So I Finally Got...an iPad

[Spectral Climax]

Originally Posted by EvilDragon

Laptops can multitask much better than iPad. And they do offer more CPU and RAM muscle than iPad. I don't think they're going to be replaced entirely by iPads for gigs.

Orbital have already replaced them though...

[rez]

Originally Posted by EvilDragon

Are you saying it can run, say, a split of two layers with 4 synths each, all at the same time, with an elaborate FX chain afterwards, and it has something like Brainspawn Forte or Mainstage to organize your gig setlist sounds, with some preload options between the setups?

some years ago no laptop could deliver that performance... let alone a tight midi timing (except the atari) and people were saying the same about laptops... and said only hardware is the real deal...
few years back noone recorded to digital, or if they did the computers craped out at 16 tracks with some mediocre effects...

it is the run of the time and it is absolutely amazing how much power the ios devices have developed in the last years. yes some things always can be improved, but something like the rather large and beautifully functioning multitouchpad is a dream come true for many at this price point and it allows for some really new interaction with the music sources.
and i´ve not seen any other synth be it hardware or software that does what the beautiful animoog does!

also, come on, in the end we are creative people and it is our creativity that allows us to overcome all possible limitations!

peace, rez

[zaxmalloy]

I personally like making music on the iPad. If applications like ThumbJam, Magellan and Animoog can't put a smile on your face than you've probably had too hard a life.

I do wish it could do more though. The lack of multi-tasking really narrows it's usability as anything other than a one trick pony or a sketch pad.

For example, I use TouchOSC...which means I can't use Step Poly Arp to drive Diva at the same time. Perhaps I'm just not bright enough.

The good news is new apps come along constantly but that means developing a consistent workflow is difficult if you become an app slut. And yes I am one.

Perhaps something like Audiobus will change that...

[Popbott]

Freak'in love my iPad2 synths, they sound amazing. Music on the go on a portable tablet? Are you kidding me?! What kind of gear loving, music synth freak are you if you don't have that already?!

Senario: I'm at work, melody pops in my head, grab my iPad, make sure no one is looking, go to a dark corner, lay out my idea using Garage Band. Go home, pull up Ableton... what was that melody idea again? Ahh, where is my iPad.. I left it at work. N-LOL.

[James347]

i'll be getting one in the next 3 weeks, and i am thinking of 1 or 2 apps to buy, when being on the road, sometimes the humming can not capture the whole lot an idea you head, so some chords an bass progr will prob do the trick, but mostly ill be using it for mailing and surfing.

[dogma]

Lemur is a total revalation. It was a 3000 standalone product which is now 50 on the iPad - always thought it was a dream piece due to pricing but it is incredible - like reaktor in some ways. Oh and animoog

[alge]

Originally Posted by Spectral Climax

Orbital have already replaced them though...

I think they have one laptop

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[Osc1lfo]

I quite like Nanostudio. A self contained app with sequencer, a few tracks of synths, an MPC-ish beatbox, and some effects. You can transfer drum (or any) samples over Wifi to and from your computer.

I suspect the big music hit app in the new year will be Audiobus, which allows connecting the audio outputs and inputs from multiple apps at once. It's brilliant.

[audiohack]

Try Samplr. Very cool. Import or record samples on your ipad and then play and manipulate them on the fly. Record your performance. For me it's the first app I've purchased (and i have a few of the other ones mentioned above) that turns my cold, sterile ipad into an expressive musical instrument.

[marcgood]

I've added Animoog and Sunriser to my collection. And this is a long weekend for me. Should have plenty of time to learn some apps.

[remote337]

+1 for Lemur it's simply stunning. I use mine as an MPG80 thanks to Puzzlebob's excellent template.

[marcgood]

Originally Posted by remote337

+1 for Lemur it's simply stunning. I use mine as an MPG80 thanks to Puzzlebob's excellent template.

Tell me more about Lemur. This is the first I've heard of it.

[MKR]

Audiohack, can i ask please, how easy is it to integrate samplr into your studio setup / workflow?

For eg, can it be synced to play with say for eg cubase on a pc via midi?

or is it easy to record down a track you have looped, manipulated and recorded at the tempo of your project and then export the result to import to cubase on the pc for eg?

And can it play simultaneous tracks you have manipulated at once?

[remote337]

Originally Posted by marcgood

Tell me more about Lemur. This is the first I've heard of it.

There was a dedicated touch screen controller sold by Jazz Mutant some years ago that cost £2000. It was object orientated which meant you could build you own templates via sliders, knobs etc.

SOS review here:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar0...cles/lemur.htm


I think the company went bust but LIINE now sell the Lemur software as an ipad app which lets you do the same thing. If, like me, you are too lazy or stupid to build your own templates there is a user database on the Liine website which has controller templates for many synths (hardware and software) as well as DAWS.

[ksandvik]

You save a lot of money just getting iPad synths and instruments, as well as Lemur and similar controllers. And the performance is there, don't listen to the nay sayers.

[Z00]

Originally Posted by marcgood

So for Xmas I finally got an iPad 4. My only goal for it is to incorporate it into music production. But how to do it? Ideally I'd like to be able to sync application based synths and drum machines with my hardware (Minibrute for example). And of course to then run it all into a DAW to record it.

So what else do I need to make my dream come true? What apps and accessories for the iPad do you recommend?

So far I've picked up Audiobus, iMS20, iPolysix, and DM-1 apps.

Those apps you have are, in my opinion, the best for iPad; except for AudioBus, which I was excited about and bought, then realized it was useless for me because I don't like the DAWs for iPad. "MultiTrack DAW" for example, is useless for me.

DM-1 is awesome because it gives you the option to export all tracks individually, to DropBox. Then you can use them in your DAW.

I think developers have to find ways, like DM-1 did, so that we can create on the iPad, then move seamlessly into a DAW; instead of trying to keep everything contained on the iPad.

Think of the comfort of making drum patterns lying on the bed instead of using Ableton and a mouse (if thats ur setup).

One more thing.... I've noticed that I enjoy making tunes in iMS-20 more than Ableton sometimes, because the limitations can bring out your creativity.

But... I would like the option to export tracks individually in Korg apps too... so I could get them sounding the best I can on the iPad, then do some EQing etc in Ableton.

Btw, I would love to run DM-1 and iMS-20 together. ::cries::
Anybody run like, two DM-1s on two iPads ?

Ah... Also TC-11 Multitouch Synth is pretty amazing for iPad.

[Kaotik Evolution]

I don't care about what anybody says. Since I got my iPad my Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, 2 TB computer has been collecting plenty of dust! Making music on the iPad is so much better due to the hands on experience with the touch screen. I can never go back to a mouse and keyboard. No looking back now!

I can run 4 apps on different MIDI channels with background audio enabled and switch between channels on my controller to play them each individually, or go OMNI to play them all at the same time (iPad 4th gen recommended for this operation). If your MIDI controller can split keys between channels you can even play multiple synths at the same time. How's that for multitasking?

[musden]

Thank you, draven5. Your post really made me think about it more seriously, because I was going to buy an ipad for composing purposes.

[Diametro]

Originally Posted by musden

Thank you, draven5. Your post really made me think about it more seriously, because I was going to buy an ipad for composing purposes.

Everyones entitled to their opinion, but i think it's a bit extreme and certainly not representative of those discovering what's unique about working with an iPad ... (and this is certainly only the beginning ... )

To me, working with iPad feels fresh and cutting edge ... Not that I'm giving up on my other gear ... but I think it's got so much to offer in a small, unique format ...

The other thing ... is that the iPad is so useful in many other ways ... just for reading books alone its worth it ...

Personally, I can't wait until iPad5 comes out and Alesis updates the ioDock for the lightning connector ... I'm getting another one ...

[Kaotik Evolution]

Originally Posted by musden

Thank you, draven5. Your post really made me think about it more seriously, because I was going to buy an ipad for composing purposes.

I have no problem composing on the iPad. There are more than enough apps to fulfill any of my composing needs. Bear in mind that the iPad has more power and functionality than computers had over 10 years ago. People were making awesome music back then. Nothing should stop anyone from composing awesome music with iPad apps but their own lack of skills.

[baskervils]

One of my favorite apps is SSW & SSW Guitarist. Fantastic for composition, using more varied chords, changing keys. I also love the Moog synth + mellotron apps! An iPad costs the same as a cheap effects processor or 2 guitar pedals and does tons more.

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by Zoolook

And you know this because you've done a scientific study on 5 year old iPads... oh hang on, none are that old? How's your 5 year old laptop battery doing? What about that 5 year old phone?

Like crap, thank you very much.

The iPad has a battery of a certain type that has well-documented behaviour because the type's been in use for over a decade. You don't need to have 5-year old iPads to show that batteries eventually stop charging properly and are then depleted in far shorter time than advertised.

It is not replaceable if you're a regular user, because the thing's glued shut, and unless you're an authorized service center, you're not going to get any spares from the factory either.

However!

It's only a paperweight if you want to carry it around the studio. That's nice, but not exactly mandatory. It suddenly becomes a wired device instead of a wireless one. Give it a steady supply of power via the connector and it'll happily hum along until the internal memory will wear out and the screen will go poof, which is probably another 5 years or so.

[kcearl]

Its actually fairly easy and inexpensive to change an ipad battery and they only cost around $30...just saying

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40


http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=qnjtv...%3DqnjtvMCndcw


Apple will do it for $99 of course, but anyone with half a brain can do it themselves


http://www.apple.com/batteries/replacements.html

[ksandvik]

Laptop batteries do die and it costs $100+ to replace them. I don't think the battery issue should be a big deal at all.

[cryophonik]

I love my iPads, but I primarily use them as controllers for my synths/DAWs. My favorites are:

- Neyrinck V-Control Pro (DAW controller)
- Liine Lemur (killer MIDI controller, especially with the new in-app editor)
- TouchOSC (MIDI controller)
- StepPolyArp (arpeggiator)
- Omni TR (dedicated controller for Omnisphere)
- Alchemy Mobile (synth and controller for Camel Audio Alchemy)

Some other instruments and DAW apps that I like:
- DrumJam (cool percussion/drum instrument & sequencer)
- ThumbJam (mini DAW)
- iMaschine (mobile version of NI Maschine)
- GarageBand mobile

[zaxmalloy]

Originally Posted by cryophonik

I love my iPads, but I primarily use them as controllers for my synths/DAWs. My favorites are:

- Neyrinck V-Control Pro (DAW controller)

How do you like V-Control?

I have Touch OSC which I use...the cost of V-Control is relatively high for an App but seems to offer a better looking interface...especially for instruments...

[cryophonik]

Originally Posted by zaxmalloy

How do you like V-Control?

I have Touch OSC which I use...the cost of V-Control is relatively high for an App but seems to offer a better looking interface...especially for instruments...

I love V-Control Pro! Yeah, it's expensive $(50), but totally worth it IMO, especially if you use multiple DAWs. I use it primarily with Pro Tools and Sonar, and have used it with Studio One v2 as well. It replaced my AlphaTrack and has a lot more functionality than most hardware controllers in the sub-$500 range. The V-window feature is really cool.

[kcearl]

I love v control pro and touchable...but splashtop works pretty well as well even though its not what its designed for

[kcearl]

Others that are great or at least interesting that arent on everyones rader are

-samplr
-scape
-addictive synth
-chordion

[marcgood]

So this weekend I learned I am an idiot. Since I FINALLY had time to actually use my new iPad, I quickly learned I did not have the latest one with Retina display. Instead it is a brand new iPad 2. My wife thought I'd be crushed by the news, but far from it! Since it is an iPad 2, I can go out and grab an Alesis IO Dock and start syncing my hardware! Needless to say I'm ordering one asap. Should have it in hand by the end of the week.

Also I thought I'd get into most of the new apps, but damn if I did not make past iMS-20! That is a REALLY deep app. So far I've figure out how to get some good beats going. But the synthesis part is like Greek to me. Figuring out what and where to plug in and why is a challenge. Anyone got a good training source for the patch-cord logic of this app or synths in general?