touch interface / portable device support

[The Lo-Am Allstars]

This is another waaay-in-the-future idea, and probably one you've already considered, but. Since you're already cross-platform, the next logical step is cross-device, and tomorrow... THE WORLD!
So yeah, ipad and android tablet support. The channel interface is pretty much already perfectly laid out for touch screens. Probably too hard to try to fit it on a phone screen (and why would you want to, anyway), but it'd be dope on a tablet.

Loving the increased stability and multi-channel output support for VSTs, by the way. Hoping to be able to test the new midi clock features shortly, once some little cables and chips arrive from overseas.

[FFT]

This is a hot topic!

Basically we are facing two main issues under the hood: both FLTK and Rt* libraries do not support mobile devices, moreover VST2.x is officially dead (and didn't work on mobile, as well). We are deciding what should be done: for now the quickest scenario would be keeping Giada on desktop devices and build a new, dedicated, mobile MIDI controller. Giada would stay on your PC, controlled via tablets, phones or anything else.

On the other side there is SDL, a cross platform library which also supports Android and iOS. It also provides Audio and MIDI functionality. It would take a little more time to port Giada from FLTK to SDL, but the gains would be far greater. SDL is really sexy and we are seriously considering this approach.

By the way both scenarios require VST3 implementation, which possibly brings VSTs also on mobile devices.

Suggestions are welcome as always

[The Lo-Am Allstars]

for now the quickest scenario would be keeping Giada on desktop devices and build a new, dedicated, mobile MIDI controller

Touchscreen remote control - great idea!

[Aliraza173]

That'd work great!

[zipoh45]

Let's get back to the idea of a touch interface, but not one necessarily linked to a tablet/phone device.

Sure the tablet is already a touch interface, but we can see Giada won't itself port to a mobile device. Now, it would be way cool to be able to plug my tablet into my computer via usb and suddenly have a touch-interface midi keyboard or midi controller available. Maybe this is already possible! This case would already work with Giada, as Giada can be controlled by midi events.

Really though, I think a brand-new touch interface which was even more geared toward ease-of-use during performance would be great addition to this software. It would be used on touch-screen laptops I figure.

What I am picturing is something looking like those new physical midi controllers that are just a grid array of huge pushbuttons. But in my view, the buttons are more like rocker switches, which can be pushed on the top or bottom. These buttons would be able to change colors, become highlighted to indicate the state, and change labelling. Each button would represent a channel. You would see the state of the channel at a glance.

Maybe the buttons can be shifted around in the grid, by dragging. Maybe when the channel is empty --- it's gone! Need another channel? Pull an emtpy one up from the bottom and set it to sample, and away you go.

Here's something else I need in a new interface: to group channels together into verse, chorus, break, ect. Then have the midi clock keep track of what part of the song I am in, and as it changes, mute/unmute various channels as necessary.

[FFT]

Really though, I think a brand-new touch interface which was even more geared toward ease-of-use during performance would be great addition to this software. It would be used on touch-screen laptops I figure. [...]

I totally agree with the ease-of-use approach, as with the ability to shift things around the grid and adding new widgets - buttons, sliders, knobs, ... It' like building your own custom controller.

We decided to take the mobile approach because:

1) the device itself becomes a physical controller, with touch-screen support and the coolness of portability;
2) we have the opportunity to touch the mobile scenario and its "marketing benefits". "Giada doesn't work on mobile!" -> "yes but you can control it with a super cool app on your phone";
3) the controller can work as a standalone app, since it's basically a MIDI sender/receiver.

Having said that, the app must be cross-platform, so you can use it on the same machine where Giada is installed.

Here's something else I need in a new interface: to group channels together into verse, chorus, break, ect.

Yes, it's already planned in our roadmap