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Can I use iPad as Midi Controller for PC?
Hey guys, is it possible to use my iPad as a midi controller for my VST’s and Reaper DAW on my laptop, like one of the keyboard apps or GeoShred? I just enlisted my Astronomy laptop to do bedroom studio detail, tired of missing my VST’s like Kontak, Omnisphere, etc., but it would be could if I could trigger (play) the synths with my iPad instead of a midi keyboard. Thanks for the help.
Comments
I like ChordPolyPad for doing that because you can not only play any chord with one of the pads, but you can also play the pads polyphonically and strum chords.
Definitely. These are just a few Of the apps that could help.
Touch Osc
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/touchosc/id288120394
Midi Controller - Remote & USB
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/midi-controller-remote-usb/id1470513354
Midimux
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/midimux/id963133945
Studiomux
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/studiomux/id966554837
MusicIO - Midi over USB
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/musicio-midi-over-usb/id989656108
Not sure but I think - Route Midi might work too
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/routemidi/id1347099452
Midimux often works over USB. Some people have a bitch of a time with it, but it’s worked OK for me. Midimux is an iOS app. Studiomux is the PC server side.
If you have a Mac, check out IDAM first before buying a dedicated app. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/audiotoolbox/enabling_usb_audio_and_midi_for_ios
That said, MusicIO works well for me with midi. I sometimes use it to control Ableton and hardware connected to my laptop with the iOS controller Orphion. Oddly, I found that latency with Apple's native solution, IDAM, was worse.
edit: I totally missed the last word in the thread title
Just wondering, are Wifi Network Midi or Bluetooth Midi not good?
Too much latency, perhaps?
Asking because I have not tried it with a PC, just between my iPad and iPod.
It worked well between those 2 devices, though.
Thanks for the suggestions guys, so when you plug your iPad into your PC does it also charge your iPad? Can you use a powered usb hub plugged into the PC then plug the iPad into it? Thanks again, just got a Dell XPS 15 laptop .. my first ever laptop .. this is all new to me, haven’t used a PC for music production since last summer when my studio with desktop PC’s took a dive in our earthquake.
WiFi Midi: Not good. Latency, lost packets, jitter.
Bluetooth MIDI: Not bad, but can't hold up under heavy load (ex. MPE and/or Midi Clock). ymmv
Interesting. If WiFi worked well enough for you over Network Session (WiFi) then I'm surprised ... and forget what I said above.
Some PC's put out enough juice over USB to charge the iPad. Some don't. I found a utility a long time back that bumps the USB juice for notebooks that didn't charge the iPad. (https://event.asus.com/mb/2010/ai_charger/)
You won't be able to charge an iPad and pass data to a hub just with a USB cable. You will need an Apple Lightning to USB3 camera adapter and have both a USB and power connected to it.
So I just had a look at that Asus AI Charger page you linked too .. interesting, it says ‘motherboards and desktop PC’s, your using it for a laptop? I just got this Dell XPS 15 laptop fully loaded .. a lot of dough for me .. is this gonna be safe? Doesn’t really say how it works or anything. I just bought the Duet Display app for my 2nd gen iPad Pro 12.9” so I can use it as a second monitor with the Dell .. but only after I bought it did it occur to me will the iPad stay charged using it as a second monitor, it would be kinda a drag to only be able to work for a couple hours with it .. then have to yank the cable out and plug it into the wall charger to re-charge it.
Yes, I've used it on notebook pc's. But, you probably won't need it on a newer PC.
Well I’ll keep my fingers crossed, won’t be able to actually try plugging the iPad in and seeing what happens till tomorrow. Thanks for that link .. and your help!
C
Ok update for those lurking or who my reference the subject in the future. I got the MusicIO app and KB-1 midi keyboard app .. and it works great with my iPad Pro 12.9” 2nd Gen, laptop, and Reaper DAW! I can now play all my VST synths and Kontakt samples with my iPad Pro woohoo! Setting up the apps with the computer was easy and intuitive with no manual reading needed. I have my laptop and iPad Pro along with a little Presonus Audiobox iOne interface sitting on the nightstand next to the master bed, and am running into a pair of IK Multimedia iLoud monitors set on top of the bedroom dresser and it sounds great. I finally have all those great VST’s back for composing that I’ve missed for the past year. I also bought the Duet Display app to run the iPad Pro 12.9” as a second laptop monitor .. and it works great too .. just a little hard to dial knobs unless you have 1/8” fingers lol. The laptop is last years Dell XPS 15 and it charges the iPad fully. Thanks again for the help guys.
C
Wow, thanks for that update. I had never tried MusicIO, only Studiomux/Midimux, which was always a little bit problematic. Gonna have to give MusicIO a go.
Latency is OK? Any problems with sample rate conversion? Those were touchy with Studiomux.
Yeah latency is fine .. not noticeable with the KB-1 keyboard app .. and I’m using a Dell XPS 9570 with known DPC latency issues to boot! One thing though .. I had to turn off the USB port power saving under the power settings in Windows, with that on if I was working on a song using MusicIO and KB-1 .. but decided to check the web with Safari or my email .. when I went back to work on the song KB-1 was dead .. and I had to restart everything again. I just turned power everything off on this laptop and it’s behaving a lot better. I’m thinking about switching to a MacBook Pro though .. are you using a Mac laptop or PC?
I have Windows and Mac (Catalina). But only Windows 7, not 10.
Studiomux isn't supported on Catalina. I haven't tried to see if MusicIO is.
I just read that MusicIO is a joint effort between Confusion Studios (Midi Designer Pro 2), Audeonic (MidiFire, Streambyter, etc.) and Secret Base design (Infinite Looper, etc.). Quite a pedigree there. Hasn't been updated since 2016 though ...
I might give it a try, though iDAM to the Mac suits my purposes. I don't care that much about live playing between the two platforms.
Is a midi interface necessary just for using iPad to play Kontakt synths?
Yes.
I use Xequence 2 on my iPad Pro to create the track arrangement/piano roll and route it to Logic Pro via IDAM and Logic’s MIDI environment. Logic handles the desktop synths and mixing. I push play/stop from Xequence rather than Logic.
This can also be done with Zenbeats to function as an Apple Loops/Ableton Clip view while only still using Logic 10.4.6 (which is what I’m using). I see no reason to get Ableton or upgrade my computer now unless it just dies on me.