Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good.
— Malcolm Gladwell — *Outliers*
PatchJournal is the second version of the DFAM companion iOS app — the step from AR experiment to something genuinely useful. The first version put augmented reality on the control panel, projecting preset information directly onto the hardware. This one adds what makes the app worth keeping open between sessions: one-tap patch storage and recall across the complete DFAM parameter set, with the AR layer retained alongside it.
Building and releasing the app was equally about learning the full pipeline — not just development, but everything that comes after: landing page, explainer video, App Store submission, pricing, monetisation strategy. Having done it once, I now know what the distance from prototype to published product actually looks like.
Patch Storage and Recall
Moog DFAM patches are saved into named preset slots with a single tap. Every parameter is captured — switch positions, knob values, patch cable routing — stored in a single record on the device. Recalling a preset brings the full configuration back instantly, so a sound that took an afternoon to develop takes seconds to return to. The idea is simple: spend less time dialling in, more time making music.
Full Parameter Coverage
Every control on the DFAM surface is covered. Nothing is omitted or approximated — the app stores the complete state of the instrument in one place, on a device that is always nearby. For a synthesizer with no patch memory of its own, it fills an obvious gap.
Augmented Reality Layer
The AR function from the original app carries over intact. Aim the iPhone or iPad at the DFAM control panel and it detects the hardware automatically, overlaying the stored preset values directly onto the physical interface — each parameter shown in context, exactly where it lives on the panel. It is the fastest way to dial in a recalled patch without checking a screen separately from the instrument.
Publishing Pipeline
This was the first time I took an app all the way to the App Store. Development is one discipline; release is another. Writing App Store copy, producing the explainer video, designing the landing page, setting a price, navigating the review process — each of those is its own body of knowledge. PatchJournal is as much a study of that pipeline as it is a music tool.
Tools
- Xcode
- Swift
- ARKit
- Unity
- VS Code
- Adobe CC
- Moog DFAM