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Is “Using the iPad as a sketch pad” something you actually do?
I see this thrown around a lot of using the iPad as a sketch pad for songs. How many people find they actually use it for that purpose? Do you end up sending stems over? Just make a chord progression to use later? Set up sequencers to drive desktop VSTs?
Comments
I usually use it for making bits and pieces in AUM, to export later into Ableton on the Mac, usually with apps I don't have versions of on desktop. Sometimes I'll IDAM and play things directly into Live, including MIDI sequencers (as Ableton doesn't suppor AU MIDI). When the sub was still £4.99, I dropped in and out of Logic, and actually created a few (almost) finished pieces.
I hardly used it at all for music when I got my new Mac a year or so ago, as I was having so much fun on that, but I've just recently started getting back into it, as I've picked up so many good apps over the last few weeks. The updates for Continua and Quanta 2 for example are ace, and Polypipe is on my radar. Chewing over getting iWavestation in the sale and possibly Loopmangler too...
Feels like its time to revisit the iPad, as I'm finding my desktop stuff is starting to sound a bit stale.
My Loopy Projects are mostly setup as idea catchers where can quickly capture ideas and sketch out parts. Most are setup with retrospective capture. I launch my idea catcher whenever I sit down with my instrument. If I play something I want to remember , I press the capture button and the last minute or two is recalled.
That's all I use the iPad for. I can't be creative to save my life on a desktop, and it's not much fun to me to get into finishing anything up in any iPad DAW. The desktop feels better for that work.
As for outputting to the desktop live. It just never seems worth the effort. If there ever will be an exception for me, I think it'll be using Prism as a sequencer to drive Ableton Live. That's actually a lot of fun and takes virtually no time to set up.
Take with a huge grain of salt. I rarely complete any projects any more. It's all just idea sketches now. Just jammin' on the porch these days - not looking to finish anything. So I'm kinda answering for where I was at a few years ago.
🙋🏼♂️ yes, that's my main use because I can sit anywhere with it and try stuff out and save both midi and audio etc.. It's also easier for improvising.
But then for me, editing details is so much easier on the computer. That's more for 'getting down to work'.
That's me as well.
Yes. Stems from GR2, exports from AUM, exports from Note all imported and finished in Ableton
Here’s my sketch pad setup. Most of my songs start by improving ideas on the piano, so use an AUM session setup with a piano and MidiTapeRecorder. Sometimes i set up a drum beat too. Then I play around and see what comes. My sketchpad is mostly piano/synth doodling. If it grows too big for AUM i can either mixdown it all audio, or export the midi track for my DAW.
I like to make noisy/ambient jams out of fun AUM configurations (almost always with GAUSS in one or more tracks). I'll record the mix of those or ideally individual channels and then take thos over to Logic on my iMac for more editing, placement, etc. Sometimes, like if a friend sends me a track, I'll load it in a file player in AUM and then jam along to it for several takes (only recording my portion).... then bring back to iMac and Logic to edit and keep better parts
For me, I don't use iPad as a sketchpad. Rather, it's where I'm most creative and can finish off my projects as well. I've finished way more projects in the past 8 or so years on iPad than I ever did 14-15 years on PC. My iPhone is often my main sketchpad, but even so I also finish projects on iPhone (mostly in Auxy Studio in the case of iPhone).
I can't (and won't) return to desktop/laptop production.
The iPad is my sketch pad. I love the portability, create anywhere , no setup time. Ape Matrix lets me get ideas out in no time.
But it is also my finishing move as I create everything on iPad. When it comes time to mix, I plug my iPad to my audio and visual monitors with mouse and keys to finish it all,
It’s the best setup I could dream of.
I am trying to finish a project that was started many years ago on desktop and I hate going back to the pc.
My advice - remake it on the iPad since it's your main tool.
I need Superior Drummer. Every song as SD on it.
Oh for sure. Export stems, midi etc. AUM jams. Used Endlesss for quite a bit, that was lovely, but got gun shy when it went under for a bit. Getting the stems out of there on a large scale was clunky though. Biggest thing holding it back. Wonder if the new crew improved that....
Interesting. What do you mean by that?
Klevgrand OneShot may be a good iPad alternative to SD.
I just mean I'm not developing any ideas far along enough to bother taking them over to the desktop for finishing any more. I through away most of what I'm working on once I lose interest in it these days. I used to actually try to finish a thing or two.
No need for essays.
You get the gist by now.
Keep on sketching dudes.
I only make sketches.
Hardware or software.
I Start things
Yes. That and making entire songs on iPad only. It varies a lot. Some are just on desktop, also.
After a few years of starting projects in Ableton then never doing anything with them, I'm back to the iPad. I have my guitar running into Loopy Pro with retrospective recording on, so I can just grab anything that was good. I also have Pianoteq on the iPad, and a big piano keyboard hooked up.
Anything good ends up in my Dirtywave M8 for chopping/arranging, although recently I've been playing with Logic for iPAd again, which I actually find more creative that Ableton, oddly.
Starting with a sketch midi setup in Cubasis 3 to fix quick ideas, using samples of my real drum set and bass guitar with built in MiniSampler, triggering with the Cubasis drum pads or sometimes using Bram Bros xox.
Play around with IK Hammond BX3 or also Yonac Gallileo 2, sometimes also just built in Cubasis sounds e.g. the Piano and brass. Recording my real bass guitar and guitar via Apogee Jam.
If the sketch keeps me excited 🤠😅
Recording the drums via 2 or three mics with tempo down in Cubasis 3.x with an RME UCX at my Maya drum set,
Recording bass via mic from bass amp with same setup, or using above mentioned Apogee Jam recording.
Playing and mixing with all these fabulous iOS tools and try out techniques and mixing stuff.
Finally transfer the raw track to Pro Tools HD and remix the song, recording vocals and finalize it.
Sometimes I also finish the track in Cubasis.
I would probably be the same, but I find having ‘band’ accounts online (e.g Bandcamp, Soundcloud etc.) helps me focus on a particular project, long enough to get finished albums published.
It can feel a bit pointless sometimes, when the stats reveal absolutely no-one has listened to the month long project you put yer heart and soul into, but at least it’s there for me to listen to, rather than a folder of unfinished bits.
Saying that, I have never, ever finished a track in Gadget, or even used any of the bits I’ve made in it. It is fun though, and I’m still eyeing up more Gadgets in this sale so I can throw more money at it.
iPad / AUM… that’s it from start to finish.
I have and use One Shot. But it’s only it’s only a drum library. SD as a huge library of midi beats played by real drummer that you can browse and search. Also SD selection of drum library is massive. I have had people who play drums think that SD drums were played by a drummer. That’s how good SD is.
So I had to Jerry rig my own. I bought some midi beats packs and I use Helium to browse them and drop them in Cubasis time. When it actually wants to let me. Some days it weirdly refuse.
All that to say it’s a workable but very DIY with duck tape solution next to SD great software.
I use mine more like an Etch A Sketch. I rarely save anything or move things to a DAW.
Everything I do is on the iPad. Conception through finished product. I don’t own a pc anymore. Yes some things would be easier and faster on a pc but the absolute portability of the ipad trumps that for me. When time and money were involved I used a Mac. But I’m retired now and in no hurry.
Here here! Lil over two years since I got my iPad and started amassing music apps. Can’t say I’ve ever finished a “track”, just jamming along with the occasional screen recording when something sounds rad. Great way to unwind at the end of the day; having a blast. Big thanks to this community for steering me towards dope stuff along the way, cheers! 🤙
Same.
When I do manage to complete something, at least.