Audio · macOS

Densa Studio – Your USB Audio Interface, on Mac

Control your USB audio interface, record with a gain assistant, practise with tuner, metronome, loops, MIDI and e-drums, and export at YouTube loudness.

In development · v0.1.7 · Pricing at launch · macOS 13 or later

  • Device control: rate, buffer, latency, levels
  • 24-bit recording with a gain assistant
  • Tuner, metronome and backing tracks
  • Loop Station with MIDI and drum tracks
  • E-drums timing trainer, 88-key MIDI view
  • Export at −14, −16 or −23 LUFS, true-peak limited

Your interface, under control

Choose inputs and outputs, set the sample rate and buffer size and see the latency in milliseconds. Densa Studio follows your favourite interface when you plug it back in, shows per-channel level meters with peak hold and clip warnings, and sets the device as system default with one click. A menu bar icon switches device and sample rate without opening the window.

It works with the interfaces and DACs macOS sees as audio devices, from Focusrite, Behringer, MOTU, Audient, Topping and others. Maker-specific hardware functions, such as internal mixers, are not part of it.

Record without guessing the gain

Pick a mono input or a stereo pair and record 24-bit WAV at the interface’s own sample rate. Play for five seconds and the gain assistant tells you whether to turn the gain up or down. Instrument profiles for guitar, bass, piano and keys, vocals, drums, violin and strings and ukulele set the recording mode, the tuner range and connection tips.

Practise

  • Chromatic tuner from 30 to 1400 Hz with adjustable A4 (415–466 Hz), string guide and a five-second pitch trail for vibrato and stability
  • Metronome from 30 to 300 BPM with tap tempo and accented first beat
  • Backing tracks: tempo 50–150% without pitch change, transpose ±12 semitones, A–B loop

Loops, MIDI keyboards and e-drums

The Loop Station records MIDI and drum tracks in sync with the metronome, with overdub, quantise and undo, 23 built-in General MIDI sounds and a GM drum kit. Import audio loops (the tempo is read from the file name or estimated) or MIDI files, and export the result as a MIDI file.

A MIDI keyboard shows on an 88-key display with chord names and sustain pedal. Electronic drum kits light up pad by pad, with articulations, and a timing trainer measures how far ahead or behind the click you play.

Export, ready for YouTube

If a backing track played while you recorded, Studio mixes it under your take sample-accurately, with latency compensation. Export normalises to −14 LUFS (YouTube, Spotify), −16 (Apple Music, podcasts) or −23 (EBU R128) with a true-peak limiter, as 24-bit WAV or AAC, and reports the loudness before and after.

Roadmap

  • 0.2: video recording in sync with the interface audio (webcam or iPhone Continuity Camera), an AU plug-in chain with software monitoring, count-in
  • 0.3: loudspeaker Lab with signal generator, measurement microphone support, log-sweep frequency and impulse response, THD, waterfall, RTA and FRD/ZMA export

Densa Studio shares its measurement engine with Densa Mix Analyzer, so a take exported from Studio and checked in Mix Analyzer reads exactly the same.

Questions about Densa Studio

Which audio interfaces does Densa Studio work with?

Interfaces and DACs that macOS sees as audio devices, from Focusrite, Behringer, MOTU, Audient, Topping and others. Maker-specific hardware functions, such as internal mixers, are not part of it.

Can I hear myself through the app?

Not yet: use the direct monitoring of your interface, which has no latency. Software monitoring with amp-simulator plug-ins comes in version 0.2.

Is it only for guitarists?

No. Instrument profiles cover guitar, bass, piano and keys, vocals, drums, violin and strings and ukulele, and MIDI keyboards and electronic drum kits connect too.

Does it measure loudspeakers?

That is the Lab, planned for version 0.3: signal generator, measurement microphone, log-sweep frequency and impulse response, THD, waterfall, RTA and FRD/ZMA export.