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I’ve been using an iPad for B-3X and Setlist maker for a couple of years. After years of using Nords (with and without a Neo ventilator) and being reasonably happy, B-3X blew me away and Setlist maker is great as well - I love the program changes by clicking a song. I was fortunate in that my girlfriend won an iPad 6th gen in a raffle (this sort of thing never happens to us) but didn’t need it so donated it to me (yep, she’s a keeper) for me to try in my rig. I was, and still am, cautious about how far I can push iPads/iPhones for music so since installing B-3X and Setlist maker, the ipad 6 has lived permanently in Airplane mode with only those two apps installed. It works seamlessly and I’ve never had an issue with it (touch wood). In terms of cost and quality, I think it’s hard to beat. Fast forward a couple of years and I’m still using the ipad 6 when gigging but have recently got an iPad Air M1 for at home. Just to test its limitations, i installed some music apps (Korg Module, Moog Model D, Keystage, Camelot, B3X, Audiolayer etc) on the Air M1. I’m really impressed! I’ve been able to create a backup (and more) of my entire live rig (Hammond, piano, Rhodes, synths, samples etc etc), it sounds great and again works without glitches, outperforming my Nord in a number of areas. Finally, I wondered if I could use my iPhone SE 2nd gen work as a backup sound source if my Nord died on a gig? The answer is yes. I recreated a backup rig (same as on the iPad Air M1 but VB3m instead of B3X) on the iPhone SE, and controlling everything from AUM. It sounds great and works perfectly. The program changes aren’t as easy but if my Nord dies mid-gig I’ll probably have bigger worries on my mind! I’m not sure if I’m ready to move to an iPad-only rig and that’s mostly down to how much I still love my Nord stage 2 (its an emotional connection 🤣) but I definitely think it’s do-able. My only uncertainty is which iPad or iphone meets someone’s minimum requirements. I’ve been fortunate enough to find out by having some devices available to try it out.

Go to ‘Advanced’ (button in the top left) and set your keyboard split there. I set mine to pedal/upper with a split point of C1. The receiving midi channels are set in ‘Setup’ (the cog/wheel). I have mine set as upper=1, lower=2, pedal=3, program change=1. I set my Nord to transmit on midi channel 1 which means it only plays the upper manual and from C1 upwards…therefore no presets.

Is it possible to charge an iPad from the ‘To Device’ USB port while using the ‘To Host’ port for midi/audio from the same ipad (with Camera Connection Kit)? It’d make a nice, simple setup if possible.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Booker T a couple of times and James Taylor Quartet at Ronnie Scott’s. Got to meet them after the show and Booker T even signed a setlist for me (now framed). Here’s a couple of photos from when we had front row seats so basically sat next to the band!

I"ve just started getting into this with BX3 and Setlist maker, both of which I love! I needed to connect power, midi and audio. I think connectivity depends on which iPad you have but I used one of these as a starting point to connect two usb items to my lightning port: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MK0W2ZM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter That will let you keep iPad connected to power and connect 'something else" via usb. My 'something else" is a Roland Rubix 22 audio interface which can then provide audio and midi to the outside world. The rubix is also self powered which is useful. Some keyboards provide audio over midi (numa compact 2, Yamaha modx are examples I think) so if you"ve got one you could connect that directly to the lightning adapter. Some (older?) iPads have a headphone output...I"m not sure if newer iPads have that? The headphone output could be used for audio output which would free up one of the camera adapter USB ports to directly connect a usb controller keyboard. I"m not really up on the wireless technology for connectivity but it obviously exists. Someone else might be able to talk to that!

Not the best nor the worst. The build is quite solid but it bends a little bit under pressure. It may twist a little bit because it's such a compact and long plastic build of course. My guess is that the base chassis is pretty much similar to the old VMK88 series. Thanks for the details, it"s really useful. With not being able to get to music shops at the moment it"s hard to get a feel (literally in this case) for an instrument but this gives me confidence to order one online. ð

How"s the build quality on the compact 2/2x? The weight really appeals and at 7kg it"s not going to be built like a tank but does the shell twist or creak? I had a Studiologic (or maybe Fatar) 61 key controller years and years ago and although it was feather light the shell wasn"t particularly rigid.

Quick update on this: I"ve taken a piece of advice from all of your responses and picked up an Anker usb hub from Amazon for £12. It"s an unpowered 4 into 1 hub. I plugged it into my iPad, rubix and Nord and it worked first time - perfect! Assuming I use this on stage I won"t have easy access to the rubix so the suggestion to cut out the rubix and run ipad headphone out to Nord monitor in does the job nicely for when at home. Thanks again for the advice, all the responses are massively appreciated!

Good call. I"m going to do that for now - thank you! NS2 doesn"t pass monitor in to the outputs so it"s headphones only but that"s all I need while at home (which is for a few months yet!) I see numa compact 2 has built in midi merge and that"s one I"m considering if I go for something lighter than the CP4 so that could do the job on stage(Nord out to rubix in, rubix out to numa in, numa out to Nord in). Puts a new spin on things. If the rubix, iPad and controller are all self powered would a passive usb hub be sufficient?

All good questions and responses, massively appreciated. I had the rubix knocking around from a previous project so may not have incorporated it if i didn"t already have it but it"s main use at the moment is that it"s direct monitoring function allows me to to mix my Nord stereo outputs with the iPad output (eliminating the need for a mixer). This is the question I meant to ask (but worded much more clearly by yourself)! Thanks for the advice. I hadn"t considered a midi merge box. That said, on balance I"m starting to think might be the USB hub is the way to go. I assume it"s best to get a powered hub so that it can also power the iPad, rubix and keystation?

Yeah I was a bit ambiguous about that. I"m using an M audio keystation 61 mk3 at home at the moment. I usually gig with a Yamaha cp4 as the controller but I"m considering getting something lighter when I get back to playing live.

I think this sounds more complicated than it is but any help much appreciated! I"ve googled this and both solutions sound like they might work but I"m not 100% sure. I"m using a Nord stage 2 with a controller (controller midi out to nord midi in) and also wanting to connect the Nord to my Roland rubix 22 which is USB"d to my iPad so that the Nord can (1) play B3X and (2) receive program changes from setlist maker. As I"m using the midi In on my Nord to connect with the controller it only leaves USB free to receive program change messages from the iPad/rubix. So...I"m thinking I could buy a midi host to convert the nord usb to midi in/out to plug into the rubix or maybe buy a usb hub that would somehow (I don"t know how exactly) link the Nord to the rubix? As you can probably tell, I doubt know much about USB hubs (but I get the concept). I"m leaning towards the midi host...but maybe a usb hub offers more flexibility (charging iPad, rubix, controller etc)? Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? It"ll be for live use so the hub/host would live in a rack with the rubix

A workaround that seems to work - go into advanced, split the keyboard upper/pedal at C1 then push all the pedal draw bars in

Thanks for the tips Ill take a look at that. I know Ill need to trim down my CPU and RAM usage wherever possible. Ive just upgraded the RAM but before that I was getting way too many glitches.

Ah I think Ive got it working! I hadnt remembered that the pedals in mainstage have their own settings and your last post me realise that. I think I get it now! Ive just gone back to Edit and clicked the FC7 then under the Expression tab>send to all then clicked the Yamaha, its working perfectly. Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it. I have to say Im blown away by Mainstage. About a year ago I upgraded my MacBook to an iMac and so have had the MacBook sitting doing nothing, I wanted a backup for gigging so got mainstage installed it but am so impressed by it (+ the sounds from Komplete which I already owned) that I think the Nord stage 2 is just going to be a control or backup if required. Part of me thinks its a bit of a waste of the Nord but mainstage/Komplete sounds fantastic!