Tracktion would be awesome on an iPad

Discussion about: tracktion.com
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

danboid wrote:
TSC wrote:... T is designed to be controlled by key/mouse and touch - not just touch. So we have discussed a specific version of T for those applications....

<snip>

What are your thoughts on this topic - what should Tracktion on an iPad do? Should it be a 'game like' creativity app thats a fun ideation tool.... or a simple 24 track recorder for capturing moments... or.....
I was only interested in seeing the full Tracktion ported to Android or iOS. If I was using it on an Android tablet I'd often want at least 2 full, powered USB ports - one for a keyboard/hub/mouse and the other for a USB MIDI/audio device. I'm not sure I'd be able to pull that off on an iPad? Its true that kinda arrangement is arguably less portable than a laptop depending on how big your keyboard and mouse/tracking device are but it may be a bit smaller lighter and offer better battery life at the cost of the superior spec of a laptop. T5 mobile could be good for tracking stuff out of the (home) studio or MIDI editing on public transport, not really for mixing and mastering etc.

I've not tried to run T5 on a laptop w/ touchscreen but I'd have imagined it would've been quite usable with touch alone so long as you have a decent sized screen? I suspect my assumptions there were quite flawed by the sounds of things? :)

I wouldn't want to see a 'Tracktion lite' like they've done with FL and I'd much rather TSC devote your time to perfecting desktop/laptop Tracktion rather than focus on mobile, if its a choice between the two, no doubt about it.

'Tracktion everywhere' and in its full glory on all popular OSs just seemed cool to me!

I'm not aware of any Android tablets with two USB ports. Where are you buying one of them?

But basically you want a small laptop, not a tablet version of Tracktion. You want to use an underpowered device with no keyboard, on an os that blatantly still struggles with latency issues (it does, just try any of th alternative DAWs) , like you'd use a small laptop. Except a small laptop's infinitely better suited to running full blown Tracktion.
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"

Post

Actually, only 1 powered USB host port is required to enjoy USB keyboard and mouse. I've got a couple of Apple keyboards that double up as USB hubs which allows you to plug a mouse and something else in.

Then again, USB isn't even a must-have for this as you can get BT keyboards, mice and combo devices so, as you can see there are various ways to add-on the full Tracktion desktop control experience.

I'd prefer my i7 laptop for running Tracktion to using any currently available tablet, for sure but I still think iOS and Android ports would be very cool to see, even if I'm never likely to touch the iOS port myself.

Its also worth noting that ARM CPUs (as used in many Android and iOS devices) are rapidly closing the performance gap between their latest and Intels i3 series. Check out these benchmarks of Nvidia's new Jetson ARM Linux board vs a Core i3 330M, the latest Intel Atom CPUs and other high-end ARM CPUs. The Jetson easily outpaces the Atom CPU's and is giving the i3 a good run for its money now. I've heard the Jetson board supports 4GB RAM configs.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... view&num=1

It would be nice to see more plugins get ported to Linux-native VST and iOS, which would make Tracktion more worthwhile.

I'm just a fan of having computing platform options and program/session portability.

Post

danboid wrote: It seems to me that the most sensible course of action here is to get T working nicely with touch on the existing platforms then it could be a straight port of the existing code base to iOS and Android, if the developers think there is enough interest in doing so.
This is essentially what I agree with. Win8 is optimised for touch as well as mouse, so if the devs want to make Tracktion overall touch friendly, then it would be the smartest place to start. Keep in mind that any Win8 touch enabled laptop,All-in-One or Hybrid could use the touch mode, not just tablets.

The fastest growing market segment is for the hybrids anyway. There are a dizzying array of variations of tablet/hybrids coming out this year that was highlighted at the recent Computex ...anything from $200 8"' models to higher end hybrids in the Surface/Yoga vein. Within a few years, all PC software will be expected to work seamlessly in touch or mouse mode. Possibly a good opportunity for TSC to pull ahead of the pack...the new vector based FL Studio is certainly pushing in this direction, but I would rather be using Tracktion!

Btw, when I mentioned using Tracktion on my tablet, I am talking about its usability with a 2 button stylus, which works ok, but touch is stll a no go. Mouse still rules supreme if you really want to get work done.

Post

I think the model that GarageBand and Cubasis have gone is an excellent format for T to follow (more so Cubasis). Cubasis is, for me anyway, the pinnacle of iOS-based DAW's. It can do a lot of things very well, yet it's still easy to use in a touch format. It is, however, still feature-light compared to the desktop Cubase app. HOWEVER: it easily ports from the iOS file to the desktop version, making musical sketchpad functionality very, very straightforward. That's what I'd like to see out of Tracktion.

Post

zendorf wrote:Why should the devs bother when it already works fine on a W8 tablet PC if you need a tablet version.
Because almost nobody owns or wants a Win8 tablet PC.
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"

Post

I would LOVE to see an iOS version of Tracktion. I did some mobile recording this weekend using an Apogee One USB on an iPad with Auria. Surprisingly great results, then only issue to me is the somewhat cumbersome project management with regards to exporting the Auria project in a manner that is easy to use with desktop DAWs.

Remote recording with Tracktion on iOS + easy integration of the files/projects to your desktop Tracktion would be AMAZING.
-------
The pump don't work cuz the vandals took the handle!

Post

polaris20 wrote:I think the model that GarageBand and Cubasis have gone is an excellent format for T to follow (more so Cubasis). Cubasis is, for me anyway, the pinnacle of iOS-based DAW's. It can do a lot of things very well, yet it's still easy to use in a touch format. It is, however, still feature-light compared to the desktop Cubase app. HOWEVER: it easily ports from the iOS file to the desktop version, making musical sketchpad functionality very, very straightforward. That's what I'd like to see out of Tracktion.
Spot-on comment. As a none-Cubase/Logic user, I would love to have a Tracktion app for capturing ideas without turning on the PC (apart from anything, it is the ideal SILENT audio recording device) then an easy port to PC DAW for development of the ideas into finished pieces. I don't think its realistic to expect the full functionality on iPad, therefore neither could one expect to have complete movement to/from iPad <> PC/Mac DAW. But a compatible "sketchpad" to capture MIDI and audio multi-track ideas - that would be likely to be a winner. Of the multitrack apps on the appstore, apart from GarageBand and Cubasis, the only other I am aware of is Bremmers multitrack studio, which: "Imports/exports .zip file containing all files needed to open song, compatible with MultitrackStudio for Windows/OS X."

So c'mon Tracktion, there's not much competition at your DAW price point. An iPad app would be likely to drive app customers to the PC/Mac DAW!

Post

With the Nexus 9 and Android L (further addresses the latency issue) around the corner, I'd love an Android version of Tracktion. :) Caustic is pretty awesome (using it on a Nexus 7, and preordered a N9), but Tracktion's workflow is quite unique.

Post

Mivo wrote:With the Nexus 9 and Android L (further addresses the latency issue) around the corner, I'd love an Android version of Tracktion. :) Caustic is pretty awesome (using it on a Nexus 7, and preordered a N9), but Tracktion's workflow is quite unique.
Is latency fixed yet in Android L? As in, usable?
It still isn't, in 4.4.2
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"

Post

chico.co.uk wrote:
Mivo wrote:With the Nexus 9 and Android L (further addresses the latency issue) around the corner, I'd love an Android version of Tracktion. :) Caustic is pretty awesome (using it on a Nexus 7, and preordered a N9), but Tracktion's workflow is quite unique.
Is latency fixed yet in Android L? As in, usable?
It still isn't, in 4.4.2
The next version of Google Android is due out this fall, and the Android L Developer Preview is already available. And it’ll include a number of audio enhancements, including support for real-time audio processing.

Working with app developers including StarMaker (maker of iOS karaoke apps) and Smule (maker of the I Am T-Pain app for iOS), Google has worked to improve latency issues, bringing that time down to about 20 milliseconds.

Google is also adding support for 24bit 96 kHz sampling, improved audio/video sync, and added official support for USB audio devices including external sound cards or other devices.
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/google-br ... oid-l.html
ABLETON LIVE 12 & PUSH2
Soundcloud: Nation of Korea vs Shitty Dog

Post

I have to admit that in the last few years I have rolled my eyes and tutted loudly at finding space in my favourite music mags (Sound On Sounds, Computer Music, MusicTechMag) wasted on tablet related hardware and software reviews and articles, often at mindbogglingly small prices. This week I decided in the wake of Hudl 2 hitting town that the new price (£79) of the first Hudl made it worth my while buying. I'll be picking it up tomorrow. A spot of googling for things to run on it included a look for compatible DAWs and I have to admit to being surprised at what there is. YouTube shows several of them, the likely favourite being under $10/£10. I believe I'd use it for ideas when away, and ultimately move whatever I might produce into Tracktion on PC.
[W10-64, T5/6/7/W8/9/10/11/12, 32(to W8)&64 all, Spike],[W7-32, T5/6/7/W8, Gina16] everything underused.

Post

jabe wrote:I have to admit that in the last few years I have rolled my eyes and tutted loudly at finding space in my favourite music mags (Sound On Sounds, Computer Music, MusicTechMag) wasted on tablet related hardware and software reviews and articles, often at mindbogglingly small prices. This week I decided in the wake of Hudl 2 hitting town that the new price (£79) of the first Hudl made it worth my while buying. I'll be picking it up tomorrow. A spot of googling for things to run on it included a look for compatible DAWs and I have to admit to being surprised at what there is. YouTube shows several of them, the likely favourite being under $10/£10. I believe I'd use it for ideas when away, and ultimately move whatever I might produce into Tracktion on PC.
It depends what kind of tunes you do. If you like synths, and programming beats, and loops, and "midi" type input (for want of a better way to describe it), then something like Caustic on android will be a whole load of fun. And though I've not tried it myself, I believe FL Studio looks like it's worth the money (quite expensive for an android app, not at all expensive for a pc app), and you'd get a lot of fun out of it too.

If, however, you like recording multi-track audio (as compared to what I called "midi", because I couldn't think of a good term), Android's still not quite there yet ... The daws are all a wee bit fiddly, the latency compensation that most of them have kind of works, in playback, but you can't listen to your audio being recorded, and effected, by something like an inline reverb, or distortion, if you were trying to record vocals, or guitar, in time with other audio tracks. So that's a bit of an arse. If i've missed a great app that can do this well, please shout somebody, i'd love to know about it ...

But having had a quick read up on Android L, it sounds like they've had a good crack at bringing latency down, and added support for usb audio and midi input in general, at low latency, so it's brighter than it's ever been. It's just that no devices have Android L yet, and latency on anything earlier isn't really doing it for me, for audio recording. Meanwhile iOs has been loads better, latency wise, for years ...
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"

Post

Thanks for those thoughts, Chico. I hesitate to name names on a Tracktion forum, but Audio Evolution for Android looks handy and conveniently inexpensive. I think I would need to try it out first to see the level I should pitch my expectations at. Perhaps Android L will make it all work better; I did finally find an article that suggested the Hudl will get it.

Generally it wouldn't be synths and MIDI that I'd be doing on the tablet, but it would be handy to put some sort of backing together quickly on occasions (so a selection of samples might suffice). I think the only audio I'm likely to record is vocals, but that might change.
[W10-64, T5/6/7/W8/9/10/11/12, 32(to W8)&64 all, Spike],[W7-32, T5/6/7/W8, Gina16] everything underused.

Post

jabe wrote:Thanks for those thoughts, Chico. I hesitate to name names on a Tracktion forum, but Audio Evolution for Android looks handy and conveniently inexpensive. I think I would need to try it out first to see the level I should pitch my expectations at. Perhaps Android L will make it all work better; I did finally find an article that suggested the Hudl will get it.

Generally it wouldn't be synths and MIDI that I'd be doing on the tablet, but it would be handy to put some sort of backing together quickly on occasions (so a selection of samples might suffice). I think the only audio I'm likely to record is vocals, but that might change.
I *think* it's okay, considering Tracktion doesn't have an android versions, so ... Audio evolution, n-Track and J4T are all worth trying (free), Chordbot is a bit different, and actually quite interesting / useful, as a composing / new ideas type app (I ended up buying it, and should probably play with it more, now I remember).

LoopStack doesn't really do it for me, but might do if you like, well, building loops, like you might do with a guitar loop pedal type, Caustic is definitely worth a download (also free), it's quite impressive, more so than most android audio apps, I think. It's got in-app purchases, but lots works without it,
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"

Post

For something completely different, there's also Sunvox (tracker-based), which I'm having quite a bit of fun with. But Caustic is definitely my favorite Android audio app, and FL Studio Mobile is also not bad and worth the price, especially if you also have/use FL Studio on the desktop.

But anyway, I'd instantly buy an Android version of Tracktion. :) It's rapidly becoming my favorite DAW.

Post Reply

Return to “Tracktion”