Logic for iPad after some time to test it. Are you still excited?

[RABid]

I went all in on Logic for iPad. Sold a few items on Gear Exchange and bought the big iPad Pro M2 with 1TB of storage space. Downloaded Logic and most packs, and went to work. I was not expecting to knock out completed songs. I was taking what I thought would be a very good approach. Used the iPad version for song starters. Write some beats. Come up with melody and bass lines. When I'm ready, transfer everything to the computer to finish up. That was the plan.

 

The reality for me, I have not loaded Logic for a couple of weeks. It was not a case of saying "I'm done with this" and quitting. It was a gradual move away from iPad and back to computer. Why? I think it comes down to two major issues.

 

One: I don't feel creative when using Logic on iPad. There are too many stress inducing points that kill my creativity. The file system, no headphone jack, the need for dongles and accessories. I just want to take my iPad somewhere, and only my iPad, and get a good start on a song, then easily transfer it to my computer. But I know that is not going to happen.

 

Two: I miss my favorite virtual instruments. The big one for me is XLN XO drum machine. I can build a collection of beats in it, drag each beat to file or to a slot in Live, and feel like a have a good start. There are several synths that I miss on iPad, but I can use something else to create line, then change the sound when I move to computer. I cannot replace XO while on iPad. There is nothing like it.

 

So, I find myself going back to Live on the computer? How is it going for you? Are you more productive than me on the iPad?

[KuruPrionz]

Only partly on topic but you've got me looking at XLN XO drum machine. 

I'm going to have to download the demo and give it a spin. 

The interface on the screen does not look like the other drum plugins I have at all. It's got me curious. 

 

FWIW, I'm on a Mac and use Waveform. I opened Logic up once recently and decided to just stay where I am. 

As far as having a handy reference point for song ideas, I had a Tascam DR 40 for a few years. Now it only wants to work when plugged in USB but I used to take it with me everywhere and use rechargeable AA batteries. I felt like I needed to have either a small battery powered keyboard or an ukulele to have a complete song reference point. 

I did have a tiny thrift store tripod, that made using the Tascam much easier. 

 

I'm thinking about getting something similar again and this time I'll probably go with adding an uke. The mics on the Tascam were really good and you could record 2 stereo tracks synced together which should be enough for a reference track. Great way to keep ideas, melodies etc. I do have a notebook and write down lyric ideas but that's not the same as singing them and hearing it back. 

 

Computer is not a laptop and not really portable but I LOVE having a 27" screen, an interface with everything hooked up and a really good microphone at hand. 

[Docbop]

I was  tempted to try Logic on my iPad that's become a paper weight since getting an Macbook Air M2.    I held off to see what the reaction would be like to iPad Logic after a few weeks, and sites and people that were all over it just stopped talking about it.   Saw a couple posts going into all the differences in Logic and iPad Logic and things not in Logic for iPad.     So my iPad continues to collect dust. 

 

I really thought Logic for iPad would catch on with Beat makers but they seems to have a whole world of app they use and Logic on iPad just doesn't interest them.     

 

[Anderton]

16 minutes ago, Docbop said:

I really thought Logic for iPad would catch on with Beat makers but they seems to have a whole world of app they use and Logic on iPad just doesn't interest them. 

 

Logic is overkill for a lot of Beat makers. FL Studio mobile is probably at the top of the heap. It's designed for beat-making, runs on anything with a pulse except for Linux (Android, Chrome OS, iOS, macOS or Windows), and translates well to the desktop program. If you're already invested in that world, there's no real reason to switch.

[CyberGene]

I've been using mine for our "band" which is basically me with two of my best friends from the university, one of them sings, the other plays guitar. We play a mix of our own music and some covers and I use the iPad Mini to compose and arrange on the sofa. I then use it to replay the arrangement live and we play on top of it with me adding live keyboard from my Numa X Piano 73 (which acts as an audio interface for the iPad) but also playing synth tracks on the iPad controlling them through MIDI. It works really good for that and I actually find that creating arrangements while on the sofa without any MIDI keyboard and just using the screen to sequence notes or play the on-screen keyboard is rather inspirational 😀 It seriously gets me out of my comfort zone and triggers my creativity.

 

Here's a copy/paste from another forum where I described one of the Depeche Mode arrangements I made:

 

I decided to recreate the Depeche Mode song Behind the Wheel on that new iPad since it's a song we like with the guys I play with, we also try to compose and make dark wave music. It took me a few hours to make that song on the iPad, I didn't use an external MIDI keyboard, only the touch screen keyboard, as well as drawing on the piano roll, sequencing drums in the drum machine pattern grid, I even used the Alchemy Sampler with an existing bottle blow sample that I managed to twist into something "flutey" sounding but not too acoustic and reminiscent of the bottle sound. With one exception, I only used patches and effects that come with Logic Pro but I tweaked all of them. I also used an external AUv3 synth called Zeeon where I programmed a tuned white noise since I couldn't find the embedded Logic Pro synths providing oscillator modulation with noise as a source. In no way I was trying to recreate the original song verbatim though. Of course there's no vocal, it's only the instrumental parts and our vocal will sing on top of it. I have to decide which parts I will mute during our rehearsal, so that me and the guitarist would have something to play  Here's the result:

 

 

[RABid]

1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:

Only partly on topic but you've got me looking at XLN XO drum machine. 

I'm going to have to download the demo and give it a spin. 

The interface on the screen does not look like the other drum plugins I have at all. It's got me curious. 

Here is a really good YouTube video tutorial on XO. It is long and pretty dry, but what you will find is how XO lets you zero in on both the sounds you use and creating pattern variants. For example, there is a page in which the 8 drums are shown in horizontal rows. The first section of the row has a visual representation of the pattern that instrument is playing. Following is maybe 10 variants. You can click on a variant for any drum. If you like it, keep it, if not, try another. As you settle on parts you can lock individual drums so their pattern will not change as you experiment. You can continue selecting variants or hit the die icon and get a random pattern. Once you get something you like you can drag either a MIDI clip to your DAW or an audio clip for the pattern. Then you can start on your next pattern, either building it from scratch by selecting notes, hitting the random button, or going through that process again and just change a few drums. This lets you build a library of related patterns. Sounds work the same way. It makes for a nice, fluid process for creating a variety of beats. The random patterns and sounds can send you in a direction that you would not have considered, and being able to lock some drums makes the random feature much more usable. And of course, there is a page for editing notes for volume, ratchet and other parameters. Now, what XO isn't. It is not a big library of multi-sampled drums that tries to mimic a real drummer. It is a drum machine and owns it. The only thing it is missing for me, and the reason I continue to use Sugar Bytes Drum Computer, is the ability to have different drums use different pattern lengths. You cannot have the bass drum on 4/4 while the high hat is on a 13/16 pattern. For that you have to use multiple instances. Sugar Bytes allows that, but does not have the neat drag and drop to export patterns.

 

 

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks RABid, I'll check it out. 

I'll check out Sugar Bytes too. 

I've also been considering just making up my own beats. 

I do that when I'm driving, the turn signal is my metronome and I come up with all sorts of fun stuff that could take my songwriting to new and different places. 

 

Sharing info like this is really the main thing I like about MPN, so many here are generous with their knowledge. 🙂

[David Emm]

I'm with RABid on this one, for a different reason. I have huge mitts and thus find touch screens to be all but hostile, especially for musical purposes. (A stylus is a wand of evil.) They clearly work for a lot of people, which is fine, but the memory issues and external connection requirements go against my grain. Portable should mean portable. Those tentacles are the stuff of a fixed/semi-fixed platform. Double that worry over delicate mini-jacks.

 

If you like the portability, you should go for a more streamlined sequencer from something like Korg Gadget. It seems more sensible to keep it simple if its a travel platform. Transferring those sequences to Logic is part of the cost of using that approach, IMO. I also note the loss of instruments that are too large for easy pad use. The discussions about how the pad versions fare in the real world are telling.  

 

Just because Apple can cram Logic into an iPad doesn't automatically hand you the ease of use you get from the larger version. It seems like a novelty more than the soft-studio I've enjoyed for years. I'm too decrepit to sweat the idea of portability now, but I laugh a little when I look at the M1/M2. You can't use one out in a field, but its backpack-sized now. You could easily carry that, one of the mini-monitor screens and a controller for a stay in many places. You could spend a little hotel room time with it and make much more headway. I know that doesn't sound entirely sane, perhaps, but a sufficient iPad costs almost as much as the Mac. You'll just have to squirm around as you consider the Venn diagram point between the two options.

[UnderGroundGr]

If you want to start a song idea on iPad just use GarageBand and then export it to Logic on your Mac...

[analogman1]

I haven’t been inspired to use it since I installed it. I’m cancelling subscription. Logic on my Mac is so much better…

[Synthaholic]

I've been pretty happy with Cubasis on my iPad.

[CyberGene]

10 hours ago, analogman1 said:

 

I haven’t been inspired to use it since I installed it. I’m cancelling subscription. Logic on my Mac is so much better…

 

I don’t think the one for iPad was meant to replace the desktop version. IMO Logic for iPad was meant to be the Apple’s answer to Cubasis, Korg Gadget, etc and I think it’s pretty good for that. I haven’t used an MPC One but from what I’ve seen the workflow of a MPC through a rather small touch screen is kind of similar. 
 

But I also agree that Logic Pro on my MacBook Air M2 is a much better experience than the one for the iPad while being almost as portable. Which is why I don’t see myself using Logic for iPad outside vacations or late night sofa/bedroom experiments. 

[RABid]

What gets me is the YouTube Content Providers that are still praising Logic for iPad are using it in a studio setting with half a dozen devices attached. You almost never see anyone using just the iPad and showing what they can do without all of the external devices. 

[cassdad]

I’m holding out as long as I can = my protest against subscriptions.

[RABid]

It could be a lot worse. Reason wants $20 a month.

[RABid]

Picked up Euclidean Sequencer today for iPad. Fun looking sequencer. Requires a host for connecting to a sound source. I now have another reason to use Logic.