iPad spec for vsts?

horse

I'm thinking of adding an iPad to my modx as the midi & audio integration over usb looks good. Thinking of using things like the korg vsts. I think there's some kind of camera kit which allows charging / power at the same time as connecting.

I'm guessing that buying new will mean it will have a longer life and be better for multitasking. Anything I need to watch out for or be aware of?

@bridgehouse - have you tried this with your montage?

Cheers

Bridgehouse

horse said:

I'm thinking of adding an iPad to my modx as the midi & audio integration over usb looks good. Thinking of using things like the korg vsts. I think there's some kind of camera kit which allows charging / power at the same time as connecting.

I'm guessing that buying new will mean it will have a longer life and be better for multitasking. Anything I need to watch out for or be aware of?

@bridgehouse - have you tried this with your montage?

Cheers

I've got an iPad Pro - which means a USB-C connection. I've got a standard USB-C breakout adapter from Apple which gives me USB, HDMI and USB-C for charging. I've connected the iPad to the Montage and as it's class-compliant, it was seen in GarageBand and you could use it as an audio interface straight away. 

The midi bit needs some setup - then again the Montage appears to have a billion different options that I've not tried yet, but spinning up a Garageband SW instrument and turning off local control had the Montage acting as controller for it quite readily. 

Yamaha do seem to have the best class-compliant interface for putting an iPad in the mix. I usually use a MacBook Pro which has been superb so far - the integration in Logic Pro is excellent. I would imagine it's similar on an iPad.

As to which one - the iPad Pro I have is very good - lots of oomph, but the missus got an iPad Air (new style) this week and I have to say it's pretty close to the Pro. The Pro does have phenomenal battery life and extra processing power, but the Air is now similar in design, lighter in weight, and probably good enough for running some VSTs with your modx. It's usb-c as well now so far more connectivity options than there used to be. If anything, I'd say the usb-c bit is perhaps the biggest change/step up at the moment as it really does change the connectivity options. 

So far, everything I've plugged in to the Montage has worked well. You do need to install the Steinberger drivers on a MacBook or Win 10 machine, but the IOS devices just work. I've seen vids of a few guys running VST's on an iPhone and plugging them in to a Montage to use as a small handy on-stage extra source. Seemed to work very well as well...

Let me know if you have any other Q's or want me to try anything.

horse

Bridgehouse said:

horse said:

I'm thinking of adding an iPad to my modx as the midi & audio integration over usb looks good. Thinking of using things like the korg vsts. I think there's some kind of camera kit which allows charging / power at the same time as connecting.

I'm guessing that buying new will mean it will have a longer life and be better for multitasking. Anything I need to watch out for or be aware of?

@bridgehouse - have you tried this with your montage?

Cheers

I've got an iPad Pro - which means a USB-C connection. I've got a standard USB-C breakout adapter from Apple which gives me USB, HDMI and USB-C for charging. I've connected the iPad to the Montage and as it's class-compliant, it was seen in GarageBand and you could use it as an audio interface straight away. 

The midi bit needs some setup - then again the Montage appears to have a billion different options that I've not tried yet, but spinning up a Garageband SW instrument and turning off local control had the Montage acting as controller for it quite readily. 

Yamaha do seem to have the best class-compliant interface for putting an iPad in the mix. I usually use a MacBook Pro which has been superb so far - the integration in Logic Pro is excellent. I would imagine it's similar on an iPad.

As to which one - the iPad Pro I have is very good - lots of oomph, but the missus got an iPad Air (new style) this week and I have to say it's pretty close to the Pro. The Pro does have phenomenal battery life and extra processing power, but the Air is now similar in design, lighter in weight, and probably good enough for running some VSTs with your modx. It's usb-c as well now so far more connectivity options than there used to be. If anything, I'd say the usb-c bit is perhaps the biggest change/step up at the moment as it really does change the connectivity options. 

So far, everything I've plugged in to the Montage has worked well. You do need to install the Steinberger drivers on a MacBook or Win 10 machine, but the IOS devices just work. I've seen vids of a few guys running VST's on an iPhone and plugging them in to a Montage to use as a small handy on-stage extra source. Seemed to work very well as well...

Let me know if you have any other Q's or want me to try anything.

That's great ta. Thinking of one of the new standard ones, and think the vsts are fairly lightweight on processing - although prob need a host application for how I'll want to set things up.

Sounds like the breakout adapter would be what I'd need for confidence in power live. Very much thinking of using it as small integrated midi module for live.

Sounds like I'd be fairly safe to make a purchase then.

Bridgehouse

horse said:

Bridgehouse said:

horse said:

I'm thinking of adding an iPad to my modx as the midi & audio integration over usb looks good. Thinking of using things like the korg vsts. I think there's some kind of camera kit which allows charging / power at the same time as connecting.

I'm guessing that buying new will mean it will have a longer life and be better for multitasking. Anything I need to watch out for or be aware of?

@bridgehouse - have you tried this with your montage?

Cheers

I've got an iPad Pro - which means a USB-C connection. I've got a standard USB-C breakout adapter from Apple which gives me USB, HDMI and USB-C for charging. I've connected the iPad to the Montage and as it's class-compliant, it was seen in GarageBand and you could use it as an audio interface straight away. 

The midi bit needs some setup - then again the Montage appears to have a billion different options that I've not tried yet, but spinning up a Garageband SW instrument and turning off local control had the Montage acting as controller for it quite readily. 

Yamaha do seem to have the best class-compliant interface for putting an iPad in the mix. I usually use a MacBook Pro which has been superb so far - the integration in Logic Pro is excellent. I would imagine it's similar on an iPad.

As to which one - the iPad Pro I have is very good - lots of oomph, but the missus got an iPad Air (new style) this week and I have to say it's pretty close to the Pro. The Pro does have phenomenal battery life and extra processing power, but the Air is now similar in design, lighter in weight, and probably good enough for running some VSTs with your modx. It's usb-c as well now so far more connectivity options than there used to be. If anything, I'd say the usb-c bit is perhaps the biggest change/step up at the moment as it really does change the connectivity options. 

So far, everything I've plugged in to the Montage has worked well. You do need to install the Steinberger drivers on a MacBook or Win 10 machine, but the IOS devices just work. I've seen vids of a few guys running VST's on an iPhone and plugging them in to a Montage to use as a small handy on-stage extra source. Seemed to work very well as well...

Let me know if you have any other Q's or want me to try anything.

That's great ta. Thinking of one of the new standard ones, and think the vsts are fairly lightweight on processing - although prob need a host application for how I'll want to set things up.

Sounds like the breakout adapter would be what I'd need for confidence in power live. Very much thinking of using it as small integrated midi module for live.

Sounds like I'd be fairly safe to make a purchase then.

I’d say so. If you can stretch to an Air then they are worth the extra. 

I don’t know if the standard ones are usb-c but if not then I’d def. pay the extra bit for the Air as it’s a lot more flexible. 

I’m surprised Apple haven’t done an iOS version of Mainstage tbh - it would be pretty useful if they did

goldtop

Just for info, the iPad Mini 5 also works really well with the Montage/MODX. The Mini 5 now has a proper processor, but maybe has too small a screen for some? I find it OK.

My Mini 5's connected by the standard CCK - the Lightning type that allows iPad charging at the same time. I use it with a MODX8, and use a 4:2 mixer into the MODX's inputs for recording mic and guitar audio. You get a very small recording setup this way.

On some single presets, the Montage/MODX throws out MIDI on several channels, which can confuse some DAWs/external devices which are expecting to record on just one. Some handle this by merging all incoming MIDI data into a single channel, so if you send that back to the Montage/MODX, it sounds wrong. Sometimes very wrong, with stuck notes caused by multiple MIDI On/Off events. You can tell which these presets are from the colour of their names on the main screen - green versus blue (IIRC).

Bridgehouse

I've got an MX61 as well - it comes with a license for Yamaha's FM Essential iPad app. 

It's a shame that Yamaha only let you unlock it with an MX series synth, as it's a really good FM synth App and works really well with the Montage as well. 

If they'd let you unlock it with something else or just buy a license I'd recommend it as a decent alternate set of sounds. 

horse

goldtop said:

Just for info, the iPad Mini 5 also works really well with the Montage/MODX. The Mini 5 now has a proper processor, but maybe has too small a screen for some? I find it OK.

My Mini 5's connected by the standard CCK - the Lightning type that allows iPad charging at the same time. I use it with a MODX8, and use a 4:2 mixer into the MODX's inputs for recording mic and guitar audio. You get a very small recording setup this way.

On some single presets, the Montage/MODX throws out MIDI on several channels, which can confuse some DAWs/external devices which are expecting to record on just one. Some handle this by merging all incoming MIDI data into a single channel, so if you send that back to the Montage/MODX, it sounds wrong. Sometimes very wrong, with stuck notes caused by multiple MIDI On/Off events. You can tell which these presets are from the colour of their names on the main screen - green versus blue (IIRC).

 Looks like the same processor as the current standard model, so that's useful to know thank you.

I'm in 2 minds. I'd like to have improved Hammond and virtual analogue sounds, and things like the M1 would be fun and handy.

On the other hand, it will blow my "keep it simple, integrated, light and quick to set up" live rig plan a bit, and I'd have to use something like cubasis LE to bridge between the usb and din midi as I also use a weighted master keyboard with my modx7 - from what I've read that is possible. It would also introduce more cables, and ones that aren't really designed for stage use. And I'd probably need two different sets of my multis in case there was a problem with the ipad - e.g. a backup set with the iPad tones swapped for modx versions...

I have got gas at the moment, but maybe I should channel it into making my patches sound the best I can with just the modx rather than complicating my live setup. I've got plenty of other hardware options for home use anyway...

Hmmm

Bridgehouse

I think the iPad idea would be good for home use - not so sure about out and about to be honest. Another thing to go wrong and have to set up etc.

horse

Bridgehouse said:

I think the iPad idea would be good for home use - not so sure about out and about to be honest. Another thing to go wrong and have to set up etc.

 Yeah. It's tempting for live because of what it could add in a cost effective neat small solution, but I don't really need it for home due to other options.

I've got a pretty neat setup with the modx7 so that it can do everything on its own if needed, so really light and small for rehearsals or rougher gigs. But I've also got parts set up on parts 9, 10, 11 & 12 for each performance which if I hook up a weighted controller can also get involved. Sometimes that mirrors the splits etc on the main modx parts or sometimes it might just save me changing scene for a middle 8 or something. So same sounds either way - just more luxury if I can be bothered taking both keyboards out, and not a problem if I can't. I should probably continue with this rather than adding in extra gear...