Apple mainstage 3 best audio interface portable#
Apple mainstage 3 best audio interface pro#
Apple mainstage 3 best audio interface mac#

The iPad Has Some Decent Audio Apps with Good Sounds With buttons and sliders on the iPad screen, you can get by without them on your keyboard.

The good news is that the touch interface of the iPad may allow you to buy a less expensive keyboard controller. They're not quite as easy to get to as hardware controls, but definitely useful. The iPad itself is an awesome control surface, and most audio apps have excellent on-screen controls. (Let us know in the comments if you come across any.) It may be addressed in the future, or already be supported in some apps I haven't tried yet. I imagine it's a problem with the apps, rather than iOS itself. While the basic keyboard features work fine, there doesn't seem to be a way of mapping all of those useful buttons, knobs and sliders on my keyboard to do anything useful. Does the iPad offer me the same flexibility? I love how easy it is to map all of my keyboard controls in MainStage, giving me control over levels, effects, and any parameters I want to fiddle with as I play.

But Forget About Using Your Knobs, Buttons and Sliders When playing live you can can your favourite boards, and as long as they have a USB interface, you’re set to go. But resetting the iPad makes it responsive again. I do have the occasional problem, usually after I’ve been running lots of apps. Latency is quite good-the delay is hardly noticeable, or unnoticeable. Maybe my experience will save you some frustration.

then plug the Lightning adaptor into the iPad.

first plug the USB cable into the keyboard and Lightning adaptor.

Bummer! I never got around to buying a power brick for it.īut I was sure it was meant to work, so I started experimenting, and discovered that you need to be careful about the order you plug everything in: I received a message on my iPad that there wasn’t enough power. I encountered a small glitch when I first plugged in my MIDI controller, a Sampson Graphite 49. When playing live, I'd rather not risk a flat battery, but more on that later. It totally frees you from the need of a power point. That's very freeing, especially for practice. This worked well, and the iPad was able to power the keyboards for hours. But smaller keyboards can be powered over the USB interface, using the iPad’s own battery. Larger keyboards used mains power (or their own batteries) as normal. Every keyboard I tried-from Yamaha digital grands to a Roland Lucina to a tiny M-Audio Keystation Mini-just worked. Once you have one, you can connect your keyboard using a standard USB cable. IPads have neither USB nor MIDI inputs, so to get hooked up, the first thing you'll need is a fairly inexpensive Lightning to USB adaptor (or Camera Connection Kit if you have an older iPad with a 30-pin connector).

Apple mainstage 3 best audio interface portable#

Not a good first impression! You'll want to use a decent 'real' MIDI controller keyboard-either a weighted 88 note monster, or something more portable but with playable keys.

Most people's first taste of playing keys on an iPad is using an on-screen virtual keyboard. What I love about MainStage (and virtual instruments in general) is that you can plug your favourite keyboard into your computer, and have access to a wealth of sounds and effects. Are you on a similar journey? I'd love to hear about it in the comments! iPads Work Well with a Wide Range of Keyboards This article is a discussion I'm having with myself to find the best way to change that.

Apple mainstage 3 best audio interface pro#

Could your smaller, cheaper iPad stand in for the job? I've given it a go, and the answer is 'maybe'!ĭisclaimer: Though I have MainStage and iPad live keyboard rigs, and use both regularly when playing at home, I currently tend to rely on the sounds of pro keyboards like Roland RD pianos and synths when playing live. But it means you have to take your precious MacBook Pro on the road.

Apple mainstage 3 best audio interface mac#

MainStage is an awesome Mac app that makes Logic Pro's plugins available in an interface optimised for live playing. You play keys at live gigs? Chances are you use MainStage, or have thought about it.