iPad synths & sequencers, how does it fit in the workflow?

[Andrew Tarpinian]

On Dec 18, 2012, at 11:20 AM, Joost Schuttelaar <joost at joostschuttelaar.nl> wrote:

> Last weekend at Gert's, we were talking about all these cool new synthesizers and tools like the iMPC for iPad. One thing I've been wondering quite a bit, how do people use them?
> 
> VST's back in the days were just a synth engine plus some controls, but apps like the iPolysix and iMS20 have multiple synth voices, drums and a complete sequencing environment. A bit like Rebirth back in the day. You can make a simple track with the app. But does anyone do this?
> 
> Or do you just MIDI it up, and record over analog, like an old fashioned hardware synth?
> 
> Or audio over WIFI? Or export wave date (copy paste) from the sequencer in the synth and paste them into a bigger DAW, like GarageBand or...?
> 
> Right now I find that I like to toy with them, but that for making any production I just run AU's in Logic...
> 
> So what do you do with them? :)

I feel like you can spend a year just trying to set it up the way "studio" equipment is supposed to be set up and then a new updates come out and ports change on new models and things switch around etc… I have found it frustrating and non productive to think about how to integrate the iPad properly into a studio. Some hacks are worth it, but when it comes to being productive sometimes you spend all your time figuring out the hacks and dealing with the limitations. So here's what I say, just fucking record it. Treat it like you would an external synth, sequencer, etc… with no midi and just record the audio into a daw on you computer. Make sequences, record them in, play stuff live etc…

Then after a while of doing that maybe start thinking about what you can do differernt.