Tascam iU2 mobile interface

[jjmcjj]

The new Amazon review says:

The recording quality is quite astonishing...
[but...]
The iU2 is compact, very light and portable, the knobs do have a "pro" look & friction feel when turned, but I wouldn't change their position too much, since it's all made of plastic instead, and not sure they can last a dozen tough mixing session.

Um, "tough mixing session"? It's an audio interface. The nobs are for input levels, not mixing.

[polaris20]

Seems like one more negative review on Amazon.

I dunno, I was excited but then you guys took that excitement away and now I ain't sure...

I'd take those with a grain of salt. One is from an idiot who's whole basis for the review is how it feels, and didn't actually use it. Who "reviews" something without actually using it?

The other is from someone who's giving it 1 star apparently just because the cord is attached, something he could have figured out with 5 minutes Internet research before buying.

Amazon reviews can be useful, but when it's stuff like this, they're useless. Better off just buying it from a reputable company with a fair return policy and finding out for yourself.

[mds40]

How were you able to get it set up properly? I have the iPad connected to the iU2, the iU2 is connected to my computer via USB hub, the line out of the iU2 goes to the line in of my KA6 audio interface. I can see the iU2 inside Logic but I'm unable to get it to respond to any midi nor can I get it to produce any sound...

Do you have any tips?

Edit: I've managed to get it to output sound but I'm still forced to use the on-screen keyboard and no luck with midi (either sent from Logic or otherwise). I've tried going in an using a network midi connection but that doesn't seem to work either.

[nutate]

Seems like one more negative review on Amazon.

I dunno, I was excited but then you guys took that excitement away and now I ain't sure...

I'd take those with a grain of salt. One is from an idiot who's whole basis for the review is how it feels, and didn't actually use it. Who "reviews" something without actually using it?

The other is from someone who's giving it 1 star apparently just because the cord is attached, something he could have figured out with 5 minutes Internet research before buying.

Amazon reviews can be useful, but when it's stuff like this, they're useless. Better off just buying it from a reputable company with a fair return policy and finding out for yourself.

Yeah, I'm that idiot... I didn't use it because I wanted to return it as unused as possible.
It's fair to give one star based solely on build quality since it was enough for me to not want to try it. I felt like my review was honest. If people are just going to keep it on their desk and keep their levels, then it should be fine.

Now I have the art USB pre, which is built like a rock. Sadly it seems to fail with my iPad 3 after about 5 minutes of use. At 2.5 minutes it says device not supported. Then it eventually quits after another 2.5 minutes. I may need to look into the unpowered hub solutions that are listed on the harmonic dog forums. That supposedly can keep the current draw even.

[darsho]

The other is from someone who's giving it 1 star apparently just because the cord is attached, something he could have figured out with 5 minutes Internet research before buying.

it depends.
I too had failed to notice that the chord is attached and luckily read the review, which saved me from ordering the device.
I'll wait for another try by one of the other manufacturers and continue with Phones Out and iRig and iRig MIDI until then. No need to settle on another compromise when I already have a compromise in place that works.

[kpsychedelic]

polaris20, you're right on the taking with a grain of salt.

The other is from someone who's giving it 1 star apparently just because the cord is attached, something he could have figured out with 5 minutes Internet research before buying.

But this I don't know, the cord is something that got me thinking, as I have a chinese knock off charger cable that stopped running in 6 or 8 months. I had to re-solder it, but then it makes me wonder about the build quality of the IU2 and its cable. What if it blows and in 6 months it won't work? Would a solder job do? What if not, I'd have a useless interface unless I was using it with my Mac/PC... so...

[sonicflux]

I noted that the dock connector was hardwired in this thread way back in January.

I was cautious about that before, but now it doesn't bother me. If the cable fails, I don't see how it would be difficult to solder in a new one. $10 fix. I do think it would have been smarter to design it with a proprietary jack for the connector cable. However, this is what we have right now, and I don't see anything better on the horizon.

[J.C]

...What if it blows and in 6 months it won't work?...

Warranty???

[polaris20]

Yeah, I'm that idiot... I didn't use it because I wanted to return it as unused as possible.
It's fair to give one star based solely on build quality since it was enough for me to not want to try it. I felt like my review was honest. If people are just going to keep it on their desk and keep their levels, then it should be fine.

Now I have the art USB pre, which is built like a rock. Sadly it seems to fail with my iPad 3 after about 5 minutes of use. At 2.5 minutes it says device not supported. Then it eventually quits after another 2.5 minutes. I may need to look into the unpowered hub solutions that are listed on the harmonic dog forums. That supposedly can keep the current draw even.

Oh. Well.....sorry. But I don't think it's remotely fair to give it a one star review when you didn't even bother to evaluate it based upon what it's designed to do. That leaves an enormous part of the value out of it. This isn't a $400 audio interface, it's $150. Yes, build quality is absolutely a part of the equation when reviewing something, but it's important to actually use it to see if it lives up to its claims sonically.

[nutate]

Oh. Well.....sorry. But I don't think it's remotely fair to give it a one star review when you didn't even bother to evaluate it based upon what it's designed to do. That leaves an enormous part of the value out of it. This isn't a $400 audio interface, it's $150. Yes, build quality is absolutely a part of the equation when reviewing something, but it's important to actually use it to see if it lives up to its claims sonically.

No apologies needed, it's the internet.

Yeah, so it was unfair, but let me price this out (incl shipping, but I have amazon prime):

USB camera connector (chinese knockoff): $5.99
ART USB Pre 2: $69.99 (sometimes lower or higher depending on the moon cycle)
Belkin hub: $14.79 http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-USB-2-0-4- ... =de_a_smtd
M-Audio UNO (for midi):$39

That comes out to a total of just under $130. And all of that stuff is pretty solid. I have USB midi interfaces (not counting my DX7 and a drum machine) so those can go straight into the hub. I don't need to get the UNO (or something like it) ... That brings it down to $90 and it's a lot more solid. All of the pieces can be interchanged as needed and I feel like they are more solid.

But, if the belkin hub (unpowered) doesn't fix my connection issues with the USB pre 2, then I'll be eating crow for sure!

[DrApostropheX]

But, if the belkin hub (unpowered) doesn't fix my connection issues with the USB pre 2, then I'll be eating crow for sure!

Let me know if that fixes it. I like that the USB Pre 2 can be powered from a 9V battery. I had a similar issue with my Zoom H4n not being recognized by the iPad (using the camera connector kit) but putting an old Targus USB hub (unpowered) we'd gotten for our laptop ages ago in between the Zoom and the Camera Connector fixed the issue. I was also able to pick up a $5 HDE USB->MIDI cable off Amazon, recommended by http://iosmidi.com/devices/, but it doesn't seem to want to send note-off messages for some reason so it's pretty much unusable with the iPad (it's impressive, otherwise, especially for $5).

At some point, though, you run into having a handful of USB cables and connectors and hubs and adapters, and it stops becoming convenient...

[kpsychedelic]

Yeah, I'm that idiot... I didn't use it because I wanted to return it as unused as possible.
It's fair to give one star based solely on build quality since it was enough for me to not want to try it. I felt like my review was honest.

I think it was honest, but then also the review system is oversimplified I think.
If I'm not mistaken when you're making a review you also have the chance to give stars to several items (quality, ease of use, etc...)? Or maybe that was just when you rate a seller other than amazon (I think it is this way).
So making things short, I think it's fair for you to give 1 star to build if you think so (Although others might differ that since you did not try it or it did not fall and broke to pieces and so on, how could you just say build quality sucks?), but maybe that would be just in the aesthetics department.
But then again, maybe Amazon review systems needs.. a review and a change because there are always a lot of things you can base your ratings on, and just summing them up and making an average is a bit unfair.

I noted that the dock connector was hardwired in this thread way back in January.

Yeah I know, maybe I was too quick to dismiss that information and just in my mind it wasn't a compromise, until now that I see the reviews and it starts to smell funny.

If the cable fails, I don't see how it would be difficult to solder in a new one. $10 fix.

You're probably right, a little DIY, but then I'm a n00b at electronics so I don't know if it would be easy to just unsolder the old tip and solder another cable (if the damage was all the way down the cable), or it would be simple to solder inside the dock connector (which is what i did with the chinese knock off end).

...What if it blows and in 6 months it won't work?...

Warranty???

You're absolutely right friend, but what if it was a month over the warranty?
But leaving that aside, I'm down here in South America so whenever I order something I pray for it not to be DOA and then for it to last, so far everything has been perfect, but then if anything fails (unless it has worldwide guarantee like apple products) I'm afraid shipping it back to Amazon in the US is NOT an option for me (shipping costs too high, etc).

USB camera connector (chinese knockoff): $5.99
...
But, if the belkin hub (unpowered) doesn't fix my connection issues with the USB pre 2, then I'll be eating crow for sure!

Hmm, have you tried the real CCK? Or have somebody to borrow it from?
I was going to get a knockoff CCK, but then I have read several times everywhere that these tend to throw the "Device not supported" error, which is apparently NOT the case for Tim Cook's signed CCK.

I have USB midi interfaces (not counting my DX7 and a drum machine) so those can go straight into the hub. I don't need to get the UNO (or something like it) ... That brings it down to $90 and it's a lot more solid. All of the pieces can be interchanged as needed and I feel like they are more solid.

Sorry to ask like a complete n00b. But if you connect two USB-midi interfaces straight to the HUB, then the HUB to the CCK, which one will be recognized by the iPad?

Also the MIDI-UNO what is it for exactly? To connect a MIDI-Only device via "USB-Midi"?
And I see it has two MIDI connections, so can it take a MIDI-OUt as well somehow?
Also, and this is way offtopic, when you connect MIDI via USB will it be exactly the same as connecting is via MIDI (I have a MIDI keyboard but never really used the MIDI port, just via USB, don't even have the MIDI cable, but then the IU2 MIDI-in capability got me thinking).

[nutate]

Or maybe that was just when you rate a seller other than amazon (I think it is this way).

Yeah, I think that's it...

Hmm, have you tried the real CCK? Or have somebody to borrow it from?
I was going to get a knockoff CCK, but then I have read several times everywhere that these tend to throw the "Device not supported" error, which is apparently NOT the case for Tim Cook's signed CCK.

You know what, I think I'll buy an official one right now (there is a radio shack right by where I work)

Sorry to ask like a complete n00b. But if you connect two USB-midi interfaces straight to the HUB, then the HUB to the CCK, which one will be recognized by the iPad?
Also the MIDI-UNO what is it for exactly? To connect a MIDI-Only device via "USB-Midi"?
And I see it has two MIDI connections, so can it take a MIDI-OUt as well somehow?
Also, and this is way offtopic, when you connect MIDI via USB will it be exactly the same as connecting is via MIDI (I have a MIDI keyboard but never really used the MIDI port, just via USB, don't even have the MIDI cable, but then the IU2 MIDI-in capability got me thinking).

That's not a n00b question. I'm not sure first off, but my answers are 1) both will be recognized 2) midi uno is just for gear that has 5 pin midi jacks 3) yes 4) it should be the same.
I think everyone using iPads for audio has max 3 years of experience if that and in general the compatibility is a moving target. So, from what I've heard from disschord (he has a site that covers a lot of ipad music) he has gotten midi usb devices working through a hub alongside his lexicon (i think) audio interface. No guarantees!

[nutate]

It works flawlessly with the official apple CCK. All of the problems I was having were due to the knockoff camera connector. Oh well. The main design flaw with the USB pre is that it treats the front inputs as left and right, so they aren't summed to mono in the direct monitoring. The latency is fine though for GarageBand amp simulators, so you can directly monitor.

Sorry if that doesn't make sense, but it's relatively easy to get around depending on the application. I can't wait to get my mics hooked up, etc.

[DrApostropheX]

It works flawlessly with the official apple CCK. All of the problems I was having were due to the knockoff camera connector. Oh well. The main design flaw with the USB pre is that it treats the front inputs as left and right, so they aren't summed to mono in the direct monitoring. The latency is fine though for GarageBand amp simulators, so you can directly monitor.

Sorry if that doesn't make sense, but it's relatively easy to get around depending on the application. I can't wait to get my mics hooked up, etc.

That's good to hear!