Uses for an old Ipad mini

mangecoeur

I did some clearing up and rediscovered my 1st gen iPad mini in full working order (such as it is - amazing how much slower it is than my 2017 pro).

I love to give a new life to things that still work, so what are your recommendations for integrating into a music making setup? Is there a killer synth or midi control app still working? If so, how do you recommend connecting it to the rest of the setup (I got network midi working but it seems pretty laggy over wifi)?

I noticed @jakoB_haQ uses a bunch of iPads of different generations connected together, would love to know how that's set up!

Pandan

Groove rider GR-16 still works on it. I have the device as a a backup for if or when my “newer” device (iPad mini 2) conks out for good. Will be a sad day, but still having something that can run one of my main music making apps like Groove Rider will help until I can get my hands on another device that can run everything else again.

I can’t help ya with connecting out to a wider setup though, unfortunately, outside of just using the headphone out for audio or transferring files via airdrop/email, etc. as I’ve not done anything with external midi or anything like that with my gen 1.

Korakios

Caustic3 as an all in one "DAW" , oscilab for lofi , certainly Animoog , or (if you've bought in the past ) Thor
As for midi , it doesn't support bluetooth midi unfortunately so only cable , it depends to what you plan to control
You could also use it as FX unit (Tonestack , Turnado) maybe Effectrix ,not sure about the last one if it runs on ios 9

robosardine

You could use it as a dedicated drum machine with something like ‘Funk Box’ or you could launch loops on it with Loopy HD - put some effects on it via Audiobus 3 - all using Ableton Link to keep it all in sync with other iPads. You can jam it out without having to open and close your drums/looper etc

Alfred

Camel Audio Alchemy

BiancaNeve

@Korakios said:
Caustic3 as an all in one "DAW" , oscilab for lofi , certainly Animoog , or (if you've bought in the past ) Thor
As for midi , it doesn't support bluetooth midi unfortunately so only cable , it depends to what you plan to control
You could also use it as FX unit (Tonestack , Turnado) maybe Effectrix ,not sure about the last one if it runs on ios 9

You can certainly use Bluetooth midi via midimittr on iPad mini version 1

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/midimittr/id925495245

Audiobus remote works well on it too.

mangecoeur

I like the idea of using as a sound module... what about midi control surfaces? I saw some of the older apps like Chordion seem to still be compatible but I don't know if they are any good. Even a simple XY control could be good as a kind of Kaoss Pad style input.

mistercharlie

Dedicated midi controller?
Kitchen radio/podcast player?

I have the same old iPad mini, but I find it too slow to use for almost anything.

u0421793

@mistercharlie said:
Dedicated midi controller?
Kitchen radio/podcast player?

I have the same old iPad mini, but I find it too slow to use for almost anything.

Do you have a chair that wobbles a bit?

rs2000

Nanostudio 1 is an excellent sampler for it, also Genome MIDI works great. Lemur too.

brenner13

@Alfred said:
Camel Audio Alchemy

Yep, I still use an iPad2 and an iPad 3 that have fully loaded Alchemy in them. By FAR this is still my favorite iOS synth. Exponentially more capable than the stripped down version that is inside GarageBand now-a-days. If one is fortunate enough to have purchased it before it got nixed from the store, it is WELL worth keeping an older device or two to have this lost and mostly forgotten app.

Another vote for Nanostudio 1, too. A great multi tracker with excellent synths deep inside that is fairly light on CPU.

The original Animoog is still loads of fun.

jwmmakerofmusic

Porn, giggity giggity. 🤣

Nah, kidding. I bet an iPad Mini that old would be too slow for most things, but I wonder if Nanostudio 1 still works a treat on it. 🤔 I've lost my Air 2 when moving from the condo into the flat I currently live in, so I wouldn't be able to test anything as the oldest working device I own is an iPad Mini 5 from 2019.

mangecoeur

@mistercharlie said:
Dedicated midi controller?
Kitchen radio/podcast player?

I have the same old iPad mini, but I find it too slow to use for almost anything.

Yeah I started trying a few different things and it is a bit painful... I'm worried it'll just be more hassle than it's worth since it'll be usually faster to switch apps/auv3s on my normal ipad than muck about connecting the mini to my rig (although I did discover that Audiobus allows it to act as a bluetooth midi sender very easily, which is much better than network midi).

I do like the kitchen radio idea though. Maybe i need to look at recipe apps instead

Korakios

@BiancaNeve said:

@Korakios said:
Caustic3 as an all in one "DAW" , oscilab for lofi , certainly Animoog , or (if you've bought in the past ) Thor
As for midi , it doesn't support bluetooth midi unfortunately so only cable , it depends to what you plan to control
You could also use it as FX unit (Tonestack , Turnado) maybe Effectrix ,not sure about the last one if it runs on ios 9

You can certainly use Bluetooth midi via midimittr on iPad mini version 1

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/midimittr/id925495245

Audiobus remote works well on it too.

Thanks , I'll edit my post

Blipsford_Baubie

Midisynthcontrol supports iOS 9.3 or later if that helps.

@mangecoeur said:
I like the idea of using as a sound module... what about midi control surfaces? I saw some of the older apps like Chordion seem to still be compatible but I don't know if they are any good. Even a simple XY control could be good as a kind of Kaoss Pad style input.