Does an IPAD have similar computing power than a PC to power those synths?

[fmr]

Both the Access Virus Snow and the Waldorf Blofeld were released in 2008. The Access Virus Snow uses the Freescale DSP 56321 processor that operates at 275MHz and the Waldorf Blofeld uses the Freescale DSP56371 core operating at 181MHz. The DSP56371 documentation lists it's rough performace at 181 MIPS. Granted, these chips are designed and tuned for digital signal processing. Even so, these chips are almost 7 years old. That's ancient in the computing world.

Sure, you have the overhead of a generalized OS and the core isn't optimized for DSP workloads, but today's mediocre handheld ARM CPUs are much better than this.

In the right programmer's hands modern ARM processors from Apple or Samsung give us plenty of processor power for VA synth designs. We're really lucky to be honest.

Sure, but when you are running a Blofeld or a Virus you're running ONE Blofeld or ONE Virus.

In the iPad, you are fortunate if you can run like five instances of a simple synth at the same time inside some application that takes all the OS for itself.

In a computer running Windows or OS X, you are running a DAW with like 40 instances of several synths AT ONCE, usually quite more complex and better quality than the ones available on iPad, several signal processors, like EQs, compressors, reverbs, etc., recording and playing back audio live on top of that, and you are pissed when the machine tells you about CPU overload.

I don't think these things can be compared

[chroma]

computer architecture is complex. who knew?

(also, when you look at clock speeds, you should remember that while the processor runs fast, it spends a lot of time idle, waiting for things. imagine a running track, and you're running the 400 against Usain Bolt - how badly would you lose? Now, imagine that same track, except it's a steeplechase - every 5m, there's a 1.5m wall you have to climb. you'd probably still lose, but not as badly - the barriers slow both of you down, and he doesn't get as much benefit from his sprints between the walls.

computer architecture for the last 20 years or more has been just as much about removing or shrinking those barriers so you spend more time running at full speed, as increasing the raw speed. and if you have more control over the hardware and software - meaning you can both pick the HW that's closer to your requirements, and write the software knowing exact HW - you can minimize these effects a lot, but a general purpose CPU with unknown software will not often reach that level of efficiency...)

[Wormhelmet]

I don't think anyone should compare performance either. If you are trying to get PC performance from a mobile device using apps, it's just not going to happen. I think many approach this the wrong way, looking at what a mobile device can't do and comparing to a PC or Mac, instead of what it can do and what it excels at over a PC. In the case of iPad, the touch interface that is very functional, the portability of form factor and battery life, the sheer number of very musical apps that all sound very good and can be used together, but just not all at once.

This is the mobile forum and includes Palm, Android, iOS, Blackberry, etc. if you are looking at PC's, including full Windows tablets running full OS, then there are other forums for that. Windows tablets running the slimmed down windows 8 rt definitely belong here and should be compared. How many apps available on RT platform? How is performance on that platform compared to Android or iOS, etc.

Interestingly enough, the other forums about Mac or PC use and DAW's or softsynths are also full of complaints. Painting a perfect picture of PC applications is a skewed view.

I've never had a need in 14 years of multitracking on PC, to run 40 instances of anything. Maybe others do it all the time, but I use good PC plugins and 40 instances of anything, including synth 1, is overkill for the music I make and would sound terrible. If you make classical and have a plugin for every instrument I could see it, but really there are a lot of bands that have skyrocketed in superior composition and performance using just 3 or 4 instruments. It's not the tools so much as the musician and what he can do with those tools. Generalizing is BS anyway. Run 40 instances of LUSH or some others that can even knock out an i7 multicore processor...not gonna happen.

If you think the apps are just toys and can't do anything with them, then look around. Seems there are others doing very professional sounding work with these toys and if you can't, the problem is not the device or platform....

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I don't think anyone should compare performance either. If you are trying to get PC performance from a mobile device using apps, it's just not going to happen. I think many approach this the wrong way, looking at what a mobile device can't do and comparing to a PC or Mac, instead of what it can do and what it excels at over a PC. In the case of iPad, the touch interface that is very functional, the portability of form factor and battery life, the sheer number of very musical apps that all sound very good and can be used together, but just not all at once.

This is the mobile forum and includes Palm, Android, iOS, Blackberry, etc. if you are looking at PC's, including full Windows tablets running full OS, then there are other forums for that. Windows tablets running the slimmed down windows 8 rt definitely belong here and should be compared. How many apps available on RT platform? How is performance on that platform compared to Android or iOS, etc.

Interestingly enough, the other forums about Mac or PC use and DAW's or softsynths are also full of complaints. Painting a perfect picture of PC applications is a skewed view.

I've never had a need in 14 years of multitracking on PC, to run 40 instances of anything. Maybe others do it all the time, but I use good PC plugins and 40 instances of anything, including synth 1, is overkill for the music I make and would sound terrible. If you make classical and have a plugin for every instrument I could see it, but really there are a lot of bands that have skyrocketed in superior composition and performance using just 3 or 4 instruments. It's not the tools so much as the musician and what he can do with those tools. Generalizing is BS anyway. Run 40 instances of LUSH or some others that can even knock out an i7 multicore processor...not gonna happen.

If you think the apps are just toys and can't do anything with them, then look around. Seems there are others doing very professional sounding work with these toys and if you can't, the problem is not the device or platform....

[chroma]

i think that it's also easy to forget that the main requirement for tablets is battery life ... performance is a secondary concern or less, as long as it's enough for the common usages. this is also becoming more true for notebooks. they are both computers, designed for different design goals, nothing more, nothing less.

[Numanoid]

If you got the hardware synths, a C64 can suffice

[UltraJv]

If you got the hardware synths, a C64 can suffice

These had midi, palm TE mine still works :


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Tungsten

[liquidsonics]

With Mobile Convolution I find I need less than 10% of the iPad mini retina CPU and less on the iPhone 6 for most true stereo IRs of a decent length. This compares to around 5% of a Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz (the original system I developed the same algorithm in 2007 on for Reverberate). This feels kind of heavy but just-about ok when using a single instance of quality reverb, and back then it felt the same. That was a good chip at the time, and a few years prior to that PCs couldn't even handle convolution reverb without breaking a sweat. Nowadays Reverberate on a basic patch barely touches an Intel CPU. All things considered I think that's an amazing achievement from the industry; it feels like we are still on a fast part of the curve for mobile as well which is pretty exciting, five years from now mobile chips really should be good enough for all DAW users in the same way that a modern laptop is finally all you need to produce music with few real compromises.

[UltraJv]

Back to Android, if you cant make music with this - theres no hope, it gives some plugins a run for their money :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDUNm75wnr0#t=30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6L1gjPsjLU

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Kraftwerk used a Stylaphone as did Bowie. Funny, I don't see them using iPads. I think its because they aren't interested in fads, only the music

guess the mighty kraftwerk have fallen. bowie would never be so open-minded and experimental. i bet when he heard of brian eno's ipad apps he just laughed

http://discchord.com/blog/2015/2/9/kraf ... close.html