iPad for Synths
August 28, 2024 9:57 AM Subscribe
I'm considering getting a 9th gen ipad for music software ...
... since they're well past new-hotness stage and going for cheap ( relatively ).
I keep seeing all the cool synthesizer software/emulators made available there first / only. Thing is, I've been a die hard Linux user since the 90s and the whole apple walled garden, locked down, planned obsolescence aspect to apple products rubs me the wrong way. I haven't had a Mac since G3s were shiny and new, so that irritation is more an abstract concept than a literal day-to-day experience. I don't need another device to browse the web, watch videos, play games on. It'd be mostly music software and maybe some work related video conference things.
I'm trying to decide if it's going to piss me off or open my eyes to a land of cool stuff. There's no shortage of fun things not in the iOS app store too, it's just been one of those back-burner things I've managed to put off til the recent price drop. Every time I see some new iOS music app come along and it's only a couple bucks, I think "I'd like to try that, but I can't because no iOS device".
If you use an iPad for synths/music software, does it add unique value/novelty over what you can do with linux, windows, actual hardware? And by value, I mean get a powerful app for $5-10 that either wouldn't be available anywhere else or would cost more ( Moog vs Moog emulator, $5 synth vs. digital arturia instruments that cost $99).
Anyway, appreciate any insights. Thanks.
... since they're well past new-hotness stage and going for cheap ( relatively ).
I keep seeing all the cool synthesizer software/emulators made available there first / only. Thing is, I've been a die hard Linux user since the 90s and the whole apple walled garden, locked down, planned obsolescence aspect to apple products rubs me the wrong way. I haven't had a Mac since G3s were shiny and new, so that irritation is more an abstract concept than a literal day-to-day experience. I don't need another device to browse the web, watch videos, play games on. It'd be mostly music software and maybe some work related video conference things.
I'm trying to decide if it's going to piss me off or open my eyes to a land of cool stuff. There's no shortage of fun things not in the iOS app store too, it's just been one of those back-burner things I've managed to put off til the recent price drop. Every time I see some new iOS music app come along and it's only a couple bucks, I think "I'd like to try that, but I can't because no iOS device".
If you use an iPad for synths/music software, does it add unique value/novelty over what you can do with linux, windows, actual hardware? And by value, I mean get a powerful app for $5-10 that either wouldn't be available anywhere else or would cost more ( Moog vs Moog emulator, $5 synth vs. digital arturia instruments that cost $99).
Anyway, appreciate any insights. Thanks.
Best answer: Part of the fun of iPad music software vs PC hardware is the touch screen makes it a bit more like the hardware experience. Not only that but the synths are shockingly cheap compared to their laptop equivalents. To be fair, they are also much harder to integrate into a music production workflow than a VST, but for sketching and noodling they are a lot of fun!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:29 AM on August 28 [2 favorites]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:29 AM on August 28 [2 favorites]
Oddly, one of the best side benefits for synth software on an iPad is it makes music-making immediately more accessible to my 6-year-old granddaughter, than an actual keyboard setup provides. Kids just natively understand, and are comfortable with, the screen environment.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:58 AM on August 30
posted by Thorzdad at 10:58 AM on August 30
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I also have an Arturia Minilab 3 and the experience of using the software with the special key and all of the DRM is so grating that I will probably sell it and just try using Reaper on the device of my choice. I really wish I had the skill and ability to make digital instruments in a Linux environment.
posted by mecran01 at 11:15 AM on August 28