Korg Gadget > The Hodgepodge for song production on iOS?

Kaikoo

@JohnnyGoodyear said:

Sorry, Dr. Googear. No little Gadget become Gadget become trance genre.

mrufino1

I guess my gadget release was not trancey enough...ha! I'm kidding, I like making electronic music for fun but have no illusions of it's quality or innovation. A DJ went on right after us at a wedding last night in Delaware (literally- we hit the last note, the private party ended and public came streaming in as the club became public at 11:30pm). While I admire the DJ's creativity as he was obviously remixing tracks on the fly, it's just not my thing as far as listening or experience. It also made load out miserable!

However, I love gadget. It reminds me of reason when reason came out. I do hope at some point there's an option to get away from 8 bar repeating patterns, but I love it for what it is. I'd love it if nanostudio merged with gadget, that would be an amazing app. Nano's sequencer with gadget's synths...then direct export to auria for mixing, complete with mono stem export!

Littlewoodg

The hodgepodge apps, there's a lot of them. Ecosystems as OP puts it. Lately my favorites are Electrify NXT, and iSequence, to feed weird stems into MTS. Also Tabletop, Caustic, FL Studio HD. I have Gadget (and all the extras) too, but that blue color on the piano roll throws me.

mkell424

It's been covered already above but Gadget is great. And it's a great value for the money even if you don't get the IAPs. You can still use you other synths, etc because you can export audio and MIDI to Cubasis, Auria, MTS, etc. Even exports to Ableton on the desktop.
Go for it!

[Deleted User]

I never did even a loop with Gadget yet and i own it since the beginning... maybe i should start trying it. Yeah....but the lack of audio tracks really annoys me.

ErrkaPetti

Korg Gadget is like soccer and the greatest of them all: Lionel Messi!
Fast, versatile, get things done and, worldclass!
There's so much great apps out there, but, Korg has a very nice feeling to their's musicapps...
Go Korg, and, if your wallet is big enough, go for Module and the awesome iM1!

eustressor

Gadget incorporates nicely with my larger workflow that includes, rather than precludes, my favorite outside apps courtesy of track export into Auria. Great starting point, but not always.

Peter321

You can do without Module, especially if you plan to replace the piano later. You only need Module if you want the best possible piano sounds INSIDE Gadget. If you don't need that, get the other stuff. Definitely choose iM1 over Module if you can only get one.

Matt_Fletcher_2000

@Paulyboy said:
Wow thanks for all the responses everybody!

Hi. Everything you suggest in your last post is definitely possible.

You could write the whole thing in Gadget then export to Cubasis...most of it as audio tracks, but the drum part and, say, a piano part as midi.

Then in Cubasis hook those parts to Diode and iGrand or whatever... Then you have your integration with other apps. You can also use Cubasis effects.

However, I've never done this because I've generally been happy with a gadgets sounds and this starts to get to be too much hassle, plus you lose tweakability once you render out of Gadget and I'm always tweaking the sound and composition and automaton right up until the end.

By the way, NanoStudio is a good other option if you want an all in one solution. And it allows infinitely long sample imports. The only question is how far you think you can go with its Eden synths?

Fitz

I find that by linking Gadget to Loopy that I don't miss the audio too much. They sync, start and stop really well. It's harder to work with a song, but with a scene it's quite stress free.

Kaikoo

@Fitz said:
I find that by linking Gadget to Loopy that I don't miss the audio too much. They sync, start and stop really well. It's harder to work with a song, but with a scene it's quite stress free.

You can use Midiflow instead of Loopy! midiflow has proper midi clock feature.

Fitz

@Kaikoo, thanks. Loopy syncs without problems, I have it in Audiobus too, so use MiMix as a control centre, and most importantly, I can record audio to play along with Gadget. Also I can record Gadget tracks into Loopy therefore adding extra fx (’Flux it'). The main problem is moving from scenes to songs. You can do it with Loopy, but you need to do a lot of doughnut pressing. It works well for live looping, where I only use a few scenes, but still playing with the idea of making a track out of this.

Kaikoo

@Fitz said:

Ok, I see! You are extracting Gadget out. I thought you try to input some note patterns to record within Gadget, which made Midiflow really useful.

Fitz

No, just keeping it simple for the moment. Adding audio and extra fx to Gadget. As I say live looping is fun, just not sure I can write a song with this yet. My challenge

ChrisG

@Kaikoo said:
Sorry, Dr. Googear.

Dr. Googear. Haha I like that, has a nice ring to it, rolls of your tung a bit easier as well!

Kaikoo

@ChrisG

Boss, can you message Waldorf manager, What happened to the Attack superstar?

R_2

I have Bilbao, thinking overall it's the best featured sampler of the two. Especially like the fact you can load 16 samples instead of 1 in Abu Dhabi. But still jealous at Abu Dhabi's attack and reverse options
Not sure if I like the shared user folder for imported samples, since I'd be using different material for each.

Question for people who have both samplers: Still using them both, or mainly Bilbao?

Bilbao vs Abu - round 1 - FIGHT!

Matt_Fletcher_2000

Both... depends on the situation...

Abu allows a 10 sec sample... so useful if you want to throw, say, 4 external synth sounds into a 10 sec sample then import. As you say, it also has reverse. And the X-Y pad on the effects is useful.

It's also quite nice for quick kit creation from other drum apps. You create a loop in your drum app that has a different hit on every 16th. Then import that single file into Abu... instant 16 sound drum kit. Much less importing and exporting than Bilbao.

Bilbao probably more generally useful though. Because of the 16 samples allowed (although 5 sec limit). You can also use it to concatenate longer sequences. But as you say, lacks a reverse which is a shame.

Kaikoo

@Matt_Fletcher_2000 said:

Excellent expertise!

Matt_Fletcher_2000

@Kaikoo said:
Excellent expertise!

Thanks!

Igneous1

Yes, one of the weaknesses of Gadget, is that Bilbao doesn't have an attack control - click, click, click...
I know you can edit the sample to fade in (before importing), but if you're automating the 'start' position, not so good.

R_2

Thanks @Matt_Fletcher_2000
How's the attack in practice? Finetune or hit/miss. Can't find a video of how it sounds on material.

Bilbao's clicks at start don't bother me much, perhaps depending on the samples (I mainly use one shot drums samples which sound okay when triggered fast).

But it's nice to have a (short)fade-in option for other samples, that (plus reverse) is why Abu Dhabi interests me.

Only have €6 AppStore credit, so it's either Abu Dhabi or the T1 pack for iM1 :-)

RUST( i )K

@Paulyboy said:
So I've been wrestling with entering the Korg ecosystem before June 30 when the current sale on all their products end. I've considered purchasing M1 and just leaving it at that because it looks like you can use it pretty well standalone in Audiobus and even multi-timbral with something like Genome. I'm also assuming you can use other iOS playing services, like SoundPrism Electro, with it?

So that's all well and good but the more I look at Gadget, and I've been watching a lot of videos on it, and the more I read about it here and elsewhere it really looks like the best all in one solution on iOS by far right now. I know it's not perfect and I know they have a roadmap, which might address some of those imperfections, but even in its current state it just screams productivity and fun. It also looks like M1, and Module as well, both look like they are better being used with Gadget.

I've put off purchasing it because of the price. And now when you throw in M1, all the IAPs, Gadget's IAPs, and possibly Module as well, with or without its IAPs, you're at $70 without Module and $100 with Module. From an IOS standpoint that's a lot of money. However it does look like the most complete solution for making a variety of styles of music as quickly and as easily as possible, even in its current state, with further improvements coming down the line. To me it basically looks like this is what iOS music production should be – simple yet powerful.

However, like I suspect everybody here, I've accumulated a ton of other apps, many of which are very good to fantastic. I've spent countless hours tinkering with them, and had a great time doing it. I've stuffed my Audioshare library with a vast assortment of cool sounding parts – fun to create but typically left there to rot and collect dust. I have managed to make a few complete songs. Some were done in Cubasis with just a few instruments, some internal some external, while others were done mostly, if not entirely, with all-in-one solutions like Oscilab.

It seems like if I take this dive into the Korg ecosystem I might discover it's something I should have done in the first place rather than accumulate all of these other less expensive apps. So I guess I'm wondering if those that have taken the dive have found the Korg ecosystem to be a complete solution on iOS and there now be less of a need to purchase so many of these other apps?

I know there are ways you can still use these together, plus there is still the tinkering aspect that's great fun, but I like the idea of having a system I can fire up and quickly and put together an entire song whenever the need arises. Based on my experiences with other "all in ones" this really seems like the future of IOS music production, and Korg seems to have the lead in this area right now.

But it's a difficult choice when I have all of these other apps, including something like iGrand, which to my ears sounds just as good as Module, yet I can't use it in Gadget's fantastic pianoroll, etc..

So has anybody else found themselves mostly ignoring all of their other apps in favor of the Korg ecosystem and are there other people who, like me, struggling with this same decision before the sale ends on June 30?

"Struggling with the same decision"
"I might discover its something I should have done"

Emotional much?

You wont' know till you try?

You get what you pay for?
I am sure there are endless clichés.

I recommend Korg Gadget. If not for Abudabi then the rest of it as well. Thats just me.
M1 stellar.

RUST( i )K

@u0421793 said:
I have gadget and I use it the most out of all the iOS synths on my iPad at the moment, yet I absolutely hate it and have achieved almost nothing useful on it so far. I persist with it partly because I spent so much on it, and partly because everyone here talks so positively about it, but I really don't like it at all. My stuff is full of mistakes I can’t get rid of, and I daren’t try any more, as so many times I’ve lost great chunks of stuff trying to correct a mistake I just did. That’s not the real reason I don’t like it though. The keyboard is horrible, too, but that’s not the main criticism. It’s the synths — not one of them is flexible enough. I constantly find myself wanting to patch something that is not there, or impossible. They’re all far too limited for me to use fluently. Not one of them is fully capable of the kind of patches I would naturally prefer to venture towards. It’s taken me a few months to realise that it’s not me being totally unfamiliar with the unintuitive nature of Gadget (and I haven’t read any manual or documentation yet because didn’t think it should be necessary), it’s purely because the synths are too limited.

That is why I only use London, AbuDhabi, and M1.

I turn to all the other apps for harder and more versatile synths for leads, drops, and build ups.

RUST( i )K

@Kaikoo said:
I am learning music not by Gadget, but by all other music apps and this forum. I like Gadget but keeping it at bay, You will miss lots of fun with every puzzle on the roads to your destiny. Gadget is too small a world for me.

Btw, I like trance genre, I hardly see a good trance tune from Gadget users. There is reasons for it, but I can guess why. I am waiting Auria Pro these days.

That is funny, because Trance is the only style that I think Gadget is best to make an entire song - start to finish.

Multiple gadgets are made to order for Trance.

If you want another app for Trance, Synthmasters IAP packs have several specific to Trance.

Kaikoo

@RustiK said:

LOL! yes Sir! Gadget is illegible for me to trance! However, opinion is opinion. I need a daw which has sidechaining, gate contraction & expansion, filters, EQ, compression. Well, maybe someday Korg Gadget can catch up to Auria Pro and Fabfilter! I am new, but not that new!

Matt_Fletcher_2000

@Kaikoo said:
LOL! yes Sir! Gadget is illegible for me to trance! However, opinion is opinion. I need a daw which has sidechaining, gate contraction & expansion, filters, EQ, compression. Well, maybe someday Korg Gadget can catch up to Auria Pro and Fabfilter! I am new, but not that new!

Yes - Gadget is really lacking on FX. It really needs this stuff...

Kaikoo

@Matt_Fletcher_2000 said:
Yes - Gadget is really lacking on FX. It really needs this stuff...

+1

touchconspiracy

@Kaikoo said:
I am learning music not by Gadget, but by all other music apps and this forum. I like Gadget but keeping it at bay, You will miss lots of fun with every puzzle on the roads to your destiny. Gadget is too small a world for me.

Btw, I like trance genre, I hardly see a good trance tune from Gadget users. There is reasons for it, but I can guess why. I am waiting Auria Pro these days.

Techtrance made with gadget exclusively. Only other app used was arpeggist to create the synth patterns:

@touchconspiracy

Kaikoo

Gosh! a lot of Gadget defender here! I must run faster! Thank you! When the 303 sound there, putting me a smiley face! I am doped not hyped!