Loopy Pro: Create music, your way.
What is Loopy Pro? — Loopy Pro is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive live looper, sampler, clip launcher and DAW for iPhone and iPad. At its core, it allows you to record and layer sounds in real-time to create complex musical arrangements. But it doesn’t stop there—Loopy Pro offers advanced tools to customize your workflow, build dynamic performance setups, and create a seamless connection between instruments, effects, and external gear.
Use it for live looping, sequencing, arranging, mixing, and much more. Whether you're a live performer, a producer, or just experimenting with sound, Loopy Pro helps you take control of your creative process.
Download on the App StoreLoopy Pro is your all-in-one musical toolkit. Try it for free today.
Upgrade iPad or something else
Hey everyone. Just thinking about future plans and what to purchase. I currently have an iPad Air 1, 16gb. It does well for now but its not future proof (Nothing is really future proof in this digital age).
I am not entirely focused on being mobile. Although, I do like having my iPad with me to mess around with and some of the apps are just amazing with tough interfaces. I am trying to figure out where my money would be best spent. I currently have a 2014 Macbook Pro and several controllers with pads but none that are specific pad controllers.
So do I,
A. Upgrade to an iPad Pro, to future proof myself for several more years down the road, even though there seems to be issues with the new ones and other people report still having some similar issues they hoped to fix by getting a pro level iPad.
B. Do I upgrade to the new iPad 128gb for $429 and get something like an Akai MPD226 or Launchpad Pro to go along with it(plus it will give me some Ableton Live Lite controls
or
C. Spring for the Ableton Push 2 with Live Intro. No its not the Standard or Suite but I can get a lot done with the Lite Version, especially since I own Komplete 11.
Or
D. Just thought of this while I was typing, Get the new Maschine MK3, but I am unaware of its iOS/Midi compatibility but would work pretty good since I own Komplete 11. But doesnt necessilary give me control of Ableton to work faster, just working inside of the Maschine Software.
- What route should I take?19 votes
- An iPad Pro57.89%
- a new iPad with Launchpad Pro or MPD22631.58%
- Ableton Push 20.00%
- Maschine MK310.53%
Comments
If you have Komplete I’d go for E. The Kontrol Mk 2. That’ll provide perfect access to all your Komplete/Maschine software, has a lot of the Maschine controller features, and also works with Ableton, Logic etc. Might even be able to get it to work with your iPad as well.
@MonzoPro I have thought about that as well but I already have several midi controllers and the next keyboard controller I buy will be fully weighted keys and the 88 didn't get MK2 upgrades.
wanna get closer to the computer or farther away?
@kobamoto either way. I am not specifically tied to my iPad or computer. I like being mobile but I rarely travel without my computer and iPad together. Usually with my arturia minilab mk2. I am mostly sitting in my office/ studio space. So mobility isn't really a factor except a couple times a year when we go north for the holidays.
I think the current generation of iPad Pros aren't really good as an upgrade option due to the persisting problems that people are reporting, and how they are basically the same as the iPad Air, except with more RAM and storage. I personally use the iPad Air 1 daily as working musician and am finding that it's showing its age too, and am hoping that the 2018 ones be more convincing. Option B seems to be the best but I'd honestly hold out for a few more months (till March) to see if the iPads get updated well?
Despite my publicised issues with this iPad Pro 10.5 I’d still rate it as superior tech to my Air 2.
Most of the time, it works well, is noticeably faster than the Air 2, much better to use with multiple apps and of course so much better for storage.
I no longer trust Apple to do the right thing and remain unhappy with their after sales service, but those are separate issues to the hardware itself.
The CPU man... you’re forgetting the CPU the new pros double (if not triple) the performance of the Air 1. If it were only storage and RAM then yeah it makes no sense. (And that’s not taking into account all the other nice hardware/ software features that the air 1 doesn’t has as those don’t apply directly to music making but... even just for Touch ID...it’s like night and day)
Also. The issues has been fixed as of iOS 11.1 beta 2. (Or so I have heard by a large number of people, can try it myself as both my iPad Pro are first gen, 12.9 and 9.7)
On the other hand I keep using an old iPad 3gen, sometimes I play in really ugly places were I don’t feel safe taking a new 12.9 tablet, and that kinda gets the job done so an iPad Air even more so I imagine!
@gmslayton hi mitch, ipad air 1 user here. have you already upgraded to ios 11? how was it?
I'd only plump for 49 keys as I'm not really a keyboard player - just plink out a few notes. The Kontrol is attractive in the way it works with Komplete and Maschine - so if I'm sticking with those for a few years it'd be a good solution.
Can't see me paying that much for a controller though, particularly after the Edirol was abandoned. Maybe there will be some good second hand Mk1 deals....
The Mk2 would be my dream controller though.
@Suboidua I have not upgraded to iOS 11 yet.
@kobamoto I have most definitely looked into the MPC Live. Looks great, completely mobile and having all of the sounds to sample from the iPad would be loads of fun. A little over what I would want to spend right now though, I think.
@MonzoPro Yes the MK2 does look really appealing but I would need to sell my other controllers to convince my wife that I needed another controller. Much easier to convince her that I need a Pad controller like the Maschine or Push 2 or to upgrade my iPad.
@Lacm1993 Maybe I will wait and see the verdict of the newest iOS updates on the iPad Pro and go from there.
Thanks everyone who has voted so far.
I choosed the Launchpad pro option. Fits Ableton workflow, fits velocity pads, fits Launchpad iOS... and let you save some money for a future Maschine Mk3.
I sometimes wonder the possibility to find an used macbook/mini for exporting my Blocswave projects to make some warped remixes in Ableton. Never was my cup of tea but that’s one of the few things I miss from macOS...
Hope it helps to find your own. At last is a matter of taste and workflow.
@gmslayton do you already have a good pair of studio monitors? If there is one place to splurge in a studio setup, it should be there.
@Dubbylabby good thoughts. The launchpad pro is a good option and I could get it now and then maybe wait until march to see if there are any new iPads are launched.
@Processaurus I do, well I have a pair of maudio bx8s. They sound good to my ears.
That'll do! You got fluffy stuff on the walls?
A - buying an iPad Pro was the best thing I've invested in this year. I got it to mostly edit photos on the go until I discovered the music production capabilities a few months ago. The sheer power on this thing never lets me down. I never lag and since my MacBook Pro 2012 broke on me, I've been using it as my main machine for music and I don't regret it one bit. I don't miss my MacBook at all actually. B sounds like it would be the best option for you as it would upgrade both workflows for you. C is a good investment if you're heavily involved with Ableton. Push is pretty much geared directed towards Ableton. D - the maschine doesn't work on iOS from my knowledge. Also maschine is pretty terrible as a midi controller outside of maschine software.
I second the last opinion, re: iPad Pro .. definitely my favorite purchase all year, and that’s competing with quite a few big purchases, including my new American Fender Strat.
It had a few hickups early on, but they all seem to be gone now that I’m on iOS 11.03... Upgraded to 512gb 12.9 inch pro from my 16gb Air 2 and couldn’t be more pleased with it. The screen real estate alone makes it worthwhile to me, which makes it so much more comfortable to manipulate tracks in Auria Pro & Cubasis. I’ve already got all but 140gb packed with software, samples, projects, etc. , so the storage woes of the past won’t be rearing their head anytime soon, especially if I spring for a dedicated external HD for Auria Pro projects.
My 2014 MacBook Pro and core i7 windows 7 desktop have been getting very little attention since I’ve had this tablet, it’s just so much more intimate and enjoyable than my other computers. May even end up selling the desktop to help pay for a new midi controller eventually; the $1500 full sized Linnstrument really has my eye.
The iPad pros woes will be fixed very soon if not already . Don’t jump ship.. You’ll be sorry within two years.
Having used ableton full version and then tested the intro version, i dont think its worth using. Its just too limited imho. So if you get push, get some proper version of ableton as well.
Maschine mk3 seems very nice, and you could integrate your ipad with it(as you could with push).
Ableton and maschine and very different beasts. Ableton is a full daw, machine is more like a groovebox sampler with some stuff taken from daws, but its not something you do music from start to finish like with ableton. However this ofc depends on how much you want to polish your tracks, whether and how you use audio etc.
But the real question is whether you want to stay on ipad mainly or not. Using ipad with ableton or maschine isnt the same as using it normally. It would basically be a sound module and a source for samples, because using sequencers or daws on it wouldnt make much sense(except with maschine after you get the loops done if you dont have a desktop daw).
I think that if you want to upgrade ipad instead of going the computer route. Ipad pro would make more sense. You can keep an eye open for used mpd226 or launchpad. Its something you can buy later, but skimming on the ipad itself isnt worth it imo, especially if you are going to use it as your main workstation. Used with push or maschine, air1 is fine.
my iPad Air1 quit functioning in may this year. The new iPad Pro 2 wasn't out yet, so I got myself the iPad2017 (5th Generation iPad) and so far I am pretty happy with it.
I verified the CPU usage in a project with 13 tracks in Garage Band.
Well, of course not all 13 playing at the same time, max is 9 tracks, all tracks are GB included sounds, well not the audio tracks with vocals and loops, of course :-)
I am getting maximum of 62% CPU usage - I am using the app "Lirum Info" to see the CPU usage.
So, the CPU Power ist still enough for me. Well, we can assume that this will be different in 1 or 2 years latest :-)
The 13 tracks of this project in detail:
3 vocal tracks (with Noise Gate, compressor, pitch correction, overdrive, reverb, EQ on each track)
2 tracks with audio loops (with 4 effects on these 2 tracks all together)
2 sample-based Guitar tracks (Roots Rock + Acoustic)
1 Drummer track (Magnus)
5 Alchemy tracks (Vox Box Lead, Plucky Synth Bass, Alchemists Choir, Sweet Lead, Motion Pluck)
If I had to buy an iPad today, I'd get the iPad Pro 10.5
Geekbench shows 9241 performance points for the Pro 10.5
And 4368 for the iPad2017 (5th generation). This is a CPU power ratio of 1 to 2.11
I would definitely hold off on the iPad Pro until the audio artifacts issues have been resolved. Currently on my 12.9 iPad Pro that's less than a week old and came loaded with iOS 10.3.3 and subsequently updated to iOS 11.0.3 produces digital glitches in setups whenever there's any significant graphic animation on the screen. The same setup on my iPad Air 2 at the same latency rates does not have these audio glitches. Setting the screen refresh rate to 60 fs did not solve the problem. Here's a video of the problem:
It is more than double and triple.
Take a look at Geekbench iOS, make sure to select the multi core view.
https://browser.geekbench.com/ios-benchmarks
there are some good deals out there, I got mine from guitar center for $959
@Telstar5 I'm not jumping ship, maybe I am just getting a little discouraged at my Air 1 and 16gb. Having to delete apps to use other apps.
@ToMess I find even then lite version of ableton to be really fun and inspiring. I see no limitations. I created this with ableton and my iPad. Not sure all of the details about the track but it came together quickly.
Also I do like programming notes on the iPad more than clicking inside a DAW. and Sometimes the sequencers on the iPad are just more fun to use. So whatever I choose, I will still be using a hybrid setup between my Mac and iPad.
With a larger capacity iPad, I would most likely tend to use it as the DAW and just use Mainstage or Ableton live lite as a sound source to push my Komplete sounds into Beatmaker 3 or Cubasis.
@teleb The iPad Pro 10.5 does seem like the best option, I have played with the big iPad pro and might be a little to big for me, maybe.
@kobamoto thats good to know. I will keep an eye out for a good price.
Maybe getting the Launchpad Pro now, b stock on ebay seem to go for $229, would be the best option. Would give me a fun new controller to work with. I know it works with iOS and Ableton live.
Thanks everyone for the votes and comments so far.
I am about to pull the trigger on a Launchpad Pro unless someone can stop me.
Believe me, the Intro version will not be enough. You run into the limitations fairly quick and having the Push 2 without access to the most interesting and fun features (especially lots of great free max for live devices), that the combination of Push and suite offers will eventually grind you down!
It's looking likely that Live 10 will be announced in the near future and traditionally a nice discount happens on the current version with free upgrade to 10 when it arrives.
Have you considered selling the 16gb air 1 and picking up an air 2 64gb secondhand? The increased storage is amazing if you're living with 16gb and there is a nice bump in power for not too much investment.
If you don't mind looking at a monitor screen, a used Push 1 sells for next to nothing these days and it's still a great controller that will always be supported.
The Maschine thing. U already have Komplete, still will have Live, and your iPad already works in whatever way u currently use it... there’s probably a small amount really of features on the newer iPads, that don’t work on that one, and in a few months there’ll be a newer better anyway.
Might I suggest Novation Launchpad Pro?
It's like a budget Push, you got sensitivity pads and you can control ableton very well with it.
Since you also have an iPad, maybe you could use Touchable on it, which by my experience is a superior combo to Ableton Push.
I'm stepping away from iPad Apps and upgrades and focusing on hardware. I already have a swiss army knife loaded on my iPad.
Just got mine, it's really cool.
I've yet to record anything with it, but it's such a pleasure to jam on.
I'd recommend it.