Capable of sending, receiving and configuring Midi in-app, without the need for additional software, dgApps’ Doris is a Midi controller designed specifically for sound engineers and playback engineers.
Doris began life as a replacement for a soon to be discontinued app that was being used by Gorillaz Playback Engineer, Dave Guerin, but quickly became much more.
Out on tour, Guerin found himself needing more macros than he had buttons on the console, prompting the development of an app that can control as many Midi devices as needed, via Midi USB interfaces and over Bluetooth, storing Midi commands as buttons in user assigned pages, all easily accessible and laid out.
‘The first public beta version of Doris was released in 2023,’ Guerin says. ‘I’ve done 14 beta versions since then and our first full App Store release came in June 2024. During the development time, as well as touring worldwide with Blur, I have also written two more apps, Timothy, a speaking clock for Apple Watch, and TruckPack, an app for listing the order of your flightcases as they go on the truck.’
As a long-time touring monitor engineer for Blur and Gorillaz, Guerin’s real-world experience that has informed his approach to app design. As a result Doris is a straightforward, reliable app that will do exactly what is required.
Six programmable types of button are available: Note On/Off will send a note, either with a momentary touch, with the off command being fired on release, or with the next touch, as required.
Control Change and Program Change buttons are fully configurable, and the multiple Midi button is capable of sending multiple commands with a single touch – either simultaneously or sequentially. In addition, each button is also customisable visually, from colour and size to text weight and background colour. There are also spacer buttons that are only visible in edit mode, to ensure the screen is designed exactly desired. A flash function ensures that users are alerted to the success of a Midi command. Each button will flash when Midi is received, or for a specific programmable event, in a variety of scenarios. Midi Commands can be sent directly from the app, via Bluetooth or USB, to multiple devices from the same project.
Project files can be duplicated and shared with all the usual iPhone/iPad share options. If additional projects are needed when touring with more than one band, or mixing shows in rep, Doris can store multiple projects at once, all within the app.
Hope Andrea is Playback Engineer for The Script 2024 tour, using Doris to not only control parts of the monitor engineers’ DiGiCo console, but also to trigger actions in her DirectOut Prodigy.MP. ‘I find the Multi Midi buttons really useful and use them to trigger multiple actions within my interfaces at once. The Flash buttons are great for when I want confirmation a device has received the Midi message, or to monitor interface states.’
Guerin has also used the app multiple times, most recently with Little Simz, controlling crew talkback and IEM feeds. ‘I ended up writing over 60 macros on the desk, all controlled by Midi from Doris – not just for talk-back but for IEM testing and more,’ he says. ‘It’s a great, stable app and I know other engineers, techs and musicians are definitely going to enjoy using it, too.’
Doris can be found in the Apple App Store and is available for €9.99/£8.99/US$8.99 per month or €99.99/£89.99/US$89.99 per year.
