iPad and Garageband - how serious is this setup?

[paulp1960]

As the starter of this thread I decided to just use Sonar X1 Studio which I purchased 2 years ago. I'm familiar with it now so it seems pretty easy to use.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

[louparte]

Originally Posted by skiltrip

What recording interface do you use with it?


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

I use Alesis i/o dock. I'm happy w-it. But it uses the old connection.
I hope I can get an adapter when I upgrade from iPad 2.

BTW, Auria for me is easier to use than GB.I never could figure it out.
Auria's main screen is a mixer. Easy. Some of the fx.are.great too.

[skiltrip]

I have been doing some quick tests with my Focusrite 6i6 with the iPad and Auria. Using an AT4033 for acoustic guitar and it sounds pretty great. The workflow in Auria is so no-nonsense. I love it.


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[TallDrink]

Originally Posted by louparte

I use Alesis i/o dock. I'm happy w-it. But it uses the old connection.
I hope I can get an adapter when I upgrade from iPad 2.

BTW, Auria for me is easier to use than GB.I never could figure it out.
Auria's main screen is a mixer. Easy. Some of the fx.are.great too.

What you need is a USB 30 Pin - Lightning Adaptor.
Apple makes one, and it's pretty expensive, but others have made knockoffs much cheaper.
I've tried Apple's, and it works great. I assume the knockoffs works fine too.
You can buy those on Amazon.

The only thing that annoys me about both of these, is the fact that they're very, very short.

[louparte]

Originally Posted by TallDrink

What you need is a USB 30 Pin - Lightning Adaptor.
Apple makes one, and it's pretty expensive, but others have made knockoffs much cheaper.
I've tried Apple's, and it works great. I assume the knockoffs works fine too.
You can buy those on Amazon.

The only thing that annoys me about both of these, is the fact that they're very, very short.

Sounds good Tall Drink.

It is such a good system, I don't mind paying a bit more. The Alesis i/oDock is a really great tool. MIDI interface, audio interface, iPad connector and charger. I don't know if they make them anymore. I am glad I got mine though. And the FX you can get for Auria are amazing. But it comes loaded with some fx in its channel strip. The channel strip is stock on board when you buy Auria.

Here is a list of interfaces that works with Auria. I also have the Presonus Audiobox VSL22. But I've never used it w/the iPad.

It takes this page a while to load all the interfaces. And some work to varying degrees. Tech support w/Rim at Auria is fantastic BTW.
He's quick to respond. It's a good product.it's only short-coming, is it doesn't do MIDI sequencing. So I use a version of SONAR for that.

http://auriaapp.com/Support/auria-audio-interfaces

[TallDrink]

Originally Posted by louparte

Sounds good Tall Drink.

It is such a good system, I don't mind paying a bit more. The Alesis i/oDock is a really great tool. MIDI interface, audio interface, iPad connector and charger. I don't know if they make them anymore. I am glad I got mine though. And the FX you can get for Auria are amazing. But it comes loaded with some fx in its channel strip. The channel strip is stock on board when you buy Auria.

Here is a list of interfaces that works with Auria. I also have the Presonus Audiobox VSL22. But I've never used it w/the iPad.

It takes this page a while to load all the interfaces. And some work to varying degrees. Tech support w/Rim at Auria is fantastic BTW.
He's quick to respond. It's a good product.it's only short-coming, is it doesn't do MIDI sequencing. So I use a version of SONAR for that.

http://auriaapp.com/Support/auria-audio-interfaces

After the iPad Air was released, Alesis made the Alesis iO Dock 2.
The only practical difference is that it supports both 30 Pin Connector and Lightning Connector.

According to the developer of Auria, Auria Pro will be released this summer.
It'll support Midi sequencing and a whole lot more.

[louparte]

Originally Posted by TallDrink

After the iPad Air was released, Alesis made the Alesis iO Dock 2.
The only practical difference is that it supports both 30 Pin Connector and Lightning Connector.

According to the developer of Auria, Auria Pro will be released this summer.
It'll support Midi sequencing and a whole lot more.

That's great news Tall Drink. I really like the i/O Dock. I'm an Auria user.But I am skeptical whether it will benefit me when it acquires MIDI capability. I use MIDI hardware. I have an interface that works already. I'd rather sequence and mix it MIDI outside Auria, then just record the audio parts and mixdown into Auria. I think Auria's MIDI focus will be on MIDI inside the iPad. And I don't do that.

Nice recording Tall Drink.Good sound on the guitar and voice.

I recorded the guitar and string pad here in Auria. I sequenced and mixed the MIDI tracks outside the iPad on a synth. Then I recorded them digital audio and mixed them all down in Auria. I two-tracked them in Auria and uploaded the .mp3 and put it in Vegas Platinum for the video.

[TallDrink]

Originally Posted by louparte

That's great news Tall Drink. I really like the i/O Dock. I'm an Auria user.But I am skeptical whether it will benefit me when it acquires MIDI capability. I use MIDI hardware. I have an interface that works already. I'd rather sequence and mix it MIDI outside Auria, then just record the audio parts and mixdown into Auria. I think Auria's MIDI focus will be on MIDI inside the iPad. And I don't do that.

Nice recording Tall Drink.Good sound on the guitar and voice.

I recorded the guitar and string pad here in Auria. I sequenced and mixed the MIDI tracks outside the iPad on a synth. Then I recorded them digital audio and mixed them all down in Auria. I two-tracked them in Auria and uploaded the .mp3 and put it in Vegas Platinum for the video.

Cool song, and video.
I like your small poems to complement the visuals and sound.

I don't use midi myself, I'm strictly analog when it comes to music, so I don't have any experience with midi at all.
I do believe that what'll be available in Auria Pro when it comes to midi, will be comparable to any DAW on the desktop, for instance playing a midi keyboard through Auria, and use samples available in Auria.

A whole host of other stuff will be featured in Auria Pro, a lot of it stuff I don't know much about, still being an amateur when it comes to recording.
For those interested, all the info is on their forum.

One feature some might be looking forward to, is unlimited tracks, but only on iPad Air and newer iPads.
The current Auria have a maximum of 48 tracks, and I don't believe I'll ever get close to that...

[louparte]

The problem w/unlimited tracks w-Auria or any other iPad-based DAW, is the small amount of RAM Apple puts in the iPad. My iPad 2 has 500 meg. That's not a lot for DAW work. I don't know how much RAM the newer models have. But unlimited tracks would not benefit me on the iPad 2.

Auria found an ingenious way around this by allowing tracks to be frozen. But it is still a limit imposed by iPad architecture.

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by louparte

The problem w/unlimited tracks w-Auria or any other iPad-based DAW, is the small amount of RAM Apple puts in the iPad. My iPad 2 has 500 meg. That's not a lot for DAW work. I don't know how much RAM the newer models have. But unlimited tracks would not benefit me on the iPad 2.

Auria found an ingenious way around this by allowing tracks to be frozen. But it is still a limit imposed by iPad architecture.

iPad Air has 1GB of RAM
iPad Air 2 has 2GB of RAM

I never had a problem with limited tracks in a computer based DAW or on the iPad. The usual track limit is well above where I'd normal ever take it. My favorite songs of all time were recorded in most cases on 4 tracks or even less, so a limit of 24 to 48 tracks is PLENTY for me. I sometimes get a little into layering instruments, but even in those cases, I'm rarely ever even coming close to 20 tracks, including 8-10 for drums (which I often also use way less tracks for).

[TallDrink]

Originally Posted by louparte

The problem w/unlimited tracks w-Auria or any other iPad-based DAW, is the small amount of RAM Apple puts in the iPad. My iPad 2 has 500 meg. That's not a lot for DAW work. I don't know how much RAM the newer models have. But unlimited tracks would not benefit me on the iPad 2.

Auria found an ingenious way around this by allowing tracks to be frozen. But it is still a limit imposed by iPad architecture.

Well, it's not a problem, it's a way to cater for all their customers.
Ipad 2, even though it's been a great device, is five generations old now.

Auria will continue to provide the ability to freeze the tracks for people with old(er) devices, but for those with newer devices and maybe more demands, it may be great not to be limited.

Originally Posted by skiltrip

iPad Air has 1GB of RAM
iPad Air 2 has 2GB of RAM

I never had a problem with limited tracks in a computer based DAW or on the iPad. The usual track limit is well above where I'd normal ever take it. My favorite songs of all time were recorded in most cases on 4 tracks or even less, so a limit of 24 to 48 tracks is PLENTY for me. I sometimes get a little into layering instruments, but even in those cases, I'm rarely ever even coming close to 20 tracks, including 8-10 for drums (which I often also use way less tracks for).

I'm still hoping for the long rumored iPad Pro, which may come with a bigger screen, faster processor and much more RAM.. 😊

A couple of my songs have exceeded 20 tracks. Not by much, but still...
Some of those tracks have been very short, small licks for instance.
Also, I've dabbled in doubling vocals and guitars to get a "fuller" sound.

I don't ever think I'll get close to the current ceiling of 48 tracks, but I'm sure that some people, with bigger ambitions than me, will.

[louparte]

Happy to hear iPad Air has 2G Ram. That will be my next iPad.

My work method involves doing most of my multi-tracking on synths outside of the iPad. Only analog instruments and one digital string pad
go straight into Auria until mix-down and .mp3 time. Maybe a synth acoustic bass patch or a melodic part from a synth will occupy a couple of tracks,
but not often.

Even so, I've bought a lot of fx for Auria and use them. Some are really good. They consume RAM. I've found my iPad 2 maxing out at 8 or 10 on analog tracks
with fx. So I'm regularly freezing them.

It's not a big problem. But it's something I deal with.

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by louparte

Happy to hear iPad Air has 2G Ram. That will be my next iPad.

Remember it's the iPad Air 2 with 2GB of RAM, not the iPad Air. The iPad Air 2 is the current generation (as of June 2015). The iPad Air 3 (or whatever they will call it) will also have 2GB of RAM presumably.

[schwa]

To the folks considering the Alesis I/O dock, Focusrite has a similar product the iTrack dock. It seems to have similar features, and is a little more "current". I have one and it works well with my iPad Air.

[tadol]

Originally Posted by schwa

To the folks considering the Alesis I/O dock, Focusrite has a similar product the iTrack dock. It seems to have similar features, and is a little more "current". I have one and it works well with my iPad Air.

I'll second that -