Have you ever wanted to turn your phone into a MIDI controller? You’re in luck – Michael Moalem recently released his MIDI CC Phone Controller for Android for free!
Moalem had been in need of a cheap, wireless, and portable XY controller for certain plugins in his DAW. He didn’t find what he was looking for and decided to make it himself.
The initial concept has been fleshed out to include two connection methods and three operating modes.
The two connection methods are WiFi and USB, and the app only works with Android
The USB is the simplest solution, offering a low-latency standard plug-and-play experience.
WiFi requires an additional VST3 plugin that can be downloaded from Moalem’s website and some basic configurations to connect everything together.
Your phone and your laptop need to be connected to the same network. You can then enter your computer’s IP address into the app.
If you should encounter any problems, Moalem’s website features a handy step-by-step guide to set up everything, including DAW-specific tips for routing and recording MIDI data.
MIDI CC Phone Controller has a clear and simple UI with three main operating modes: sliders, XY pad, and motion control
Depending on whether your phone is in portrait or landscape mode, you’ll get two or four sliders, respectively.
The XY pad is a standard two-dimensional parameter control.
Motion control uses your phone’s tilt (pitch and roll) to generate MIDI CC data. This is by far the most experimental approach, and it seems like a fun way to get plugins to behave unexpectedly and to infuse some randomness into your productions.
The VST3 plugin extension has an interface that shows MIDI input activity and four output CC lanes where you can assign any MIDI CC number between 1 and 127. Neat!
The greatest thing about this is, of course, the incredible flexibility it provides. Perhaps you’re out travelling or in another situation where you don’t have access to your gear. Use your phone!
Do a noise improv on your commute to work by controlling certain things with your mousepad and additional instruments or other effects with your phone. That’s double the fun.
The plugin is not only free of charge, but it’s also completely free of ads, which is even better.
However, if this is exactly the kind of tool that you’ve been looking for, you could always opt to donate a reasonable amount directly to the developer.
We’re lucky to have people constantly providing us with innovative solutions and great plugins for free, making it easy to take them for granted.
MIDI CC Phone Control VST3 plugin for WiFi connection between your computer and phone can be downloaded from Moalem’s official website.
Download: MIDI CC Phone Control (FREE – Android ONLY)
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Last Updated on June 23, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
