What amp to get for live performance w/iPad?
April 14, 2024 11:31 AM Subscribe
I want to play a virtual instrument (like in GarageBand for ioS) on my iPad through an amp.
I want to play my small keyboard (forgot its brand name, but could be any keyboard interface) plugged into my iPad with e.g. GarageBand virtual instrument, and then through an amp, and this has to produce sound that is loud enough to play in a duo with my partner's acoustic guitar (and we both sing). So, for example, I might want to play a virtual bass guitar, or a virtual cello solo, something like that, as he plays his fingerpicking-type acoustic guitar.
MAIN ISSUE: I want this setup to be as portable as possible!
What LITTLE amp could be put in a backpack, maybe, or small carrying case, along with the iPad and the little keyboard interface, so that I'm not carrying more than, I don't know, 8 pounds or something total, and have a decently loud and decently decent sound?
(Irrelevant Note: In real life I can accompany him on my real-life cello or my real-life acoustic/electric bass guitar, but both of those have become too heavy for my old shoulders to lug around. )
I want to play my small keyboard (forgot its brand name, but could be any keyboard interface) plugged into my iPad with e.g. GarageBand virtual instrument, and then through an amp, and this has to produce sound that is loud enough to play in a duo with my partner's acoustic guitar (and we both sing). So, for example, I might want to play a virtual bass guitar, or a virtual cello solo, something like that, as he plays his fingerpicking-type acoustic guitar.
MAIN ISSUE: I want this setup to be as portable as possible!
What LITTLE amp could be put in a backpack, maybe, or small carrying case, along with the iPad and the little keyboard interface, so that I'm not carrying more than, I don't know, 8 pounds or something total, and have a decently loud and decently decent sound?
(Irrelevant Note: In real life I can accompany him on my real-life cello or my real-life acoustic/electric bass guitar, but both of those have become too heavy for my old shoulders to lug around. )
Response by poster: By the way, this is the MIDI keyboard I'll probably be using: IK Multimedia iRig Keys 2 Mini 25-Key MIDI Keyboard Controller. SaltySalticid, you've gotten me down the rabbit hole of amps vs PA ?? Gah.
posted by DMelanogaster at 3:33 PM on April 14
posted by DMelanogaster at 3:33 PM on April 14
You need a full range powered speaker.
They're insanely expensive but if money is no object -- and this is coming from a professional musician who is usually dismissive of the value the Bose name adds to audio gear -- Bose makes at least one unequaled product, and it is the S1 Pro powered speaker. They weigh 9 pounds, will run 6+ hours on their fully charged lithium internal battery, provide three channels of input (two with good quality mic preamps and reverb) and they make a huge, widely dispersed, super clean sound for their size with a surprising amount of bottom end. I regularly do acoustic bar gigs with a pair of them as main PA speakers and we use them for monitors in larger rooms and with a full band they still hold their own in that role with zero feedback issues. Both are over 5 years old and run like new, are super rugged, and their batteries don't seem much worse for having done hundreds of gigs. And the sound is just unequaled for the size and weight. They're just insanely tiny for how huge they sound.
They're also like $800 each. I consider them worth that. Sometimes they go on sale for $700. A spare battery is $100 and worth it if you rely on battery power.
If money is an object, Alto makes a $120 350 watt (AC, not battery), powered speaker with one input and gain control only, an 8" woofer, requires AC power, and is also surprisingly clean and loud for such a cheap unit. They weigh maybe 11 pounds?
posted by spitbull at 5:12 PM on April 14 [2 favorites]
They're insanely expensive but if money is no object -- and this is coming from a professional musician who is usually dismissive of the value the Bose name adds to audio gear -- Bose makes at least one unequaled product, and it is the S1 Pro powered speaker. They weigh 9 pounds, will run 6+ hours on their fully charged lithium internal battery, provide three channels of input (two with good quality mic preamps and reverb) and they make a huge, widely dispersed, super clean sound for their size with a surprising amount of bottom end. I regularly do acoustic bar gigs with a pair of them as main PA speakers and we use them for monitors in larger rooms and with a full band they still hold their own in that role with zero feedback issues. Both are over 5 years old and run like new, are super rugged, and their batteries don't seem much worse for having done hundreds of gigs. And the sound is just unequaled for the size and weight. They're just insanely tiny for how huge they sound.
They're also like $800 each. I consider them worth that. Sometimes they go on sale for $700. A spare battery is $100 and worth it if you rely on battery power.
If money is an object, Alto makes a $120 350 watt (AC, not battery), powered speaker with one input and gain control only, an 8" woofer, requires AC power, and is also surprisingly clean and loud for such a cheap unit. They weigh maybe 11 pounds?
posted by spitbull at 5:12 PM on April 14 [2 favorites]
I love my little Spark Go https://www.positivegrid.com/products/spark-go. With a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter you can plug the headphone out of your ipad to rhe instrument in of the amp
posted by raisindebt at 5:27 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
posted by raisindebt at 5:27 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
Best answer: To clarify, an 'amp' is often like a guitar amp, which won't do well with bass on a piano or other keys (let alone bass) you might play on garage band.
A 'keyboard amp' is a thing but they are almost always much bigger than you want. A bass amp can work for keys, but same limitations.
A powered speaker is something that has a wide range of response and doesn't add as much 'color' to the sound as many amps do. The thing I listed is around $120 and will not sound as good as the cool $800 one a spitbull listed. But it's ok for casual playing for my ears and budget, ymmv.
At some point you have to decide how good your ears are and how high your budget is etc.
What is sold as a PA vs powered speaker is sometimes a little confusing to me (a dabbler). Monitors are also similar with wide range and clean tone, but often much less rugged and designed for studio use more than playing out and about. If you don't need or want a battery you can get more performance for your money with a unit like the second one spitbull mentions.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:46 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
A 'keyboard amp' is a thing but they are almost always much bigger than you want. A bass amp can work for keys, but same limitations.
A powered speaker is something that has a wide range of response and doesn't add as much 'color' to the sound as many amps do. The thing I listed is around $120 and will not sound as good as the cool $800 one a spitbull listed. But it's ok for casual playing for my ears and budget, ymmv.
At some point you have to decide how good your ears are and how high your budget is etc.
What is sold as a PA vs powered speaker is sometimes a little confusing to me (a dabbler). Monitors are also similar with wide range and clean tone, but often much less rugged and designed for studio use more than playing out and about. If you don't need or want a battery you can get more performance for your money with a unit like the second one spitbull mentions.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:46 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: raisindebt, I could plug my iRig MIDI keys into that thing? (I ask because they say it's for guitar). Looks like just what I would want, if it's powerful enough.
So iPad >>> keys >>> out somehow to that little thing?
posted by DMelanogaster at 6:02 PM on April 14
So iPad >>> keys >>> out somehow to that little thing?
posted by DMelanogaster at 6:02 PM on April 14
No, the keyboard plugs into the iPad. The keyboard is just a controller and makes no sound. You'll need to run a cable from the headphone jack on the iPad to an input on the amp. Some of the amps have a 1/8" input for such things, but if not, you'll need a cable with a 1/8" plug on one end and 1/4" on the other. If your iPad is one without a headphone jack, you'll need an adaptor. There are various ones available, depending on whether it uses a USB-C or Lightening connector.
If you by an amp/speaker that has a bluetooth, don't be tempted to use it. The latency caused by wirelessly send the signal from the iPad to the amp/speaker will make playing anything in time very difficult.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:56 PM on April 14 [3 favorites]
If you by an amp/speaker that has a bluetooth, don't be tempted to use it. The latency caused by wirelessly send the signal from the iPad to the amp/speaker will make playing anything in time very difficult.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:56 PM on April 14 [3 favorites]
I gave the wrong model name for the Alto Technologies powered speaker above, it's "TX-308," and for $120 you won't find a more powerful basic powered speaker. It has decent bottom end, for the price, and is clean and loud. I bought one of these for a one off emergency situation fully expecting it to suck, and it doesn't suck:
https://a.co/d/b72xz3V
Amazon claims it weighs only five pounds, too. My arm says it weighs more than that. But either way it's sort of amazing you can get this much clean power (350 class D watts into a 8 inch woofer) for $120. Balanced XLR input with a pass through output, and single gain control. It's held up for a couple dozen gigs too. Seems well made. Metal grill, ABS plastic, so it's tough.
posted by spitbull at 6:56 PM on April 14
https://a.co/d/b72xz3V
Amazon claims it weighs only five pounds, too. My arm says it weighs more than that. But either way it's sort of amazing you can get this much clean power (350 class D watts into a 8 inch woofer) for $120. Balanced XLR input with a pass through output, and single gain control. It's held up for a couple dozen gigs too. Seems well made. Metal grill, ABS plastic, so it's tough.
posted by spitbull at 6:56 PM on April 14
So iPad >>> keys >>> out somehow to that little thing?
Not quite. (I have the slightly bigger version of that iRig keyboard. I also have a Spark Mini, the slightly larger version of the amp raisindebt mentioned.)
Your keyboard does not create any actual sounds itself, it only generates control data (this is what MIDI is.) You connect it to your iPad via the lightning or USB port, apps in the iPad create the sound. Then you take the 1/8" (aka 3.5mm) headphone output of the iPad and plug a cable from that to the input of an amplifier.
BUT one nifty bit of the iRig 2 keyboards is they're built to integrate with IOS devices, so you could use the headphone out of the keyboard instead of the headphone out of the iPad. It doesn't matter which you use, the app in the iPad is still generating the sound, it's just being routed back to the keyboard.
The "somehow to that little thing" is you need a cable that goes from 1/8" stereo to 1/4" mono, like this cable from Amazon.
MAIN ISSUE: I want this setup to be as portable as possible!
The second issue is how loud do you actually want it to be? What are you doing with your setup? Are you guys just having fun in the park? In your friends' living room? Are you trying to actually busk for money in the subway station? Is your partner using an amp for his guitar? Are you playing gigs at small restaurants?
The Spark series of amps are a total blast & super fun, but the software is really aimed at electric guitar players, and your sound options are limited unless you have the iPad app for the Spark up and running (which might be a problem if you're also trying to run a sound generating app for the keyboard), and it's not "full range" sound especially on the bass/low end. I've gotten it to fart out pretty easily & at low volumes.
If it's just for fooling around at home it's fine, but if you're hoping to play in public I'd go with spitbull's little powered speaker.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:18 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
Not quite. (I have the slightly bigger version of that iRig keyboard. I also have a Spark Mini, the slightly larger version of the amp raisindebt mentioned.)
Your keyboard does not create any actual sounds itself, it only generates control data (this is what MIDI is.) You connect it to your iPad via the lightning or USB port, apps in the iPad create the sound. Then you take the 1/8" (aka 3.5mm) headphone output of the iPad and plug a cable from that to the input of an amplifier.
BUT one nifty bit of the iRig 2 keyboards is they're built to integrate with IOS devices, so you could use the headphone out of the keyboard instead of the headphone out of the iPad. It doesn't matter which you use, the app in the iPad is still generating the sound, it's just being routed back to the keyboard.
The "somehow to that little thing" is you need a cable that goes from 1/8" stereo to 1/4" mono, like this cable from Amazon.
MAIN ISSUE: I want this setup to be as portable as possible!
The second issue is how loud do you actually want it to be? What are you doing with your setup? Are you guys just having fun in the park? In your friends' living room? Are you trying to actually busk for money in the subway station? Is your partner using an amp for his guitar? Are you playing gigs at small restaurants?
The Spark series of amps are a total blast & super fun, but the software is really aimed at electric guitar players, and your sound options are limited unless you have the iPad app for the Spark up and running (which might be a problem if you're also trying to run a sound generating app for the keyboard), and it's not "full range" sound especially on the bass/low end. I've gotten it to fart out pretty easily & at low volumes.
If it's just for fooling around at home it's fine, but if you're hoping to play in public I'd go with spitbull's little powered speaker.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:18 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
Be aware that if you do go with a powered speaker, many (including the Alto I recommended) do not have a 1/4" unbalanced input, only a balanced XLR input. So you'll also need an adapter or a dedicated cable from the iPad that goes from 1/8" stereo male output to a mono balanced XLR male input.
And yeah the context of use is really the first question to answer. How loud and how good do you need it to sound, will you have AC power or need battery power, etc.?
posted by spitbull at 7:30 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
And yeah the context of use is really the first question to answer. How loud and how good do you need it to sound, will you have AC power or need battery power, etc.?
posted by spitbull at 7:30 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: My iPad only has USB-C outlet.
I want to play as loud as my cello can play -- basically equal volume to my partner's acoustic guitar.
I can plug this speaker/PA into an outlet.
Just want to play e.g. in a friend's living room as the aforementioned duo.
posted by DMelanogaster at 5:00 AM on April 15
I want to play as loud as my cello can play -- basically equal volume to my partner's acoustic guitar.
I can plug this speaker/PA into an outlet.
Just want to play e.g. in a friend's living room as the aforementioned duo.
posted by DMelanogaster at 5:00 AM on April 15
My iPad only has USB-C outlet.
No problem. Your iRig keyboard should have come with a micro-USB to USB-C cable. That goes from keyboard to iPad. Then you use the headphone out of the keyboard to get sound to the amplifier. (Again, though, it's the app on the iPad that's actually generating the sounds.)
I want to play as loud as my cello can play -- basically equal volume to my partner's acoustic guitar.
So you don't need a lot of volume or power, which is cool. But the general rule of thumb is it never hurts to buy something more powerful than you think you might need - you can always turn the volume down. This is especially true with sounds that have a relatively large amount of low tones in them, like cello or piano or bass guitar or synth bass.
So all told it seems like the little Alto spitbull recommended is the way to go. To connect to it you will need a 1/8" to XLR cable like this one from Amazon.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:42 AM on April 15 [3 favorites]
No problem. Your iRig keyboard should have come with a micro-USB to USB-C cable. That goes from keyboard to iPad. Then you use the headphone out of the keyboard to get sound to the amplifier. (Again, though, it's the app on the iPad that's actually generating the sounds.)
I want to play as loud as my cello can play -- basically equal volume to my partner's acoustic guitar.
So you don't need a lot of volume or power, which is cool. But the general rule of thumb is it never hurts to buy something more powerful than you think you might need - you can always turn the volume down. This is especially true with sounds that have a relatively large amount of low tones in them, like cello or piano or bass guitar or synth bass.
So all told it seems like the little Alto spitbull recommended is the way to go. To connect to it you will need a 1/8" to XLR cable like this one from Amazon.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:42 AM on April 15 [3 favorites]
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It has plenty enough presence and decent bass response, good battery life, rugged, carry handle etc. You can plug a mic in via XLR too. You may/probably need a dongle to get a 1/8" audio line out of your iPad.
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:13 PM on April 14