Love and Frustration: iPads for Music Production 💗😠💗

[@andrewhuang]

Aw thanks for sharing Flip! The devs are working on MIDI implementation now - we just put all the resources into making it as good as it could be standalone first :) Lucy is adorbs

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

When will the devs work on the Android version?

[@Nightmoore]

Just got it yesterday, and of COURSE the first thing I do is sample the cat to make a beat out of. It's a great app!

[@Kkidzz]

Adorbs??!! ........ hey And’s......enough with the cringe....sheesh.🙄

[@LeonoraTindall]

@@BrunodeSouzaLino Huang has said that Android is not good for music production and that porting Flip is a fairly low priority.

[@mikabreto]

And when will we have flying cars

[@maxmatson1578]

About three years ago. I was homeless on the streets For around three years Addicted to drugs, down and out pretty bad. Don't worry I cleaned up and got off the streets. But all I had to make music With was a free Obama phone that kept getting stolen and having to get a new one through one of those Obama Phone tents Every 3 months or so with a free demo of "Caustic 3". I got so sick of only being able to make one track and not save that that I pan handled the $10 it took To buy the Full version off of Google Play and bought me a Google Play gift card and purchase the full version. I came up with some pretty cool tracks I feel. It's a shame that that phone wound up getting stolen. I wish I still had those tracks.

[@flashgordon4558]

Max Matson this is the best story for making music mobile! Stay save man peace ❤️

[@maxmatson1578]

@@flashgordon4558 Thank you. It's all true. It was a Trippy time for me! There's some good times, a lot of crappy ones.😵😅 I'm just glad I made it out on the other side. One thing I wish I had was those tracks I made?🎹 It seems like every 3 months or so, My phone would get stolen From me. And before I finally got off the street and got my own place was the last one that got stolen. Since that time I started Slowly building up my gear again. And now I record on my small little bit of Outboard I have to my "zoom H5". It's a lot funner that way, But I'm still grateful and thankful for having caustic with me during those crazy times!🙏✋✌

[@maxmatson1578]

@Walter B Thank you, I appreciate that.🙏 Actually I just got me a new drum machine the "drumbrute impact". I'm loving the thing!🎧💨💫😎👌 I'm hoping Next month, I'll be able to save up for a "micro freak".

[@ANSWERTHECALLOFJESUSCHRIST]

@@maxmatson1578 Stay safe. Your story made me sad, because it reminded me of the lowest point of my life, from 2010 to 2014. I got addicted to being high on weed and spice and I wasn't able to make music, because while under the effects, every single synth sound made me scared. Even just a single saw wave note would trigger this feeling of despair. Even a kick drum had a deep meaning of some sort and sounded suspicious, making me feel weird and pulling me deeper into the trip. The few times I finished tracks, they'd make me trip so hard, I got scared of my own music. I eventually lost my mind to the point where I'd get a new laptop, make music with it, and then slam it against the pavement because in my psychosis, I thought I was being monitored. I had a home but looked and lived like a homeless drug addict. In December 31, 2012, I thought the world was ending, and got really high and ended up making this weird, happy-sounding track called Mystery of Feeling which I literally thought was going to be played in a beautiful island full of people partying to it to welcome the new era in earth. It's one of only two tracks that survived from my old life, and sometimes I listen to it to remind of where my God rescued me from. The horrible thing is that it literally sounds to me like something that would be played in a huge, empty paradise island full of music lovers just becoming one with music. Ugh. Makes me feel what I felt back then. I'm grateful I've been drug-free since 2014 after going to jail for 45 days and then spending 12 months in a Christian rehab center.

[@maxmatson1578]

@@ANSWERTHECALLOFJESUSCHRIST thank you for sharing your story🙏 I'm glad you're able to pull yourself out of that👍 I know what you mean, for me I feel the Lord definitely pulled me out of that rut myself

[@magmakum4628]

It usually goes like this: invest in an iPad to use it as gear -> mess around a bit -> use it just for KZbin.

[@Nightmoore]

Yup. I wish it was as friendly for musicians as it is for visual artists. If you do design or Illustration work, it's pure bliss. It really is a shame.

[@Am6-9]

Absolutely this... it was such a tempting promise, just grab a nice little device to make some music without switching on the computer, firing up the daw. But the touch interface is just too slow and cumbersome compared to mouse and especially keyboard. Frustrating.

[@PantaFlux]

Exactly what happened to me with my iPad (6th generation). Except that even for watching KZbin my Sony Xperia Z2 tablet from 2014 is far superior! Having roughly the same screen size it’s thinner, lighter, has far better sound (built-in stereo speakers), it’s overall ergonomics is simply superior. Unfortunately Sony stopped building tablets.

[@bwgti]

Hey! I do some web browsing on it sometimes. And there was the one time I saved a movie on it to watch on a plane.

[@LyroLife]

A friend of mine bought an ipad pro for music production. Turns out nothing seems to work. Only garageband works fine. Now he uses a macbook pro instead, but even that thing doesnt work flawlessly. Software updates make apps useless and gear stops working too.

[@midnightkiteflight6333]

I bought an iPad Pro with full intention of using it for music production, and I ended up never doing that. However I started using it for everything else just about, and it became one of the most useful things I own.

[@AlfredRJr]

I just user my pro for gear. I have a few daws on it but it crashes so I stick with apps that are synths

[@crysstoll1191]

Was great for reading, simple internet chores, notes, but frustrating to try to actually do much. i ended up just using it as an auxiliary instrument in my setup.

[@NSResponder]

Former Apple engineer here. Tell Apple about it with the feedback app, ESPECIALLY when using pre-release versions of iOS. They don't assign anyone to watch KZbin videos about people complaining. Bugs are prioritized by two main criteria, which are the severity of the bug (data loss is the worst), and the number of users affected.

[@CrimsonOptics]

As someone who has been aware of Apple bullshit for a long time, this video speaks to me on another level. Thanks for being so educated.

[@jawsh1971]

The Moog synth apps are my faves. Animoog in particular is unique and unlike any other synth.

[@MrTownsend]

Yeah animoog is really nice!

[@evelyntelevision]

Lucy's Beat has healed me of all worry and pain

[@karmatosed7211]

It’s rare for me to so thoroughly agree with every point made within any content, but you perfectly summed up my iPad music production experience perfectly & made it far more entertaining than I ever could. One tiny thing I’d add is how Apple rubs their stubbornness in ur face or pours salt on the wounds they leave on your trust & consumer loyalty. For example with their introduction of a new plugin format & then pulling the trigger to roll exclusively with their proprietary auv3 over IAA, my former (more naive) self saw that action as them acknowledging the growing interest & excitement in utilizing apple mobile devices for music production, with countless folks voluntarily converting their production workflow to exclusively use only apple iPad/ iPhone. But then later on, yea, just like you touched on, our next gift was losing our highly valued & wanted 1/8inch headphone port. Now I will say that the level of power & capabilities literally at fingertips was what finally changed my thinking of music production still being out of reach of my abilities & funds, & gave me an intuitive place to begin for first time ever producing my own electronic music. And I agree so many iOS apps are quite amazing & many are exclusive to iOS. Not to mention, popular plugins ported over to iOS are done so with full capabilities basically a perfect counterpart to pc/Mac plugin except on iOS they can be acquired for significantly less monies. FabFilter is an excellent example here. I’ll always have a soft spot for iOS production because I literally have songs that are collectively composed over a whole months worth of poo’s. One song I made was two months of poo’s. Yes I’m saying the entirety of some of my songs spawn into existence and inspired from my bathroom visits. Not visits to make music, visits to actually shit. But from that actual shit, came more shit but less physical & farty. Also after a good week or two into such a project, you’ll not won’t to violate the integrity of the project by working on it outside of poo sessions. If we don’t keep to our own principles then as we all know reality will unravel. So, anyone wanna hear my shit music? The genre name just sorta organically wrote itself.

[@karmatosed7211]

Actually the shit songs are already on my KZbin page. Go, Go Dream was one full month worth of poo’s plus an extra almost two days of diarrhea since that increased my session frequency a little. Then the other track is Baddest Bitch, for it I had in mind to contain rap vocals in the style of del the funkee homosapien. Anything but that deltron 3030 stuff I don’t get how ppl get into that kind stuff honestly. But there was such an obvious problem I didn’t foresee. I couldn’t ever find any rap vocals in the style of del belonging to someone with inards that matched close enough to mine so we’re both dropping dueces at the same time. I mean I found some ppl who could 💩 with the best, but again they could only do deltron 3030 & that’s just not what I envisioned. So ya, even though vocals still lacking, Baddest Bitch song came out to two whole months of bathroom hand washing cause that’s what you always do after you shit. Idc if any got on ur hand, the remnants of buggers ya picked are still there. I’ve got one other song in the genre of shit music that I suppose would be my shit masterpiece so far consisting of 3full months of forehead vein-bulging turd pushing. I felt like such a commitment deserved a little extra something or reward, so a Rick & Morty sample just felt right. Haven’t posted this last shit song yet from being cautious in rolling out my new genre. But it’s on my google drive & I could share the link. If anyone else noticed the profound effect that the cold porcelain throne pressed against warm butt cheeks before exercising butt demons has on one’s creativity, then send me! I wanna hear other ppls shit music & if they’re more talented than I am at the art of shitting. 🫵🫱🎶💩🎵🫲👍

[@chahan2016]

I have been making iOS music since the iPhone 3GS🤯🤯🤯 You’re 1000% right about the “frustrations” regarding compliance. In my opinion, iOS devices are best used with minimal peripherals- headphones (wired) and one camera connection kit (USB to lightening adapter) If I were advising someone new to this world, I’d say stop there. Headphones and camera connection kit. Focus on getting as far as possible with just an iOS device. You’d be surprised by how much you can create😁

[@post22]

It's really easy to get blinded by the iPad's potential in an 'ideal scenario'. It seems like it's the perfect solution for so many applications, but the road always leads to "why am I not just using a laptop?". I have a new iPad Pro and it's painful how awesome and useless the device can be at the same time. Great for movies and doodling though.

[@electronicsandewastescrapp7384]

Get nanostudio, skip CUBASIS.

[@jaredf6205]

I'm still considering it lol. I don't plan on ever getting deep into making music with a daw. I just want to have fun and I have a synthesizer I don't use much anymore, I plan on selling for the same price and getting an iPad instead.

[@MarianoPerez]

This 100 times. The iPad seems like a good groovebox to sketch songs, but as soon as you want to do something more it becomes cumbersome.

[@LeFnob]

Yeah, my iPad Pro is a $900 sheet music folder

[@ironingmike]

Hi Benn, just discovered your channel. Love your work and your dedication. I use 2 quite old iPads for music. I don't like using the charging port for anything but charging as both devices turn their noses up whenever I plug in a controller using the camera kit. Instead I use an iRig dongle plugged into the headphone socket. This allows me to output a stereo signal while also feeding audio to apps for processing. I only use bluetooth for sending midi data, NOT audio. Latency is not an issue at all. I use the Korg NanoKey and NanoStudio to send bluetooth midi to my main apps - Koala Sampler, Garageband and Korg Gadget. Soon I will incorporate the cool NMSVE by ThisIsNoise for more bluetooth midi control. Now I never have issues with non-compliant interfaces, latency or battery drain. My advice to lovers of iPad apps: get an old iPad with a phones socket, get an old iRig (1st gen is best) and use the phones socket for both input and output. The TRRS 3.5 plug enables input and output through the iRig. And start using bluetooth midi - it works like a charm.

[@DataBroth]

please do a brand loyalty psychology video, the community needs to hear it, it needs to be the norm to understand that what you buy is not who you are edit: I do not plan on arguing with anyone about this, just saying I'd like to see a video about what Benn mentioned at 1:10

[@ideashop4981]

This

[@I-0-0-I]

The whole thing is very analogous to political party loyalty/dogma.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Apple's entire market is around the idea that owning an Apple device makes you part of the select group of individuals that "Think Different". In music production, you'll find many people that will not consider you a professional unless you have a Mac.

[@DataBroth]

@@BrunodeSouzaLino I also think there's 2 sides to this conversation, not only do I hope Benn talks about toxic brand loyalty, but also the toxic response to the purchasing decisions of others

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

@@DataBroth There's no two sides. That's Apple's marketing. Plain and Simple. They pitch themselves as a lifestyle brand, not a computer brand. It's similar to how ProTools works. Any modern DAW made in the last 10 years or so runs circles around it, but we're still tied to it because "the professionals use it".

[@ctrlectrld]

Holy shit Drambo is magnificent. Love your videos and sense of humor, always a pleasure Benn!

[@KrumpusPlunk]

my main love argument: i paid a fraction of the price for my huge library of plugins and softsynths and drum machines and daws that i could never have afforded on mac or windows.

[@false-set]

FabFilter suite ~$300 dollarydoos... not bad. Logic now too, it's a lot of fun.

[@NickBatinaComposer]

ayyy, I love my cruddy old school iPad! I’m big into TouchOSC and stuff like that, but since upgrading my monitor size, I don’t really reach for the OSC tech much anymore. That being said, if you perform contemporary music, an iPad can really help with pages since page turns can be awfully jank in new scores (sometimes, the only option is a score that you can turn pages on with your feet lol)

[@mynmyself]

Oh man... Ipad has changed how I perform and make music. Using miRack with an Expert Sleepers interface just turned my eurorack into the most powerful modular synth in the world. I now have a smallish 6U case I can carry around with my iPad and midi controller and just go crazy. Adding AUM with its many audio and midi effects (miRack also excels at any of these) just makes everything even more powerful and fun, and I can just add a polysynth or a drummachine on top of that inside AUM... Enso as a looper has also made my workflow incredibly better. Before all this, I was using a laptop to create my hybrid system, but apart from not enjoying carrying an expensive laptop around, I find havin tactile control is so much better and nicer as an interface.

[@lawr.h]

The amount of genuine excitement in your voice when talking about your Patreon really filled my heart with joy. I'm glad something's working out for someone.

[@Markrspooner]

I have an 2018 iPad pro and connected it to Motu M2 and connects with no problems, so hearing all the issue you have was a real surprise. Must have got lucky with the audio interface I got.

[@mkberlin]

Motu M2 works also fine for me on an iPad Pro 2020 and also brings old school midi connectors. Add an icy box usb c hub and you have power supply during longer sessions.

[@GavinskisTutorials]

Love and Frustration indeed Ben, - welcome to our world 😂🙌

[@FlowFormMobileMusic]

🤘

[@GavinskisTutorials]

@@FlowFormMobileMusic Nice to see you here bro 😉

[@FlowFormMobileMusic]

@@GavinskisTutorials Iam a big fan Flashbulb))

[@EnriquePage91]

The thing though is... once you have your setup, going back to Desktop sounds like a nightmare lol. I haven’t touch desktop for music production in over 10 years at this point! 😥😅

[@williamolsen20]

I love the iPad for music, and the software available is incredible, and affordable. I do agree that there is a downside, I am not going to give up on it.

[@iamyila]

Rme boxes works great with iPad CC mode, totalmix and totalmix remote also.

[@mrd5024]

Ben is so right on this. Someone lent me a iPad Pro full of music apps and I found it like cooking with boxing gloves on. Fun, but WAY too hard to make anything.

[@aakash9058]

Thanks for the straight talk Benn. There's a lot of trending producers telling us how amazing working on iPad is and it always looks too cobbled together and unintegrated.

[@bwgti]

I have never come across this channel.. The first 12-15 minutes was the clearest most exact explanation of everything awesome and wrong with the iPad. Anyone thinking this is a great device for any kind of production (not just music) should check out this video. A lot of those thrown together demos were pretty great too. Thanks!

[@AvianBreak]

Your experience matches what happened with me and my attempts to make music on the iPad. Very fair critiques, and nice highlights of the benefits!

[@peanutygoodness]

I love drawing in parameter automation in drambo - as if it couldn’t get weird enough as it is, that component of the app just makes your ability to control the weirdness even better.

[@korcanatalay]

It's interesting that in many of the songs you showed you sound a lot like BOC. dope!

[@robertsyrett1992]

Orange!

[@DavidBagshaw]

Blue Oyster Cult still has a fan base then...

[@mikabreto]

Har

[@yodabe882]

Great video. Drambo did it for me too. I didn’t really take iPad seriously until Drambo arrived, but now I probably use the iPad more than I use my hardware.

[@williamolsen20]

I love using a iPad for music, it is not the only way I do it, but they have some really cool noisemakers, and decent DAW software. I guess I have had better luck than some.

[@echo_opera]

Just wanted to mention that from my experience the following Audio Interfaces work just fine with the iPad Pro and USB: SoundCraft 12MTK Mixer (multi-channel) FocusRite Scarlett 18i8 with Scarlett OctaPre (multi-channel) Novation AudioHub2x4 DigiTone shows up as an Audio Interface Maschine+, OctaTrack, MicroFreak, Toraiz As-1 and Minilogue all show up as midi devices over USB. The iconnectivity Mio allows the OT to communicate Midi over USB in the setup. The Apple Camera Connection Kit makes it all accessible even over a USB Hub. If we could get Aggregated devices on iOS that would be amazing. I am quite pleased with how well the iPad connects to my gear as well as to my macOS via IDAM. It just works.

[@lucasyanos9723]

Thank you Man!

[@benas_st]

Add the MOTU M2, M4 & M6 there too!

[@mikhailfilippov4123]

I’ve bought Steinberg UR22 mkii some time ago. Works just fine with first Ipad pro and Ipad 2020 pro as well. Had to buy new camera connection kit with USBC though.

[@davidpinto1195]

I got an ipad 7 for music production recentrly and I connected to digitakt for midi and as audio output and its been phenomenal man, so many synth apps for a few dollars, not recorded anything yet but Ill try soon, happy new year man and thanks for your videos and sincerity

[@geluix69]

This precisely why I haven’t upgraded my iPads constantly , kept my old IOS backups with the apps. All my music ipads are never connected to the internet and updates are disabled permanently. I use 3 iConnectivity devices , Midi4+ , the Audio4+ and Mio XL. 2x Alesis IO/docks . The secret is ,dont upgrade. I own 6 ipads of various generations.

[@chronomod8358]

Yuuup, I'm surprised more people haven't realized this yet. The old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is serious advice that should be followed strictly with operating systems and especially on mobile devices, where software and even hardware are designed specifically for the OS that was available when they was developed. If you want it to continue working over time, you should not install software designed for newer hardware. Disable all updates and live on airplane mode. Instruments do not need an internet connection.

[@AnalogMonoxide]

On point. People often ask me about getting into music but don't have the budget for hardware, and I wish I could say I just love all the awesome apps on iPad without also mentioning how full of crap Apple are.

[@hazmatforhumanity7318]

I would like to see a more in depth discussion on how to organize and stack your gear. What different stand options there are, price points, tricks and tips and such. There's short videos here and there but not one extensive one that kind of explains what my options are. I've been writing on DAW's for about 17 years now and I recently started going DAWless with hardware and I'm struggling to find the best way to organize and stack all of my newer gear

[@ProfessorHumblesDelusions]

Hi Ben. I’m viewing this view almost 2 years since you released it and was intrigued to learn more about the Sensel Morph, only to learn that it’s been discontinued. 😂 The constant change in tech is crazy.

[@basilandrigsby]

I totally agree. The best bet for me was to use an apple headphone dongle for iPad audio out and Bluetooth device for midi in out. I use a PUC+ for the latter and it’s worked well consistently for years. 👍

[@justinsmith9591]

OMG Benn! I had no idea you have a KZbin channel. We exchanged some emails back in 2008 about a few things. I dismantled my music studio when I moved to Chicago in 2010 and recently have had to the itch to get back into it… Came across this video while debating “iPad Pro vs MacBook” in my mind. Thanks for the content! Keep it up.

[@alliefdxproductionservices5856]

So what I've found with the USB-C iPad Pros/Airs in our hire stock is that not all USB-C adapter doodads are created equal, and the quality of the class-compliant device implementation *really* varies between manufacturers. We've had best success with the Belkin and CalDigit USB-C docks (they give you ethernet, too, for network MIDI) and audio interfaces from Steinberg, Audient, RME, and MOTU. Focusrite's CC driver is really unreliable, and some of the USB-C adapters are less than stellar too.

[@MusicHands]

Great overview, shows well where the iPad sits for music reation in 2021. At 29:30 you point out that currently its best when you're "trying to have fun with audio" its also great for teaching too!

[@sevenape]

Thank you for this video. I am an ipad “musician” and love the workflow and as you say, meditative and explorative way of working. For making experimental music, particularly sample based experimental music, the iPad is fantastic

[@Argiflex]

Nice video! I have an old 16gb iPad 2 that can hardly run anything, but I've coaxed it into being my additional screen for flipping through manuals in the studio, and i have a copy of djay 2 on there for djing because it can play music from Spotify (sometimes, if I can get the wifi to work) and that's been great for busting out at parties when people keep disconnecting a hot aux cord

[@ata000001]

Maybe I was lucky with my audio interfaces, as they work fine with my usb-c ipad pro 2018. All of them are Zoom, UAC-8, L-20 and H6. Also my midi interface, Blokas Midihub works fine with the ipad pro, even with a cheap non-apple usb-c to 4xusb-a hub.

[@redskylullaby]

Nice selection. I’ve been 100% iPad for a few years now. Agree is far from painless though. Look forward to your Endlesss vid. Has definitely been a huge factor in turning music making into an enjoyment again

[@awilsonator]

BTW your OCTATRACK will now appear in iOS FILES as a viable folder when connected thru USB. So the iPad becomes a great sample creation workshop with a quick and easy way to transfer files to some real hardware.

[@Ahlynsky]

oooh thats a good one.

[@MUNRO13]

I bought an iPad specifically for music production, spent LOADS of money on apps, hated the whole experience and gave up on the idea. At least I have an iPad which is useful...

[@_DRMR_]

Until apple decides it is not :')

[@chukah9484]

Same - now I got an fancy eReader / fapping / youtube device.

[@billB101]

@@_DRMR_ Yeah, Apple upgrade the software way too frquently and backward compatability goes as fast as it arrives.

[@nickmagrick7702]

is though? Is the iPad really useful? I suppose it has some uses if you have no other computer with internet capabilities

[@_DRMR_]

@@nickmagrick7702 My mom is totally happy with her iPad and I'm glad I don't have to give any support for it :D I guess she is the main target audience though.

[@mikaeljohansson83]

I found a nice use for my Ipad as a DAW controller be it Studio One or Logic/Mainstage. Excellent when recording with the band in the rehearsalstudio. Mind you I use a WiFi connection so I have no problems(unless it sometimes decide not to connect to the WiFi network😒 just another great Apple feature🤣). Great video Benn👍

[@iqnill]

As a dedicated Mac user I agree with you 100%. Apple doesn't care about anything beyond photos of lunch and some sort of messenger. My Line6 device didn't work for a year while we waited for Apple to fix their driver in iOS13...

[@avationmusic]

I didn’t know about some of these apps and I’m about to now bankrupt myself on iPad apps😂 Awesome video, and totally true about the connectivity issues. I think we all share a love hate relationship with Apple at this point, thanks for sharing Benn🤞🏼

[@drinkinslim]

Two years later (from this video), I am loving Nanostudio 2. It's quicker and more fun making actual music with it than on my laptop DAW. It also does indeed have an FL Studio vibe to it. Hoping HOPING they add audio tracks coz the 3rd party plugin "Multitrack" isn't quite cutting it, though it does handle audio playback pretty well - can't record though.

[@jamiejudesmithart]

Hi Benn, I’m not sure if you were aware, but if you own a Zoom H1 Handy recorder, you can use it as audio interface for iOS. Depending on the firmware of your Zoom recorder, you may need to download a driver from the Zoom website. This was at least true as of 2019. Being a music/sound guy, many of us have a Zoom recorder around. Pretty compact solution. Great video!

[@Philodrone]

I wonder if it works with Zoom digital mixers as I own one (L-8).

[@almightyEsquilax]

@@Philodrone The annoying answer is "some of them."

[@jefgibbons]

Great video! I bought an iPad pro with huge ambitions for music making apps... it became my 5-year old's Netflix device... I gotta check out some of those apps! Also, I still have the OG MIDIsport... didn't expect to see that in a YT video in 2021!

[@MusicHands]

😂

[@periurban]

I love making music on my iPad, and these days it's all I use - although I only have me to please! I respect entirely your assertions regarding the frustrations of trying to get hardware working with iOS devices. Quite a few people have been caught out. I've been making music exclusively on the iPad since 2010, and I've seen the technology take huge leaps forward. The iPad I use is the last generation iPad Pro to have the headphone socket (2018 model), and it works great (touch wood) with the Komplete Audio 6. So far I've managed to avoid the disasters you described. One aspect that you don't touch upon in your video is that the iPad represents a complete and self contained music production tool. You can make great, professional quality music without any audio interface, just using the internal apps. In particular, the advent of the touch instrument changed everything for me. In many ways a keyboard on screen is much more versatile than a real keyboard, allowing all kinds of customisation options that hardware just cannot match. I haven't used a desktop for music making in over a decade now, and I'd never go back!

[@quickunboxings1176]

How do you only have 55k subscribers? Phenomenal content, subscribed and notifications on.

[@frankniessen999]

Another good video. I use an apple camera connection kit and have no problems until now with 4 different audio interfaces, 2 midi interfaces and the elektron digitakt as audio interface. Seems i‘m lucky to have compatible hardware right from beginning. To use the iPad in comparison to a daw like bitwig, it seems that in every setup I tried is a tiny bit missing... but that‘s part of the creative process. I was never into apple stuff, but making music on an iPad is really great and i will not miss it.

[@triniticoclough6387]

I have a Focusrite interface and it works I have an LaunchPad pro and Mini mk3 and they both work! No Problems! I have been doing this for years!

[@headsandhearts]

I guess I’ve always differentiated between things I do in iPad or with hardware. I still release them as the same project, but one is entirely in the iPad, and the other isn’t. Great video as always!

[@SoyanOsman]

Love your videos! They're so well made!

[@illestvillain1971]

I agree

[@MusicHands]

Agreed almost 40mins too! 😮

[@hejsel7360]

Soyan Osman, wow now two KZbinrs I have subscribed to!!!

[@semyonboyk0]

According to Madlib, he made Bandana on his iPad. He didn't specify what app tho

[@twelveeighteen1392]

Garageband

[@simonpettersson6788]

2024: iPad (at least the pro) will recognise any class compliant audio interface. So all this critique is no longer valid.

[@bobbfett.musiclab]

I have ben making music with iPad for a long time. What I generally do, is to buy apples crazy expensive dongle first, then I have a powered usb hub connected to it. The reason you need a powered hub is because iPad can’t power all midi devices, and you want to charge the iPad the same time. And Google what soundcard is class compliant and works well with iPad.

[@tree_relics]

LF Saw wave to amp envelop modulation on that clap into highpass filter with a little resonance to make that pop

[@rrrobart9]

Great content here; I’ll just add that iOS has been the only feasible solution for me to make music. If you are pressed for time and space, I think you absolutely should buy an iPad for music production. I’ve got 4 very young children and I am very involved in their care. I only get 10 min here and there throughout the day and maybe an hour at night. The only thing that is even close is the m8 which might actually be a better choice. But Benn is right about the fun and experimental aspect of iOS music production. It can take you places you don’t expect and it’s ever changing. It’s a spacecraft. Yes it comes with frustrations, but it is well worth it if you MUST make music like me. But other than that I completely agree with everything Benn says here-- except for the A-W-M part. ; )

[@VictorSteiner]

When I got into Eurorack and saw the prices, I was baffled by the prices for effect units. So I got an ES-8 Audio interface (now ES-9) and besides a cheap delay and clouds, I do all my effects and recording in AUM on my iPad. An amazing reverb by audio damage costs 5-10 bucks instead of 60ish on the PC. That's why even thought I bought Ableton Suite a long time ago, I mainly record my stuff (hobbylevel) on my iPad. I have like 75 effects and maybe spent 300 dollars on those. With the first step sequencers that output voltage and cool stuff like that and the (pre-Corona) modular jams we had size is also a + for the iPad or even just the iPhone. But for "planning" music, a real DAW is still better than most (or dare I say all?) Eurorack sequencers. Cubasis 3 could have been that "I don't need Ableton on PC anymore" moment, but the software was so extremely bugged when they released it (and still was until the patch a few days ago) that it made me stop composing on the iPad alltogether. Cubasis 3 really brought a shitton of grief to a lot of people. Hope they get it fixed.

[@KrumpusPlunk]

from the amount of crashes per hour i went through in the last 2 days I'd say it definitely isn't bug free yet... still, my favorite ios daw.

[@lucasyanos9723]

@@KrumpusPlunk and now do it all works?

[@danlindy9670]

Absolutely brilliant! We probably all have closets or basements or second houses full of obsolete gear that would work perfectly well… if only it hadn’t been deliberately abandoned by Apple or Microsoft. Kind of like how I still need to buy replacement LED light bulbs.

[@WE.ARE138]

"they only exist in iOS, and you'll probably want to buy one after you see what I can do with them" 🤣 Great insight I really appreciate your consideration. I have always used hardware like little digital recorders and Workstations until recently. I bought a new laptop and MPCL2. I mixed up the power cords, so..... After jarring the prongs on both my (New MPC & laptop) power supplies, leaving them pretty useless for some time(6mth), I found the world of iOS. I now have 🐨 and AUM, and am just starting to get into AUM . So basically I planned on learning Ableton and MPC ecosystems and found the AMAZING Ui of 🐨 instead. Now I nudged the prong so the MPC is back in town. I've had quite the journey but I couldn't have done it with out folks like you! So thank you for your dedication and support, just subbed and I look forward to more great INFO DROPS🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌👊

[@AllanEising]

Hey, so you probably already know this, but a surefire way to get sound out of the ipad without messing with third-party USB stuff is to use an HDMI interface. I bought a very cheap HDMI splitter that separates the sound and picture part of the HDMI. I actually used it together with that very same adapter you were showing off to get two sound channels off the iPad for Djay so I could pre-cue, but that's besides the point. Getting sound off of HDMI is something I'm convinced will work no matter what device compatibility they will break in the future.

[@Proxima04]

Frustrations with midi connection via Wi-fi left my iPad on the shelf for years until I discovered the Yamaha (Bluetooth) MD-BT01 that plugs into the M-Audio midi sport hub you were holding. Best use for me is with TC-Data on the App Store which just then gives you the tactile quality’s of the iPad, but for use with the DAW. Musically use for me, would be limited to a minimal set up, perhaps with just a laptop and some other small controllers, intentional restrictions etc.

[@EzriIkramS]

Thought I was on Jakob Haq's channel for a minute there.

[@jm6734]

Coincidentally I was researching this subject yesterday. As usual: Google sh!t-sprays ya with stores and useless click bait "reviews". So, happy to find this video. I own an iPhone and am too familiar with Apple BS. Surly the file system alone has made people commit war crimes. Perhaps if Apple were 1% less greedy they could’ve made musicals 100% happier. Still, any sort of deeper production looks absolutely horrendously frustrating. Works for noodles and great for drawing.

[@stever3788]

Once upon a time Apple did care about music production. Right after they bought out EMagic they used some former EMagic employees as liaisons to the Pro Audio world and tried to get feedback from top composers for Logic, they worked hard at trying to interest pro's in now discontinued tech like the XServe RAID and then they had the initial Apogee partnership which felt like a sort of Steinberg/Yamaha type deal. Then Logic dropped in price from $999 to $499 and they cut those jobs and stopped looking for feedback from artists. Then the price dropped to $299 then $199 and now you know the rest.

[@jm6734]

@@stever3788 yeah, it’s a sad really. And most likely propelled by one-track minded $hareholders, as creative as pointed spades - regarding arts as hobbies. I remember pro studios running Apple computers + Apogee with smooth sailing. Appalling to hear them f' them over - rendering users investments useless in the process. Incredibly arrogant. Apple - such a love hate relationship. Love the apps - hate the greedy business cunts.

[@Philodrone]

This is exactly what I've been thinking about recently! I was considering buying a second hand iPad to test these iOS exclusives as well as use it as sketchbook for my graphic design doodles. Also reading or goofing around with sound design before sleep seems a lot more productive than watching Twitch 😁 I am bit concerned about the connectivity... and I don't know anymore. I would like to expand my hardware setup too and the budget is tight lately. Anyways, great video Ben. Take care!

[@JohnSAitken]

iOS 17.2. I got hold of a C cable for my iPad mini 6 gen and iPhone 14 and 15pro max. Sound comes out ok, line in? What I did was I got hold on a Y splitter two 3.5 sockets to one line in 3.5. One socket for speaker and the other I plugged into my 1010 Black Box and I could sample audio and listen at the same time. I think this method would work with any device that has a line in on it.

[@chrisshelswell3222]

I’m still using that midi interface! It’s rock solid. Along with my Kenton spin doctor. Stuff used to be built like tanks!

[@DodgaOfficial]

I use fl studio on my android occasionally, but there are a couple things holding it back: The fact that my phone doesn't have a headphone jack means I either have to use an adapter, or deal with latency using airpods or some other Bluetooth headset. Not an ideal situation, I either have to sacrifice speed, or the ability to charge. Dealing with samples is never easy on any android device because of the way the file system works and because sampling is an afterthought browsing samples on my phone is a huge pain. It just makes it difficult and the content that fl studio mobile comes with just isn't there yet as far as sound quality and preset selection.

[@8thlvlMage]

Everything from 26m to 28m was incredible beautiful. Gonna try to replicate that, and hopefully learn a lot chasing that sound.

[@stever3788]

Benn you covered everything I would have wanted to know about a Pro's experience with iPad over the past 8 years. It's nice to see all of this in one spot rather than trying to piece together someone's experience from a variety of videos like on Jakob Haq's channel. It's also refreshing to not see you trying to push whatever gear in this video through affiliate links. I applaud you for your honesty even though gear addiction has clearly got you sucked into iOS nonetheless. I'm really surprised that the new iPad Pro had so many issues, but i think it's funny that your solution was a $40 headphone jack.

[@BennJordan]

Thanks! And yeah, funny how the $40 thing does the trick. Although it doesn't really, no audio inputs, no MIDI.

[@stever3788]

@@BennJordan It looks to me like the best I/O for the money with Midi on it for USB-C right now is the Motu M2. The IK Multimedia iRig Pro I/O also should work, but it has minijack Midi. It's frustrating these days how many interfaces have dropped Midi considering how it cheap it must be to add two uncopyrighted jacks and slow 35 year old tech. Most of them already have room on the back panel. (c'mon Focusrite wtf) If you just want to add Midi, IK makes the iRig Midi 2 but then you'd need a hub. I was actually wondering if a powered (>30w) USB C hub would let you use one of the existing I/O's that you have. Maybe the problem is the iPad isn't sending power the way devices expect it to due to the PD spec, I think it sends 12v instead of 5v iirc.

[@wickeddubz]

I had ipad mini 2, recently upgraded to ipad mini latest version, both worked great with simple usb 2 midi converter and did not require extra power for it. Tried to connect via active USB hub - works, no problem. Added DIY midi splitter to the converter - works, no issues. Some apps require certain sequence of actions to make them see the interface. Cheap Behringer UCA-222 and usb2midi converter connected to active hub and i found no issues so far. Gonna add Keystep to this, hopefully it will work too. Currently i’m a bit frustrated regarding link and sync between Aum and Audiobus, sometimes certain apps cannot be simply clocked from Aum.

[@spacejack400]

Well if you're a beginner like me, you won't have the problem of already owning incompatible gear. I just check that whatever I buy is iPad compatible since that's all I use. I bought a digital piano + iPad as a cheap way to have stage piano features but it ended up offering so much more.

[@triniticoclough6387]

I previously bought iPads to use as my Daw controller! that has been working for the past 4 plus years! Additionally, I have a dedicated IPad Pro for music production! So what you say is just your own experience!

[@CandorBand]

This is how I use my an iPad Pro for music production. I find it is better than the old PC I used to use. I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with the latest version of Logic. I have been using an iPad to produce music for the last 4 years consistently. Where it excels for me is the tracking process. While I tinkered with many apps in the past, I now exclusively use GarageBand iOS. I find the iPad excels in numerous ways. First, is portability. Second is battery life, third is no keyboard and no mouse. Fourth is simplicity. To start recording in GarageBand, buy the camera connection kit, find an interface that is core audio compliant, plug in a microphone, adjust gain, put on your head phones and open GarageBand. Then all you do is go to audio recording. Grab a preset that sounds nice. Turn a few knobs for your headphone mix. Adjust the length and tempo of your track and tap (don’t click!) record. No need to setup a headphone mix. No need to go into low latency mode, no need to set up the correct audio buffer size- it gets the technical stuff out of the way and just lets you focus on the music. Are there limitations? Oh yeah. In spades. On my iPad I can only track 32 tracks in a session. Not thousands of tracks. I don’t have access to any high end plug ins either. But for me, this is a benefit. Seriously. It forces me to focus on tracking the best possible performance every time. If it’s not great, delete it and start again! There is no room for mediocre tracks. Certainly there is no room for 100s of vocal tracks like Billie Eillish type productions. You want that, better use logic. My humble opinion, learn to sing, practice your part, get into the mood and lay down a few kick ass takes. Then let the mixer comp em down or double track. But hey that’s me. Bottom line, if you want to simplify. iPad is the way I do it. Once the tracking is done, I send it to logic where I bounce down stems and send for mixing. I used to mix on the laptop myself but its not something I enjoy and I’m not very good at it. Hope this helps.

[@evanthorn5089]

I like that idea: “Fun”. Quite the concept. Thanks

[@fdhfdh3310]

This is just an opinion. I use iPad Pro for music production. No probs and yes I am a professional.

[@trebleboost7]

Tascam Celesonic + Auria Pro + last year’s budget ipad. So far so good! Down the rabbit hole. Mostly to use as a multitrack rehearsal recording option.

[@damianalexanderwebb]

Korg and Moog make apps with both powerful sound capabilities and overpowering prices.

[@Hanoveur]

Thanks for giving me a justification to buy a bigger iPad. Sometimes "Doodling" can be better than therapy. The Sensel looks like a fun toy too.

[@AFRoSHEENT3ARCMICHAEL69]

Oh I am loving music production on the iPad thanks for your Opinion though. Koala sampler alone is extremely powerful. Sure there are limitations but not many and I can focus more on arrangements rather than all these unlimited options that become a distraction away from what’s most important, the song. It’s way cheaper too like fabfilter bundles.

[@FTWFoundation]

Amazing video just like the rest of your content. I have learnt so much since discovering your channel. Thanks so much and keep doing what you do!

[@NewEnglandBikeRides]

oh man, when you pulled out the midisport... I have two. They are, as you know, not class compliant. M-Audio is not going to write new drivers for the mac, so I have to stay with an old OS and old Logic for now. Great dog jam. Made my night.

[@edrift3d]

I frequently sketch out ideas on an iPad. Other times, will just jam as many of the apps I have are great for that, but if I want to develop any of those ideas further, I move them onto my desktop to finish. I’d love to use an iPad more seriously, but I too am constantly stymied by hardware and software conflicts and problems. Apple is really missing out on a large opportunity. The devices definitely have the power and potential.

[@40791]

Excellent vid covering soooooo many items of interest!

[@chahan2016]

I have been making music via iPhone/iPad for more than 20 years. I agree with you whole heartedly. It’s both great and sucky as hell. That being said, iOS devices make great samplers (if the desired apps to be used get updated regularly😁) My ten cents.

[@macmoll]

More than 20 years? Via iPhone/iPad? Wow that’s impressive! Especially considering that the iPhone came out in 2007 and the ipad came out in 2010. You must have had some sort of preproduction unit or something.

[@chahan2016]

😂😂😂😂my bad!! I meant 10 years fam. I stared making beats on an iPhone 3GS. BeatMaker 1 and then 2, garage band, and. nano studio. Truth be told, I actually started making beats with a PSP😁I wanted to record the stuff I made which led me to iOS music.

[@audiogus2651]

Bought several ipads over the past ten years solely for music production. Awesome for commuting, loved walking down the street with it. BM3/NS2, love em! Now in lockdown I bought a Maschine and barely touch my iPad for music anymore. If I commute again I will probably just get a windows tablet as the Maschine software seems rather touch friendly enough. Won’t be as nice for walking down the street though.

[@roberthbennett]

Well said! Apple has some awesome VSTs BUT after my Apple MacBook Pro died and my iPad Pro died I have hundreds if not thousands of dollars invested in Apple products that are completely useless now.......

[@agneldominique352]

Love the way you explained directly to the point

[@Jimantronic]

Yeah! Also just got a 12.9 iPad Pro for Drambo. It seems to be the thing I've been missing as the main brain for fun and interesting electronic jams. An actual game changer! Once it gets multi audio I/O support and recording it'll be amazing. That said, I'd still output stems and mix a final track in a daw on the laptop.

[@jespurrier]

The Behringer X series or flow 8 plus the AUM software are excellent reasons to buy an iPad for music production. You can access features with these that would normally be far more expensive and take up more space.

[@Farmatique]

Drambo is a fantastic app, really love it`s workflow. Moreover I was able to marry my Akai APC40 mk2 with Drambo and very happy with that. As for creating the whole track from scratch using iPad only, I prefer Korg Gadget. Yes, I know it`s kinda very limited, because use its own instruments. Of course there are lots of more powerful synths, daws with lot of features. But, man, Gadget really inspires me. I don`t know why! Probably it reminds me the days with good old Propellerheads Reason back in the early 00-s when I was a teenager. When all you got is a limited set of internal instruments and possibility of doing some magic with that back-side wires. Anyways. The question is: did I make any tracks from "beginning to the end" with my iPad? Answer: yes, I did. All of them are in Korg Gadget. No external instruments, almost no additional samples.

[@connorlaplante9318]

You left out GarageBand, it has a sampler to add your own sounds

[@reeread]

Thank you for the video. I use an iPad Air2 with pre-Sonus remote software to control my PC with pre-Sonus DAW loaded on it. Whether you like that DAW or not I find this to be my best use for an iPad whether I’m at a vocal microphone, drum set, or keyboards.