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Need a Midi adaptor for an iPad Pro with USB-C


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  • 11 months later...

I have ordered one of these:

 

https://tok-shop.hu/Adapter-USB-Type-C-Lightning-atalakito-ezust

 

but it doesn't seem to work with the plugKey. What am I to do? Keep ordering different brands until one of them actually works?

Life is subtractive.
Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop
Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre
Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church.

 

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In my experience, trying to kludge Lightning stuff onto a USB-C iOS device is more trouble than it's worth. While I love my plugKEY and plan to get another from a fellow MPNer as a backup, the vast majority of interfaces I use for audio and MIDI are not purpose-built for iOS; instead, I take a high-quality USB 2 interface and connect it to my iOS device with the Apple USB adaptor, with a Lightning plug in the other socket leading to a beefy AC power supply. Runs the interface, keeps the iGizmo charged, and usually has more features and better sound than a smaller interface.

 

If you take that route, you can just get a powered USB-C hub and connect your interface to that. It also gives you guaranteed power and room to expand. (And you can buy a used iPad at a pawnshop and put the plugKEY on that, so you have an extra music gizmo to play around with. :D )

 

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

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Get rid of the Plug Key, as it will not work with Apple at all anymore. I even talked to an Apple Rep. and he told me, there is no single adapter to connect a lightning plug into the USBC port on the IPad Pro. Unless Apple develops an adapter( which they will not). Nothing will not work. Apple wants people too use a Keyboard controller with Bluetooth. The only thing that works is a digital AV cable with a USB port, but no MIDI and No 1/4 inch output. Even MulitiMedia"s IRIG controllers no longer work!

 

Basically the USBC port on all new Apple IPads, IPhones an MacBooks will only work with Apple products Only! So third party developers are out of luck.

 

Paul

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A lot of the issue from what I hear is the iPad doesn't have enough power for USB devices needing power. I got one of the USB-C multiport hubs and plug that into my iPad charger and my USB microphone works fine. I haven't had a chance to test yet with MIDI controller but think it will work as long as the hub is providing enough power. This is why I wish the iPad's had two USB-C ports so one could be on the charger for devices needing more power and the second port use for devices.
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A lot of the issue from what I hear is the iPad doesn't have enough power for USB devices needing power. I got one of the USB-C multiport hubs and plug that into my iPad charger and my USB microphone works fine. I haven't had a chance to test yet with MIDI controller but think it will work as long as the hub is providing enough power. This is why I wish the iPad's had two USB-C ports so one could be on the charger for devices needing more power and the second port use for devices.

There are a number of multi-port USB-C hubs that include power delivery and work with iPad Pro.

"The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk)

The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio

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A lot of people were angry when Apple moved to USB-C -- including me, since MagSafe had saved my laptop many times. That being said (and I've said it multiple times elsewhere on the forums), Apple doesn't adopt a new standard and obsolete its older products on a regular and rapid basis, and it only changes for good reasons. USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 bring the Apple catalog in line with other devices out there, so there is more rather than less interoperability.

 

With a simple USB-B to USB-C cable, any USB2.0 or USB3.0 device can hook up to USB-C, and with a good hub that has USB-A ports for old gear and USB-C ports for new, pretty much everything out there can work together on an equal footing. Not everything will be compatible or spec out well, but I think most of the issues will come from people trying to save twenty bucks by getting cheap hubs instead of spending a bit more on reliable ones. Make sure the hub has plenty of power, and you should be golden. In the long run you'll need fewer dongles and adaptors, too.

 

When Lightning was announced, everyone freaked out because the 30-pin connector was going away, and complained about Apple's rapid turnaround time for these changes. In point of fact, at the time of the change, 30-pin was nine years old, and Lightning was a demonstrable improvement in every way. Lightning is still out there at age 7 in all of the non-pro iPads, and I'm betting it won't completely leave until it's nine years old as well.

 

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

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Damn. I have 3 USB audio interfaces, but one of them is old and not class compliant, the other has no MIDI and the third has MIDI ports that don"t work.

Life is subtractive.
Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop
Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre
Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church.

 

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My initial plan was this: The company permits me to borrow the iPad I use for development. Grab a plugKEY and this cheap adapter, dust off my dad's old Roland PC-200 MIDI controller and use this iPad based rig for rehearsals, cutting down the weight and size of stuff I need to schlep.

So now if I have to buy a powered USB hub and a full featured USB Audio / MIDI interface, that sort of defeats both the size / weight advantages and is too expensive for a toy / rehearsal only rig.

Is there nothing that does what the plugKEY does, is small and cheap, except with USB-C?

Life is subtractive.
Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop
Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre
Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church.

 

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There's this thing:

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigproio

 

It has a mini-DIN connector and comes with a mini-DIN to USB cable "for PC" and a mini-DIN to Lightning cable "for iPad". And you can buy a mini-DIN to USB-C from the same company. So I guess this gadget is USB class compliant and would work with an iPad Pro?

Life is subtractive.
Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop
Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre
Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church.

 

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