Goodbye sound module.... hello iPad

[zerocrossing]

Imagine cool apps like this... but on a big screen.



or controlling your DAW with something like this... but with a big screen.

[annode]

but, how are you going to get MIDI with no physical ports? also i don't think the pad is up to any VST ability.. it can't even do flash animation...

Bluetooth.

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2008/ ... pod-touch/

Hi zerocrossing.
That synthtopia article missed the reality. Did you read my reply above yours.
It's able to interface with pc and mac machines right now. There's no connection problems and no conspiracy.

[annode]

I just read the apple iPad description.
It appears it is USB connectable to PC as well as MAC through a 30 pin connector on the iPad.
At this time, it needs to be docked and that connector be connected to the docking connector. It also seems the USB is intened to operate when the iPad is externally powered.

The $500 unit will offer this arrangement as well as the more costly unit(s).
What I see happening sometime after, is a single cable which will connect to that 30 pin connector and will carry power to the iPad and provive a USB connection without the need of the dock port...or better yet just a single cable that extends you and the iPad a distance away from the dock.
The USB can interface with your home computer at this time.

One thing i'd like to do, would be to use the USB data as a way to connect a home network or screen sharing. (forget what it's called at the moment)
Just guessing, but i'm pretty sure we should be able to arrange the iPad so you can see your host's details on it and finger or pen touch the screen in order to send midi control data to your main computer which is running your host.

$500 is not bad to be able to do this.

In addition to the above USB connector at the dock there is also a VGA video connector.(just read it a synthtopia)
What does this mean to me? I can send a duplicate of my DAW's main monitor to the iPad and send screen control midi out from the USB to my DAW!

It will control anything I can control any other way and i'll be holding and looking at my DAW screen on the iPad.
I'll be editing and writing midi code with a pen stylus !

EDIT: I will be sending pointer data to my PC and NOT midi data, so there is no need for midi. As far as dual movements...i'm not sure about how that would work, but I don't care...I can now easily write automation data with the stylus.
There it is.

[zerocrossing]

but, how are you going to get MIDI with no physical ports? also i don't think the pad is up to any VST ability.. it can't even do flash animation...

Bluetooth.

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2008/ ... pod-touch/

Hi zerocrossing.
That synthtopia article missed the reality. Did you read my reply above yours.
It's able to interface with pc and mac machines right now. There's no connection problems and no conspiracy.

Why in the world would you want to deal with a USB cable when there's a bluetooh solution? Also I'd be surprised if it worked like you think it will. If it did why hasn't anyone configured an iPhone to work that way? Plugs right into my USB port... I didn't think there was a problem or a conspiracy, I was just replying to a simple question.

[visa tapani]

I want to remove the layer that mice, keyboard shortcuts, and controllers like the Remote SL (I have one by the way and I don't like it) add. I want to touch the synth/sampler I'm using. I want the control under my fingertip...

Yeah, well not seeing the plugin GUI on the controller is the only thing lacking from something like the Novation products. Although I'm pretty sure it will be lacking from iPad too.

However, controlling knobs, faders and buttons by tapping on a touchscreen, without a real knob moving is in my experience truly uninspiring, and that's why I can't quite see the fuss. For something that's operated with knobs faders and buttons, real tactile knobs, faders and buttons are infinitely better than a touch screen. Then you actually have the controls under your fingertips, you can feel them and they move when they move them. Unlike touch screens which provide no muscular feedback. No wonder haptic interfaces have been one of the key interests among innovative interface builders for a long time now.

[visa tapani]

Imagine cool apps like this... but on a big screen.

or controlling your DAW with something like this... but with a big screen.

Okay, I imagine... my imagination says it's totally boring and useless. The first one is a toy that has no use for anyone composing music, no matter how big a screen you attach to it. The second one shows exactly how terrible touchscreen controllers are compared to tactile controllers. Frequently the controller doesn't respond to his touch or he accidentally touches the adjacent controller, even though he's only controlling one parameter at a time. If he was trying to control, say 5 faders at a time, that interface wouldn't work at all. The only thing in that video that makes any sense is the XY-controller. Everything else would be 100 times better with an oldfashioned midi controller with physical knobs, faders and buttons. The interface doesn't even give you any additional visual feedback than a normal midi controller would. Just hot air.

[whyterabbyt]

In addition to the above USB connector at the dock there is also a VGA video connector.(just read it a synthtopia)
What does this mean to me? I can send a duplicate of my DAW's main monitor to the iPad and send screen control midi out from the USB to my DAW!.

What makes you think that VGA connector is an input?

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/review ... a-adapter/

[jones-y]

I want to remove the layer that mice, keyboard shortcuts, and controllers like the Remote SL (I have one by the way and I don't like it) add. I want to touch the synth/sampler I'm using. I want the control under my fingertip...

Yeah, well not seeing the plugin GUI on the controller is the only thing lacking from something like the Novation products. Although I'm pretty sure it will be lacking from iPad too.

well I'm sure the ipad will display whatever synth I'm running on it. I'm not so interested in controlling a plugin running in my host. The ipad itself would be the plugin (by plugging midi/audio cables into it...). And the best news is that the synth/sampler apps developed for it will be designed for multitouch editing/control, unlike using a tablet to edit a VST, because the plugin iterface is designed for a mouse...

And judging by how great this sort of editing/control interface already is for me on my iPhone, i can only imagine how awesome it will be with 4x the screen real estate. All that's missing is midi input, but Akai is already halfway there with their iPK25... I'll be patiently awaiting a 61 key version with an ipad dock.

In essence the ipad will be my synth

[visa tapani]

well I'm sure the ipad will display whatever synth I'm running on it.[...]In essence the ipad will be my synth

Ok. We can only wait and see what's going to appear for it. Although I'm sure you'll have to say goodbye for your dream of a "multitimbral sampler/sound module with a 64gb library" for it.

[jones-y]

Not necessarily... (64gb was hyperbole, by the way; it was just a reference to the max storage the thing will have. So you can safely let it go now, since its not really helping you make any point...) I'm sure somebody will develop a multitimbral sample based sound module for the ipad once MIDI I/O is a reality, seeing as a polyphonic, monotimbral one already exists for the iphone.

And I'm more than sure several more of the devs around here will hop on board and add to the virtual synths/samplers/X0X drum machines, etc. that are already available.

You 'rain' is not stalling this parade, thankyouverymuch!

[visa tapani]

It's great that you're enjoying your parade, but you can't be sure at all of what's going to appear for it. iPhone is quite popular, hence it has attracted many developers. I would be quite surprised if this became as popular.

I find it quite unlikely that developers would start porting their existing software for it, as the software would need to be completely rewritten for a totally different environment. This would probably be a bigger job than doing, say, a Mac version of a Windows software.

[whyterabbyt]

I find it quite unlikely that developers would start porting their existing software for it, as the software would need to be completely rewritten for a totally different environment

the iPad? Its not a completely different environment, though. Porting applications from iPod to iPad will be trivial. or at least more trivial than keeping up with operating system revisions for the iPod usually is.

http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/ ... ble-today/

[jones-y]

I also agree that it likely won't be direct ports from PC/Mac to ipad/iphone/ipod... But I do believe apps will be made available, and that existing devs (like virsyn, Akai, izotope, and others have already done) will leverage tech that they've already developed.

What I believe is that devs (whether veterans of the VST market, the music tech market as a whole, or newcomers) will make more stripped down versions of what we now see in VST land, with much more emphasis on interfacing the synth/sampler to the user, as opposed to the current emphasis on featurestacking. I'll take that tradeoff ten times out of ten.

And there will most definitely be newcomers (like the devs of the app I linked above) just based off of the fact that they are not limited to DAW owners or quasi-serious musicians/producers as potential customers: Any of the millions of existing iphone/ipod touch users, as well as future ipad users, any of whom could be casually interested in dipping their foot into music production on a $5 whim... That's also the reason I believe Akai is really on to something with the iPK25...

I would very much not be surprised if this thing was a massive hit. Yeah, time will tell but it has so many things going for it: The relative failure of the tablet market meaning a lack of direct competition... The brand name and its marketing machine... The existing base of potential users... The existing base of apps... The price point... The smash success of the predecessor products (iphone/ipod touch)... The availability of reasonable, contract-less data plans... And on and on.

Yes there are drawbacks (lack of flash/java being the biggest IMO) but just remember that this is a v1 product, and as they have shown with the iphone, many of the limitations will be overcome by hardware/software revision. OLED is on the horizon too, I wouldn't be surprised if the ipad V2 leverages that tech...

Its just the beginning, no doubt, and no I don't have any crystal ball, but its also not hard to imagine exactly what I'm describing take place, especially given that it already is taking place with the iphone.

[visa tapani]

Well, we'll just have to wait and see. I'll keep its development in the corner of my eye, but not holding my breath anything of much interest for me will come out for it. In general I have noticed that the products that are aimed at the average non-musician "whom could be casually interested in dipping their foot into music production on a $5 whim" are usually of little use for me. This is maybe the major point that limits my interest - the products will mostly not be aimed at an experimental musician, but more at the Microsoft Songsmith audience.

I find it quite unlikely that developers would start porting their existing software for it, as the software would need to be completely rewritten for a totally different environment

the iPad? Its not a completely different environment, though. Porting applications from iPod to iPad will be trivial.

Oh, I meant a totally different environment from OS X or Windows.

[jones-y]

In general I have noticed that the products that are aimed at the average non-musician "whom could be casually interested in dipping their foot into music production on a $5 whim" are usually of little use for me. This is maybe the major point that limits my interest - the products will mostly not be aimed at an experimental musician, but more at the Microsoft Songsmith audience.

Fair enough, and quite understandable. But you have to acknowledge that, in terms of the appstore and existing iphone apps, $5 goes quite a long way beyond "throw some loops at the wall and see what sticks"... In PC/Mac-world, however, yes you're right on target.

And then you should take a moment to recognize apps like 4D Synth (and there are plenty more out there); aimed squarely at the "experimental musician"...

Because that's where this thing (the devices, the SDK, the app store, the whole ball of wax) becomes genius. I could see that app (and others, for example ocarina) being interesting to a random non-musical person, as well as your average ambient musician...