Lions, Tigers & Bears, Oh My (MAC, Windows & iOS)

[BenWaB3]

This is a request for information & advice. I have been a long time Windows user thinking of going to a tablet or "book" to run VST's. Since developers tend to favor Apple by a wide margin with their apps I'm considering going with one of their products. I had settled on the iPad Air, mainly due to the IK version of Hammond B-3X made for it. I had also decided on the AS apps Vtines, Vreeds & Clavi D9. But then I came across an answer to a question posed by a potential customer that AS apps will not run on iOS. This is the first I realized that Apple used different & incompatible OS's for their products, which didn't do anything to assuage my already dim view of their business practices. I'm also (now) looking at Mac Books, which will run the AS products but now that means the price of the B-3X has jumped to $299. AcousticSounds has their V-5 but it won't do one thing that drew me to the B-3X which is let you mix the signals for the Leslie, DI or amp sim. I would be OK sticking with a Windows machine but realize they have more problems with latency & lack of app availability. Hence the request for advice. One thing I liked about the AS products is that they don't take up much disk space & would probably load & run faster. Are there iOS apps that approach the quality of the AS ones for Rhodes, Wurli, Clav, etc.? Or enough iOS compatible apps to make that system as versatile as MAC OS. With the Macbooks do they still have a 1/8" output or do you need to add some other attachment to output sound? Or is there a Windows device that can do the job as well as the Apples? One thing I liked about the iPad was the ability to do everything from a touchscreen as opposed to having to take the keyboard along. So I'm open to advice and suggestions (other than to go pound sand ). Thanks in advance.

[MoodyBluesKeys]

I have both a Macbook Pro (2011, i7 quad, 16GB, 1TB SSD), a couple of iPhones (8+ in use, older 6 with SIM card removed, used for running Korg Module app and iFretless Bass app as a sound generator), and three iPads (iPad 3 32GB storage, with sound apps on it, but used mostly now for OnSong app with my chord and lead sheets instead of using paper), iPad mini 2 (32G storage), used for sound generator, and iPad 5 (2017 with 128G RAM), which is used for all purposes, and has all of my music apps on it.

 

The Macbook does still (best of knowledge) have analog audio as well as optical. I have a Focusrite 18i8 USB module for audio mixing and MIDI control, but don't need it just for playback. Also have Mainstage on it for music app. Mainstage is incredibly low priced for its capabilities, and the Logic Pro full fledged DAW is only $200, has la LOT of capability.

 

I occasionally use the Macbook carried along with me, but much more frequently (like every single time I play either at church or elsewhere) use the iPhone or one of the iPads. Frankly, in a live performance situation, there is really no need (IMHO) for anything better. I have been using iPads for music for several years, and have never had a problem. For casual and short gigs, I have an IK Keys 37 Pro (full size keys), and the bag holds it plus all the cabling, power supplies, and iPad - so I can walk in like a woodwind player with gear (if house amp is used), setup in 5 minutes, tear down in 5 minutes. Also have a Samson Carbon 61 controller for a slightly larger but still usable rig. Never been let down with those either.

 

My daughter just got an iPad AIr, she is a nurse with MSN degree, and will use it largely in part time work for the local college teaching. Granddaughter has both a Macbook Air and iPad Pro, although her main musical use of either is in making "beats."

 

If you are going to be doing recording of sessions where you layer a bunch of sounds into DAW, the added quality of Macbook apps and versatility is likely worth the extra dollars (especially when you can use Logic Pro as the DAW). Otherwise, the tablet is a whole lot easier to carry around and gets the job done. There is a bit of learning curve with either, but nothing real difficult.

 

Oh - my business is computer and network service. I regularly use Windows, Mac, IOS, and some Linux. In fact, my company's specialty is "making Apple and Microsoft PLAY NICE!)

 

 

[BenWaB3]

Thanks for the reply, MoodyBluesKeys. Right now I just want to run some VST's but further down the road I may want to delve deeper into it. I like the small footprint of the iPad and not needing to have the (computer) keyboard. My main concern with it would be the amount of available apps for it that would match the quality of the OS ones. That B-X3 for $99 sure is tempting though. I did stop at the Apple store at the mall today but the term VST got a lot of blank looks. The employees there are more geared to more common uses. I'm considering a Microsoft Surface as well. They will have them at the local Best Buy but I'm not expecting them to know much about music apps either. Plus there's always the latency sword hanging over everyone's head with the Windows machines. Thanks again. Your information has been very helpful.

[The Real MC]

I did stop at the Apple store at the mall today but the term VST got a lot of blank looks.

 

Ask if there is anyone on their staff who uses their Mac for music production.

 

In fact, my company's specialty is "making Apple and Microsoft PLAY NICE!)

 

That's the primary reason I abandoned WIndows. Microsoft is so hostile towards competitors that they crippled Apple iTunes ability to work reliably.

 

[BenWaB3]

I did stop at the Apple store at the mall today but the term VST got a lot of blank looks.

 

Ask if there is anyone on their staff who uses their Mac for music production.

 

Actually I did and by the 3rd person they referred me to he said there might be a couple but they weren't there today.

 

In fact, my company's specialty is "making Apple and Microsoft PLAY NICE!)

 

That's the primary reason I abandoned WIndows. Microsoft is so hostile towards competitors that they crippled Apple iTunes ability to work reliably.

 

Thanks for the reply

[Joe Muscara]

I don't know if it would have helped if you said something like, "AudioUnit plug ins" and/or "third party instruments that can be run in Logic" if you were asking for macOS. While many use VST as a generic term like Band-Aids or Vaseline, it is a specific kind of plug in and not all DAWs support it. If you wanted to know about iOS, "software instruments" should have sufficed.

 

As far as ones for iOS, do a search here, there are some really great ones for iOS as well as discussions about running them, "wiring" them, and using more than one at once.

[BenWaB3]

Thanks for the reply, Joe. I got the impression their area of expertise was more along the commonly used bells & whistles where Apple really excels with the general public. Was there supposed to be an active link on the word "here"? I did stop by Best Buy today & talked to one of the supervisors of their computer department. While not being totally versed in VST's and music production he still had a good handle on what I was looking for. At this point I may be going the Windows route. I'm apprehensive about their overall performance but Apple has left me in a Catch-22 situation. I want a touch screen, which the iPad Air would handle greatly but can't find a lot of apps for it (although I look very forward to being proven wrong if you have that link). That leaves the MacBooks which have a lot of apps but no touchscreen. Some of the things like Microsoft Surface or Lenovo's Yogas or Thinkpads would give both touchscreen & a lot of apps to choose from, albeit at a potential loss of performance speed. Anyway, if there was supposed to be an active link if you could repost it it will be much appreciated. I really like the form factor of the iPads. Thanks again.

[Joe Muscara]

Was there supposed to be an active link on the word "here"?

I just meant on this forum. The search engine is no longer horrible since the update happened. There's also the "[search term] site:forums.musicplayer.com" string you can use at Google.

[BenWaB3]

Was there supposed to be an active link on the word "here"?

I just meant on this forum. The search engine is no longer horrible since the update happened. There's also the "[search term] site:forums.musicplayer.com" string you can use at Google.

 

You're right, the new search engine is a lot better. Thanks for the tip. I had pretty much abandoned using the search engine on the old site.