What if every track in your session could talk back?
Chatty Channels transforms your DAW into a collaborative studio environment by placing a lightweight AIplayer plugin on each channel, turning instruments into responsive band members. The master bus hosts an AIengineer with years of mixing expertise, while the Control Room SwiftUI app hosts an AIproducer fueled by various AI models (OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, and Grok), orchestrating your Logic Pro session through AppleScript and MIDI.
Simply tell the kick drum to "lower the volume by 3 dB," ask the bass to solo itself, or request the engineer to "add more reverb to the lead vocal"—all using natural language while your song continues playing.
Chatty Channels revolutionizes music production by enabling multi-agent AI collaboration within professional DAW environments. Rather than replacing human creativity, it enhances your workflow by creating a virtual collaborative studio:
- AI Musicians on Channels: Specialized entities that understand their instruments and respond to nuanced direction
- AI Engineer on Master Bus: Provides real-time mixing suggestions and technical guidance
- Producer in the Control Room: Central application where you direct the session with natural language
Unlike standalone AI music generators, Chatty Channels integrates seamlessly into your existing Logic Pro workflow, preserving creative control while adding collaborative intelligence.
Chatty Channels is developed in the open, building on the developer's two decades of open source experience and 10 years as a sound engineer. Previous projects include GPSTracker, which has garnered over 2.2 million downloads since 2007.
- Production-Grade Code: Comprehensive DocC/Doxygen documentation, automated CI testing, and robust error handling
- Modular Architecture: Built with SwiftUI, JUCE, and OSC to enable contributors to easily add new AI personas, effects, or DAW integrations
- Community-Focused: Designed for long-term support and active community engagement
sequenceDiagram
participant LP as Logic Pro
participant AP as AIplayer (AU)
participant CR as Control Room.app
participant LLM as Remote LLM (o3)
Note over AP: per‑track RMS / FFT
AP-->>CR: OSC /telemetry {rms:-18dB, bands:[-6,-12,-18,-24]}
CR-->>LP: AppleScript set fader "Kick" -3.0
LP--)CR: ok
CR-)AP: OSC /query rms?
AP-->>CR: OSC /telemetry {rms:-21dB, bands:[-9,-15,-21,-27]}
CR-->>LLM: producer‑prompt JSON
LLM-->CR: reply
- AIplayer: Lightweight sensor on every channel that streams RMS/FFT data and responds to queries
- Control Room: Orchestration UI and producer-AI that manipulates parameters via AppleScript/MIDI
- Remote LLM: Supports multiple LLM providers (OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, and Grok) with model-agnostic architecture
- PID Feedback: Closed-loop system that verifies changes through plugin confirmation
The Control Room is where the AI Producer (known as "soundsmith" or "smitty") lives and where you interact with both the producer and your project. The interface features vintage-inspired design reminiscent of classic Neve 1073 console styling, complete with authentic TEAC-style VU meters for monitoring levels. The chat interface allows for natural language communication with the AI Producer, who can then orchestrate changes across your session.
| Target | Core risk retired | Key deliverable | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| v0.5 | H1 AppleScript round‑trip, H3 OSC latency, H4 PID maths | Kick‑track closed‑loop demo | ✅ Completed Apr 27, 2025 |
| v0.6 | H2 track‑UUID mapping, UI functionality | VU meters, Multi-LLM provider support | ✅ Completed May 7, 2025 |
| v0.7 | H3 UDP retry logic | Real-time VU Meter Data & OSC Reliability | ✅ Completed Jun 14, 2025 |
| v0.8 | H5 lazy FFT, band‑energy payload | Telemetry v1.1 | ✅ Completed Jun 19, 2025 |
| v0.9 | H6 LLM JSON schema | Strict validator + prompt templates | Planned |
| v1.0 (ALPHA) | Full NVFE pass | Public alpha release | Planned |
(Full backlog & risk matrix available in docs/plan.md.)
- macOS 14+
- Logic Pro 10.7+
- Xcode 16.2+
- JUCE 7 (for AU plugin development)
- Python 3.11 (for build scripts)
git clone https://github.com/nickfox/chatty-channels.git
cd chatty-channels
git submodule update --init --recursive # pulls JUCExcodebuild -project ChattyChannels.xcodeproj -scheme ControlRoom
# Or open in Xcode and build the ControlRoom scheme-
Build the plugin:
cd AIplayer/AIplayer/Builds/MacOSX xcodebuild -project AIplayer.xcodeproj -target "AIplayer - AU" -configuration Debug
-
Install the plugin:
mkdir -p ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components cp -r build/Debug/AIplayer.component ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/
-
Validate the installation:
auval -v aufx Dm4q Manu
-
Debug with Logic Pro:
- Open the AIplayer Xcode project
- Select the "AIplayer - AU" scheme
- In scheme settings, set the executable to Logic Pro.app
- Run the scheme to launch Logic Pro with the plugin in debug mode
- Natural language control of Logic Pro parameters
- Real-time adjustments with PID control for precision
- Low-latency OSC communication (182ms round-trip time)
- AppleScript integration with playback safety mechanisms
- Direct AI command processing pipeline
- Comprehensive documentation and test coverage
- Image-based stereo VU meters (TEAC style) with realistic needle ballistics
- Peak indicator LED implementation
- Multi-LLM provider support (OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, Grok)
- "Soundsmith" producer persona (responds to "smitty")
- Configuration system for provider selection
- Real-time RMS telemetry from AIplayer plugins at 24 Hz
- Sophisticated calibration system for track-to-plugin mapping
- Accessibility-based Logic Pro control (volume, mute)
- Dynamic port management (9000-9999) supporting 1000+ plugins
- SQLite persistence for track mappings
- OSC retry mechanism with sequence numbering
- 137 Hz test tone generator for calibration
- Comprehensive test harness with mock OSC listener
- Simple track IDs (TR1, TR2) for efficient communication
- Architecture & Risk Backlog —
docs/plan.md - Iteration Diary —
docs/iterations.md
Found a bug? Open an issue.
Pull requests are welcome!
Please open a Discussion before starting significant work to ensure alignment with the risk-driven roadmap.
Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE.
Chatty Channels is an independent project; Logic Pro® and related marks are property of Apple Inc.