Anima RCU
A free remote control for the Prodigy Engineering Anima, Cella and Bella preamps. Gain, +48V, pad, polarity, mute and more from your Mac, over USB.
Your Prodigy units, in one window
Each unit appears the moment you plug it in, styled like its front panel. A unit that isn't connected stays dimmed and locked, so nothing is ever sent to the wrong box.
Anima · 8 channels
Gain 18 to 70 dB per channel, +48V, pad, polarity and mute, the Select buttons, Select All / Clear, grouped gain that keeps channel offsets, presets and a power-button reset.
Cella · 2 channels
The same controls plus DI, with its own 12 to 36 dB gain range, a push-to-select knob, presets and a power-button reset.
Bella · 500 series
The interface is built, including the 78 Hz high-pass filter. The app only listens to the Bella until its USB messages are confirmed on real hardware, then control switches on in an update.
Made for the studio
Behaves the way the hardware does, so it feels familiar from the first click.
Two-way
Turn a knob on the unit and the app follows. Change something in the app and the unit follows.
Select like the hardware
Pick channels à la carte or all at once. Selected channels move together and stop when any one reaches its limit.
Mouse wheel
Scroll over a gain display or a knob to step the gain. Drag works too, and so do the arrow keys.
Presets
Save and recall every channel of a unit under a name. Each unit keeps its own list.
Safe by design
+48V always asks first, mute is sent last, and a unit that isn't connected ignores everything.
Native and quick
A real Mac app built on CoreMIDI. No drivers, no account, no network, nothing collected.
Free, with optional support
Anima RCU is free to download and use, and always will be. If it earns a place in your studio and you'd like to say thanks, you can send any amount you like. It doesn't unlock anything. It just keeps the updates coming, including Bella control.
Support with PayPalYou choose the amount on PayPal. Thank you.
Questions
Can I try it without a unit?
Yes. When no unit is connected, a green DEMO button appears at the bottom of the window. It fills every unit with sample settings so you can click around. Nothing is sent anywhere, and plugging in a real unit switches demo mode off.
How do I install it?
Open the downloaded AnimaRCU.dmg and drag Anima RCU to Applications. It's signed and notarized, so macOS opens it without warnings. Connect each unit to your Mac with a USB cable; it appears in the app within a second.
Why does the gain move in 3 dB steps?
Over USB the units follow Avid's PRE-style remote protocol, which sets gain in 3 dB steps from 18 to 70 dB. The knob on the unit itself still clicks in 1 dB, and the app follows it. Finer steps from the Mac aren't something the units accept.
Why is the Bella "listen only"?
The Bella hasn't been tested with the app yet because it needs a USB mini-B cable. The app shows what the Bella reports but never sends to it until its messages are confirmed, so a wrong guess can't change its settings.
Does it work with the Ethernet port on the Anima?
No. Everything goes over USB MIDI. The Ethernet port stayed silent on every network test, and its purpose is unknown.
The app can't find my unit.
Use a USB data cable (not a power-only cable) and plug the unit straight into the Mac if you can. In Terminal, system_profiler SPUSBDataType | grep -i -E "anima|cella|bella" should list it. Then click the unit's power button in the app to look again.
Is this an official Prodigy Engineering product?
No. Prodigy Engineering no longer exists. Anima RCU is an independent app, made so these preamps stay usable on current Macs, and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Prodigy Engineering, Avid or Apple. All product names belong to their owners.
Release notes
1.3.0October 30, 2026
- Demo mode: try the app with sample settings, no unit needed
1.2.1October 30, 2026
- Bella lettering is larger and darker, and a disconnected Bella is dimmed like the others
1.2.0October 30, 2026
- Bella (500 series) module added, listen-only until verified
- Mouse-wheel and trackpad gain
- No +48V warning for a unit that isn't connected
1.1.0October 29, 2026
- Cella support with DI, presets and reset, stacked above the Anima
- Gain reaches 70 dB; disconnected units are locked
1.0.0October 28, 2026
- First release: Anima control over USB MIDI, presets, hardware-style Select model