Sampletank: USB MIDI in not working?

[tonewheeltom]

I'm in a bind for a gig since my Receptor broke down, so I just bought some SampleTank soundpacks.

I'm connecting my Novation Impulse 61 USB MIDI controller to the USB MIDI input of my Apogee Quartet which is going into my iPad w Retina / iOS7, and while other iOS synths (iMini, iSEM, Memmotronics) are playing from the controller and I'm getting audio, only audio when playing from the screen is happening with SampleTank. The external controller is not working like the other synths.

Yes, in the settings menu, MIDI controllers are set to ON.

Is something up with this? A recent reviewer in the App Store gave it one star and says that the recent update broke the MIDI input.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

It is Core MIDI compatible and should work directly, so I'd hit up support at http://www.ikmultimedia.com/support as I haven't seen this issue reported aside from the review you mention (which is of course the last place that help can be provided, since there's no ability to reply there nor is there enough information for us to contact that user because that system uses their Apple ID...). They will troubleshoot directly with you and see what's going on.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Also, though, make sure your controller is set to the same MIDI channel as is set in SampleTank. The other apps that appear to be working could be set to OMNI

[iPlogger]

As Peter mentioned, you need to be sure your MIDI controller is set to the proper MIDI channel. SampleTank uses specific MIDI channels. iMini is OMNI and iSem defaults to OMNI (though you can set a specific channel as well). OMNI means the app will respond to every MIDI channel. I don't know about Memmotronics.

When in SampleTank, switch to the Parts window where it displays the four available instruments. Notice in the upper right corner of each instrument square a channel number. This is the MIDI Channel assigned to the instrument. Each tap will increase that value. After each tap, try your MIDI controller. At some point, it should work for you. The other option is to change the MIDI channel on the controller to match what is assigned in SampleTank.

The main thing to keep in mind is the MIDI Channel on your controller must match the MIDI Channel assigned to the currently selected instrument in SampleTank.

A nice feature in SampleTank is multi-selection. If you tap multiple instrument squares at the same time, you can select more than one instrument and create a layer.

[tonewheeltom]

Thanks all! Sorry for the noob panic, it was indeed the MIDI channel. I thought the controller was set to Ch 1 (it was on 2), and the other apps were OMNI. I was throwing this all together for a gig, buying a bunch of apps, and learning about Audio Bus. Can't believe I missed that

I didn't know about the SampleTank layering - that is definitely cool, thanks!

[electrosoul91]

A question if I may, (maybe a little bit off topic), what do people generally find attractive about SampleTank? I mean, it was probably cool about 3 years ago when music making on the iOS platform was a new thing, but today...it looks lame when compared to bunch of great synths, DAWs and other powerful creation tools.


And samples by themselves are of average quality in that app.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

I'm surprised to hear that, as SampleTank is probably our most well-received app on the App Store according to what I hear (or read) on some forums and sites with pretty tough to please crowds. The sounds, too, typically get the most accolades and I get the impression that there are a lot of folks out there that feel they are among the best sounds on the App Store.

[electrosoul91]

I'm surprised to hear that, as SampleTank is probably our most well-received app on the App Store according to what I hear (or read) on some forums and sites with pretty tough to please crowds. The sounds, too, typically get the most accolades and I get the impression that there are a lot of folks out there that feel they are among the best sounds on the App Store.

I correct my previous statement. I just ran some of the sample sounds through GarageBand amps, and some of them sound great. I might be on to something.

[martygras]

Yes, "some" do sound great.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

"Some" (really many) mentions of SampleTank as a top 10 Audiobus app on the Audiobus forum: http://forum.audiob.us/discussion/1017/ ... obus-apps/