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IPad to Laptop and back to iPad question…
I’ve got an iPad Pro with AUM, GeoShred, lots of apps… use it all the time, pretty knowledgeable about this 😊
I’ve got a Dell XPS 13 with Waveform 12 free, some Roli software, Spitfire audio sounds… all the software is unused (and free)… don’t know how to use it, knowledgeable about laptop / windows in general but not the music side of it.
My questions are…
1 Can I use GeoShred to play the music software on the laptop? If yes how?
2 If this is possible, can I control / record etc. it in AUM?
In effect I want to treat the s/w on the laptop as an Audio Source in AUM if possible?
Ta 👍
Comments
You have to get midi (from Geoshred) over to the laptop and (for obvious reason) the software on the laptop needs midi input capability.
To track in AUM the audio output of the laptop must go back to the iPad, so an audio interface is required on the IOS side. (you may already have one, possibly with midi, too)
Using the laptop‘s internal soundcard, you will want an Asio driver for it because otherwise latency is unpleasantly high. Use Asio4All if there‘s no specific Asio driver for the laptop‘s soundcard.
Output with an external interface is usually better than the internal sound and some (but not all) interfaces also have midi io.
That‘s the basics, details depend on what audio/midi peripherals you already have.
Thanks @Telefunky , I think I understand the concept of what is required but what I could do with is the detail 😊
Other than a few bits of wire with usb a/b/c on the end I’ve just got the iPad and laptop.
So for example, taking it one step at a time, to play a note in Spitfire on the laptop using GeoShred on the iPad… what do I need?
Cheers
I left out the details because they depend on what‘s already present... but with none in place it‘s fairly straight forward. A couple of caveats, though...
1st of all I have no idea about Win10/11 (except it s..ks from my pov) and no experience with USB-c (hubs and conversion).
As you may guess from previous post, my suggestion is a 2nd hand iConnectAudio4+.
1 box, but acts as 2 interfaces (1 for IOS, 1 for Win) simultaneously for Audio and Midi.
Aside from the physical in/outs it feature 20 software channels (10 stereo) to exchange low latency audio/midi data between apps in IOS and Windows.
It‘s a solid box (for me > 5years), and a special charging cable for IOS is included. $40 if acquired as spare, afaik.
The 2+ version comes without that cable, otherwise it‘s identical, just lower in/out sockets.
In theory setup is simple, but unfortunately iConnectivity didn‘t design the most intuitive control software. For many users this has been a huge obstacle.
But it really does work, the old control panel even runs on a MacMini M1.
Long story short: it‘s the most simple and efficient way to exchange audio/midi between 2 systems. No other company ever dared the same.
Cabling is only the 2 USB connections and your monitors/headphones.
ps: this applies to lightning connection, if your iPad has USB-c I guess the iCA2+ might be the better solution (with a charging CCK) if you can get along with 2 external audio channels plus headphones.
I can address this part.
I'm using Bome Network software on both my iPad and desktop PC (running Windows 10). I'm able to load up GeoShred and have the MIDI pass through to my desktop. I'm able to do this with GeoShred running either as a standalone or within AUM. Bome Network lets you configure the MIDI routing for whatever is actively sending or receiving MIDI on that device, so I was able to add MIDI Router settings separately for AUM and GeoShred. It can also route to-and-from MIDI groupings, such as Network Session.
No other hardware interface is needed for the device-to-device MIDI connection. Bome Network does sell a hardware interface, but it's for situations where there's no computer available. In my case, the MIDI is being sent over Wi-Fi, since my iPad and desktop PC are on the same Wi-Fi network. I'm not perceiving any significant lag. It essentially feels like one device.
Unfortunately, you do have to purchase the Bome Network software separately for your iPad and desktop. If I remember correctly, there's also an extra charge for expanded MIDI routing options, though you can probably add that later, if needed.
Hope that helps.
Thanks David. Very helpful.
(NOTE: After typing all this I noticed you said you have a Dell XPS Windows computer... sorry. These are instructions for an Apple computer, but I'll leave them in case others need the information.)
To play GeoShred as a MIDI keyboard for your laptop, open the "Audio MIDI Setup" software Apple provided in your Applications>Utilities folder. Then while your DAW is open and your iPad Pro is connected with a USB-C cable to your laptop, start up the "Audio MIDI Setup" app and then click on the "Enable" button below your iPad's name (for example, "GeoTony iPad Pro") on the left side of the panels. In your DAW, you'll have to be on a track which accepts MIDI input. Then you should be able to play any MIDI instrument track.
To record audio from your iPad Pro to your laptop, it's the same process. Just do the setup above but create an audio track and then play your iPad instrument like normal. You won't be able to stop/start your DAW using the iPad if you play the virtual instrument directly like this. And you'd do well to set a limiter on the track because it's easy to blow out the sound levels (at least I've found this to be the case).
And no matter if you're recording a MIDI track or an audio track, after you're done go back into the "Audio MIDI Setup" and "Disable" your connection, then quit the software.
Will Windows have a similar ability to connect MIDI wirelessly, or is the Bome software mandatory?
If you don't want hardware you could try these guys: https://www.zerodebug.com/ This could be an option via a USB cable. I haven't looked into it for a while, but I did have studiomux working between an iPad and Repair on a PC some time ago.
**Had a quick look. It's currently still in Beta, but appears to be actively developed and functional. Probably worth a try.
Thanks everybody for your input and suggestions…
No problem @NeuM , like you say it will be of use to somebody else…
I’ll probably investigate @DavidEnglish Bome solution first and see where it takes me…
To be honest I am surprised at how few simple , here it is, bish, bash bosh solutions there are.
I guess it’s the windows side of things that doesn’t fit into the iPad / app ecosystem very well 😢