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Pros and cons of ipad app lifecycle

2

Comments

  • @Slam_Cut said:

    @Tentype said:

    @I find the differences mostly quaint, fun, and inspiring until I get to certain stages of music production with a song and I start to have concrete ideas of what I want to hear instead of playtime.

    Strictly out of self-interest and desire to not pass up an opportunity to learn from someone else’s experiences, can you describe this a little better? Granted there are some things that are not very applicable between genres and different approaches to workflow, but you seem to he indicating …sound quality? Maybe comparing iOS apps to multi-thousand dollar orchestral sound libraries would be a possibly extreme example. Is this the sort of thing you mean?

    No, sound quality is excellent! What I meant was that in the earlier stages of developing a song I really enjoy just playing, trying things out, experimenting, and iPad is a quite excellent platform for this. Later on in a songs development I start to get really clear about what I want to hear, and how, and when, and I it find it harder to dial in more precise choices on ipad. Automation, fine CC editing, fine midi performance editing. I find all the detail oriented editing, mixing, and mastering MUCH more challenging on iPad than desktop. I think developers are very much still working out the challenges and opportunities of adapting to a touch screen and a smaller interface.

    Are there ways around it? Of course. Could I suck it up and just get it done? Sure. Could I change my workflow, expectations, attitude? Absolutely.

    These are all just my observations about working on iPad ☺️

  • edited March 2024

    My experience after working for a decade in Auria, and now more recently in Logic for iPad is that there are no major obstacles to creating complex mixes on the iPad, once you get used to the workflow.

    MIDI editing is painless, audio routing works extremely well.

    Automation is the only area where things could be improved, in Logic the automation lanes should be taller, to take up the full height of the screen, because adding automation data for values that are close to each other is fiddly - for example doing volume automation within a 2-3db range. IMO that's not an issue with the iPad but it's a UI problem in Logic. But it's a niggle, and every desktop DAW will also have its share of similar niggles.

  • @richardyot said:
    My experience after working for a decade in Auria, and now more recently in Logic for iPad is that there are no major obstacles to creating complex mixes on the iPad, once you get used to the workflow.

    MIDI editing is painless, audio routing works extremely well.

    Automation is the only area where things could be improved, in Logic the automation lanes should be taller, to take up the full height of the screen, because adding automation data for values that are close to each other is fiddly - for example doing volume automation within a 2-3db range. IMO that's not an issue with the iPad but it's a UI problem in Logic. But it's a niggle, and every desktop DAW will also have its share of similar niggles.

    That's awesome. 🙌🏽 and I'm sure lots of people would agree with you.

    Logic IMO is a great example of how the platform is starting a move into maturity. It got a lot of things right as far as interface ergonomics and touch screen usability for a large feature set, and arrived less than a year ago. It allows for a few different approaches to songwriting that I like and gives me a bit if freedom within 1 interface, cool.

    "Once you get used to its workflow"

    ^^^ This is what's actually being debated in this thread IMO. There's always an adaptation process, but it's gotta be intuitive enough that you can still keep your inspiration.

    Not everybody can find workflows yet that they can get used to. It's not really a criticism, just the reality of developing ecosystem. Personally if you give me a different workflow I will create different music. That's fun! Some people will find it endlessly infuriating if they can't get a more specific workflow though, and that's fair.

    Again, I think in the next 5 years lots of pain points for workflow will be sorted. I'll still be here, tapping away.

    Why did you move from Auria if you have 10 years of good times with it?

  • @Tentype said:
    Why did you move from Auria if you have 10 years of good times with it?

    Two reasons really: Auria's development has slowed to the point that it only gets maintenance updates, so obviously new features are not on the way. And secondly Logic is more powerful and user-friendly DAW.

    I was quite happy using Auria, for audio mixing it was awesome. But I did all the MIDI stuff elsewhere, mostly in NS2 but sometimes also GarageBand or Gadget. I don't mind compromises and workarounds, I always just focus on getting stuff done with what's available.

    But no doubt Logic is a better DAW than Auria, with a better future.

  • @jamietopol said:
    I spent $34 USD in the app store. I now have a spectacular Hammond (VB3m), Vox Continental (Red Animal), Farfisa (Compact DeLuxe), Phillips Philicorda (iPhilicorda), and pipe organ (Cantoria Baroque). I spent another $90 and I have a DX7 (KQ Dixie), Moog Model D, Moog Model 15, Moog Voyager (Viking), Oberheim SEM (iSEM), ARP Odyssey (Odyssei), Putney (iVCS3), Juno 60 and 106 (Tal-U-No LX), Oberheim OB-X, and M1. Back when I purchased physical keyboards, I don't think I could come close to replicating this breadth of incredible sounding instruments even with a budget of $25,000. I take my iPad (standard, not pro) with me to any MIDI-capable keyboard anywhere in the world, connect a CME WIDI Bluetooth adapter to the keyboard, connect my iPad to a mixer or amp, and I have every instrument with me - all of my patches, splits, layers, settings, sheet music, set lists, etc. What the heck is wrong with everyone? (asked half-joking and half-serious) The iPad is a flippin' musical miracle.

    It is great for vintage emulators and it makes sense that this niche developed.

  • @richardyot said:
    My experience after working for a decade in Auria, and now more recently in Logic for iPad is that there are no major obstacles to creating complex mixes on the iPad, once you get used to the workflow.

    MIDI editing is painless, audio routing works extremely well.

    Automation is the only area where things could be improved, in Logic the automation lanes should be taller, to take up the full height of the screen, because adding automation data for values that are close to each other is fiddly - for example doing volume automation within a 2-3db range. IMO that's not an issue with the iPad but it's a UI problem in Logic. But it's a niggle, and every desktop DAW will also have its share of similar niggles.

    Yah for singer / song writer stuff, particularly where performance is the prime motivator, it is a good platform for sure. For detailed collage oriented stuff, bringing a wide breadth of material together from disparate unrelated sources and arranging/mixing it together, things can be pretty painful. Sure, great productions can be achieved by some in certain cases. But for some styles/genres/etc if people are coming from another platform with the same expectations of ease of production they may very well experience 'major obstacles'.

  • Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    I'm wondering if it would be possible to use iPad apps of plugins that exist for both platforms just as controllers for their desktop counterparts, where basically only the UI of the plugin runs on iPads. It's definetly 100x cooler to control e.g. Audiothing apps with your fingers instead of a mouse.

  • @AudioGus said:
    if people are coming from another platform with the same expectations of ease of production they may very well experience 'major obstacles'.

    I agree with that, with the caveat that it's best to adapt to any given platform rather than wish that the iPad was just like the desktop. I think ultimately that's were people get frustrated.

    @kirmesteggno said:
    Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    Why can't you use MIDI controllers with an iPad?

  • @richardyot said:

    @kirmesteggno said:
    Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    Why can't you use MIDI controllers with an iPad?

    Logic doesn't support midi learn, you can't map knobs.

  • @kirmesteggno said:

    @richardyot said:

    @kirmesteggno said:
    Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    Why can't you use MIDI controllers with an iPad?

    Logic doesn't support midi learn, you can't map knobs.

    OK, that's a pretty big shortcoming. I assume Apple will address this, since it's supported on desktop.

  • @richardyot said:

    @kirmesteggno said:

    @richardyot said:

    @kirmesteggno said:
    Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    Why can't you use MIDI controllers with an iPad?

    Logic doesn't support midi learn, you can't map knobs.

    OK, that's a pretty big shortcoming. I assume Apple will address this, since it's supported on desktop.

    It's one of those things that sells more Apple Pencils I'm sure, they clearly designed Logic for iPad and the automation around it. I know how silicon valley entrepreneurs think, mappable knobs could be seen as potential competition for Pencil sales.

    They're doing something similar with crippling sample/wavetable customization expecting you to buy the desktop version. Both things that should have been there yesterday and would cost little to implement. Imo it's clearly politics, because it's a new platform kind of and they're not taking away from users they somewhow get away with it.

    Personally I can get by without both. I already had a Pencil and Im glad I dont need controllers because I mostly use the iPad for music in the tablet holder of my fitness bike, in my lap on the couch or resting on my stomach lying in bed. The play surfaces and customizable chord strips etc. are actually quite nice to bang in some melodies by feel.

    Most desktop users or those with normal bedroom or professional music studios won't even try it without those features though. I know that I'm more on the extreme side of minimalism and don't mind radical changes to setups etc.

  • @wim said:
    I realize my perspective is incompatible with the way a lot of people view the expense of iOS apps, but I don't think of them as "investments", or even in some sense "possessions". I categorize the expense in my own mind more under "entertainment". Compared to a single night eating out, which is over in a few hours, even the most expensive apps are cheap. I can't think of more than a few purchases in over a decade that I haven't gotten at least that much value out of.

    Thinking of them as temporary means I never shed a tear if they disappear. I know I had my fun with them. I never feel bad if I forget I have them and don't use them for a time. They're like treasures left in a closet only to be discovered again some day, only I don't have to lug them around with me every time I move.

    I'm not preaching. I'm just reflecting on the reasons for my own continued happiness with iPad purchases. I honestly feel they provide some of the best value I can think of compared to everything else that consumes my finances. I understand others' frustration and dissatisfaction, but for myself I'm thankful that weight just doesn't affect me.

    This is how I feel about it as well. Music is a hobby for me. $5-$20 I look at as an entertainment expense for something else I may have spent the same or more on. I enjoy learning and playing around with the technology part of many apps even if nothing fruitful comes to bear.

  • @AudioGus said:
    if people are coming from another platform with the same expectations of ease of production they may very well experience 'major obstacles'.

    I agree with that, with the caveat that it's best to adapt to any given platform rather than wish that the iPad was just like the desktop. I think ultimately that's were people get frustrated.

    Tru, you can make great stuff but the more specific/limited your focus of 'great' is the more limitations you may experience. In my opinion though it is best to be baller and able to buy anything. ;)

  • @AudioGus said:

    @richardyot said:
    My experience after working for a decade in Auria, and now more recently in Logic for iPad is that there are no major obstacles to creating complex mixes on the iPad, once you get used to the workflow.

    MIDI editing is painless, audio routing works extremely well.

    Automation is the only area where things could be improved, in Logic the automation lanes should be taller, to take up the full height of the screen, because adding automation data for values that are close to each other is fiddly - for example doing volume automation within a 2-3db range. IMO that's not an issue with the iPad but it's a UI problem in Logic. But it's a niggle, and every desktop DAW will also have its share of similar niggles.

    Yah for singer / song writer stuff, particularly where performance is the prime motivator, it is a good platform for sure. For detailed collage oriented stuff, bringing a wide breadth of material together from disparate unrelated sources and arranging/mixing it together, things can be pretty painful. Sure, great productions can be achieved by some in certain cases. But for some styles/genres/etc if people are coming from another platform with the same expectations of ease of production they may very well experience 'major obstacles'.

    Well said. iOS daw's just aren't there yet to provide any ease when working with heavily produced multitrack music. You can still do it, but it can be quite painful to navigate a lot of tracks, with a lot of automation, on a lot of synths and fx. It'll get there, but not yet for ease in any ios DAW.

    IOS is absolutely brilliant for basically any type of live performance tho. Beautiful for any type of wild experimentation. And perfectly reasonable for simpler multitracking.

    I'll go to Reaper when I'm scoring a film, or recording a band, but otherwise I'm full ios even if it takes longer. Love the journey.

  • @Tentype said:

    @Slam_Cut said:

    @Tentype said:

    @I find the differences mostly quaint, fun, and inspiring until I get to certain stages of music production with a song and I start to have concrete ideas of what I want to hear instead of playtime.

    Strictly out of self-interest and desire to not pass up an opportunity to learn from someone else’s experiences, can you describe this a little better? Granted there are some things that are not very applicable between genres and different approaches to workflow, but you seem to he indicating …sound quality? Maybe comparing iOS apps to multi-thousand dollar orchestral sound libraries would be a possibly extreme example. Is this the sort of thing you mean?

    No, sound quality is excellent! What I meant was that in the earlier stages of developing a song I really enjoy just playing, trying things out, experimenting, and iPad is a quite excellent platform for this. Later on in a songs development I start to get really clear about what I want to hear, and how, and when, and I it find it harder to dial in more precise choices on ipad. Automation, fine CC editing, fine midi performance editing. I find all the detail oriented editing, mixing, and mastering MUCH more challenging on iPad than desktop. I think developers are very much still working out the challenges and opportunities of adapting to a touch screen and a smaller interface.

    Are there ways around it? Of course. Could I suck it up and just get it done? Sure. Could I change my workflow, expectations, attitude? Absolutely.

    These are all just my observations about working on iPad ☺️

    Well said and I agree overall. Definitely ways around it, and us all iOS guys like me and @richardyot have probably made workflows that make it easy to complete songs on iOS.

    But I can see how someone coming from years of desktop use directly to iOS would have issues. I do hope Logic and Cubasis will eventually be up to desktop standards because it’s definitely easier overall to finish tracks in a DAW on a desktop. But I don’t have one, and prefer to use iOS, so I make it work lol.

    That said, I make mostly experimental music which is one area where iOS really shines. Especially with apps like AUM and Nodes. Overall I love iOS and it’s been hugely inspirational for me and my creativity. Hope we only see it grow and mature in the coming years. I think Logic was a big step in the right direction. As well as Steinberg porting their HALion instruments and the insane quality of them.

  • @Tentype said:
    I'll go to Reaper when I'm scoring a film, or recording a band…

    Why Reaper instead of other DAW? I’ve heard good things about it, but haven’t spent time with it. What are its strengths or your reasons it’s your favorite?

  • edited March 2024

    All of my app buying regrets were before the AUV3 era, when I collected far too many standalone apps with limited connectivity or functionality. I derived a lot of enjoyment and productivity out of that era, so it wasn’t all for naught—but it still feels like too much money went down the drain.

    I still use around 25% of those early apps, i.e. “the classics”: Korg/Waldorf apps/Samplr/Borderlands/Soft-Future Drummer, and a few others — all still worth every penny and will never leave my iPad.

    Since then, I’ve restricted my impulse buys to AUV3 hosts or plugins, and can’t think of a single regret from this era. It’s been the golden era of iPad production for me, where every purchase adds to the sound pallet or functionality of my primary DAWs, Drambo, Logic and AUM. It feels like near limitless choices and most plugins are remarkably stable and easy to use.

  • @Eschatone said:
    . It feels like near limitless choices and most plugins are remarkably stable and easy to use.

    Well said. Reading it makes me believe it sometimes :D (no sarcasm)

    Its all part of finding some good workflow. And people also try to break old workflow, establish or discover new workflow for exploration.

  • edited March 2024

    One main thing I like about buying IOS apps is that they are available on all my other iOS devices. Also, if I decide to get a new iPad, the exact clone copy is done without any mess via iCloud.

  • @Slam_Cut said:

    @Tentype said:
    I'll go to Reaper when I'm scoring a film, or recording a band…

    Why Reaper instead of other DAW? I’ve heard good things about it, but haven’t spent time with it. What are its strengths or your reasons it’s your favorite?

    Don't want to derail the thread too much, but in a nutshell Reaper tops the chart for most feature-rich, extremely customizable, stable, endlessly updated, and to top it off - cheap - DAW out there. Reaper has saved me thousands of dollars and countless hours by letting me build fully automated workflows for my post production film and video game audio work, and also let's me build support for using absolutely any hardware I want, in whatever way I want to use it.
    Reaper is not only the only DAW I want to use on desktop, but it's the only DAW I could use anymore. 😂

  • @Tentype said:

    @Slam_Cut said:

    @Tentype said:
    I'll go to Reaper when I'm scoring a film, or recording a band…

    Why Reaper instead of other DAW? I’ve heard good things about it, but haven’t spent time with it. What are its strengths or your reasons it’s your favorite?

    Don't want to derail the thread too much, but in a nutshell Reaper tops the chart for most feature-rich, extremely customizable, stable, endlessly updated, and to top it off - cheap - DAW out there. Reaper has saved me thousands of dollars and countless hours by letting me build fully automated workflows for my post production film and video game audio work, and also let's me build support for using absolutely any hardware I want, in whatever way I want to use it.
    Reaper is not only the only DAW I want to use on desktop, but it's the only DAW I could use anymore. 😂

    Have you ever tried Logic Pro on desktop?

    I guess Reaper is not a bad choice for PC (Windows), but on Mac as far as I’m concerned nothing beats LP.

  • @NeuM said:

    @Tentype said:

    @Slam_Cut said:

    @Tentype said:
    I'll go to Reaper when I'm scoring a film, or recording a band…

    Why Reaper instead of other DAW? I’ve heard good things about it, but haven’t spent time with it. What are its strengths or your reasons it’s your favorite?

    Don't want to derail the thread too much, but in a nutshell Reaper tops the chart for most feature-rich, extremely customizable, stable, endlessly updated, and to top it off - cheap - DAW out there. Reaper has saved me thousands of dollars and countless hours by letting me build fully automated workflows for my post production film and video game audio work, and also let's me build support for using absolutely any hardware I want, in whatever way I want to use it.
    Reaper is not only the only DAW I want to use on desktop, but it's the only DAW I could use anymore. 😂

    Have you ever tried Logic Pro on desktop?

    I guess Reaper is not a bad choice for PC (Windows), but on Mac as far as I’m concerned nothing beats LP.

    I would say Reaper compared to Logic Pro Desktop is analogous to Linux compared to MacOS. Reaper/Linux are more configurable and more flexible. Logic Pro/MacOS are more polished.

    Although Reaper isn't an open source project, it is managed like one and to users feels in some ways similar to open source projects. E.g., Cockos (Reaper's creators) sponsors the official Reaper forums, which are very active, including the 'Feature request' forum. https://forum.cockos.com/forumdisplay.php?s=0b7b9076987c12c86f4e6142b7728a91&f=23

  • @NeuM said:

    @Tentype said:

    @Slam_Cut said:

    @Tentype said:
    I'll go to Reaper when I'm scoring a film, or recording a band…

    Why Reaper instead of other DAW? I’ve heard good things about it, but haven’t spent time with it. What are its strengths or your reasons it’s your favorite?

    Don't want to derail the thread too much, but in a nutshell Reaper tops the chart for most feature-rich, extremely customizable, stable, endlessly updated, and to top it off - cheap - DAW out there. Reaper has saved me thousands of dollars and countless hours by letting me build fully automated workflows for my post production film and video game audio work, and also let's me build support for using absolutely any hardware I want, in whatever way I want to use it.
    Reaper is not only the only DAW I want to use on desktop, but it's the only DAW I could use anymore. 😂

    Have you ever tried Logic Pro on desktop?

    I guess Reaper is not a bad choice for PC (Windows), but on Mac as far as I’m concerned nothing beats LP.

    I was all Logic Pro for about 7 years. It's great. Same with Studio One, Pro Tools, and many others (I have a special fondness for Ableton Live). All of them have one or two tricks that Reaper doesn't have, but Reaper's configurable and extendable in ways none of the others can touch and that's become majorly important to my workflow.
    Most of the desktop DAW's have all the major features you'd expect now (unlike ios 😉) so for the most part the questions are : do I have a specific use case? And do I need synths and soubdbanks included with my DAW?

    If it's no to both of those then pick one and run IMO.

  • heshes
    edited March 2024

    @Tentype said:
    [. . . ]
    Most of the desktop DAW's have all the major features you'd expect now (unlike ios 😉) so for the most part the questions are : do I have a specific use case? And do I need synths and soubdbanks included with my DAW?

    If it's no to both of those then pick one and run IMO.

    Yes. And I would add that to the question "do I need synths and soubdbanks included with my DAW?" the answer is usually, "No".

    Reaper basically comes with just the DAW, many basic and serviceable tools, but none of the big synth/sequencer plugins that are part of almost every other DAW. This is of little consequence to me. There are so many excellent free and open source plugins available on desktop that you can just add a list of them to your Reaper install (e.g, for first three synth plugins I'd add Vital, SurgeXT, and Cardinal). It's not as prepackaged as Logic Pro and you have to manage more by yourself. As far as being lacking overall, though, I'd say answer is, "No, not lacking at all".

    You install from scratch so rarely, I'd say it matters very little that Reaper comes as "stripped down" in comparison to Logic Pro and other DAWs. You just have to be aware of the many excellent free/cheap plugin options out there and add them in as part of your install.

  • @kirmesteggno said:

    @richardyot said:

    @kirmesteggno said:
    Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    Why can't you use MIDI controllers with an iPad?

    Logic doesn't support midi learn, you can't map knobs.

    You can with this script:

    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/56050/logic-pro-how-to-use-a-midi-controller-to-control-your-plug-ins-lots-more-with-midi-scripter/p1

  • @klownshed said:

    @kirmesteggno said:

    @richardyot said:

    @kirmesteggno said:
    Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    Why can't you use MIDI controllers with an iPad?

    Logic doesn't support midi learn, you can't map knobs.

    You can with this script:

    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/56050/logic-pro-how-to-use-a-midi-controller-to-control-your-plug-ins-lots-more-with-midi-scripter/p1

    Wow, thanks for this work 🙌

  • @klownshed said:

    @kirmesteggno said:

    @richardyot said:

    @kirmesteggno said:
    Better desktop DAW integration would boost the iPad ecosystem I think. Not everybody is going to sacrifice midi controllers etc. and go full Logic Pro for iPad.

    Why can't you use MIDI controllers with an iPad?

    Logic doesn't support midi learn, you can't map knobs.

    You can with this script:

    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/56050/logic-pro-how-to-use-a-midi-controller-to-control-your-plug-ins-lots-more-with-midi-scripter/p1

    Apple should pay you for doing this. ;)

  • edited March 2024

    @distantstar said:
    I think that, right or wrong, iOS is not seen as a serious professional musicians’ platform. Of course, everyone knows of a few exceptions, and so on. But overall, I see that as the enduring perspective, even now: it’s a “Mickey Mouse” platform.

    So maybe that is why, to some extent anyway.

    This falls 100% on Apple and not the devs. They’re doing an amazing job with what they’ve been given.
    Just basic things like powering the ipad while simultaneously having a usb audio interface AND a midi keyboard connected can be a dongle nightmare. Apple adding a dedicated power input would solve many issues. At this point ipads are more than powerful enough to run a DAW + apps. I have none of the aforementioned issues with my 10 year old laptop. (Because it has 2 usb ports and a power jack + a sd card slot!)

  • Do you think Apple will ever make iPad covers for musicians with pads or keys woven in in the style of the now defunct Sensel Morph controllers?

  • When i first started buying apps… it was a case of “pub and a few beers or new app”.
    I did not mind spending ten to twenty pounds a week on the entertainment a new app can give.
    But for objectively making finished tracks… Ipad has to many hurdles for me… (thats more due to how i like to work) although since Logic has been able to sample itself… that was a missing link. I found BM3 got very buggy laying out tracks, which is a great shame.
    but ipad has few hurdles for having a good jam session, for me. I know plenty of people finishing tracks just on the ipad though, unfortunately you have to go with how it wants to flow.
    its got a lot better in the past couple of years compared to the 5 or 6 ive been using it.

    One of the biggest problem solvers for me is SampleCrate. If BM3 made an AUV of one track of its sampler section, i’d be very happy.

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