KVR Audio

soundklinik · Post by **soundklinik** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:11 pm

I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea on what to look for in a tactile ANDROID tablet.
I want it basically for making music. No games or videos, telephone, etc...

I am getting (trying) this:
Prestigio Multipad 8.0 Pro Duo 8GB Tablette Tactile 8 " dual core 1.5GHz, 8GB storage 32GB SD card
or this:
TONBUX® 10.1 "A31S Quad Core 1,5 GHz (advertised as PC-tablet)

Screen Size: 7",8",10"? What is best? Is screen resolution very important?

I am looking for something low budget, those two are around 70euros and have decent reviews...

Thanks for any helpful infos...

arkmabat · Post by **arkmabat** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:19 pm

Android's latency is pretty bad right now. Maybe wait till Lollipop?

tehlord · Post by **tehlord** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:51 pm

iPad Air or don't bother tbh.

There is a vast chasm between what android and iPad are capable of with music apps

soundklinik · Post by **soundklinik** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:59 pm

arkmabat wrote:Android's latency is pretty bad right now. Maybe wait till Lollipop?

Thanks, yes I am somewhat aware of the latency...Just started to study tactile tablets...Where would I notice the bad latency most? In live tweaking, or even in drawing notes in sequencer or drum machine? Like in 'Caustic 3'?
There are some nice apps for Android...does everybody have that latency problem?

Sorry I know those are very basic questions, but I have never owned/tried one of those tactile tablets (besides Nook book, but there I only read)

I want to basically have a "creative musical thing" to take along places with decent battery life...

cheers
PS. I will consider ipad air if I hit a jackpot

zvon · Post by **zvon** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:26 am

Latency is not an issue when step sequencing (drawing notes) in Caustic 3.
On my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with Android 4.4.2, real-time playing is not that bad either, it's certainly not pretty bad. And I do have have an iPad to compare it to.

Latency on Android may vary though depending on the hardware, for instance it's a bit worse on my LG phone.

Caustic 3 is one the best music creation app on any platform!

soundklinik · Post by **soundklinik** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:20 am

zvon wrote:Latency is not an issue when step sequencing (drawing notes) in Caustic 3.
On my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with Android 4.4.2, real-time playing is not that bad either, it's certainly not pretty bad. And I do have have an iPad to compare it to.

Latency on Android may vary though depending on the hardware, for instance it's a bit worse on my LG phone.

Caustic 3 is one the best music creation app on any platform!

Thanks for the positive reply...hopefully Android will fix latency with growing popularity.

I thought that I could get some info on ANDROID tablets but that didn't happen...seems most people got iPad?

Besides Caustic 3, Oscilab looks interesting too:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ps.modulab
cheers

zvon · Post by **zvon** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:18 pm

Oscilab is great too. It's true that there are a lot more music apps for iOS but still there are more and more for Android. I have not tried them all but I also enjoy SynprezFM, NodeBeat, Vocality, Sythe Free among others.

If you are not aware of it, Musical Android has a lot of info on making music with Android:
http://www.musicalandroid.com/

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:54 pm

soundklinik wrote:Where would I notice the bad latency most? In live tweaking, or even in drawing notes in sequencer or drum machine?

When I tested Android as a platform for music I used my Nexus 7 (2013) device. For the most part things were ok until I connected external MIDI controllers via USB. Playing with the Heat synthesizer the latency between me striking a note and hearing it was several hundred milliseconds. It was enough to be incredibly distracting in a bad way. Command changes were just as slow (modwheel, pitch bend).

If you're doing everything from the touch screen you'll probably be fine. If you want to carry around a small keyboard you might be a little disappointed.

UltraJv · Post by **UltraJv** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:09 pm

bmrzycki wrote:
soundklinik wrote:Where would I notice the bad latency most? In live tweaking, or even in drawing notes in sequencer or drum machine?
When I tested Android as a platform for music I used my Nexus 7 (2013) device. For the most part things were ok until I connected external MIDI controllers via USB. Playing with the Heat synthesizer the latency between me striking a note and hearing it was several hundred milliseconds. It was enough to be incredibly distracting in a bad way. Command changes were just as slow (modwheel, pitch bend).

If you're doing everything from the touch screen you'll probably be fine. If you want to carry around a small keyboard you might be a little disappointed.

I have the Nexus 7 2013. Im using ART mode tho. Heat works well with external midi on ART. ART is a performance enhancement mode, hidden in developer options on 4.4.4 - I tried it just to see if it would work attall, the latency wasn't several hundred ms tho. I wouldn't dream of using external equipment on a Tablet tho - it defeats the point of having a touch control surface. YMMV.

@ the OP - for 70 Euros, your not going to get much. Unknown brand models may never get the new Android L version with low latency audio. That requires 2GB RAM. Expect to be disappointed. They have low res display - 1024 * 600. If you can buy it and return if not satisfied, it might be worth it.

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:12 pm

UltraJv wrote:I wouldn't dream of using external equipment on a Tablet tho - it defeats the point of having a touch control surface. YMMV.

External MIDI works quite well on iPads. I quite like the combination of touch + hardware interface. To each their own though.

ezelkow1 · Post by **ezelkow1** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:20 pm

UltraJv wrote: I have the Nexus 7 2013. Im using ART mode tho. Heat works well with external midi on ART. ART is a performance enhancement mode, hidden in developer options on 4.4.4 - I tried it just to see if it would work attall, the latency wasn't several hundred ms tho. I wouldn't dream of using external equipment on a Tablet tho - it defeats the point of having a touch control surface. YMMV.

ART is also limited on many platforms. The nexus can enable it since they are basically able to be dev devices anyway, but many other tablets/phones restrict enabling of ART. I did it on my nexus5, but I couldnt do it on my girlfriends galaxy 3 and I also believe on her new tabS you couldnt enable it as well. So its not an option available to everyone just because its android

el-bo (formerly ebow) · Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:34 pm

bmrzycki wrote:I quite like the combination of touch + hardware interface. To each their own though.

indeed !! having the touch devoted to the synth, while playing a physical keyboard, is a good combo. until haptic feedback is precise enough to allow for touchscreen keyboard-ery, without having to keep looking where to place fingers, then it still has a place. it is good when developers consider this combination e.g sunrizer allowing effects to be docked in place of on-screen keyboard. also thor minimises the keyboard when on the programming screen

of course, when using 'blades' or similar touch-screen performance options, the keyboard falls short (at least until more 'boards are built with new expression paradigms).

would be really great if there were options to allow on-screen controls such as blades could be set to expression-only, for when an external keyboard is being used.

UltraJv · Post by **UltraJv** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 11:43 pm

ezelkow1 wrote:
UltraJv wrote: I have the Nexus 7 2013. Im using ART mode tho. Heat works well with external midi on ART. ART is a performance enhancement mode, hidden in developer options on 4.4.4 - I tried it just to see if it would work attall, the latency wasn't several hundred ms tho. I wouldn't dream of using external equipment on a Tablet tho - it defeats the point of having a touch control surface. YMMV.
ART is also limited on many platforms. The nexus can enable it since they are basically able to be dev devices anyway, but many other tablets/phones restrict enabling of ART. I did it on my nexus5, but I couldnt do it on my girlfriends galaxy 3 and I also believe on her new tabS you couldnt enable it as well. So its not an option available to everyone just because its android

Sure. Its a bit like the PC situation. You just have to do a little homework before you buy. ART is only available on Android 4.4 upwards.

ezelkow1 · Post by **ezelkow1** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:17 am

UltraJv wrote:
ezelkow1 wrote:
UltraJv wrote: I have the Nexus 7 2013. Im using ART mode tho. Heat works well with external midi on ART. ART is a performance enhancement mode, hidden in developer options on 4.4.4 - I tried it just to see if it would work attall, the latency wasn't several hundred ms tho. I wouldn't dream of using external equipment on a Tablet tho - it defeats the point of having a touch control surface. YMMV.
ART is also limited on many platforms. The nexus can enable it since they are basically able to be dev devices anyway, but many other tablets/phones restrict enabling of ART. I did it on my nexus5, but I couldnt do it on my girlfriends galaxy 3 and I also believe on her new tabS you couldnt enable it as well. So its not an option available to everyone just because its android
Sure. Its a bit like the PC situation. You just have to do a little homework before you buy. ART is only available on Android 4.4 upwards.

which her s3 has. Its not an android version issue, its a manufacturer/provider rom issue. You can even get to dev options, just the art option is removed. Apparently its also an issue on the S4

It was meant as a warning that art is not available on all devices by default just because they have 4.4, on some you either cant get it, or you will have to put a 3rd party rom (if one exists) on it to do it.

UltraJv · Post by **UltraJv** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:20 am

ezelkow1 wrote:
UltraJv wrote:
ezelkow1 wrote:
UltraJv wrote: I have the Nexus 7 2013. Im using ART mode tho. Heat works well with external midi on ART. ART is a performance enhancement mode, hidden in developer options on 4.4.4 - I tried it just to see if it would work attall, the latency wasn't several hundred ms tho. I wouldn't dream of using external equipment on a Tablet tho - it defeats the point of having a touch control surface. YMMV.
ART is also limited on many platforms. The nexus can enable it since they are basically able to be dev devices anyway, but many other tablets/phones restrict enabling of ART. I did it on my nexus5, but I couldnt do it on my girlfriends galaxy 3 and I also believe on her new tabS you couldnt enable it as well. So its not an option available to everyone just because its android
Sure. Its a bit like the PC situation. You just have to do a little homework before you buy. ART is only available on Android 4.4 upwards.
which her s3 has. Its not an android version issue, its a manufacturer/provider rom issue. You can even get to dev options, just the art option is removed.

It was meant as a warning that art is not available on all devices by default just because they have 4.4, on some you either cant get it, or you will have to put a 3rd party rom on it to do it.

Sure, that's why you have to choose wisely. My S3 dosnt have the option but the screen is too small for much. I did try Cyanogenmod on it but Samsung has a really good Android implementation so I went back to it. I also tried L developer preview on the Nexus for a few weeks. Its good but I found 4.4.4 with ART to be more compatible with apps. L takes a lot more RAM and I cant see why it should as its not a huge jump forwards. The low latency didn't make much difference as devs have yet to change their code for it. Nexus devices are Googles platform for next gen Android. They are first to get updates. When you get that, you know you can mess with it. That's what I do

[SOLVED] Tablet help please