Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Air 2 or Surface 3
Surface 3 seems like a game changer. If I had some extra cash I'd probably just keep my iPad 4 and get the Surface 3. Of course in an ideal situation I would get an Air 2 and a Surface PRO 3...
I'm not ready yet to spend money on either and I haven't researched it enough - I don't know any of the specs, but the idea of running Reason, Photoshop or Ableton on a tablet is pretty appealing and with the Surface 3 price point it also seems within reach. I wonder what everyone's opinions on this are.
Comments
Well, I have no money for purchasing anything, but my brother in law is about to do the same thing, selling his iPad3 64 and get a Surface.
By the way, he has bought few apps, none of them related with music. But he needs that flexibility you're talking about.
Probably I'll do the same in the future (if Apple doesn't sell a kind of iPad Pro), but keeping the two devices.
I don't see the point of the surface because it is weak and has hardly any apps made for it. For the same price you can get a high powered laptop that runs desktop DAWs and plugins. If you own an iPad the Surface's tablet is redundant. I'd spend my money on the laptop.
@fjcblanco I agree, if iPad Pro became reality I would probably forget about the Surface 3
@mkell424 Surface 3 is a tablet AND a laptop and it runs apps AND daws and plugins and it is also much less expensive than the cheapest Apple laptop... I think
The iPad pro will still have the same deficiencies that the other ipads have unless they make ios a bit less rigid than it currently is. Jumping from app to app is doable but a complete pain.
Also, there os no way its not going to cost a pile more than the surface 3 when its released.
And, the surface 3 seems to be far more powerful than I imagined an atom based processor to be:
No what I mean you can get a powerful Windows laptop for the same price. The Surface is a weak laptop. Another thing is the Surface's keyboard is flimsy and prone to break.
If you already own an iPad for your tablet might as well get get a powerful Windows laptop for your PC for the same price. Power is key when running DAWs and plugins. Just my two cents.
How powerful is the Surface 3 compared to similar priced laptops?
Probably pretty similar. But it's no Core processor but some lower powered one.
Atom processor in the Surface 3.
At least you can get a lot more ram. For me it would be a cpu problem maybe. I think the surface 3 is a nice device and goes to the right direction..... but there are no music apps like on iOS. Maybe FL-Studio 12 but i'm not sure if the surface can handle it. I would still prefer a more powerful notebook (and a bigger one) plus a touch device as controller. I really hate that apple don't let me use all my iOS apps inside OS X. Sure.... because i have to buy more than one device
That Surface comparison video reminded me that iOS is all about the software. Watching him try to hit the play button with a pen was painful. Seems like a nice machine for a good price but without a stable of software designed for touch, I'm not sure I could ever add it to the contender column.
Surface 3 geekbench benchmarks are lower than an iPad Air 2 for what its worth, its over 40% slower. Even the low end Surface Pro 3s are slower than an iPad Air II. S3 is 1009 to 1829 for an Air II, Base SP3 is 1580, higher is faster.
The SP3 is a tad faster than my iPad 4. (:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2905860/benchmark-scores-show-performance-gap-between-surface-3-and-surface-pro-3-ipad-air-2.html
Hi everyone
I bought an Asus T100 Transformerbook 6months ago, just to see how well it would run FL Studio 11 & some vsts. I was pleasantly surprised! Just using ASIO4ALL (no external soundcard) with max latency settings (2048samples) I was able to run several of FL's built in 3xOsc synths, & effects. Since I'm using the T100 for sequencing, lag isn't a problem for me. HST, I have recorded automation thru wifi from my ipad using IL Remote (which is such a great controller app btw!) & wired with a nanoKontrol2, both methods worked great for me. It can't handle high cpu vsts well, eg I can have 1 NI Massive going, but using low cpu vsts, or just working with audio is perfectly fine
Anyways, this has got me looking into the Surface/Pro. FYI, it's rumoured that the SP4 is coming out soon, maybe the end of the month, which is why the SP3s have been discounted. So I'll definitely be waiting a bit to see how the SP4 performs...
I can't say whether anyone should get a Surface or not, but I can say after using my Asus T100 with my iOS devices, I'm definitely happy I did & am definitely going to get a Surface in the near future. For me, it's the best of both worlds, I get the cool multitouch, speed & ease of use of iOS devices, with the cool automation & DAW experience of a Windows tablet
Thanks for reading, I wish you all the best!
Swapping a mouse for a stylus? Mmmm, if there's quality creative touchy software made for it then maybe one day...
...is just that smell of windows....
@mkell424 Well I do have a laptop already, although it could be more powerful. I got into music thanks to iOS apps, now I have Reason on my laptop I think that I would like some of the RE's more if I could move the knobs with my finger.
I though the Surface 3 with the Surface Pen could also be like a very cheap and smaller Cintiq Companion which I always wanted. But I just researched a little more and I still think it is a better Cintiq Companion alternative than the Air2 but not nearly good enough to justify the purchase.
since no one in the universe deems it a worthwhile endeavor to create an ableton live or monome mlr style app on ios even though sample triggering is the least intensive type of action a music app can do it makes the surface look like a good buy... how many people would kill to be able to use a novation launchpad mini with ableton on a tablet, or run reasons kong, on an tablet... many many many many many people! but nooooo we need another synth etc...
sample triggering is so under represented in ios it makes me cry.
@kobamoto: I agree completely. I've heard this argued elsewhere (Synthtopia, was that you?).
yes.
The brilliance of iOS (and its commercial strategy) has always been about the apps, not the OS.
I have an asus netbook with an atom-processor and it not even runs basic office software with adequate performance. Ok - it is old and current atom-devices are probably much more advanced. On the other hand, it runs Windows XP, which should be not that demanding as current Windows OS's. When the the surface reaches an Air 2 not even benchmark-wise, I think real-world performance is much worse, cause of the highly optimized i-OS apps.
I would love to step out of the i-os universe in favor for a more open system - but the only door into this still seems to be a full-blown notebook with a powerfull core-processor. Even my macbook air (mid 2011, Core i5) seems to low-end for a daw, like logic, or cubase and it would be probably as noisy as a vacuum-cleaner, if I try to run such daw's on it, with a few pugins.
My ipad feels incredible snappy and powerfull, makes absolutely no noise, runs a long time on batteries and houses a host of nice music-software, wich costed only a fraction of adequate desktop counterparts. Thats really hard to beat currently, imo.
Have you looked at the Launchpad app? It's basically a version of session view in Live, complete with native launchpad mini support.
I was hanging on for the iPad pro in the hope it'd provide me with a decent graphics tablet, as well as a musical one but in the end I gave up waiting and bought the Air 2. Apart from the glitches, which are ios8 related anyway, I'm very pleased I did.
The biggest surprise was Procreate - it's a superb drawing app, and runs like greased lightning on the Air 2. I've heard there are a few stylus issues but it works fine with the cheap one I have.
In don't understand what speed comparisons have to do with the choice. If you enjoy the idiosyncratic setup of an iPad based daw, having to bounce down to use an instrument again, jumping from app to app to make changes, then yes, an iPad is for you. I have cubasis, but the workflow annoys me. But there are some fantastic music apps on there. Having something the size of my iPad but runs ableton and my other vsts would be a godsend. Imo
Yes - workflow is a total mess on the ipad - thats a little drawback.
Tho I have an iPad(& like it very much) I would(monies providing) would go for the Surface Pro 3, not the Surface 3. Not unless Apple made iPad Pro OSX operating system. With the Windows machine I could use my Daws(Fl Studio, Ableton Live, Cubase) as well as all my VSTi.(which I've already paid for)& Which most are free. Cannot do that on IOS unfortunately. IPad are great for sketch pad for your music.
If you have a PC and an iPad get splashtop. If you are happy using your PC programmes on an iPad sized screen the surface 3 looks pretty cool if not then stick to iOS and apps designed for the smaller screen.
Tbh once audiomux supports windows, an iPad and a surface would be the ultimate portable setup.
I've used splashtop plenty, and it is not a pleasant experience running desktop software on a tablet. A tablet needs apps that are made for touch input, you really don't wanna fiddle around with desktop software like a daw and VSTs on a small-ish touch screen.
People are starting to build touch friendly windows apps.ita just a bit of a slow process. Audiodamage's basic synth Isa perfect example. New fl studio has touch in mind as well.
@monzo Yes, Procreate is great. I have the the Wacom Intuos Creative Stylus - the first one, and I'm quite happy with it. But I also have one of the cheapest Wacom Bamboo tablets for my laptop and it just is better. I expect the Cintiq to be as good or better and the Surface to be not as good but still better than the iPad with a pressure sensitive stylus.