I'm a beginner (too) - ipad or ???

Jimbo55

Hi all,

I can see a few other threads about getting into home recording - as ever I'm running before I can walk, but I'm in the deep end sort of person to get a show on the road and have acquired a Scarlett 212 Studio. I'm a forever mediocre guitarist and can pull a few notes on a bass, bash a drum and press just a few keys. I want to put together some tracks, using a video cam as well, with me attempting all instruments on a few songs with a split view screen to submit to virtual band events. Beauty, I hope of this recording is that I can pick and choose my better attempts and stitch together on computer.

My initial concern is overloading my laptop which I use for work and is already showing some signs of slowing and freezing up - should I consider getting a separate computer for my music projects as I am sure the software and files could be huge. Would an iPad be a best choice or some other tablet or other PC/laptop ?

Any advice dearly sought, thanks everyone

Joe

TTony

I always say ... there are *lots* of music-creation apps on the iPad including free ones (Garageband) that come in the box.

And an iPad is pretty intuitive.

Jimbo55

Thanks TTony - it would need to be simple for me to get to grips with it !

I wonder what memory size, and ipad model would be best suited - they get pricey at the top end - guessing they have sufficient plug in ports too ?

hollywoodrox

I got my IPad used from CEX a few years ago 6th generation 128gb ram about £280 they are about £300 now . I always get this stuff from CEX 2 year warranty and the quality/grading is good.
im a total thick on home recording but there are loads of apps

I’m dead thick at recording Tech . It does seem easy to connect nowadays though . 

Jimbo55

many thanks hollywoodrox ! very useful info and I have a CEX near me too - I can assure you that nobody could be thicker than me on this !!! have you managed to record sound and video separate and join up OK ?

JohnS37

Speaking purely for myself, I couldn’t do either the audio or the video on a small screen, eg iPod.  I do all my stuff on an iMac desktop.  You should be able to find something that will run GarageBand for £300 or so, and it will have GB already on it, plus (in most cases but not all ) iMovie for the vids.
Garageband is very intuitive so you shouldn’t have any trouble learning that.  IMovie a bit less so, but there’s plenty of online help if you need it.
i know it is non-portable, unlike the iPad, but having a mouse and the extra screen space makes life a whole lot easier, and it seems that you have already started to collect outboard gear, so the deskbound aspect is less of a problem.
If you do look around for a used iMac, see if you can get one with a SSD rather than a HD, as they are quicker, and less likely to wear out.
Good luck - it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

Jimbo55

many thanks JohnS37 - this is all very inspiring for me , can't wait to get going on this

TheBigDipper

I couldn't begin to advise you on what you should do personally, cos we're all different. My own experience might resonate with you or it might not.

I started off recording in the digital domain on an iPad with Garageband. An iPad 2 - now long-gone. My current iPad is an iPad Pro - 9.7in screen, 32GB. I've had it 5 or 6 years. I also bought a MacBook Pro and Logic 5 years ago and made a big effort (initially) to learn that. Which I can't say I've ever managed to any level of familiarity or sophistication but I can get things done in it. 

I'm recording demos of songs, field recordings and stereo live performances. I realised that I didn't want to become a recording engineer at the expense of being a writer and player - and that was the trap I found myself falling into.

So, now I do 80%+ of my recording on the iPad and the rest on Logic (that's mainly been stereo live performances of my friends string quartet and subgroups of that). When it comes to putting together a demo, it's Garageband on the iPad. I also have a DAW called Multitrack DAW on the iDevices, but mainly use that on my phone. It's oriented around recording audio tracks - great for recording me and my mate in the kitchen playing acoustics. But that's probably only 20% of my recording activity. 

The nice thing about the iPad/iPhone is that it's easy to just get on and record something. Even the internal mics can capture something usable. The software synths and drum kits are much easier to play on the iPad - on the Mac I have to plug in a MIDI keyboard as I've never learned how to use the typing keyboard to do it. 

If you want to be inspired on using the iPad and Garageband, you might enjoy the YouTube channel of Dan Baker - a UK musician and teacher who is quite the advocate of what you can do and a font of knowledge. 

hollywoodrox

Jimbo55 said:

many thanks hollywoodrox ! very useful info and I have a CEX near me too - I can assure you that nobody could be thicker than me on this !!! have you managed to record sound and video separate and join up OK ?

I did once do a great job with my boss Gt1 into my Mac using audacity.
i videoed with the iPhone and clapped so I had something good to line the waveforms up with .
i remember doing something else to find out the latency which was 111 seconds 
but now I cannot remember the details so will have to start from scratch .

There is a brilliant app called Audiobus for the iPad and it lets you take the outputs from other apps and route them into other apps or a daw. Trouble is I spend more time trying to learn songs/techniques  so I don’t get to record much Then I forget how it works.

theres a good guy on YouTube called Pete johns who explains everything and he’s really good

spark240

@Jimbo55 - dont worry....its a daunting task at first but you will soon get into it and before long be surfing the Ads for an upgrade !

If you need any help PM me and we can work it out ;-) 

Jimbo55

Many many thanks TheBigDipper, hollywoodrox and spark240, I shall look at the Dan Baker and Pete Johns youtubes and I hope I overcome the daunting stuff as it seems now - thanks spark240 for helping hand if needed - I shall move forward this week now on this !

TTony

Jimbo55 said:

I wonder what memory size, and ipad model would be best suited - they get pricey at the top end - guessing they have sufficient plug in ports too ?

The answer to that is always "the biggest you can afford"!  You can always offload content from the iPad, either to the cloud or to local storage, so it's not critically critical.

I only started bothering to record stuff when I got an iPad.  I'd had (still have) PCs and laptops that I could have recorded stuff on, but it was always too much aggro.  The iPad really is plug'n'play, it's instant-on, portable, and intuitive.   

It has also GarageBand for free, and whilst that has got lots of limitations, it's a great and easy place to start, and I'd suggest that you use it until you find its limitations, and that'll help you work out what you need from the next level of apps.  The important thing with GarageBand is that it doesn't get in the way of you using it!    You don't have to spend hours reading a manual (or watching YT vids) to work out how to use it.

There are all sorts of more complex and functional apps.  Some are more FX-based, some are amp emulators, some are mini (and not so mini) DAWs.  Really depends on what you want to achieve.

There are various guitar interfaces around too - from cheap to very pricey.  I'd again recommend starting with something reasonably cheap/simple.    The original iRig (which is fine to start with) is now <£10 on eBay - though make sure that it's got the right connector for whichever iPad you end up with.  PreSonus (Audiobox iOne) is a good mid-range option, and one that'll probably last longer  - ie you won't outgrow its limitations quite as qucikly as you would with the original iRig.

I still use my Apogee Jam - it's small, doesn't need its own power and works easily.   Also comes with a variety of cables to connect it to PC/Mac or old/new iPad.  You'll probably find a s/h one for relatively cheap (just make sure it's got all the interface cables with it).

Jimbo55

Thanks TTony - I have started looking at the youtubes mentioned - gosh, bit overpowering for me to start with but the possibilities seem fantastic - good news of the moment is that a friend has got a new ipad and is letting me use his 2 yr old one to get started with this - may be getting later today so from the sound of things it will be the easiest way to start.

Jimbo55

Just to add in, I am wanting to show video clips of me playing each instrument to an on screen collage movie view, even if the movies are dubbed with better audio versions that I make - does this question make sense ?

hollywoodrox

I know what you mean , it should be possible in the free iMovie app and GarageBand.

like where there are 4 squares you playing guitar in one, bass in the other, drums in the other etc .

i saw a lot of 2 split screen videos but not 4 , then saw this app that does 6

https://youtu.be/AC2RyVhnqlE

hollywoodrox

3 split screens on iOS with luma fusion

https://youtu.be/3m8ipqrnCSg

Jimbo55

sorry, been offline a few days - many thanks again hollywoodrox - I hope to try these in next few days and will report back