internal, Ableton Link and external MIDI clock sources
* Metronome with selectable tick sound
PLUG-IN LIBRARY
* Separate tabs for Instruments and Effects
* Independent Search and Favorites filter in each tab
* Organise Plug-ins alphabetically or grouped by manufacturer
* Hide unwanted plug-ins using the Plug-In Manager
AND MORE…
* Highly efficient multi-threaded audio engine
* Automatic Plug-in latency compensation
* CPU meter
* iPad background audio
* Bluetooth Audio / MIDI
* Keyboard shortcuts*
* Light and Dark modes
* Safe Start to help troubleshoot problematic plug-ins
* Feature only available on macOS
Promotional materials depict Sessions hosting Audio Units from third party manufacturers. These Audio Units are not included with Sessions and no endorsement from or affiliation with these manufacturers is implied. All trademarks from these manufacturers are property of their respective holders.
I've wanted an app like this for a long time, and I was so stoked when I finally found this one. The ability to experiment with plugins, including creating crazy signal chains without all the clutter of a DAW is fantastic. The ability to design awesome patches by chaining plugins and then favoriting them is also incredible. The fact that it not only gives you the ability to record, but prerecords for an extended period are absolutely brillialnt features. All of that said, there are a few features I would really love to see added.1.) MIDI recording. Just going right along with audio. For those of us who love to stack synths and layer sounds, or for the times that you happen upon an excellent riff or groove, with spot on improvisational performance, but you would like to try it with different synths/patches or whatever. It seems like this would be a relatively easy feature to add, and it would take this app to another level. Particularly if you could route the MIDI pre or post, in case you're using an arpegiator app or something in your signal chain.2.) The ability to either export signal chains to DAW, run Sessions as a plugin in a DAW (achieving basically the same effect) and/or connect Sessions to a softsampler in a DAW to capture an awesome signal chain you have come up with in Sessions without having to go through and recreate it to be able to use it in a production.So yeah, this app is awesome, and totally worth acquiring, but it could get even better with a few additions. Thanks so much to the developers for making this rad app.
Exactly what I was looking for!
Double nope
Excellent App in every respect. It works (for me at least) flawlessly, and to be honest, there are very few apps I can say that about. It is straight forward, does what it is made for and keeps it at that which is perfect. It doesn’t need any bells and whistles added because the plug ins which you already have are the bells and whistles. It presents them in an organized way too. Leave the music creation apps for when you need them. This app is in a category by itself. Thanks Devs, very well done!
Has potential but there’s a big bug
iospoweruserz
I downloaded this app recently and immediately started testing it and using it. It works as advertised, and it is very user friendly, to my surprise. This is perhaps one of the easiest interfaces out there to understand. However, the page where you can activate a sound or pin sounds (to continue to play the sound regardless of main sound being played) seems to be memory intensive, and when switching sounds within that page I get audio drops vs experiencing seamless transitions consistently. I have the latest iPad m5, with 12 gigs of ram, so I’m sure that minor coding on the development side can fix this.
MainStage (Lite) for iOS
iOSjjap
Less powerful than Camelot and keystage (no backing tracks, sending midi to your lights, displaying lyrics, etc) and not the infinite routing of AUM/apematrix. But it’s by far the most apple design, and requires only one tutorial vid instead of 10. Roadmap promises midi generator, etc, support, better performance, and more. I’m happy to support it now because it’s what I prefer to use and the fastest to get going when I just want to play. Though, unexpectedly, jumping between this and AUM has made me better at both.
Sessions 7.0 introduces support for Plug-in Side Chains.
Many Plug-ins, such as vocoders and compressors, feature a Side Chain input which allows them to ‘listen’ to an audio signal to control some aspect of their internal behaviour.
Sessions 7.0 adds a Side Chain picker to the Plug-in Widget menu. From here, you can select which Channel Strip output you want to connect to the Side Chain input of the Plug-in.
Sessions will never interrupt you to ask for a review - we don’t like being interrupted either! However, App Store ratings and reviews are important, so if you are enjoying Sessions and have a spare minute, we’d be delighted if you could leave a rating or review on the App Store. Thanks!
Version 7.0
The developer, Open Planet Software, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More