Tascam iU2 mobile interface

[polaris20]

I guess so. Really even currently using the Apogee JAM and a MIDI controller through the CCK the battery on the iPad lasts so long it doesn't really matter. Sure it's a nice feature, but not crucial, IMO.

Charging the iPad is critical for me because I'm looking to start using it in live gigs. No way I'm going to spend the whole time worrying about how much power the iPad has left..

How long are your gigs? I've tested the iPad for battery life. It's ran a movie non-stop for 12 hours, and I worked on it all day (with the BT on and with a keyboard) for 10 hours, using the wireless constantly. My point is yeah, battery charging is great, but not crucial for me in my opinion.

[Mushy Mushy]

Will this record at 24/48?
I can't find this info anywhere

[aMUSEd]

Any idea on price?

[Sascha Franck]

I think IKM really missed the boat with iRig Midi by not giving it at least stereo audio I/O. There's no way I want to use the headphone jack of the iPad if I'm going to use something like Sampletank iOS at a live gig.

Exactly.
I think IKMM missed the boat in many aspects. Instead of one trick ponys, people want "one size fits all" things, especially when working mobile. In case the quality is right (basically sound and latency), with the iU2 you get iRig STOMP, iRig MIDI, iRig MIC in one unit. With stereo ins, line in, digital out, dock connection, iDevice charging and direct monitoring. Guess IKMM will have a tough time digesting that, as (well, as said, in case the quality is on par) they can already just cut down their prospected production by at least 50%, probably even way more. I mean, which sane person would buy iRig MIDI anymore? You need a decent audio output anyway, and as you say, the headphone out certainly doesn't qualify for that (plus, it sits at the opposite side of the unit).

I for one will wait for the first user reports, but basically this is just what I want.

- Sascha

[Sascha Franck]

Will this record at 24/48?
I can't find this info anywhere

Would that be crucial for you? I would like 24bit but don't give a damn about 48kHz. And I could as well just live with 16/44.1.

Any idea on price?

$149.

- Sascha

[Mushy Mushy]

Will this record at 24/48?
I can't find this info anywhere

Would that be crucial for you? I would like 24bit but don't give a damn about 48kHz. And I could as well just live with 16/44.1

Could probably live without 48kHz but I want 24bit. I would use it to record my DAW via analogue mixer.

[mbncp]

I guess so. Really even currently using the Apogee JAM and a MIDI controller through the CCK the battery on the iPad lasts so long it doesn't really matter. Sure it's a nice feature, but not crucial, IMO.

Charging the iPad is critical for me because I'm looking to start using it in live gigs. No way I'm going to spend the whole time worrying about how much power the iPad has left..

How long are your gigs? I've tested the iPad for battery life. It's ran a movie non-stop for 12 hours, and I worked on it all day (with the BT on and with a keyboard) for 10 hours, using the wireless constantly. My point is yeah, battery charging is great, but not crucial for me in my opinion.

With a single device it's fairly simple to manage but when you have 3-4, dealing with the battery becomes a nightmare. Most of my apps stay on so I don't have to unlock them all the time, and it's easy to forget them over a long period and when you need them it sucks to have to wait for them to charge. That's something I like about the io dock, I can always count on it.

[kpsychedelic]

Is it weird that I feel a bit turned on?

Jesus, that seems like an awesome piece of gear. For $150 count me in. I was thinking of the GuitarJack 2 (or whatever) but this could pretty much rock on pretty hard.
Let's just wait for it to be released soon.

Thanks so much for the heads up Sascha.

... Most of my apps stay on so I don't have to unlock them all the time, and it's easy to forget them over a long period...

You know, some guy made a stress test, a very well done one to be honest, and the conclusion was, iOS handles memory pretty well so that killing apps becomes unnecessary.

[erikb1971]

Be aware though that it might not work will all apps at least on iphone 3gs. I tested a few things on saturday in the local music shop, but for instance, the alesis io dock does not work with ampkit or amplitude. Nor does it work with the line 6 pod softwar5e (If I remember correctly). The mic/headphone socket on the 3gs works with most software.

I think what is going on is that software that is supposed to work with the mic input socket does not take into consideration the digital input. And software that works with the digital input seems to be quite picky with what interface is used.

A nice little cheap solotion that works with most apps and works on both iphone 3 & 4 could be:

http://tascam.com/product/ixz/

Just mono though....

[Sascha Franck]

Well, in case developers don't want to follow the Core Audio (or whatever iOS) specs, it's their fault and I'll rather look for another app. It is all too clear that apps *can* work with both the headphone connection and the dock connection. There's many apps doing so without problems.
If a company such as IKMM decides to not support the way more professional dock connection inside Amplitube, probably because they want to sell their own hardware - well, more power to them. But I'm sure that they will lose customers that way.

Anyway, I think now that we are finally seeing some really decent devices, app developers simply will have to support dock connected hardware. The dock may have a lot of disadvantages over other solutions (proprietary format and so), but for digital audio (and video as well) it's one of the things that make iDevices stand out (along with the Core Audio protocol).

- Sascha

[erikb1971]

true

On the other hand.. do you know a decent guitar amp moddeling app that works with the core audio?

[Sascha Franck]

On the other hand.. do you know a decent guitar amp moddeling app that works with the core audio?

Garageband has quite some excellent amp models. And it's dirt cheap.

- Sascha

[kpsychedelic]

I'm all with Sascha, regarding the use of the Dock vs the Mic in...
Also it has been kinda proven that the Dock provides more of a pristine sound quality (GuitarJack 2 as I mentioned before).

This little friend may be a small contender, but with firm steps to the Alesis IO Dock, which is more robust in terms of inputs IIRC, but it's obviously bulky as hell.

We'll need to wait for the reviews to check on different factors like build quality. I know not why but I have this stigma that Tascam products are not regarded as of very good quality? (But I think the Izx or whatever from them has proven to be a good contender for the sub $50 USD iOS audio interfaces market).

[Sascha Franck]

We'll need to wait for the reviews to check on different factors like build quality. I know not why but I have this stigma that Tascam products are not regarded as of very good quality?

Yeah well, mixed feelings about Tascam over here as well (hence no blind ordering). Their multitrackers were built well, but the smaller audio interfaces seemed to be somewhat flakey in terms of build quality. And when I look at those mini switches at the bottom (which you can see in the video), it doesn't give me an exact impression of sturdiness or so...

- Sascha

[J.C]

I'm almost sold, can't wait the first reviews...

Well done Tascam!!