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Best Bluetooth foot controller for iOS music apps?
There's a few different units out there, and although the iRig BlueBoard is interesting, it seems to lack recent IK Multimedia support, plus the poor tactile response gives me concern as I've read it's hard to tell if you've pushed one of the buttons, although I assume it would make it nicer to press by hand. Alas, I've never tried one so I am simply going on what I've read online. I'd like one with at least four buttons so as to be able to use iOS loopers, and iOS effects, etc.
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I've no problem with my BlueBoard. I'm very happy with it. I especially like that I can extend it with a wired expression pedal and sustain pedal switch (or with two sustain pedal switches).
The the problems with firmware updates that I've read about (and those are ugly) have all been ones purchased used on EBay. I purchased mine that way but got lucky. It works great and have never had problems with firmware update.
I've heard good things about Air Turn, but haven't tried them.
Obliged!
While I have had a few firmware problems with my blueboard, ultimately it worked out. My first blueboard crapped out when I tried to do a firmware update but IK replaced it with no charge. Like wim said, your better off not buying from eBay.
There have also been a number of threads about massively expanding the options with Blueboard via the Mozaic app.
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/39866/mozaic-how-to-detect-a-long-tap-0-5secs-on-my-blueboard
Hoping for a Black Friday Mosaic sale so I can explore it.
Understood my friends!
Have been eyeing the Blueboard myself, it definitely benefits from being expanded via Mozaic according to several users.
Take a look at this one for Bluetooth:
https://xsonicaudio.com/pages/airstep
It’s very expensive, but this thing reads like the end all be all, it can probably cook you dinner too. This company isn’t a household name per se, but their products are cutting edge for sure. I actually had their xtone pro (not Bluetooth) and ended up returning it because I needed an audio interface with more functionality, but the midi part of the device was a strength for sure. Eventually someone is gonna have to be the guinea pig and try this Airstep... it has its own iOS app apparently...
I've posted this before, but if you're a little bit handy with a saw and a drill, you could make one of these. It has a very cheap Korg nanopad inside it. 16 footswitches for a little more than the cost of the nanopad. But it's not for everyone.
edit WHOOPS you said bluetooth. my bad.
For the IK BlueBoard, I will say the buttons are not that great. Pressing with hands is fine, if you are barefoot or in socks and don’t have big feet you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t think using boots or other large foot ware will work so well with it. If you are a standard guitar player used to pedal boards, I can’t imagine liking the physicality of the blueboard.
I had no firmware issues with mine, but I have the non-micro USB version. I got mine used on eBay, but it came with the registration code that I remember reading people with the micro USB version needing and I never needed it.
The newer Airturn are sturdy and reliable.
I thought I'd chime in here as it's my number one favourite topic / obsession. I've been making my own DIY ones, which has had the unintended effect of me buying up the competition if they come up cheap on eBay to see how I'm doing.
My favourite current trio is pictured below. First is a Melo audio / Harley Benton MP100, it's not bluetooth, but works brilliantly with a Yamaha UD-BT01 and a USB battery. This one has been an unexpected hit for me, good portable size and sturdy. Works fantastically as a guitar effects and preset switcher with Overloud and the others. It has has programmable CCs for all the iOS loopers. Also has 2 expression pedal inputs. Note this doesn't work with a 5-pin midi dongle as there's no power to the midi socket, I guess it could be hacked though. The same UDBT-01battery combo also works superbly with Line 6 FBV MkII, but that's a bit weighty to hump around.
Second is an Airturn BT200 S-6. These are pretty expensive, I got this for a bargain £40 and at that price it has been a revelation (I think £70 would be a reasonable price). It's so simple once you've done the initial setup, turn it on and go. Battery lasts forever, highly configurable (via the air turn app), very portable with good footswitches. I mainly use this for Enso(s) in AUM (with the MP100 for guitar control), but you can use it for many things. Only downsides are an overbright blue light (remedied with tape) and no expression pedal input.
Third is one of my homemade efforts. This is my 9 button bluetooth Quantiloop controller, though it could be used for just about anything. I've been making controllers with knobs and rotary encoders with teensy/adafruit controllers, which has been a mindbending learning curve. Thankfully footswitch controllers are relatively simple. This one has an Adafruit bluefruit feather 32u4 at it's heart. I'm happy to share the Arduino code if anyone's interested? I've so far failed to add an expression pedal, but it should be possible. Parts probably cost £70 including the cigar box. It took a while to build, but I started from a point of zero coding knowledge with a very bad soldering iron, both these situations have now improved.
I've not used either of the products from irig or positive grid, I'm sure they are useful, but 4 switches is a very limiting for my dancing feet. If that Xsonic Airstep had existed a year ago I might have saved myself a lot of time - oh hang on $279.... viva DIY
It has been very helpful reading about your experiences. That Yamaha UD-BT01 seems a really appealing piece of gear, especially for iOS. Is there any problem with latency with this? Do you notice a difference in latency depending on which midi controller you pair it with?
Is there any programming functionality missing for you in the mp100? That’s the rebranded midi commander, and also comes in interface form as the tone shifter. Quite intriguing. I’ve read tone shifter can’t do certain basic midi tasks, maybe that got fixed.
Also, used FBV mkii are finally coming up on sites at reasonable prices. Good value with its own expression pedal. When you use it as a class compliant device on iOS, assuming it’s plug and play, do you just ignore what’s printed on the board (reverb, delay, etc) or do you have to follow the board. I guess I’m assuming it’s freestyle mapping but you still follow the board words for consistency?
Thanks!
Glad that was useful. No noticeable latency with the Yamaha UDBT-01, midi is very different to audio in that regard. They're discontinued now though and getting hard to find. I needed at suitable battery (with a power switch) and a very short cable before it stopped being a hassle, now I have it stuck on with a magnetic strip and it's more like it's built in - instant plug and play is crucial to me when it's a choice between music and sleep at the end of the day. CME are developing something similar as a USB midi dongle which should appear in the not too distant future. Interesting to see the Airstep has a USB host function, that's a great addition that's sadly never quite made it to a reliable iOS audio interface, at least not one with a guitar input.
MP100 was no hassle for programming, I'm not sure what the missing functionality is that you refer to? It does CCs and or PCs with 6 built in presets and 2 user custom presets. The CCs can be toggle or momentary. The only buttons you can't reassign are the bank up / bank down... and perhaps the expression pedals are fixed CC numbers if I remember right? There are also firmware versions that give different functionality (on the melo audio website), but I haven't needed to go there.
The FBV II is probably my oldest and trustiest bit of kit, it was a dark day when it stopped working (wired) in iOS 6 I think, and joyous when it came back in iOS 7, a rare Lazarus moment in music tech. You can programme it fairly freely in the desktop FBV editor, but yes I stick to the FX pedal layout for clarity and tend to use the bottom row for software looper control. It's fairly light on battery when connected by Bluetooth and very satisfying to have something so chunky with no wires.
I have also used the FBV over bluetooth with the 5-pin Yamaha md-bt01 and a Kenton USB to midi host, but that was both another extra expense and not quite so elegant. However, something like that may be cheaper if you can't find a UD-BT01? CME now make the Widi master, 5pin midi bluetooth dongle like the Yamaha, but you can split the 2 halves if you only want 1 way communication.
I find my Blueboard to be very reliable. I also have a MidiExpression iO which I can use with more tactile footswitches of my choosing. I've used it successfully with the new CME Widi Master Bluetooth virtual midi cable.
I think you answered my question, I had read that in the past you couldn’t do momentary with mp100 and it could only do basic on/off functions, but that they were working on a fix. I shoild just email MeloAudio and ask if the mp100 and mp500 have the exact same midi functionality. When you say the expression pedal might have fixed CC, do you mean it can only do 0 or 127 so no function for gradual wah/volume, or am I mistaken?
The Yamaha is still in stock on several sites, looks like this one in the pic already has the appropriate cable for the Shortboard. It’s neat that this offers Bluetooth and power to the MIDI device. I suppose with the properly matched cable, any MIDI device can become BT with this.
Buy it for sure - there's none left here in the UK
Fixed CC numbers, not fixed CC values. I think they are CC4 and 7, maybe CC4 & 11 or some combo thereof, but you can assign as you need in software and rock your way merrily between 0 & 127.
@rcf reminding me that I have also used the UD-BT01 with a midi expression (analogue pedal to class compliant usb plug thing) and an expression pedal to make a standalone bluetooth wah, needed a few rubber bands though.
Gotcha, how cool, thanks!
@steve99 does that thing on the back of your MP100 work just as well plugged into a FBV Shortboard? It is such a big board, I would want to know if that battery pack gives it enough power.
CME Pro will eventually release their WIDI Uhost:
https://www.cme-pro.com/widi-uhost/
I get along with the Blueboard fine. While it is true that there isn't much in the way of tactile feedback, you get used to it with some practice -- and there are some pluses. The things that would enable better tactile feedback (like something that clicks) would also inhibit the ability to do double and triple taps.
I think some people have a harder time getting used to it than others.
I know OP is asking for a BT pedal but since those are pretty thin on the ground, another straight forward option is Actition. It consumes close to no power, has solid 8 switches and and expression pedal input. Transmits both momentary and toggle which can be programmed from the unit itself. The guy Who makes them is in Hungary but delivery is quick and they only cost about £100. I’ve been very happy with it and shelved my McMillen Softstep.
Yes, good for a couple of hours at least on the FBV and I usually have a spare standing by. I did generally use a bigger battery when I was using the FBV more regularly, so I can't exactly remember how long I get - will give it a run out. I stuck magnetic strips on the battery and the FBV itself is magnetic, so it stays in place neatly.
As I said, I like this set up because of the mechanical power switch on the battery, which saves unplugging every time I'm done. It's also easy to unhook the whole dongle/battery combo and stick it on whatever USB midi device I might want to use (also good on an Actition footswitch for example). Beware some USB batteries that power themselves off if not enough current draw.
Sweet, good to know.
to the OP, another thought I’ve had but not tried out is using a cheap older iPhone as a Bluetooth dongle.
an old iPhone 4s plugged in to any class compliant MIDI pedal with a 30-pin CCK should be able to send bluetooth MIDI to your main iOS device. you would have to run a MIDI app on the old 4s that will receive and send the MIDI messages onward over BT but should be possible
+1 for that. @superdom I love your rig, I think we are on the same page. When I bring my DIY controller to market I'll make you head of the evaluation department
In the meantime I think you need to go bluetooth as outlined above, though of all cables red ones are my favourite.
Very interesting @steve99 - thanks for sharing!
I've got plans at some point to do the same with a Pi Zero W, which I chose because it's less expensive than some of the alternatives such as feather, and has Bluetooth. It can easily be made to work as a USB peripheral as well. Making a physical enclosure I'm happy with is more of a challenge than the programming part for me.
Sorry to keep bugging you about this, but I have one more question regarding the FBV: let’s say I don’t have a desktop or laptop (I actually don’t), is it not a plug and play kind of device? If I just connected it to my iPad via usb hub or Bluetooth, can I just freely program it inside an app like AUM or TH-U with the usual midi read pressing buttons way, or do I have to program it on desktop first or use some outside midi programming app? Just wondering how class compliant and plug and play it is as an older piece of gear that just happens to work outside of its intended function with line 6 stuff.
I also had bluetooth success with a Bluefruit SPI friend attached to an Arduino Uno, sending potentiometers and momentary buttons (so note or CC for knobs and buttons / footswitches ). I initially tried an Adafruit nrf52 with no success (but I knew very little of what I was doing then). Now I have an ESP32 ready to try for bluetooth rotary encoders.
Really though I reached my controller building summit back in the spring with a Teensy Turnado controller (either cabled or with a UDBT-01 for bluetooth), so apart from building a series of further bluetooth footswitches with the proven Adafruit 32u4, I took a programming sabbatical and got back to making music. You've piqued my interest with the Pi though...
Yeah if I remember when I got mine used, it is class-compliant and should be plug and play, but there’s no way of telling how it will be configured when you get it. If it already set up with all switches sending an on/off cc message then you’ll be good. But its likely that at the very least two of them will be set to bank changes... or any other huge range of possible configurations. It really needs to be set up with the free Line 6 app on Mac/PC so you aren’t just going in blind on iOS.
+1 to that. The bottom row are all PC by default I think, and the FX toggle CC. If you want momentary CC you'd have to use the editor if not already setup that way. Only once though, mine's not seen a computer for many years and it's user friendly.
EDIT - apologies quoting myself, meant to edit...
$10 ($14 with pre-soldered headers). Edit three files in the /Boot partition, and you got yourself a USB/Bluetooth capable controller.
If your interest is piqued: