Loopy Pro: Create music, your way.

What is Loopy Pro?Loopy Pro is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive live looper, sampler, clip launcher and DAW for iPhone and iPad. At its core, it allows you to record and layer sounds in real-time to create complex musical arrangements. But it doesn’t stop there—Loopy Pro offers advanced tools to customize your workflow, build dynamic performance setups, and create a seamless connection between instruments, effects, and external gear.

Use it for live looping, sequencing, arranging, mixing, and much more. Whether you're a live performer, a producer, or just experimenting with sound, Loopy Pro helps you take control of your creative process.

Download on the App Store

Loopy Pro is your all-in-one musical toolkit. Try it for free today.

Sharing samples over network and sample library apps

I have 58 GB of samples, 2 laptops and in iPad, all of which I use for music production. I don't want separate copies of the samples on each device. I setup an NFS file share on a NAS and am able to share them between all of my devices. It works really well, even on the iPad. The only problem I've found is that it doesn't integrate well with Media Assistant or AudioShare since they both have their own folders instead. I can import folders into AudioShare, but then I end up with multiple copies of the samples across devices.

I'm curious if anyone else has a similar setup and how do you work with sample library apps on the iPad without having to copy around a bunch of files?

Comments

  • wimwim
    edited November 2023

    It may not seem like it, but iOS apps alwise copy a network shared file locally before using. Try modifying one of those files and you'll find that the networked version isn't updated. Even if an app does have the ability to sync the file back to networked storage (none that I know of do), you are always, always working on a downloaded copy that is in local storage.

    I can't speak for Media Assistant, but AudioShare predates the Files app and its ability to access network storage. It was made as a repository and as a way around iOS limitations. As such, it doesn't have some of the file management features of newer apps. AudioShare works on imported files only.

    On the upside: multiple copies of files in iOS don't take up additional physical storage. They're actually sophisticated pointers to just one file. (See spoiler)

    SampleCrate is a file manager that lets you browse your networked storage effectively so that you don't have to import massive folder structures anywhere. But, as with all iOS apps, you'll be downloading each file locally when you use it.

    This gets complicated. If you accessed a networked file from three separate apps you would get three separate copies as each would download from the network share individually. If you copied the file onto the device once, but then accessed that local copy from three different apps, there would be only one physically stored file. Confusing eh?

    It gets worse. Let's say you copied 1gb of samples from your network share. Then you imported that 1gb into three apps. Overall iPad storage would only reflect the 1gb increase. But you will see the 1gb reported in each app, leading you to think you had used 3x the storage when in fact, physically it's only stored once.

  • I've become quite a fan of readdle documents for previewing audio and accessing files on network drives.
    It even supports file operations between two network shares, copy them to local folders and more.
    It does a lot of things well that Apple have struggled to achieve in their ridiculous Files.app since years.

  • wimwim
    edited November 2023

    @rs2000 said:
    I've become quite a fan of readdle documents for previewing audio and accessing files on network drives.
    It even supports file operations between two network shares, copy them to local folders and more.
    It does a lot of things well that Apple have struggled to achieve in their ridiculous Files.app since years.

    Struggled to achieve? You’re far too generous. The only struggle on their part has been to slow-roll progress as much as they can without losing too much market share.

    It’s intentional- not incompetence.

  • @wim said:

    @rs2000 said:
    I've become quite a fan of readdle documents for previewing audio and accessing files on network drives.
    It even supports file operations between two network shares, copy them to local folders and more.
    It does a lot of things well that Apple have struggled to achieve in their ridiculous Files.app since years.

    Struggled to achieve? You’re far too generous. The only struggle on their part has been to slow-roll progress as much as they can without losing too much market share.

    It’s intentional- not incompetence.

    Does it make a difference?

  • I use a shared folder on my computer and access it with VLC on my phone and iPad but Readdle works fine for it too

  • wimwim
    edited November 2023

    @rs2000 said:
    Does it make a difference?

    No. Just idle Apple bashing, that's all.

Sign In or Register to comment.