Ableton Live FTW, finally sick of the iPad for music

Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr

@monz0id said:

@mistercharlie said:

@monz0id said:

Even then there’s problems - about 25% of my AUM jams fail to record, so most of that now is recorded straight into the Mac, rather than the unreliable built-in option.

😩

Yeah, no idea why. A few years back I had contact with the dev, probably on here, but it’s still a thing - even on a completely different, newer device. Could be I’m overloading the iPad, or a rogue app is messing things up, but it seems completely random - when I check and find a session hasn’t recorded, I’ll go back and do it again, and it then records the same setup perfectly. Very, very frustrating as I’m capturing one-off ‘performances’, and it’s usually the good ones that get lost forever.

I've had that problem too. Especially in the past year. Also often file players refuse to play when I reset to start.

[Deleted User]

@Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr said:

@monz0id said:

@mistercharlie said:

@monz0id said:

Even then there’s problems - about 25% of my AUM jams fail to record, so most of that now is recorded straight into the Mac, rather than the unreliable built-in option.

😩

Yeah, no idea why. A few years back I had contact with the dev, probably on here, but it’s still a thing - even on a completely different, newer device. Could be I’m overloading the iPad, or a rogue app is messing things up, but it seems completely random - when I check and find a session hasn’t recorded, I’ll go back and do it again, and it then records the same setup perfectly. Very, very frustrating as I’m capturing one-off ‘performances’, and it’s usually the good ones that get lost forever.

I've had that problem too. Especially in the past year. Also often file players refuse to play when I reset to start.

Yeah I’ve noticed that too.

Makes me nervous when I’ve played a really good jam, then checking Audioshare to see if it’s recorded or not!

rs2000

@monz0id, @R2, @KirbyMumbo, @JMmusic
The role of iOS music apps in my workflows hasn't changed since years. Like many years ago, drawing a somewhat distinct line what to do on the iDevice and what to do on the Desktop is still such an important aspect, potentially avoiding a lot of frustration.
Using each for what they're best for helps with keeping it fun.

mistercharlie

@rs2000 said:

drawing a somewhat distinct line what to do on the iDevice and what to do on the Desktop is still such an important aspect, potentially avoiding a lot of frustration.
Using each for what they're best for helps with keeping it fun.

This is a great point. I shall continue to use several apps on the iPad, like Koala (which isn’t nearly so good on the desktop). And Loopy Pro, which is great for capturing clips from the OP-1 and adding FX to them on the go.

[Deleted User]

@rs2000 said:
@monz0id, @R2, @KirbyMumbo, @JMmusic
The role of iOS music apps in my workflows hasn't changed since years. Like many years ago, drawing a somewhat distinct line what to do on the iDevice and what to do on the Desktop is still such an important aspect, potentially avoiding a lot of frustration.
Using each for what they're best for helps with keeping it fun.

Oh definitely - and cost effective too - the synths and fx’s I use on the iPad and record into Live would cost a small fortune on desktop!

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

dendy

@Telstar5 said:
Yeah, but then again your precious Mac doesn’t have AUDIOBUS FORUM! Ha ha!!

speachless, bullet proof argument !

dendy

Recently bought Macbook AIR M1 ... primary for work (i'm coder) .. but then installed Logic and Reason with intention i start use it for music making. From beginning i was pretty happy with that, felt like i'm back in infinite possibilities for perfectly expressing my music ideas.

After a short while my enthusiasm vanished ) It's simply too much options lol, literally got again "too much possibilities paralysis" and making music was ZERO fun. Most importantly - it feels like "work" - maybe because i use same tool for my daily job ... When i turn on my hw boxes or ipad, it feels like free time - which meens i'm instantly "in flow"

Looks like i'm destined to stay in mixed environment HW groove boxes + iPad/NS2

But perfect production environment is different for everybody. This is very important. People may give you trillion advices but at the end it's just you who must do research and find optimal creative environment.

cokomairena

@dendy said:
It's simply too much options lol, literally got again "too much possibilities paralysis" and making music was ZERO fun. Most importantly - it feels like "work" - maybe because i use same tool for my daily job ... When i turn on my hw boxes or ipad, it feels like free time - which meens i'm instantly "in flow"

This is me!

henryo

@zah said:

Is IDAM dead?!

No working great here with Air 4 and MacBook Air M1 on Montery

rs2000

@JMmusic said:

@rs2000 said:
@monz0id, @R2, @KirbyMumbo, @JMmusic
The role of iOS music apps in my workflows hasn't changed since years. Like many years ago, drawing a somewhat distinct line what to do on the iDevice and what to do on the Desktop is still such an important aspect, potentially avoiding a lot of frustration.
Using each for what they're best for helps with keeping it fun.

Yes, starting to think DAW activities are better done off of iDevices. I have a PC laptop…best way to use it with an iDevice for music (and use the PC for DAW)?

You have to find your own perfect workflow but what works for me is composing and being playful on the iDevice, then switch to desktop when I need better sounds and better and easier audio file handling.
Some people produce on iPad from A to Z and they've found everything they need there so I would never claim that my way of doing it is good for everyone.

jwmmakerofmusic

@mistercharlie said:
I've finally given up on the iPad, on iConnectAudio, on everything except Live on the Mac.

Whenever I use the iPad for music, I feel like I'm fighting to get things done. The individual apps are great, but to gather material to complete a song, iPadOS is a monstrous pain.

For example, Koala is amazing, but used an an AU, it often crashes. And while it does Ableton export, there's still a lot of management work to do on the desktop end.

This week, I put Koala and Drambo inside iOS DAWs, hoping to record their audio into tracks, but this seems to be impossible. On GarageBand, nothing records, or MIDI records, but not Koala's sequenced MIDI.

In Cuba's the experience was similar. I know I can freeze midi tracks there, but still.

Yesterday I decided to stop messing with iOS as a system, and just use the individual apps as sound sources for Live. I hooked up my guitar to my Mac, also hooked up an 0-Coast and Novation Launchpad, and I was off. Playing the 0-Coast into Live is a dream, and I can quickly chop the recordings into a Simpler and keep working. The new Moogerfooger FX are nice, but tbh Ableton has sp many great built-in FX I don't need the Moog ones yet.

The upshot was an afternoon spent enjoying music making, experimentation, and all that good stuff. If I want Koala, I can sync it via Link, and capture the audio via iDAM. Ditto Thumbjam.

I'm not trying to say that this is the best way for everyone. Or even anyone else. I also love the iPad for music, both its immediacy, its amazing audio apps, its portability and its touch screen. I also understand that many of you live in Drambo, or AUM. But for me, it's such a pain to do anything that I always give up.

I've been looking at the M1 and M2 iPads, and this made me realize that I might buy an M2 MacBook Air instead. It's about the same price, and would be a way better music machine for me.

Maybe this will change in future, but it doesn't look like it. From now on, I suspect I will be using an iPad only for reading, writing (which it's great at), and for one-at-a-time music apps.

The M1 iPad Pro is much better at handling lots of processes at once. I use Nanostudio 2 as my main creative environment. I wish we could get a full version of Logic (or any DAW) on the iPad, but I'm pretty much set in my current workflow and producing a full EDM album on my M1.

I hope you'll still stay here mate. I appreciate you. Cheers.

symianbeatz

@rs2000 said:

@JMmusic said:

@rs2000 said:
@monz0id, @R2, @KirbyMumbo, @JMmusic
The role of iOS music apps in my workflows hasn't changed since years. Like many years ago, drawing a somewhat distinct line what to do on the iDevice and what to do on the Desktop is still such an important aspect, potentially avoiding a lot of frustration.
Using each for what they're best for helps with keeping it fun.

Yes, starting to think DAW activities are better done off of iDevices. I have a PC laptop…best way to use it with an iDevice for music (and use the PC for DAW)?

You have to find your own perfect workflow but what works for me is composing and being playful on the iDevice, then switch to desktop when I need better sounds and better and easier audio file handling.
Some people produce on iPad from A to Z and they've found everything they need there so I would never claim that my way of doing it is good for everyone.

This is me too, it's a great way to work.. 👍

mistercharlie

@jwmmakerofmusic Thanks! I’m not going anywhere. This forum stopped being about just iPad music apps a long time ago.

And for what it’s worth, I still love the iPad for instruments and FX. It just lets me down almost every time I try to combine them. And until the Mac gets a touch screen, I will be using the iPad for Koala!

BroCoast

@mistercharlie said:
It just lets me down almost every time I try to combine them.

Have you tried building a template in Drambo, AUM or LP?

What model iPad?

Svetlovska

Modular and/or apps into AUM running live into AudioShare as stereo mix, or stems if I want to get fancy in Ableton Suite is all the workflow I need. The only PITA for the Ableton route is getting the stems across to my 2012 MBP which can’t Airdrop., which is why I hold out some hope for future export options from Note. And also why 95 % of everything I do is iPad/AUM live jams only. I’ll buy a new Mac when they make a touch screen version. Or merge the OSes, (Why haven’t they yet?) Bitwig apparently is good with touch.

krassmann

@mistercharlie said:
@jwmmakerofmusic Thanks! I’m not going anywhere. This forum stopped being about just iPad music apps a long time ago.

And for what it’s worth, I still love the iPad for instruments and FX. It just lets me down almost every time I try to combine them. And until the Mac gets a touch screen, I will be using the iPad for Koala!

I second that. I spend most of my time with Bitwig now but I still read this forum every day. I still use Gadget or Drambo to jam on the go, though.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

natuurlijk

I gave up on iOS DAWs long ago. Too annoying by half… as a thing to muck around on though, (and send sounds out from) iPad is brilliant. Moog, Gauss, Ruismaker Noir, Koala, Borderlands - all superb. And now Note too.

It’s all the same thing in the end. Just making music by whatever means works, entertains and inspires.

cyberheater

Any good tutorials for Ableton Live?

symianbeatz

@cyberheater said:
Any good tutorials for Ableton Live?

https://youtube.com/c/Ableton

There's a ton of learn live tutorials here for free..

Angie

@cyberheater said:
Any good tutorials for Ableton Live?

Their YouTube channel pretty much covers everything https://youtube.com/c/Ableton

LNA Does Audio Stuff is also really good https://youtube.com/c/LNADoesAudioStuff

Danny_Mammy

@cyberheater said:
Any good tutorials for Ableton Live?

I quite like this one , covers a lot in one video.

auxmux

What I learned about Ableton, I learned on YouTube. Most things are fairly intuitive tho. Lot easier than using Logic and Cubase.

[Deleted User]

Whatever works. I like using both an iPad Pro and an M1 Mac, especially given that some of my favourite apps work on both.

Telstar5

@emjay said:
Whatever works. I like using both an iPad Pro and an M1 Mac, especially given that some of my favourite apps work on both.

I’ve heard some developers don’t allow their iOS apps to be available on Mac OS. I’ve also heard that Ableton makes it easy
the developer allows it (using iOS apps within Ableton).

[Deleted User]

@Telstar5 said:
I’ve heard some developers don’t allow their iOS apps to be available on Mac OS. I’ve also heard that Ableton makes it easy
the developer allows it (using iOS apps within Ableton).

True, far from all are available. Still, there are some great ones that are, and I’m enjoying being able to use them on both devices.

KirbyMumbo

@Telstar5 said:

@emjay said:
Whatever works. I like using both an iPad Pro and an M1 Mac, especially given that some of my favourite apps work on both.

I’ve heard some developers don’t allow their iOS apps to be available on Mac OS. I’ve also heard that Ableton makes it easy
the developer allows it (using iOS apps within Ableton).

Riffler, Koala, Model D Moog, AnimoogZ, some FX are a few I know of. Thing is, you'll never see the desktop class apps from iOS to Mac without the extra price tag.

paradiddle

Edit: seemed to be mirroring the above.

Yep on my mac, I have the ios moog apps from within ableton. I don't have an m1 though so I can't really use most of the ios apps that work with it. Still, it's great to be able to use them.

@Telstar5 said:

@emjay said:
Whatever works. I like using both an iPad Pro and an M1 Mac, especially given that some of my favourite apps work on both.

I’ve heard some developers don’t allow their iOS apps to be available on Mac OS. I’ve also heard that Ableton makes it easy
the developer allows it (using iOS apps within Ableton).

BirbHope

I pretty much came to the same realization as OP.
My last shot is trying to see if I can bond with Zenbeats.
Strikes me as a potentially decent bridge between desktop and iPad since it runs on both.
Not sure yet.
There is still some fiddling to do on the desktop side.
It just depends on how much I like writing and arranging on the iPad, anywhere I like, vs the pain of changing out some of the instruments on the desktop side (if I happen to use instruments I don’t want to freeze/record - like if I am still working out the MIDI parts - using apps that I don’t have on my desktop).
Over time, during good sales, I may purchase a few of the desktop versions of the some of the apps I like like Omega, Sugar Bytes, OPL etc..
Getting used to Zenbeat’s sampler and some of the workflow limitations will be pretty important if I will be able to make it a home. If Bleass eventually makes Samplewizz for desktop I’d be pleased.