Watcher

Name: Watcher
Price: 24.99 USD
Author: Dystopian Waves

by Dystopian Waves · Utility · Background audio and MIDI recorder

Not rated yet

Watcher records audio and MIDI continuously in the background so you never lose an idea, with a buffer from 1 to 60 minutes.

You can browse, mark and drag takes into the DAW, and it costs $9.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Guitars, Vocals, Sound Design. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: sound design, standalone app, keys, MIDI-controllable, electric guitar, mixing, open source, resizable UI, simple, synths, utility, vocals.

What it does

Watcher keeps a rolling recording of everything you play, audio and MIDI together, so a good improvisation is still there after you stop. It runs in the background inside a DAW or as a standalone app.

Continuous capture: background recording of audio and MIDI into a circular buffer of 1 to 60 minutes.
System audio: version 1.4.0 adds recording of system audio, in the standalone app or inside the DAW.
Browsing: waveform and MIDI note displays with zoom, an Informational Takes menu, and peak, RMS, chord and key readouts for each recording.
Good Take markers: mark a moment from a footswitch, MIDI controller or computer keyboard.
Export: drag audio or MIDI to the DAW or desktop, from one second to several minutes, with automatic silence trimming.
Audio to MIDI: transcribes recorded audio to MIDI with the open-source Basic Pitch model.

Version 1.4.0 has a resizable interface. The developer's Gumroad store lists it at a reduced price from earlier.

Source: Dystopian Waves product page

When to use it

Watcher is the better pick when you want a safety net that records both audio and MIDI without arming tracks. Compared with Ableton Live's Capture MIDI or Cubase's Retrospective Record, it also keeps the audio, so takes from a guitar, a mic or a hardware synth are covered too. It works across any host and as a standalone app, rather than being tied to one DAW. Its audio-to-MIDI transcription and key and chord readouts also go beyond a plain capture buffer.

Best for: jamming and improvising without hitting record, and catching ideas during practice or sound design.
Genres: any style.
Look elsewhere if: you only need MIDI and your DAW already has it; Ableton Live's Capture MIDI or Cubase's Retrospective Record cover that for free.
Tip: use the smart crop on export so captured files start on the DAW's bar lines, which a KVR user found a real time saver.

What producers say

Early feedback is small but positive, centred on reliability and price.

KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 1 review (July 2026, version 1.0.5), praising it as simple and elegant, the single instance that records both MIDI and audio, and the smart crop that aligns files to DAW bars; the reviewer called it "a must have" and noted a responsive developer.
The Beat Community covered the 1.4.0 update, which added system audio recording and Basic Pitch audio-to-MIDI, and the price drop; it gave no verdict of its own.

Where to buy

Dystopian Waves: $24.99

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