Anyone gone completely all iPad?

senhorlampada

I'm voting 100% ipad. But actually it would be something like 80%-90%
All my focus is there. I avoid using desktop because I work all day with it already (currently staring at 2 PCs and a monitor in front of me )

But I have some hardware I pair with my iPad sometimes, be it for their sequencers or sounds.

I do have 4 controllers too, but it's weird I never use them Even left 2 of them at my parent's house for whoever want to play whenever they visit.

Littlewoodg

All iPad usually. Sounds nonsensical but nonsensical is fine when talking about creative junk.

When I move onto my desktop DAWs i wonder why i ever do anything on the iPad. Especially since i bought a bespoke midi controller for one of the DAWs.

Feature-wise the desktop DAWs have no equal on iOS, obviously.

But I go back to ipad anyway, because depth and breadth of features is not always the point. The tools on ipad are productive for me exactly because they have far fewer features…

and there are tools on the ipad that are mindblowing, workflow-wise and inspiration-wise that have no equal on desktop (Loopy Pro comes to mind but the list has become very long since i first started messing around on the ipad).

This holds true for the touch laptop i have. Aside from a few items, (Bitwig comes to mind) there just arent the kinds of touch tools developed for Windows that exist on ios.

But i do leave the ipad behind, sometimes, for Bitwig, or FL with Akai Fire. Because they’re fun too for their own reasons. So yes iPad, usually

RajahP

@YZJustDatGuy said:
All iPad when it comes to creating music/beats but mixing/recording/post production is still on desktop

Same boat here.. well, almost..

Hopefully Cubasis 3 update will help me make that leap.. Ableton Link is critical (to link multiple iPads) … Seriously hope they implement it..

Shiloh

I switched from being all iPad to a hybrid daw setup. I’m using Renoise with 2 iPads ( gen8 and air gen 3) all running through a iconnect midi 4. Iconnect is setup as an aggregate device with a motu m4. I have the audio and midi routed to and from each device and allows me to use the iPads as controllers, sound modules, sequencers, samplers, and so on. Audio and midi can travel any direction between all 3. This seemed the most cost effective way to hoard apps and not be homeless in the process! Haha.

HotStrange

@klownshed said:
I used to use my iPad a lot.

But now, not so much.

I use my iPhone a lot. It often starts songs or helps me jam out ideas. The iPad? Totally replaced by my fist love the Mac. The MBP is (almost) everything that’s great about the iPad + everything that’s always been great about the mac.

I’ve been making music on the Mac since 1988. The Mac is still my most my foreMost platform.

The iPhone is now what the iPad used to be for me. Whatever happens in the future, whatever helps me make music is all good.

Just be confident in your own choice. Whatever is best for you is the best regardless of what anybody else thinks.

I’m just happy to make noises.

Gotta say thank you because I really needed to hear that last part. I’ve found the stigma against iPads as a musical tool has stopped me from fully diving into in the way I want. I’m starting to get over it now but still have small hurdles. But you’re right. Whatever makes one feel happy and inspired is the right choice.

HotStrange

@tahiche said:
100% iPad here, conscious decision to move away from my desktop which reeks of “work and day job” 😜
Btw I don’t consider guitar or vocals as hardware so I refuse to count those!.

That said, 100% iPad means 100% unfinished tracks!. I do upload some YouTube or whatever but I consider them iPad versions/demos to be “properly” mixed at some point. This is probably a whole different discussion but iPad daws, although great, seem to fall short in one way or another. Buses, sends, automation, sidechaining, transient editing… Auria Pro is probably the closest but I dislike the UI (protools). If you made Frankenstein out of Zenbeats, Cubasis, Auria you’d probably get there but imo they’re still lacking. So I love the way iPad gets me 80% there, Zenbeats, AUM and Loopy Pro are amazing. It’s also a matter of perception, I guess. We’re too spoiled. Superb records where made with 8 tracks and no automation.
The plus side is I don’t over-process nearly as much on the iPad as on desktop. I use plugins more sparingly and I find in many cases I like these “unfinished” mixes a lot better.

I understand that completely. I finish most of my tracks in the iPad right now, but it’s mostly industrial, noisy, experimental stuff, and for that, I haven’t found finishing tracks on the iPad too challenging. But it’s more a workflow thing for me. If I were making synthpop or some forms of IDM, House, etc, I could see all the things you mentioned being a huge detriment. Especially the lack of automation.

Tones4Christ

Same here IOS 100%.

BroCoast

Lately all iPad and external instruments.

I still use Ableton on my M1 Mac Mini but am hoping with an M1 iPad and the incoming Drambo update that I won't have to use a computer anymore for music.

KirbyMumbo

I've been trying to go full ipad but I just dual booted an old macbook with windows and the difference between ease of MIDI editing in DAWs is just crazy. I'd also love more keyboard shortcut options for the DAWs.

tahiche

@KirbyMumbo said:
I've been trying to go full ipad but I just dual booted an old macbook with windows and the difference between ease of MIDI editing in DAWs is just crazy. I'd also love more keyboard shortcut options for the DAWs.

I’d say editing in general, even adjusting a sequence start/end points is finicky on iOS daws. In theory editing with your fingers should be easier and more natural than with a mouse, but IMO they haven’t “nailed it” yet. A possible reason might be that iOS daws are sort of a port of desktop daws, same gestures and layouts. You look at something like SAMPLR that was made specifically with touch in mind and it’s a joy to play with, the size and layout is right for the fingers. With daws I usually wish I had a mouse!. Someone will get it right soon enough, maybe smart way of auto-focusing on the action to make it big enough…

joshelliott

@condordontsurfz said:
Just now coming back to IOS setup because of Loopy Pro. All I will say, is that if IOS is your main rig, you need to have a duplicate setup if something goes haywire, like an audio interface won't work because of an update, etc.

Same here in regards to Loopy Pro. I plan on gigging with it extensively this year. I considered bringing my old iPad with same project and an extra USB C hub/cables just in case. Have you ran into any specific problems?

joshelliott

@Apex said:

@HotStrange said:

@Apex said:
Also, the connectivity of ipads is abysmal. Really bad. In fact I’d rate that as my #1 issue with ipads. I could forgive everything else, but the constant dongle / connection issues are intolerable. Especially on a $2000 device.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time and money on finding the right usb c hub. So I relate to this a bit. But once you find something that works you should be good to go. I’m curious. What specific issues have you had with dongle/connection issues?

AudioGus

@tahiche said:

@KirbyMumbo said:
I've been trying to go full ipad but I just dual booted an old macbook with windows and the difference between ease of MIDI editing in DAWs is just crazy. I'd also love more keyboard shortcut options for the DAWs.

I’d say editing in general, even adjusting a sequence start/end points is finicky on iOS daws. In theory editing with your fingers should be easier and more natural than with a mouse, but IMO they haven’t “nailed it” yet. A possible reason might be that iOS daws are sort of a port of desktop daws, same gestures and layouts. You look at something like SAMPLR that was made specifically with touch in mind and it’s a joy to play with, the size and layout is right for the fingers. With daws I usually wish I had a mouse!. Someone will get it right soon enough, maybe smart way of auto-focusing on the action to make it big enough…

I find NS2 has the best touch solutions for arranging clips, moving notes etc. The automation editing is super smooth. Being able to stack midi clips vertically on the same track is so sweet. Transposing is great too. (Timestretching midi like Xequence2 would be awesome). But yah, if iOS had the Native Instrument synths/libraries as AUs I would easily spend most of my time in NS2.

KirbyMumbo

I think for myself, the limitation of iPad DAWs is the granular nature of certain workflows. Simple MIDI editing is nice but sometimes I need to work with articulations and automation in a more targeted way and I haven't found a good iPad DAW that can be as snappy as a desktop DAW

Apex

@joshelliott said:

@Apex said:

@HotStrange said:

@Apex said:
Also, the connectivity of ipads is abysmal. Really bad. In fact I’d rate that as my #1 issue with ipads. I could forgive everything else, but the constant dongle / connection issues are intolerable. Especially on a $2000 device.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time and money on finding the right usb c hub. So I relate to this a bit. But once you find something that works you should be good to go. I’m curious. What specific issues have you had with dongle/connection issues?

My ipad pro will intermittently not recognize the official Apple A/V dongle. Or it won’t power the ipad (again ALL Apple official cables). Or it won’t see USB devices randomly. Or audio interfaces. When it actually works it’s a beautiful thing. Never once have I had connection issues like this with any desktop or laptop. It’s nuts. I’ve bought $100’s of dollars worth of “hubs” and dongles trying to figure it out. Even gone as far as having an Apple tech check the USB-C connection on the ipad.

supadom

@HotStrange said:
Lots of great answers in this thread. I’ve been considering lately selling off most of my hardware, except my guitars, and moving entirely ITB with an iPad and OP-1. That’s 80% of what I use now and I haven’t made anything with hardware in months. The idea of having a very focused, simple, and streamlined workflow is tempting. Just plugging in and getting down to business.

Or maybe even selling my hardware and getting one big dream piece (preferably an Analog4 MkII) so I have one thing to turn to when I want some hardware in the equation. I’ve always enjoyed Elektrons workflow and the sound of their effects. Plus that would give me 4 analog mono synths or one powerful 4 voice analog poly.

Less distractions, more music.

For me the reason for going all iPad was the ability to load entire projects or ready to go templates by a press of a button. I was still able to do that in the iPad/Circuit scenario because on session load circuit fires a program change message that can be midi learned to Audiobus session so all of it loads together. This was cool for a while but it meant I had to think about two entities to keep updated.

Now if I want to carry on working on a project I just take the iPad and when I jam I plug it into the rest of the gear. Despite having quite a lot of free time I really don’t want to be using it setting up etc.

HotStrange

@supadom said:

@HotStrange said:
Lots of great answers in this thread. I’ve been considering lately selling off most of my hardware, except my guitars, and moving entirely ITB with an iPad and OP-1. That’s 80% of what I use now and I haven’t made anything with hardware in months. The idea of having a very focused, simple, and streamlined workflow is tempting. Just plugging in and getting down to business.

Or maybe even selling my hardware and getting one big dream piece (preferably an Analog4 MkII) so I have one thing to turn to when I want some hardware in the equation. I’ve always enjoyed Elektrons workflow and the sound of their effects. Plus that would give me 4 analog mono synths or one powerful 4 voice analog poly.

Less distractions, more music.

For me the reason for going all iPad was the ability to load entire projects or ready to go templates by a press of a button. I was still able to do that in the iPad/Circuit scenario because on session load circuit fires a program change message that can be midi learned to Audiobus session so all of it loads together. This was cool for a while but it meant I had to think about two entities to keep updated.

Now if I want to carry on working on a project I just take the iPad and when I jam I plug it into the rest of the gear. Despite having quite a lot of free time I really don’t want to be using it setting up etc.

Yes the lack of setup time is huge for me as well. Opening up the iPad and having the entire world of synthesis, drums, and sampling at your fingertips is amazing.