hmm thanks for the insight!
do you feel note writing really is useful? I mean, I always see like typing on keyboard is at least 10x faster than handwriting - sure when drawing some graphics, pen is better than mouse, but for anything else I'm not so sure...

that's a valid point, but I gotta ask - is the sound any good, and screen size convenient? I can blast porn through my studio speakers no problem, and when I'm on the go, phone being one-hand device is more convenient perhaps? and for Netflix, isn't the screen too small, compared to casual TV or even computer monitor?

nice! software compatibility and planned obsolence is something I don't like much, it's not like a PC I can mess with and install hackintosh or whatever..

good point of view, agreed, I try not to find excuses to be more creative and I've been more reasonable with my working habits

hmm interesting point on storage capacity, I was wondering how much capacity would be worth it,
speaking of casual media consumption, any idea if AdBlock works on iPadOS?

I'm having similar opinion, touchscreen being less tactile than old good physical faders and knobs, I noticed there's RME TotalMix remote app for iPad, that might be handy for my use case (not available for iPhone), but I don't really mix things much live to justify the purchase..

thanks for heads up on those apps, will check them out, not sure if I want to learn new apps on top of what I use, but definitely will look at those,
attaching things to "limited" iPad probably defeats its purpose compared to laptop, that said I do have Seaboard which handles midi over bluetooth (where latency isn't that critical it seems), which does work okay even on my phone..

interesting! I really like my old good trusty Logitech "TV" keyboard with built-in touchpad, but for any precise work I definitely prefer proper mouse and full-sized keyboard, heck I don't even use my old Faderport Classic much because mouse+keyboard combo is so much faster for non-live audio work,
very important point on "not acquire one on purpose to use for production", I should then perhaps reconsider my mindset - if I would utilize iPad primarily for something else, with only optional studio use case, hmmm, alright then, let me think.....

fun thing is, it seems there isn't really good way to use iPad as pure controller for desktop apps overall, I mean, I could use Reaper web interface control, remote desktop and VNC, but apart from that it seems whole mobile market omits ability to control basic features on apps already opened on a computer, Metagrid looks interesting, will check it out!

thanks for feedback - do you like Garageband also on MacOS, and if so, are you seamlessly moving between Mac and iPad within projects, or is the integration not as smooth? I admit I never tried if Garageband projects from iPadOS/iOS can be opened in Logic Pro on their own...

although I haven't iPad myself yet, using phone I feel like those limitations you describe are very relevant, I don't even like using phone for web browsing because it's much faster opening things in tabs using mouse+keyboard, having proper big screen to see things side-by-side often,
I play drums, not guitar, but you lead me to another point I might look into - ability to control my Yamaha DTX 12 MultiPad although I doubt such legacy product has any user friendly up-to-date iPad app,
I already have few laptops, yet I rarely use them for any heavier work - ergonomics simply isn't there, and performance-wise indeed even my old 2012 MBP 13" (i7, 16GB ram, 500GB ssd) can comfortably handle multichannel recording on its own :D

another mention of that app, seems I really gotta explore that out, cheers!

thanks for the inspiration, gotta ask then - do you feel it works better for you, compared to a laptop would, or is it more of a choice you don't really mind for the use case you got?

yes I have few laptops, but I prefer desktop with big 34" 3440x1440 screen, good quality wired mouse and proper mechanical full-sized keyboard,
maybe what I didn't write in my original post, I don't at all need to be mobile, I have own small studio, so the iPad would be a part of it, not being utilized as some sort of external rig for travelling,

nowadays with M1 MacBook Air being able to last on battery for much longer than M1 iPad Pro, I don't think power debate remains valid anymore - didn't use to be few years back though, so I understand your point,
with older (unsupported) iPad, I'd effectively cut off myself from any recent apps support, right? not sure if such purchase (even if very favorably priced) would make sense for me...

eh, sounds like another rabbit hole to sink money and time in... as if I didn't have tons of plugins already, wasting space in my computers :D
but good point on iPads being much more audio-friendly compared to Android...

 

I think the real question, to me; would boil down to how often do I find myself in a situation where I want to make music away from my real gear. The answer to this is never. If I go anywhere with this amount of free time in mind, like travel for work or vacation; I would just bring the good old MacBook Pro. ;] The most interesting use case for me to use the iPad while I am home, is with my Motu 828ES with AVB. It is a touch screen web panel setup for the entire dsp mixer. Pretty sweet, and I wouldn't even spend 100 bucks on an iPad to use it; but this is just me, some people do make good use of it. My guess is you will try to make use of it, and then barely turn it on for music production if you have a good speed mac available. It's largely unnecessary, if you do. One more pass of Latch automation in Logic and you have the same result as the second hand

 

Last edited: Nov 1, 2022

By the way, if you want to try tablet as control surface for DAW, borrow or buy cheap android tablet and try Avid control surface. It's free and works the very same on iOS and android. It wasn't for me, so I'm saving for x touch for DAW control.

 

An old iPad Pro is enough to install the last iPad OS.
Second hand it is affordable.

 

@tzzsmk You can create projects in GarageBand on the iPad and then move them to GB and Logic on the Mac to get the stuff going.

 

Typing is 10x faster, but what really comes in to play is: drawing diagrams, sketches, annotating with the pen. Let's say I need to create a quick network diagram, or flow-chart then I would grab my iPad and pencil and get those ideas down quick. I use mine to map attack surfaces, and create threat models 3-4 times a week at the moment.

 

ipad almost useless.

 

i love it.

and there is not many gadgets i can say anything even remotely close to that, but mine is a small
jewel, just not to make music. in that perspective its just some average thing, if even that

 

sure, you can use it to listen to spotify. or chat.

 

For anyone who cared to look deep enough and makes sample based music, the ipad and a few key apps completely rivals mpcs and maschines in term of workflow. It is somehow more intuitive and it is fast as hell to chop and experiment a lot with samples and sounds.

 

in between

 

Could you open up this a little bit? I find switching apps terrible and haven´t found my sweet spot yet in terms of workflow.Probably due to gesture workflow? What apps do you use? How do you use them? What app do you use for chopping and sampling and editing? Do you use same app for playing also? All suggestions and tutorial videos are welcome.

 

An iPad is only as good as the effort to use any tool is. What makes it a greater challenge is that apps make it capable of being many types of tools. Take the time and I have seen many people do things great with it. Sadly, any Android device will have so many less tools available. Still, I truly believe a creative will find uses if the effort to find use and stick with it. Don't make it a tool you bought as it was shiny but lives in the closet

 

I got one few weeks ago (for 90 bucks), and, closing my eyes on the Apple BS, I really dig it. I'm having a comics renaissance right now.

Now, I've just tried installing GarageBand, but I can't because the latest OS for my device is iOS 15 and they need an iOS 16. I know you can bypass this by installing the app on another apple device with the right OS, but I don't have it. Is there any solutions for this (besides jailbreak)? Could it work with an iOS emulator on windows maybe?

 

Find somebody who has an iPhone or iPad, ask him to sign out of his Apple ID and sign in with your account on that device. Start the Garageband download, stop it, done. Your account will have GB purchased now. Then sign out and let him sign in with his account again.
Make sure he remembers his password before doing so!!!

You may also try the free Korg Gadget LE app. Only 3 tracks but quite good as a simple sketchpad.

 

I prefer to buy a MacBook Air , instead of a iPad , and with this I do everything I want . The workflow is amazing on Mac and recently I put also Windows on it ... What else can you want from life ?

 

Yes, I think I'll try that, I thought it might be too much of a hassle, but the way you say it, it's a simple process.

 

Take a look at Camelot Pro - "a setlist manager, digital mixer, software instrument and effects host, PDF music score reader, multitrack audio player, and highly advanced MIDI patchbay and router." - the iPad version is very close in functionality to the MacOS and Windows versions, so if you have need for such software on Mac or PC but would rather have an iPad Mini on stage with you / to carry around could be super-useful.

Other actually-useful-seeming iPad apps:

• MIDI Designer Pro 2 (for the aforementioned control surface application)
• FL Studio Mobile - FLM (esp. if you also use desktop - it's a subset but plays well with its big brother, including being runnable in toto as a VST)

I'm personally planning on shelling out the whole $50 to get a beat-up iPad Mini 4 to run this stuff on. Android just sucks too much w.r.t. latency, bluetooth, and audio in general - and the only point of overlap is FLM.

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2022

BLE MIDI, or at least the CME WIDI implementation of it combined with Apple's (need iPad with Bluetooth Low-Energy 5 support for best results), is actually pretty cable-equivalent at the moment.

Using it with DTXMania (Drum-focused equivalent of Clone Hero) and an Audiofront eDrummin 4, not having any latency annoyances.

For Really Serious (eg $$$ involved) applications, I've heard simular things about pandaMidi.

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2022

For literally everything else (except developing), it's awesome. If you can make use of the Affinity suite, Procreate or if you edit videos, the newer iPads are great.

For music, it's kinda shite. Sure there are cheap shit on it that you can mess with, miRack (VCV port) and Drambo are my favourites. DecentSampler works too. That said, I doubt it will enhance your workflow in any meaningful way.