Hi all,

I've been really into my iPad softsynths these days. I wanted to integrate them with my DAW (Cubase on PC) so I picked up an iConnectMIDI2+. With this i should be able to get the two talking over MIDI and sending iPad audio back to the DAW.

I need to rant a little... the iConnect arrived today so i hooked it up with the iPad and PC. First you have to install ASIO4ALL. That blows, i liked my interface's drivers. I then had to setup an aggregate device.

I couldn't get the PC and iPad to talk and by looking at the status lights it looked like the PC USB MIDI was being sent out the DIN instead of the iPad USB port. So ok, gotta load up the config software.

I download Auracle and on the home screen it says there is a firmware update. Cool, so i hit update. The program freezes... the device is bricked. I power cycle it, etc, windows can't see it, iPad can't see it, Auracle can't see it. Great.

So after some googling i found that you can put it in bootloader mode and play the firmware to the devcie using a simple MIDI file player. They recommend one, but apparently its gone paid since. The free version only plays 3/4 of the MIDI file. Well that certainly seems to be a problem. However in the youtube support video they say it still works. Ok here's to hoping.. but it worked. Nice.

With new firmware its visible again and seem to work. So i open Auracle, but it seems you can't really setup the ports like i thought. It only shows the DIN ports, not the USB ones. I read that the old iConfig app is more powerful so i find, download, and install that.

However, when i try to run it, it complains about missing driver files. wtf. i google the file and its a part of a visual studio runtime redist or whatever. So i download 2010 version, install. no luck. download 2013 version, install, no luck. This app is useless.

So then i try the iOS version on iPad. Fortunatley that worked and I can access much more config options. The port names are all jacked up though. I attempt to rename them, but they won't save. Either way, i somehow figure otu how to make USB 1 go to USB 2 and voila, it works! I can send MIDI and hear audio. Nice.

A few minutes pass when a pops and crackles start up. It gets worse and worse and by 30 seconds its pretty much all static and noise. If i close the app and restart, its clear again, but then slowly builds.

Back to googling. I found something about changing the internal clock settings. However, every time i try to change the setting, iConfig crashes and it doesn't seem to stick.

I haven't dealt with something this ****ty in a long time. I submitted a support ticket, but there's a good chance this is going right back to SweetWater.

Is there a better way?

This might be a better solution for less money:
Alesis Control Hub USB MIDI and Monitoring Interface | Sweetwater

Of course it requires more cables and an interface on the PC end. It'd fit with my workflow, though.

At one point I was looking into iConnect boxes and then saw it required ASIO4ALL and it was a non-starter for me. So I went simple instead. And cheap. I use a PC with Win10 as my everyday computer.

I use a cable 3.5" jack (plugged to the stupid dongle) to my line in RCAs on my Focusrite 6i6 for audio into the PC, and use MIDI over WiFi (rtpMIDI) to trigger it - it only adds a couple ms latency. Sure, not as good as digital and cabled and all that, but inexpensive, easy, reliable and no conflicts.

The other thing I can do, since I have a MacBookPro 2015, is lighting cable the iPhone to the MBP and then use digital out on the MBP into the digital in of the 6i6. Still use MIDI over WiFi to trigger, though.

Way back, studiomux used to work for me and it was great. Then it stopped working, and there went $10 I could've used on a cable to being with.

If you run your DAW on the MBP, you can just use the Apple IDAM interface to directly connect the two. Seems pretty slick. I'm about to go get a Mac Mini just to avoid all this ****. Aggregating audio devices would also be nice because i have a mixer with an audio interface built in as a secondary interface.

I do that, yeah. And then I can digital audio out from the MBP to the WinPC if I feel the need for a pure digital connection rather than just running the iPhone analog out into the 6i6.

Really - unless you need audio going into the iPhone from the PC, or have a terrible wifi connection and/or need a way to connect outside the home/studio/etc., I really ended up not seeing a need for iConnect anything - if you already have a separate audio interface. I can use analog and it sounds great, or if I want to connect the MBP I can use digital (and connect an iPad as well as iPhone to the MBP). But I don't NEED the MBP in this.

The only downside of using an idevice at all is the stereo out (yeah, i know there's a bit of a workaround to get another 2 channels out as I think it can do 2 digital out and 2 analog? never explored that) rather than multichannel.

If my job didn't get me the MBP I wouldn't have an Apple computer - too much $$ for what you get (to me).

I ended up going and getting a Mac mini today. Not just because of this, but it was the straw the broke the camels back I guess.

IDAM works beautifully!

You can do this on a Mac just by plugging it into a lightning cable.

How do you do that? I use both Logic and Pro Tools on a new Macbook Air and have a 2018 iPad

Thanks

lD

Don't remember the exact steps but I did find them on the Internet. Something to do with the Audio MIDI settings. The annoying thing about it - and I could be holding it wrong - is that my MBP doesn't remember the connection very well so I have to do a little setup each time. But it works beautifully once I do.

I use this with my PC: