From Berkeley, California, Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI) announced the iPad and iPhone software release for SoftStep, along with a standalone version of the SoftStep.

First of all, what is it? The SoftStep is a USB / MIDI multi-touch foot controller that can be used with effects racks, major software programs, and more. The compact unit weighs in at just over a pound and is slim enough to fit into most laptop and guitar cases. In addition to its small footprint, the SoftStep features ten sensor keys that support five degrees of motion such as up / down, left / right, inc / dec, pressure, and rotary motions that can be preprogrammed to control effects, software, or multimedia. The SoftStep also has a four-direction navigation pedal, an alphanumeric LED display, and backlit keys. The SoftStep is made with rugged silicone and carbon fiber.

The new iPad and iPhone software release allows you to use the SoftStep as a mult-touch foot controller for your favorite musical apps on the iPad and iPhone. SoftStep for iPad / iPhone provides ten multi-touch keys that are each responsive to pressure and X-Y motion, allowing you to control transport functions such as record, rewind, fast forward, and stop. For software synthesizers, the SoftStep’s keys can modulate filters, panning, volume, and trigger loops.

Connecting through the 30-pin USB camera interface, the SoftStep is iOS class-compliant and no custom drivers are required. The unit can be powered remotely using no current from the iPad or other iOS device.

In addition, the SoftStep provides MIDI In and Out hardware ports for connecting to MIDI devices using the optional MIDI expander. A stereo jack allows you to use of expression pedals or a Control Voltage for even more flexibility. The SoftStep essentially makes the iPad a stage instrument / music production studio, offering MIDI instrument connectivity and expressive control of apps.

KMI has also released the standalone version of SoftStep, which allows the unit to control MIDI keyboards or FX processors without the use of a computer.

A Gearwire review of SoftStep is available here.

KMI's SoftStep is now available for $289 (MSRP) and the optional SoftStep MIDI Expander is available for $49.95. For more information, visit keithmcmillen.com.