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Iconnectivity Iconnect Audio 4+ Help requested

Hi,

Anybody with an IConnect Audio 4+ able to assist with this? I am trying to set the Iconnect hardware up with my iPad and Ableton Live on my Mac Pro using the Iconnectivity Iconfig app on the Mac. The basic stereo test set up works fine, and I can get audio from AUM into channels 1 and 2 in Ableton, no problem, using the default setup so I don't have a hardware problem, just a software problem, that being the software between my ears.

What I want to do is have each of 8 simultaneously available audio channels in AUM address the first 8 audio channels of Ableton via the USB port on the back of the IConnect. AUM recognises it has 8 Audio 4+ ports available, as mono outs or stereo pairs, and I can set up the output for each channel in AUM accordingly. Ableton too recognises the Audio4+ in the Preferences setup, also no problem.

And in Iconfig on the Mac, on the Audio Patchbay screen, I can use the matrix to route audio from each Channel of AUM to the analog out section going from Source: USB 1, Channels 1-8, to any of the analog Destination Outs bottom right, so I can hear the iPad (albeit a maximum of 4 simultaneous channels this way) via my monitors using the audio outputs on the back of the Connect, lovely.

What I can't figure out is how to route all 8 digital channels simultaneously from the iPad into Ableton via the Iconfig Matrix. I currently have all 8 outs allocated as sources to 'USB 1' top left of the grid, and assumed it would simply be a matter of hooking these up to the right hand side USB1 mixer destination, and then going from the top side USB1 mixer Source to ... somewhere?

That's about as far as I have got. A lot of the connections I thought ought to work on the grid itself (eg from the top side USB 1 Mixer Source to the rightmost Analog Destination section) just flash red and are unavailable. Maybe I have to do something on the Audio Mixer page as well? Or maybe select a different drop down on one of the options on the Audio Info page? I currently have it as shown below.

Could some kind person with a similar set up possibly provide a screen shot of their successful setup, so I can puzzle my way through what I am doing wrong. All physical connections, leads, and software etcetera appear to be working fine, this is clearly operator error, but, y'know? - help!


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Comments

  • I didn’t use the USB-Mixer. Isn’t it possible to connect 1:1 from USB1 to USB2? A hardcopy of my setup isn’t possible at the moment...

  • edited July 2020

    Here's mine currently if it helps, I have 14 channels going from ipad to Ableton, also the desktop audio and the analog ports coming into the ipad.
    Best to rename the ports as it's less confusing.


  • @Carnbot : thank you, that’s exactly what I was hoping for! :). I’ll be giving your patching very close study shortly...

  • The USB mixer 1 or 2 is an extra layer of confusion, I turned mine off (which erases them from the patch matrix) by going to Audio Info and turning the number of channels for usb mixers to zero. You aren’t trying to sub mix your iPad audio on the way to the computer, like you aren’t trying to mix 4 apps down to one stereo track before it arrives at ableton (which you could do better in AUM anyway). You just want to pipe the iPad audio separately to ableton.

    Assuming iPad is USB1 and PC is USB2, just route all of the USB1 outputs to USB2 inputs you want. You probably want your analog inputs to show up in the computer too, but that’s up to you if you’d rather have more channels from the iPad like Carnbot’s patch bay.

    Good tips from Carnbot on renaming, be a good idea to label the interface with some tape and a sharpie if you do so they don’t get mixed up. Also interesting about Carnbot’s patch is how there are so many ports on the iPad Pro. I didn’t know that you can steal audio ports from one device and give them to another, that must be the “in channels” and “out channels” setting on the audio info page.

    You might have already figured it out, but the PC version of iConfig is better than the iPad app.

  • edited July 2020

    The USB mixers are pretty esoteric, as most of your scenarios for mixing you would want to use a DAW or host like AUM or Audiobus. I could see them saving the day if you had a program where you can’t mix inputs, and it only accepts like, input 1 and 2. Perhaps the camera for video recording? Or Skype or Zoom?

    If you don’t want to use or see the seldom used USB mixers you can turn them off by making the inputs and outputs zero. Like this:

    Note- to get the USB mixers to do anything, you have to hook them up to an output in the patch matrix. In both Svetlovska and Carnbot’s patch matrix they aren’t hooked up to anything. I think the typical scenario is that you would route say, the USB1 mixer to USB 1’s first two inputs, and then that mix decides what the iPad (USB1) hears on its first two inputs, like if you want a mic mixed with music from the computer, for a video call, you could do that.

  • I sometimes use the USB mixers so I can send everything to the headphone jack of the iCA4+, but otherwise I disable them.

    @Processaurus I think you can assign the total available ports to anywhere you like. It doesn’t force you to share them equally between usb devices.

    What a miracle this device is!

  • I only occasionally have problems with patching the iconnect audio 4, even using the ipad iconfig but these are great tips @Carnbot @Processaurus (as always) Im going to test out labelling and turning off that pesky mixer. Super

  • @mistercharlie said:
    I sometimes use the USB mixers so I can send everything to the headphone jack of the iCA4+, but otherwise I disable them.

    @Processaurus I think you can assign the total available ports to anywhere you like. It doesn’t force you to share them equally between usb devices.

    What a miracle this device is!

    @Processaurus and @mistercharlie: thank you both, very very much. I've had my ic4a in set and forget mode for a couple of years. Doing some reconfiguring of the setup over the last week and iConfig was iConfounding me again.

    You both introducing the notions of 1) getting rid of the USB mixers entirely and 2) a good use case for when you might want to use a USB mixer clears things up considerably.

  • In case someone from iconnect happens across this thread and wants my two bits... I don't find the front panel controls to be of much utility for the way I generally work. What would be more useful for my setup would be a way to save configuration presets in the iConfig app and then the ability to use the front panel to quickly switch between them.

  • Yeah sometimes I use the mixers but not a lot, I do use the analog mixer though quite often, so I tend to keep them enabled.

  • @syrupcore I use the front panel quite a lot. I run a mixer into the iCA4+, so it’s usually just a dumb conduit, with levels set near to unity. But when I don’t need the mixer, I use those front controls a ton. Wish you could toggle Hi-Z from the panel though.

  • Most annnoying thing about iconfig desktop software is they got the out and in channels around the wrong way in the audio config, gets me everytime I want to change it. Note in the above pictures I have 14 outs on ipad but they are set as 14 in channels in the audio config page....

  • @Carnbot said:
    Most annnoying thing about iconfig desktop software is they got the out and in channels around the wrong way in the audio config, gets me everytime I want to change it. Note in the above pictures I have 14 outs on ipad but they are set as 14 in channels in the audio config page....

    Thanks for confirming, these are backward. Finally figured out a while ago, after trial and error. At least, I saved the template, I think. 😂

  • @auxmux said:

    @Carnbot said:
    Most annnoying thing about iconfig desktop software is they got the out and in channels around the wrong way in the audio config, gets me everytime I want to change it. Note in the above pictures I have 14 outs on ipad but they are set as 14 in channels in the audio config page....

    Thanks for confirming, these are backward. Finally figured out a while ago, after trial and error. At least, I saved the template, I think. 😂

    Yeah I gave up with templates because they don't include audio settings, at least I think that's true, it was something like that which stopped me using them, can't remember....some annoying restriction anyway :)

  • My USB2 on the iCA4+ is stuck with a custom name in AUM and MIDIFire, something I named it on a project ages ago.

    I've restored factory settings and restored the device but can't get rid of it. None of the iConfig versions on Mac or iPad show this name, it Says USB2 there, so I have no idea how to change this?

    Anyone have a clue?

    Would love to see some setups using the iCA4+ too.

  • You can force the Mac to see new names of MIDI and audio interfaces, but not iOS. Or not iOS 13. I doubt this changed in iOS 14 though.

  • edited May 2021

    @mistercharlie said:
    You can force the Mac to see new names of MIDI and audio interfaces, but not iOS. Or not iOS 13. I doubt this changed in iOS 14 though.

    Thanks for the reply @mistercharlie So, once I have connected the iCA4+ with custom Port names to the iPad, those names remain even if I change them via iConfig later? That seems odd.

  • If you reset all settings on the ipad, the next time you plug the iCA4+ into the ipad after the reset, it should pull the updated names from iConfig. I have had to do this several times. It is a bit of a pain, because you then need to check all of your settings, but it is the only way to do it on an iPad.

  • Hi @supish, thanks. By settings, do you mean the iConfig settings on iPad?

  • No, it is the iPad settings. You access by going to "General -> Reset -> Reset All Settings". Make sure you don't have the iCA4+ connected when you reset. After it has been reset, it should pull the names from iconfig the next time you connect it. You will have to reenter any privacy, notification, wifi settings, etc... on the iPad.

  • Good to know, thanks.

  • Just wondering how/if people are using their 4+ with Ableton to take audio from AUM into Ableton.

    I have one but have yet to find the time to explore. Actually, in all honesty, I installed it on my main desktop but realised that I love my MOTU M2 too much to replace it.

    I have Mac and Windows laptops which I also use with Ableton so, before I stick the 4+ on eBay, I wanted to make sure that I had explored the possibilities, figuring that here might be the best place to ask others about their setups.

  • Use it all the time with Ableton, currently set up with 14 channels of audio out from AUM (I can route 6 audio channels into AUM in this mode), best way is to use the hardware send bus on each channel you want to send from AUM. :)

  • You can run 14 channels of audio directly from AUM into Ableton?! 🤯

    This thing might end up as a keeper!

    Out of interest: are you on Mac or Windows?

  • I run 18 channels from AUM into Logic Pro X on Mac. Works perfectly.
    Also 2 channel from Logic Pro X on Mac to AUM (only need 2 for VS).

  • I'm on Windows, you can run more than 14 channels from AUM but I like to keep 6 channels setup as input to AUM in case I need those as well.

    For the price this is still probably the best interface for ipad to Ableton I think.

  • Damn, I need to investigate this. It's very much the Elektron overbridge-style functionality I hoped for but I didn't realise it was capable of so many channels at once. Is that particularly dependent upon processor speed etc? Is it possible to record them all simultaneously into Ableton?

  • edited June 2021

    @PeteSasqwax said:
    Is it possible to record them all simultaneously into Ableton?

    I’ve recorded 9 stereo (18 channels) into Logic at the same time.

  • That's incredible! Thanks

    Is this an image of the logic matrix btw?

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