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.
iPad mini? Is it a usable compromise?
Okay I'm thinking of getting an iPad mini to accompany my 1.5hr worth of train commutes every day.
I was going to get an Air, but now I'm thinking the convienience of a smaller device could actually be a great thing on a train.
So I guess I'm asking mini users or owners of both types, is the mini still usable for apps? Music only apps btw, don't use iPads for anything else.
I think if it is still quite user friendly then the trade off of carrying a smaller device everyday is worth it
Comments
If it's a Mini Retina (also known as the Mini 2), go and grab it. I've had mine for a year and half and wouldn't go for the Air. Size does matter and the Mini has a large enough screen for making music / tweaking apps but it's still small enough to carry around, fit in your rig, etc. Also, it packs enough power to run several music apps simultaneously (sometimes I have up 8 apps running via Audiobus + one or two outside AB , it's all stable) I love the Mini 2. Next year I might grab a Mini 4 if my wallet permits.
Yes. Totally viable. I use my son's when I need a stand-alone synth station in the "home" studio.
Go for it. The minis are great. I love it. The air is to big to be mobile.
how do the minis feel with Samplr?
great ! I never tried on a full scale ipad, but samplr has a very clear simple interface, easy to read, so no problem
There are some apps you may struggle with, such as Rebirth or some of the Sugar Bytes apps. For most uses I would choose a mini for out and about
Egoist, Cyclop and turnado are fine,
I still use thesys, even if it s hard to fine tune each notes,it's worth it, I get nice results with gadget for example
About rebirth I opened it once and never went back, to much tiny buttons,
zeta is tricky also on the mini
Rebirth is a pain on the Air2
I was really thinking about the new iPad Mini 4 announced yesterday, since it has basically the guts of an Air 2 and the 64GB version will be $499. But reading this thread, I should probably be a little concerned about the lack of screen real estate. Some of the more CPU-hungry apps also seem to be ones with many smaller controls (SugarBytes, for example). Also, using a DAW like Auria or MTS could be tricky for editing with the lack of screen space.
I think the Mini 2 at $299 is a good entry level option for new music maker that want to save some money. But for me, I'm hoping to find a new or refurb Air 2 at a lower price now, though I haven't seen proof of that yet...
Don't be fooled by iPad mini 4. It has the iphone 6 processor not the iPad Air 2 processor. That will be a significant compromise in power. Also likely means it will have 1gb ram not 2gb
edit: nevertheless, iPad mini is very capable. Anything except the original 1st gen should be able to run any music app easily and Audiobus chains without any problems. I use mini 2 64GB.
I have never regretted the move from standard size iPad to the Mini Retina. It's far more wieldy; more "clandestine" than a full-size pad. Grabbing it & moving out-and-about never feels risky. It's got a paperback-size comfort feel when you're going from A to B. I've never run into performance / screen real-estate headaches with it. Perfect size-to-functionality ratio, IMO.
I'd feel a lot safer taking a mini out with me than my Air2....even more so than a Pro lol
What is the point of the iPad mini 4? It sounds like the emperors new clothes. Better just to get a mini 2.
If the iPad Mini 4 has 2GB of ram then I will be buying it. If on the other hand it only has 1GB of ram then I won't be buying it and I'll just keep using my iPad Mini 2 for on the go which is still a great compact iPad.
Is the Mini 2 really fast enough for the newer music apps? I had been under the impression that the Minis were underpowered, but maybe that was just the first Mini.
iPad mini 4 will do iOS 9 split screen multi-tasking, the only other ones that will do it are the Pro and the Air 2. I'm not sure what that means power wise, perhaps Apple is only excluding the Air 1 to encourage people to upgrade, but I'd hope it means somewhat similar RAM and performance between the mini 4 and the Air 2, probably with the mini 4 lagging a bit with the less powerful chip.
I am perfectly happy with my Air 1 as a music machine but probably need a split-screen capable device for app development, so I'm currently undecided if I'll get the mini or the Pro or just punt for a while. Split screen seems potentially great for music apps though.
Mini 2 runs everything I throw at it with aplomb.
@MirEko -- I've travelled quite a bit with iPad4 (planes, trains, etc), and had no problems at all. I got a mini2 last year and love it even more for working on music while traveling. I usually run Cubasis, Gadget, Module, and many of the big synths...smooth as silk (usually).
mini 2 64GB
Love it - although it's my 'second device' to my Air1.
It's great with Gadget - and it feels almost speedier than my Air1 (maybe because I have more harddrive space). Not sure i'd do Auria mixing (especially the fab filters) on it though...
I only use a mini 2 34gb and it's been great with whatever I throw at it:)
I have a mini original and love it. If I had money burning a hole in my pocket I might consider upgrading, but I would go for another mini. And it would be for the retina screen, not because of processor/ram problems.
I much prefer the size of it. My first was an original iPad.
I haven't run in to any issues running the newest music apps on my mini either. of course if you get crazy with audiobus, that could be a different story.
@MirEko I have a Mini 2 for the bedroom before I go to sleep. I agree with people above that it runs most music apps. I would like to add if you are riding the train it is also is the right size for reading books and magazines.
@MirEko Along with many other good things that can be said about the Mini: the awesome @jakoB_haQ has chosen this model not only to demo apps / make music but also to edit great videos using just the Mini and an iPhone.
This is a rather large testament to what can be done with these devices.
Great thanks everyone! I think it will work well for me then as I only use drum apps, gadget, samplr, and a few synths etc. the screen size should be okay
Not to mention the fact that the latest Mini will have markedly more muscle. Invest the extra $130 and get the latest. Split screen alone may bring a lot to the production table, even on a mini screen.
iOS 9 Split Sreen
this would be a big factor for me if I were considering an upgrade now.
Do we even know if Apple will enable this on iPad Mini? They explicitly said it was for Air 2, and this week's announcement included the iPad Pro. But I don't think I have heard any announcement saying that it would be enabled on the Mini 4.
For what its worth this website http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini-4/ doesn't show any split screen images :-/
Edit: above mentioned website does state the following
Apparently, the updated A8 Processor supports Split-Screen.
It is actually tough to find where they say it will support split screen, it is on a secondary iOS 9 page in a footnote. I only found the information because I was specifically trying to find it out. Then when I tried to find it again it took me like ten minutes.
http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/
Bottom of the page, footnote 1:
"Picture in Picture and Slide Over are available on iPad Pro, iPad Air or later, and iPad mini 2 or later. Split View is available on iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4."
Yeah I don't think I would use the split screen feature. I think I use ipads very differently to most around here. I really just make loops and copy then to audioshare, then once a fortnight or so I dump everything from audioshare into a folder on my macbook and then use it as a pool of samples for NI Maschine and Fxpansion Geist.
I am a sample head that got bored of using samples from other artists, and wanted to keep the creative workflow of Mpc style sampling but with my own music as the source.
The iPad is like my own little sample crate that's always filling up with quirky sample fodder.
I think an iPad mini 2 will fulfil what I need to do, I'm not really a power user.
32gb iPad mini 2 used for around 260$USD is a great deal for me
I've never owned a 32gb iPad so even that's a major upgrade for me XD