KVR Audio

Moe Shinola · Post by **Moe Shinola** » Sat May 22, 2010 4:33 pm

I'm always on the lookout for a bit of hardware that I can compliment with my computer without breakin my bank, but I'm hearing things about the newest popular kit that warns me off. I mean the Launchpad and the iPad. I've seen posts on here pointing out deficiencies in the electronics on the Launchpad, that it's slow. Also, I've seen hints that the iPad is underpowered as well. I've even read that most PC laptops aren't ideal, due to BIOS coding issues(whatever that means). Are there any products similar to these that aren't letdowns? Please correct me if I'm incorrect about these products, or if the limitations aren't things I should worry about.

Moe Shinola · Post by **Moe Shinola** » Tue May 25, 2010 11:39 pm

No thoughts on this topic at all?

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Tue May 25, 2010 11:55 pm

I think it depends on who you ask. I love my Launch Pad and my APC 40. I haven't noticed if one is slower than the other. Then again, even if I buy a piece of shit, I'll get my money's worth from it (a disgusting mental image, I know).

The three people I know who have iPads who are using them for music (I know a few more that are just using them as media consumption devices) have no complaints. They bought them for what they do, not what they are "capable of".

And PC laptops? c'mon, people have been making decent music on laptops (even sub-par ones) for years now.

Moe Shinola · Post by **Moe Shinola** » Wed May 26, 2010 12:55 am

Thanks.

knockman · Post by **knockman** » Wed May 26, 2010 5:05 am

Moe, the quote in your sig seems particularly apt to me.

re8 · Post by **re8** » Wed May 26, 2010 5:33 am

From what I've been told by a guy that runs a local Live user group:
LaunchPad=not very solid for on stage use
APC40=great for Live live use.

risome · Post by **risome** » Wed May 26, 2010 5:36 am

I find the launch pad excellent . not slow, great companion for my Novation 25sl

Moe Shinola · Post by **Moe Shinola** » Wed May 26, 2010 6:27 am

knockman wrote:Moe, the quote in your sig seems particularly apt to me.

You mean apt to current events? Don't I know it! It's probobly the most apt quote I've seen for our militarizing, down-dumbing, needs-ignoring, corrupt society.

Moe Shinola · Post by **Moe Shinola** » Wed May 26, 2010 6:28 am

Moe Shinola wrote:
knockman wrote:Moe, the quote in your sig seems particularly apt to me.

You mean apt to current events? Don't I know it! It's probobly the most apt quote I've seen for our militarizing, down-dumbing, needs-ignoring, corrupt society.

Sorry folks, couldn't resist - back to the topic?

knockman · Post by **knockman** » Wed May 26, 2010 8:55 am

Moe Shinola wrote:
knockman wrote:Moe, the quote in your sig seems particularly apt to me.

You mean apt to current events? Don't I know it! It's probobly the most apt quote I've seen for our militarizing, down-dumbing, needs-ignoring, corrupt society.

Indeed, very true.

In this case, I simply meant the reference to "law" and "arms" aptly reflected the ways in which information is often presented about such things as the latest kit - a lot of banging of drums, attack and counter attack, flaming and so on. The mere mention of Apple is enough. It's sometimes hard to find objective reviews amid the din. Especially as people have such diverse expectations and needs, one person's review may highlight a set of issues that are of no consequence to another user.

I thought this would be on topic.

Moe Shinola · Post by **Moe Shinola** » Wed May 26, 2010 1:27 pm

knockman wrote:
Moe Shinola wrote:
knockman wrote:Moe, the quote in your sig seems particularly apt to me.

You mean apt to current events? Don't I know it! It's probobly the most apt quote I've seen for our militarizing, down-dumbing, needs-ignoring, corrupt society.
Indeed, very true.

In this case, I simply meant the reference to "law" and "arms" aptly reflected the ways in which information is often presented about such things as the latest kit - a lot of banging of drums, attack and counter attack, flaming and so on. The mere mention of Apple is enough. It's sometimes hard to find objective reviews amid the din. Especially as people have such diverse expectations and needs, one person's review may highlight a set of issues that are of no consequence to another user.

I thought this would be on topic.

Sorry then, didn't quite get your meaning. The video review I recently saw of Aurora for the iPad looks really good. Nothing against Apple or anybody else, I've just seen posts about certain products that I thought looked promising, posts that cast them in a bad light(not just here). I wanted to know, from others' experience, how much I should factor them into any buying decision.

The Middle Man · Post by **The Middle Man** » Wed May 26, 2010 11:31 pm

It depends what you want from the devices.

I have an LP and couldn't be happier. I use it to launch clips, trigger Drum Racks, and run Max apps.

I think it really comes down to what you want to do and what your current setup is. I've made the mistake a number of times of letting gear lust dictate my purchases and while I love new gear, I could have made some better decisions.

Moe Shinola · Post by **Moe Shinola** » Sun May 30, 2010 12:10 am

I've been reading that the iPad has no USB ports. How would you hook a decent audio interface up to it then?

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Sun May 30, 2010 12:44 am

i grabbed touchosc from the app store and had it up and going after an hour of reading/setup. it works great, and i downloaded a free thing for touchosc that makes it a fully capable ableton live controller. it's particularly sweet for me because i already bought the ipad but have pined after a apc40/launchpad type controller. now i don't need those anymore the touchosc works pretty great, there is a tad bit of latency but it's by no means a deal breaker

other apps i enjoy on the ipad for music making;
electrify - a sampler step sequencer
ielectribe - a korg drum synth (probably the most polish of all apps now)
looptastic - a performance oriented spontaneous music app. it's pretty cool.
bleepbox - a sequencer with own synths and effects (but no samples)
isequence - a sequencer with sample based instruments.
rebirth - (iphone version) you know what this is

flare - (iphone version) turntable scratcher

the ipad is a good sketchpad. give it a year or so and i bet that it will get some real momentum from the likes of propellerhead porting maybe reason 3 or 4 on?

one can dream.

what i've been doing lately is using live like always but now i output stems/rendered waves and import them into looptastic to do some spontaneous performance mixing. it basically renders everything you do in that app as automation and you can export the waveform. there are some cool effects on an xy grid kind of like a poor mans kaos-pad.

if you dont have a netbook, i'd highly recommend the ipad, but if you do, it's sort of a convenience device. it has strengths and weaknesses like other hardware, but touchosc and livecontrol really please me. loads of fun to be had building your own touchosc templates and UIs too

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Sun May 30, 2010 12:47 am

Moe Shinola wrote:I've been reading that the iPad has no USB ports. How would you hook a decent audio interface up to it then?

the headphone jack

it's not perfect, but for smaller simple things it works ok. looptastic is a good example of a well written app that performs well enough. i've had over 20 separate waveforms going with 3 or so effects on and automating.

it's not a notebook computer of course, but it's pretty hip. i like my ipad, especially for music. i came very close to buying a 4 track recorder (i dont have the money for a field recorder) but snapped to my senses when i realized that the microphone isn't the greatest and would be great for capturing ideas but that's about it.

iPad, Launchpad - letdowns? If so, what products are really worth it?