KVR Audio

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:39 am

Why on Earth would you even think about doing music on your iPad? You've got bugger-all connectivity or I/O, it seems like a complete waste of time beyond doing what Gadget would let you do.

revvy · Post by **revvy** » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:45 am

OP: Why is Cubasis the best on an iPad?
bones: iPads are shit.

Thanks bones.

lumcas · Post by **lumcas** » Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:28 am

No upgrade pricing from Cubasis 2 - no deal. And I really wanted to try all the new bugs first hand.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:44 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:39 am Why on Earth would you even think about doing music on your iPad? You've got bugger-all connectivity or I/O, it seems like a complete waste of time beyond doing what Gadget would let you do.

Why not? I already have the iPad Pro for other purposes... So why not explore it a bit and see what developers are coming up with? And in doing so... I came across Borderlands which is a granular synth and it quickly became the most fun and interesting granular synth I have used. With a fresh and unique interface that is hands on and interactive in ways totally unique to it. Once I found Borderlands, there was no chance I would give it up.

Then I tried Drambo. It is a modular groovebox. It is fast and enjoyable to use and sounds good. Well conceived tool and also on the unique side.

The iPad can be used in a number of ways... For example, it can be used like a hardware synth. It can be a midi controller. It can be a portable multimedia studio. With the iPad Pro, pencil and a pair of headphones, I can go sit in the park and take/edit photos, video, draw animations and make a visual story and add music to it and it is easy and intuitive and kinesthetic. It's quite an impressive tool.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 12:39 am

OK, so the answer to my question is because you don't expect to actually get anything done on it. Fair enough, that's why I still have hardware, even though I have not so much as switched any of it on in at least 9 months. I am starting to think I should start selling it off but old habits die hard and having it around just feels right. OTOH, I can't imagine myself swapping one computer platform for another. I can't see how it would feel like anything new and fresh, just more of the same, and if I did come across anything new and fresh, I think it would be frustrating that I couldn't just plug it into Cubase and Orion. At least my hardware has VSTi editor/librarians so they integrate really well (except MicroMonsta, which is probably why it gets the least use of all of them, even though it is possibly the most powerful).

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:56 am

Just another GAS platform

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 3:13 am

opinions are like assholes... everybody has one lol so here is mine. as for why the ipad? great little tool for coming up with ideas on the go and stems can easily be dumped to bring onto other systems and into other DAWs for refinement and building upon. end all music device? certainly not but a dang nice tool for creative purposes. cheers

p.s. iphones as well but me has got old eyes and the ipad is bigger and easier to see lol

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:08 am

BONES wrote: ↑Sun Jun 28, 2020 12:39 am OK, so the answer to my question is because you don't expect to actually get anything done on it. Fair enough, that's why I still have hardware, even though I have not so much as switched any of it on in at least 9 months.

That is how is started out for me for sure... just something to play with cause I already had the iPad Pro and iOS apps are often cheap.

But once I found Borderlands, it became an essential tool. There is nothing like it in VST land... or hardware either

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue Jun 30, 2020 5:33 am

I watched a couple of videos, Borderlands looks interesting and it's not a million miles away from Aparillo in some respects. OTOH, the video on their site put me off instantly. Still, I don't think I'd enjoy trying to get precise settings using my fat fingers, I'd definitely want a mouse. And the guy in the tutorial spends way too much time sorting out I/O in a separate app. No, thanks. It reminds of those live looping things - it's always amazing when someone like Reggie Watts does it but I know that it's not something I would enjoy at all. Way too fiddly.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:09 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 5:33 am I watched a couple of videos, Borderlands looks interesting and it's not a million miles away from Aparillo in some respects. OTOH, the video on their site put me off instantly. Still, I don't think I'd enjoy trying to get precise settings using my fat fingers, I'd definitely want a mouse. And the guy in the tutorial spends way too much time sorting out I/O in a separate app. No, thanks. It reminds of those live looping things - it's always amazing when someone like Reggie Watts does it but I know that it's not something I would enjoy at all. Way too fiddly.

I use the Apple Pencil for precise settings like setting a grain cloud to pitch +7... but for everything else, fingers are easy and fast and it does not feel fiddly in use. I do have the larger iPad Pro. I often don't like using the touch screen when controls are small cause mistakes are too easy and it takes too much mental focus to make sure my finger is exactly in the right place. But some iOS applications get it right in terms of being able to work without the interface getting in the way and offer something new. Borderlands is one of them. And the ability to manipulate and animate both the grain clouds and the audio files is unmatched by anything else. Nothing in VST land comes even remotely close.

Not sure what sort of I/O you are referring to, but I treat the iPad as a hardware synth. I either play the audio in realtime into the laptop/desktop and record it there (only requires the right cable)... or record the audio in the iPad and then send the file to the laptop/desktop via Airdrop. Either way it cannot be much easier. I never try to make the iPad send/receive midi, transport start stop etc. in sync with my laptop/desktop, which seems like it would be a big hassle.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:41 am

Do you realise that your Apple Pencil cost as much as my whole Surface Pro (used, ex-lease)? And a stylus for that Surface was $10 on eBay. You sound like exactly the kind of unquestioning customer (the temptation to write "idiot" was almost overwhelming) Apple love - just buy it because they sell it and never take a moment to think about your actual needs or how much you really need to spend. Even "only requires the right cable" is crazy talk because every hardware synth known to man just requires a cable, the same one as everything else.

pdxindy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:09 pm... some iOS applications get it right in terms of being able to work without the interface getting in the way and offer something new. Borderlands is one of them. And the ability to manipulate and animate both the grain clouds and the audio files is unmatched by anything else. Nothing in VST land comes even remotely close.

My question, unanswered by anything I've seen about Borderlands on line, is "to what end?" I didn't see anything that made me think it might actually be useful so I'd be very keen to hear something you've done with it, if you're happy to share.

revvy · Post by **revvy** » Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:15 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:41 am the temptation to write "idiot" was almost overwhelming

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:50 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:41 am Do you realise that your Apple Pencil cost as much as my whole Surface Pro (used, ex-lease)? And a stylus for that Surface was $10 on eBay. You sound like exactly the kind of unquestioning customer (the temptation to write "idiot" was almost overwhelming) Apple love - just buy it because they sell it and never take a moment to think about your actual needs or how much you really need to spend. Even "only requires the right cable" is crazy talk because every hardware synth known to man just requires a cable, the same one as everything else.

If I were poor, raising kids, etc., I'd think about that more obviously. However, something like the Apple pencil is a trivial purchase for me. If that makes me an idiot, so be it... depending on who you talk to, I have been an idiot many times in my life and no doubt will be again. It is not my objective in life to make choices based on whether others think I am an idiot. Put another way, no need to resist the temptation!

Regarding cables, you are really reaching there. Most of my hardware synths require 2 1/4" to 1/4" mono cables. For the iPad, I had to dig around in a box of various cables to find an 1/8" stereo to 2 1/4" mono adapter for the headphones out. Took all of a few minutes to remember where it was. Yeah, that is really crazy...

And I can also record the synth output in the iPad Pro and wirelessly Airdrop it over to my desktop sans any cabling at all. It is all logistically easy.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Thu Jul 02, 2020 9:59 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:41 am My question, unanswered by anything I've seen about Borderlands on line, is "to what end?" I didn't see anything that made me think it might actually be useful so I'd be very keen to hear something you've done with it, if you're happy to share.

Actually I like the idea of making a Borderlands only example... don't have one at hand, but that would be fun, maybe using nothing but my own voice. Not sure when I will get around to it, but will post it when I do.

I think though, it wont really matter as what makes Borderlands special is the workflow. In theory I could do the same things in other granular synths (although the 6 second grain length in Borderlands allows these really smooth washes that aren't quite the same with the shorter grains of most granular synths). The thing is, I can try stuff in seconds in Borderlands that would take minutes or longer to do elsewhere... such that I just wouldn't bother even trying.

In Borderlands, you can overlap audio samples and then the grain cloud over them uses both samples. You can animate the position of samples and grain clouds by simply turning on recording and moving a sample clip or the grain cloud position then let go and the animation carries on. I could set up a complex blending between various samples in like a minute that would take me 30 minutes elsewhere (or longer). It's so much fun!

IncarnateX · Post by **IncarnateX** » Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:36 pm

As far as I get it, Cubasis is best because there is not really any alternative. The other "DAWS" lack this or that in comparison. Auria does not have midi tracks but is still just a recorder. Garageband has okay synth stuff onboard but lacks a lot in the effect and mastering department. You'd have to use third party AUs. The rest, Nanostudio, Beatmaker, Caustic etc. do not reach the scope the Cubasis either. It is like asking why the only beer in town is the best: There is no other.

I have had my iPad Period too. Sketchpad fun mostly, though if you are ready to do some work using Cubasis and third party stuff, you can get close to laptop productions. At the end of the day, it was too cumbersome to me. It was exciting when it was fresh and new...then everyday life showed its ugly morning face again and pragmatism won: Close is not necessarily close enough and touch screens are cool but not without troubles, e.g. hitting this or that function by mistake or having to deal with wierd finger movements. And no, they do not resemble fiddling with hardware either just because touch screen are tactile. My Fantom does not feel like the surface of a mirror.

Why is Cubasis the best mobile DAW APP