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.
OT: Apple Pencil gen 1 alternatives?
I have a 2018 9.7in iPad that I want to use as a digital white board for my virtual 6th grade Math classes. The Apple Pencil gen 1 is to expensive for me but I'm having trouble finding reliable reviews for cheaper alternatives. Any suggestions? The only requirement I think would be the palm rejection feature.
Thanks!
Comments
Doug @thesoundtestroom uses a crayola pen (I think). You might want to ask him. If you need palm rejection and the pen does not provide it any capacitive stylus/pen and a glove would work.
Amazon has several like this
https://www.amazon.com/LAMONDE-Artists-Rejection-Sketching-Drawing/dp/B08399S5F7
@audiblevideo I use the Logitech Crayon
I also use the Logitech crayon. And here's why...
Now, that said, if you're using Garageband, you get the best experience with the original pencil.
StaffPad only support the Apple Pencils for input. That alone makes the extra expense justifiable.
I've looked at the Crayon. Unfortunately, it's still a bit more than I wanted to spend right now. May just have to bite the bullet.
@thesoundtestroom No matter what I do none of my crayons work 😂😂😂
Logitech Crayon. Got it half off from Verizon when COVID hit on like $34 which was a steal of a deal.
The apple pencil and Logitech crayon work differently from the descriptions I’ve read- apple pencil pairs with bluetooth, the crayon does not. But the ipad recognizes the crayon as an Apple Pencil I think (but correct me if I’m wrong). I think the crayon is using the electrostatic method to input to the screen, like most active non bluetooth styli, but there’s something that lets the ipad know it’s not a generic active stylus.
I have the apple pencil with the 2018 ipad and it has been a great tool for me for taking notes and all sorts of things. I lost my apple pencil about 6 months ago, which was upsetting, and looked at other alternatives but decided to get another Apple Pencil (it now is always stored in my ipad case when not being used, I don’t want to lose it again!).
For writing, there is no comparison with a generic stylus, even if it’s active or bluetooth. I have the 56 pencil and the other thick silver one, (but I can’t remember what is called right now) and they both are difficult to write with. I also had the adjonit something or other, which was bluetooth, and it was ok (and the adobe one is the same stylus in a different shape, which I had when my adjonit broke), but once I got the 2018 ipad to replace my air 1, I got the pencil with it and discovered it was much much better.
I use goodnotes for everything like that, and it is great. I don’t like the new version as much and I won’t put my laptop on catalina, so I can no longer have a desktop version to sync with, but the writing and conversion to text is still the best. I do absolutely no drawing, so I don’t use pressure sensitivity.
Short version, unless you find the crayon for a ridiculous price like verizon had it, just get the apple pencil. Let my wasted money be enough.
Oh, one more thing- buy the pencil new. I bought a refurb to replace my lost pencil and the battery was shot. Luckily it was from amazon and I was able to return it.
Happy crayon user here.
I bought a new palm rejection stylus three months ago. It called the Meko Tech Stylus pen. I do not know whether you hear or use it before? Till now, it's good in use.
I bought the pencil 1 for my daughter last year, I think i paid €80. She has the same ipad as yours.
The quality is really nice (although charging is awkward, but only the pro ipad supports the pencil 2 that has wireless charging).
I looked at the crayon one but it’s not pressure sensitive, maybe not a problem for writing, but she uses it for drawing, and for that it’s really a must.
I think the pencil is worth the price. If you buy a cheap one you may regret it later, cause accuracy might not be satisfactory.
Edit: regarding charging it comes with a little female to female lighting adapter, so you can also charge it with a cable, instead of from the ipad itself, which was what I meant by awkward
I’ve used pretty much every pen based input device over the last thirty years and the pencil 1 is by far the best, I even prefer it to my Wacom cintiq... At the price considering how good it is, it’s incredible value.
Not to hijack the thread but can I ask if folks with the Apple Pencil find it useful for music apps (considering the cost)?
Get the Apple Pencil unless you are realllly on a budget and in dire straits with mountains of debt. I think if you're teaching you can find the extra dollars for it. If not, skip a couple lunches out to cover the extra cost. You'll say "man that was worth it" once you start using it. I've tried multiple alternatives and I honestly cannot recommend you spend money on them even if they are cheaper.
Agreed on the original pencil. I have the Logitech crayon which is very close to it and there’s some things I still can’t do. For example, I can’t trim files in GarageBand using it.
That said, if you have multiple iPads from 2018, the Logitech crayon is fantastic. Here’s a short video I did earlier last year.
Edit: Just had a bit of dejavu. Posted on this thread earlier.
Def. forgot to update this! Haha. I got a Logitech Crayon and it's been fantastic. I've been rocking it the entire year teaching math and science virtually and it's exactly what I needed.
Happy news over here. My apple pencil1 seemed broken, no ability to charge the battery anymore.
After searching the web I found that heating up the pencil might help. Two people put it in a tupperware box and left it in the sun. The second guy also used a thermometer. So I put my pencil in the oven at 60 degrees celsius for one hour, wrapped in a small towel.
After forgetting the pencil in the bluetooth menu, it showed right up, ready to connect. It said the battery was at 48%. Now I do a daily health check and the pencil is doing well.
Hope this will help others having a good new year. Cheers
Wow, seems most of you use Logitech Crayon to instead the Apple Pencil gen 1. I have checked the Logitech Crayon on the website. I found that the Meko Tech Stylus I got is quite similar with the Crayon. They are all digital pencils for all iPads above 2018 version, they all have palm rejection function, they all work with hundreds of APPs, and they all chargable, etc. And it's a cheaper one. It's good in use at this moment. If there has some problems in use, I will share with you all. Then I may try one Logitech Crayon or else.
@Cambler after getting the pencil it has become a very valuable part of my kit. It allows for finer detail adjustments with apps like FabFilter Pro and ToneBoosters. It's also really handy with anything that has a knob. Then there's just the general use case stuff like when you need to sign your signature for something...it has some very handy uses...and with the advent of 14.3 it has become more integrated with the general operating system, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes could get a little annoying...
I use the Apple Pencil 1. When I update the iPad I'll probably have to get the 2, but for what I have now it works great.
Thanks @arktek really appreciate the feedback. I'm going to see if I can get a decently priced 2nd hand unit.
Mine was £18 from a Chinese website. Ali thingy. There's no wireless charging but it turns off when I dock it on the iPad etc. Works with Animoog very well.
I haven't had an Apple Pencil to compare it with but I have paid £40 for another pencil and, performance wise, it's indistinguishable from my sub £20 model.
Since all the others seemed to have downsides like missing pressure sensitivity, I opted for the apple pencil and am very happy with it. Got it 2nd hand since I, too, thought it was pretty expensive.... but so far it hasn't even come to my mind that you could also use it for stuff other than procreate and freehand notes...
I wouldn’t get one secondhand- I lost my Apple earlier this year, and ordered a “refurbished” one from Amazon that had all sorts of issues with connecting, charging, etc. I returned it and bought another new one and it’s been flawless. It’s worth the extra couple of dollars for a new one. I use the pencil mostly for GoodNotes, and it’s miles better than any other solution I tried.
I don’t enjoy giving Apple more money for things, but in this case the pencil is really better than any other stylus for iOS.
I got a charging stand for it from Amazon a few weeks ago now, and that has been really nice as well, was only about $15.