iPads - recording sketches, tech help.

[AndyTravis]

Hi 

keep struggling with garage band on my iPhone (currently with no facility at all), I want an iPad. I’m not after pro level recordings and enjoy the ease of garage band for sharing ideas and speed/ease of use.

I also Want a new interface as neither Apple nor Line 6 seem to give a hoot that the sonic port stuff doesn’t work anymore...

so. 
 

Can I buy a used iPad and get away with it? What’s the cheapest oldest model I will get away with? I don’t have to store much on it, but would like a bigger screen for my clumsy donkey fingers.

And interfaces....what’s the best available within reason?

I’m realistic - would love to have a solution for £300 all in, but don’t want to speaks more than £500 if possible.

I don’t want to buy a laptop and interface etc, I literally want a Tascam Porta 02 with a touch screen I can email musical sketches from.
 

And yes, I’m fine with garage band for this.

 

cherrrz xxx

[ambient]

I think most iPad models come with GarageBand. A normal interface won’t work with an iPad though, they don’t produce enough power. You need something like an Apogee Jam, I think Focusrite do a single input interface too that’s designed for iPad.

[AndyTravis]

8 minutes ago, ambient said:

I think most iPad models come with GarageBand. A normal interface won’t work with an iPad though, they don’t produce enough power. You need something like an Apogee Jam, I think Focusrite do a single input interface too that’s designed for iPad.

Yeah. I’m trying to check specs on the Roland iPad/iPhone specific interface - don’t want to buy an older iPad and then the interface not work.

should bite the bullet and buy a big posh bastard and the top apogee interface. Seems a bit silly given the usage...

[AndyTravis]

Might just get this and try on iPhone before buying an iPad...

asked my mate at Roland to send me one

thread closed I guess...

[sammybee]

You can use just about any class compliant USB interface to link to an iPad.. You just need an adapter/cable that will reverse the gender of your lightning charge cable and your good to go...

[pineweasel]

You don’t need the latest and greatest iPad to do this. I’m happily using Garage Band on my 2014 iPad Air 2 with the Focusrite iTrack One Pre, which they were selling for 25 quid a few months ago. 
It’s true that any class compliant interface should work, but it will need separate power. 

[AndyTravis]

36 minutes ago, pineweasel said:

You don’t need the latest and greatest iPad to do this. I’m happily using Garage Band on my 2014 iPad Air 2 with the Focusrite iTrack One Pre, which they were selling for 25 quid a few months ago. 
It’s true that any class compliant interface should work, but it will need separate power. 

I had one of those and sold it...because I thought my sonic port was working again 🙄

[ambient]

1 hour ago, sammybee said:

You can use just about any class compliant USB interface to link to an iPad.. You just need an adapter/cable that will reverse the gender of your lightning charge cable and your good to go...

I think it needs separate power.

[AndyTravis]

Well, according to mate at Roland...since self isolating they’ve had no stock anywhere, completely sold out...

Handy

[Cuzzie]

Pretty much any USB interface and then use a USB lightning converter

[Woodinblack]

I am a great fan of the behringer U-PHORIA interfaces, they do models from about £30 up depending on how many ports you want, and they are class compliant USB, so they don't need drivers or anything, as long as you have a USB for your iPad / phone (which are cheap to get, like the apple one). Any specific interface for the phone relies on them supporting it, like the line 6. Incidently the sonic port does still work on the previous OS, so if you get an older ipad that is not upgraded, it is still fine.

I have two iPads, my normal one and an older air that I gig with. My normal one (an iPad Pro 10.5) is up to date and the sonic port doesn't work, but my gigging one I don't upgrade, and the sonic port works fine on that.

[AndyTravis]

1 minute ago, Cuzzie said:

Pretty much any USB interface and then use a USB lightning converter

I’m hoping to have an epiphany with the line 6

[sammybee]

1 hour ago, ambient said:

I think it needs separate power.

Obviously you need separate power - but any interface worth it's salt needs separate power anyway, so it's not like it's an additional requirement

[ambient]

5 minutes ago, sammybee said:

Obviously you need separate power - but any interface worth it's salt needs separate power anyway, so it's not like it's an additional requirement

The Focusrite 2i2 is pretty good, one of their best selling lines, it can’t be powered separately, it’s bus power only.

[Woodinblack]

Yes, I just checked, you do need additional power.

Also something like a Zoom B3 (not N) can work as an interface by the same means.

[BrunoBass]

17 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

I literally want a Tascam Porta 02 with a touch screen I can email musical sketches from.

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/topline/id1270125833

[AndyTravis]

7 minutes ago, BrunoBass said:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/topline/id1270125833

That’s awesome. Now just need a little interface - if the line 6 doesn’t work!

[ambient]

13 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

That’s awesome. Now just need a little interface - if the line 6 doesn’t work!

Try the Irig or Apogee Jam. I’ve got a Jam that I use with my iPad, it’s good.

[AndyTravis]

Yeah seems right - so that Topline really is just track on top of track like an old tape deck?

[BrunoBass]

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

Yeah seems right - so that Topline really is just track on top of track like an old tape deck?

Yep just like a four track portastudio, easy peasy.

There’s another app called Tape, by Focusrite which is even simpler but the sound quality isn’t great, so I wouldn’t  recommend it. It’s like they’re trying to simulate tape saturation but it just sounds a bit harsh and artificial to my ears. Nice user interface though.

[AndyTravis]

1 minute ago, BrunoBass said:

Yep just like a four track portastudio, easy peasy.

There’s another app called Tape, by Focusrite which is even simpler but the sound quality isn’t great, so I wouldn’t  recommend it. It’s like they’re trying to simulate tape saturation but it just sounds a bit harsh and artificial to my ears. Nice user interface though.

Will look for it x

[AndyTravis]

Well, wouldn’t you know it...ios13.4 makes the sonic port work again.

Thanks to all for help and ideas.

[Woodinblack]

On 01/04/2020 at 15:44, AndyTravis said:

Well, wouldn’t you know it...ios13.4 makes the sonic port work again.

Well, that is good, just updating now.

Maybe it is time to update my music ipad. Actually, there is no tearing hurry to update that.

[AndyTravis]

In all of the fixing they also seem to have debugged garage band which used to cut out half way through a take when using inter app audio (mobile pod) - really makes the process much less frustrating.

On Mobile Pod there’s a nice modelled “valve pre” now which wasn’t there earlier - means not having to adapt guitar amp models to suit.

 

[Woodinblack]

16 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

On Mobile Pod there’s a nice modelled “valve pre” now which wasn’t there earlier - means not having to adapt guitar amp models to suit.

 

I just use Bias Amp II, so you can model a whatever amp (although it has a lot of bass amps by default).