I don't think it makes sense, and it ignores all the great work that's been done by iOS developers in the last few years.
But that's just my opinion, take a look and decide for yourself, read the post here.
iPads at the Apple Store
"The iPad Recording Studio Remains Out of Reach" (Evolver): I don't think so
Ok, everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but when I saw this (thanks to Ed at Audio Silver Lining) I had to disagree.
I don't think it makes sense, and it ignores all the great work that's been done by iOS developers in the last few years.
But that's just my opinion, take a look and decide for yourself, read the post here.
iPads at the Apple Store
I don't think it makes sense, and it ignores all the great work that's been done by iOS developers in the last few years.
But that's just my opinion, take a look and decide for yourself, read the post here.
iPads at the Apple Store
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
Quote "I found myself returning repeatedly to my mouse and keyboard, even at the preliminary stages of a recording project, which quite obviously defeats the purpose of these virtual control surfaces."
To be honest, I think he's got a point. So far, only a few developers have really taken advantage of touch-control surface offered by the iPad. Most seem to adopt a way still firmly routed in both mouse and keyboard. Apps like Sunvox and Meteor still work like this. It's why I tend to reach for Nanostudio first, because Matt really has understood the touch surface- even though NS still looks decidedly non-Apple. If I was hard pushed I would also say that Sonoma's StudioTrack is far better suited to the iPad's touch surface than Meteor (which manages to pay more homage to Logic and Garageband, than use touch surfaces sensibly.
But again, it's all to do with ergonomics, and how well the gui has been developed in software, how responsive it is and how it recognises different sizes of finger pointing- like what is supposed to be built into iOS for it's touch keyboard control. iOS is supposed to 'learn' the users finger size. Developers need to sit down and think about a standard for touch interfaces, rather than just developing gui's that simply look like retro equipment, which was in reality, tactile. Again, that sometimes works- like for eg the Nord Modular's interface. People liked that because it was familiar. It looked like an old Moog, whereas Reaktor for eg gave some a headache (including me!)
For me the ipad is one of my favourite and most inspiring studio tools, it all depends on how it integrates with your current set-up and how much time your willing to spend looking for what works, getting it up and running smooth.
I use logic and the logic pad touch osc template, took a while to get it responding right, but has become my fav control surface, very useful, altho I would like 1:1 control of the faders. Plus when your willing to dig a bit on the app store, so many unique, useful and creative apps out there, it's a bit mind-blowing.
I think with so many people underestimating what's going on, even tho companies like moog skipped the desktop and went to ios, plus all the coverage in the music mags and on websites. It still feels like it's at the start with so many possibilities.
I was upset, gutted even when it was announced the apple tab wouldn't run osx, I thought what are you doing, my dream has been ruined, but I've been surprised after I eventually got my ipad. One of the biggest plusses so far is the cost of software and how much goes free from time to time, also can be a set back having so many options to explore.
Well.. there are restrictions in IOS that makes it impossible to truly use the iPad like a computer (no access to the file system and no true copy/paste solution comes to mind).
Until those restrictions are lifted, the iPad can only be used as a secondary tool or a sound generator.
@Anonymous
"even tho companies like moog skipped the desktop and went to ios"
No they did not. Moog has been selling plugins for "desktops" for years.
http://www.uaudio.com/store/special-processing/moog-multimode-filter.html
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MoogerBun/
Also they have not developed their IOS app, they have hired the Jasuto guy to develop it, and he did a great job. Filtatron is really nice.
Interesting article. I've been music-ing on an iPhone since 2008 and acquired an iPad in Dec 2010. However, I feel as if I've yet to do anything truly worthwhile (musically) on either of them. I still go to my MBP to do an "real" work.
I think those out there saying that the hardware is limited are correct. I think it would be amazing to have something like Reason or Reaktor on my iPad, but it's just not able to push that kind of audio...yet. I'm sure in a year or two it will be possible, but until then I'll keep using my laptop as my primary music-making device, while the iOS apps remain tools for inspiration.
(Just writing this and thinking about how awesome Reason would be on an iPad is making me excited. I really hope the Props have something like that coming!)
Before some people call me a hater, my feeling is that IOS is not bad.. but OSX with a touch layer would've been much better, and would be much more useful in a studio. Modbook anyone?
The iPad is nice, but its just not the Protools running tablet I was hoping Apple would release (especially considering there was plenty of ~1000$ tablets that were powerful enough when Apple announced the iPad).
Having a nice interface is great, but it needs more underlying power (and freedom) to truly succeed in studios, or else why would people replace their OSX computers for?
@Paul
"it would be amazing to have something like Reason or Reaktor on my iPad, but it's just not able to push that kind of audio...yet"
When Reason was released ten years ago, it required a 233mHz processor with 64mb of RAM to run. Newest versions prefers 1gHz processors and 512mb RAM. Reaktor's requirement was similar.
The iPad's A4 1gHz processor with 512mb should be powerful enough to run Reason and Reaktor.
If the ipad ran OSX, we could simply use them :)...But instead, we have to wait and hope they will recode it for IOS.
I don't think power is the reason why there are so little established names in music software that did the jump to IOS...
@johnnyg0
I didn't know jasuto dev coded filtatron, my understanding was filtatron was moog first foray into the digital realm, instead of just licensing the tech for emulations. I thought it was a statement coming from a company like moog, as there was resistance when the shift happened from hardware/computers to mainly computers, not just from companies but a lot of my mates and others on the web.
Similar thing is happening with touch screens atm, I'm someone who embraces all the new avenues to explore from these changes but I still hold on to all my old gear too, I love it, especially my hands on synths. I stand corrected on my info but the thought of moog doing an ios app, made me smile, especially if they sat out the desktop becoming powerful enough to handle the many tasks, taken by different kit.
I agree the filesystem thing is a mare, but having loads of apps that do wireless midi, makes up for it for me, I hate leads and have tons. But the one thing I like about ios and android is the limitations force you to take different routes, I use the ipad live into logic more with apps that don't support midi. Its taken me back a bit to before I had loads of options, as it can be distracting, i find it's added something I always thought was lacking on my main daws, mainly focusing on playing and less time engineering.
The combination of hardware, desktop and ipad has put me in a position where I'm not longing for new bits of kit, not even ipad2, I feel satisfied as the ipad has tied it all together, especially touch osc I'm going to have fun exploring that. For me ipad is part of the picture, I could easily just use it on it's own, but I enjoy linking it in more.
I fully embrace the iOS music revoultion, but I'm also one of those people that can't give up on hardware either. I've been making music on my devices since the first moo cow drummer jailbreak app. The advancements in the software have lept leaps and bounds since then and i don't see it slowing down anytime soon. For me, the biggest obstical is the missing hardware features (proper audio in/out, midi in/out and an easy way to get files from iPad to other machines). The alesis studio dock is a step in the right direction, but obviously it's not out and we don't know when it will be.
For now my iPad rig is as follows.
- ipad1
- 4 port powered USB hub
- m audio UNO USB midi in/out
- korg nanokey USB
- apple cck
- behringer UFO202 USB audio interface
- USB multi card reader
- 2nd gen iPod touch
With all that I can basically leave all the other gear at home, but as you can tell from the list it's a bit tedious. At the end of the day i still enjoy making tunes on iOS and there's plenty of people surprised by the power and potential of these devices.
Everybody take a deep breath and enjoy what we have.
@johnnyg0
Good information! And you're quite right, now that I think about it - they should be able to put some version of Reason on there. Frustrating!
Everybody take a deep breath and enjoy what we have.
Seconded! :)
Hey there, I'm Greg -- one of the co-founders of Shoulda Woulda Coulda (polychordapp.com). This is an interesting conversation. Here are my personal opinions on the matter. I think that the value of the iOS platform for music is multi-touch and mobility, first and foremost. In our app, this means you play with two hands in a way that you can't on a computer. (And with MIDI, you can use it to control a computer.)
A lot of people are craving for their favorite desktop recording apps to be ported to the iPad. Why? Unless they're truly re-imagined for the new device, what's the point?
You only have to look at things like the commodore 64 to see that processing power is a small part of the picture. Eventually, iOS devices will be as fast as today's computers. That won't automatically equal better apps.
We're still learning as we go; iOS music is still a frontier. Ergonomics are a priority. It's definitely a balance to make sure that touch areas are the right size, that look & feel isn't getting in the way with functionality.
But overall, I think there are some great apps out there. SoundPrism, for instance, is unlike anything I've personally seen before. It's ultimately a question about what fits the moment -- software with tons of features, settings, controls, a billion samples and plugins... or simple, intuitive, fun to use tools. There's a place for both, I believe.
Hi Greg!
Polychord is a lovely instrument, and you beat us to it, because it was one app that we were going to develop- an iOS version of the Omnichord.
A little story for you, my wife used to be in a band called Pram. In fact the way we both met was through the Omnichord. I had bought an Omnichord off a local guy and offered it to my (future) wife as a gift for her to use live on stage. Anyway she accepted it, and fell in love with it's sound, using it on several tracks. One day Pram were supporting British art rockers "Add N to X" and Barry 7 clapped eyes on it, and started asking questions. He wanted one and sourced one for a few quid from a second hand paper. Those days these things went for nothing. Within a year every man and his wife and dog wanted to get their hands on one, so the thing shot up in value like crazy. The MIDI one being the jewel- if you were lucky to find it. Then the 'punk' was lost, because it seemed only rich people could then afford them, so what the hell.
So apart from Eno and perhaps Julian Cope, you can also blame me!! Lol!
PS I first heard an Omnichord demonstrated on a Market stall in Burgess Hill in Sussex. This bloke had a truckload of them he was trying to flog. My mum being Irish, and an Autoharp player was very intrigued. Very much an instrument of the future!
Thanks once again for beating me too it though! Polychord is a great app!
Tom
Thanks Tom! The Omnichord certainly has a lot of charm and history attached to it. There also still quite expensive. We're fans of just about every kind of vintage music tool out there. A big inspiration for me was the Casio SK-1, which my Dad brought home when I was in third grade. The lessons drawn from that instrument were how a kid who knew nothing about sampling and synthesis could still have hours and hours of fun with it. Even though I annoyed the hell out of my parents with that keyboard, somehow it didn't stop them from buying me a drum set a few years later :)
But that's my point. The reason the Omnichord is now so expensive, is because Add N to X made it expensive! This was 15 years ago or so. You could then buy an Omnichord for £5. A bit like the TB303 I suppose, because you once could pick those up for a tenner.
I like to compare what's happening now with music creation via mobile devices with what happened with photography when everyone got a digital camera (and what's happening now with photography +apps).
Suddenly all these ways of being creative with music is accessible to the masses (at least the cool iPhone/iPad owning part of the masses ;) The professionals are of course rolling their eyes (I'm a pro photographer so I totally understand the music pros). But people with very little or no experience with music now has the possibility of getting an entry into music creation without investing too much moneyt. My first music app was Finger Beat - easy to learn, but frustrating after a while when you realise the limitations. And from there on I started exploring the other music apps and today I think of creating music as my nr1 hobby. Just bought an Electribe S (hardware) the other day, and I think there will be lots of other iMusicans that will start buying hardware synths,sequencers ++ (as they now know how to use it via apps) just as we've seen in photography where it's the amateurs that have the biggest interest in working with analogue cameras and learning how to develop in the dark room etc.
@Tom -- ah yes, I see what you're saying :) Same for Nintendo NES. Ten years ago you could get one for a dollar at most salvation army stores.
My dad bought me a vl-tone and I think I made about 60 (useless) tracks with it and a tape to tape karaoke amp. It then got interesting when I took the back off and started short circuiting it (early modding I guess). Now I'm a dad and have 1 hr train time only to satisfy my noodles, for me portability is king, even ipad is too bulky for quick thrashings, why more devs can't embrace the copy/paste thing is gobsmacking, ns is my daw of choice and beginning to prefer it to my flstudio on pc
It's like everything else in life....you only get what you put in,and if you are already going in with a "challenge" mind set then the obsticals become a part of the process. In my own case,I have not opened my laptop in over three months. The only time I did use my laptop was to sync my iPad and set up some new music folders full of samples for my iPod app. Yes,there are many apps that are very difficult to use and are ultimately frustrating to use,but can you compare the lightning rate at which these apps are even being created. Think that only a matter of months ago this was a technology not even available(12 months for ipad1). I would like to see this reviewer write an article for the first generation of the pro tools software he so lovingly praises. There is a need for hindsight in this matter. Sure pro tools now smokes the iPad,but what about pro tools volume 12 months out of the gate? What are we at now in our DAW version 9? Live 9,cubase 6? Well let's put this whole subject on the shelf and when iPad 9 rolls out then let's draw straws. I know this sounds like fan boyism but this can be true to anything not just apple products. Show me this same article and replace with henry fords model t vs a Prius,my logic will apply to all aspects of interest. It just so happens the topic of conversation this time was iPad. (feel free to insert technology of choice if it makes anyone feel any better). Can you tell me that another aspect of our music industry has flourished so rapidly from the time of conception. The best thing we as iOS users can do is be the generation that paves the way,the generation that got the ball rolling. If you can go into iOS apps with the thought process that we will have to start somewhere rather then this instant gratification we as a society have pawned ourselves into believing,only then can you relize what iOS is bringing to the stage(pun intended).
Recently I saw an add for one of those small cordless dirtdevil vacuumcleaner that now had twice as much power, only it now did have a cord again so basicly there back where they started.
It seems people want the same for mobile music, it must run the studioprograms and you end up with your old computer in your pocket :)
Seems a silly argument to me. is an iPad / iPhone / whatever going to replace a 64 i/o ProTools HD system with a bucketload of plugins? Uh, not any time soon. Is it a totally usable compositional / editing / tracking tool for one instrumentalist / vocalist? Absolutely. Seriously, you could buy NS, BM2, GB and Meteor (each for less than the cost of lunch, btw) and have enough inspiring stuff to make some incredible music at a totally usable level of fidelity.
You mentioned NS, BM2, GB and Meteor : what is Meteor ? Looked it up and could not find. Thanks for answer...
Brian,
Meteor is a DAW recording tool for iPad. It looks very much like Apple Logic. :)
their whole premise is wrong - ipad can't possibly be a DAW, so we just look for control surface apps ... Limitations of the hardware in 2-3 years are going to be very different. And they don't even mention touchosc as a control surface.
Seem like a bunch of clueless dinosaurs to me.
Post a Comment