What size iPad should I get?

Grng

Hi, I am a total Noob to iOS music-making (used to make music with an MPC 2000 ten years ago) but am planning on getting myself the new iPad this month, and buying BeatMaker 2.

My question is: what size (storage-wise) iPad should I get? 64gb? 128? I don't know how big either the software is (and I want to explore a few options, like the iMPC, Tabletop, other things) nor do I know if the music-related things I would be able to store locally are very big (like HD video is). In addition to music, I will be using it for work (I am a teacher - the initial reason for getting an iPad. We use Apps like Notability, Confer, Edmodo, BookCreator and of course photos and videos).

I'm also not a cloud-user - yet, at least. I have used Dropbox for work-related stuff on occasion.

Any advice would be appreciated - thanks.

dubhausdisco

I've gotten by on a 16 gb model, but it can be a struggle if you use lots of apps. Since you are familiar with the MPC, you may find that's enough.
Also Dropbox is a crucial feature of BM2.
I usually sample from vinyl on desktop, save into Dropbox, turn around to the iPad and my samples are right there.

Grng

Thanks for your comments guys. I'll start learning about how to properly use Dropbox now - sounds like a great way to work.

thesavage

"I usually sample from vinyl on desktop, save into Dropbox, turn around to the iPad and my samples are right there."

Everyday! Dropbox is very important in my work flow. This is where A simple BM desktop app would benefit. Basically sketch a song with all my chops. Boom dropbox to iPad.

get 64.

Grng

Thanks thesavage - have been thinking 64 is the go. Of course Apple has imposed the cone of silence on retailers - nobody's allowed to tell me what they're getting in stock tomorrow. In Melbourne, anyway.

rusty

I have a 32GB and struggle with space some days. Have a lot of my own instruments loaded up from my Kontakt library in BM2 which saves messing around with midi and gives me an incredible palate of sound to play with. BM2 takes up about 18GB on its own with my library. Kontakt comes with about 42GB of sample wavs and I'm planning on loading the whole lot up one day. It all depends on what you want to load BM2 up with. It can handle a lot of instruments, your only issue will be CPU horsepower. If you can hang on for a 64 or 128GB A7 iPad air then you'll be laughing. forget the desktops forever then.

rusty

One thing to consider is how you plan on doing mixing and mastering. Apps like Auria suddenly use up GBs like there's no tomorrow. You'll have your song in BM2, the exported individual tracks, then the imported individual tracks in Auria and then the final mix in Auria. This adds up to a lot of storage even for one song. I'm sure there's easier ways to do this (dubhausdisco step in here) but that's the way my simple brain has been using the two apps together. If you use Auria, Cubasis and BM2 then you'll need 64GB. Throw in a sample deck like Kontakt and then you'll be wishing you had 128GB from the get go.

Grng

Thanks for all of this guys. I got the 64gb today. I'm looking forward to starting out with all of this. You'll probably see more of me with painful beginner questions.

thesavage

Nice!

dubhausdisco

@rusty- that pretty much it.. If I'm mixing in auria I'll export from BM2, upload those to Dropbox, open auria and import. Because I am on a 16gb iPad 3, I have to be sure to delete the BM2 exports almost immediately to save space. I've got a folder for just exports so it's easy to find!

MicGee$

There are hardware cloud solutions emerging left and right...so space may become a non factor.

With bm2 there are some things you have to manage your space....
1. Make sure you are aware of the file system, make sure you are saving your songs with samples in their own folders. This one step will help you with saving songs to your cloud, or computer, or Dropbox. It will also make it easier for you to collaborate with others.

2. When recording audio, bm2 will save everything you do...regardless if you keep the take or not...this will get put into the recordings folder...once you have saved a song with all of its samples you will be able to erase the contents of the recordings folder and gain space. Usually lots.

3. Remember the downside to sampling on bm2 is that you need to have a song folder made before you start sampling for a song or you will be saving replicate copies of the same material over and over thus killing your save space. Another downside to using beatmaker2 is when you save a song with samples...it is going to resave your instrument patches, as well as any drums etc that you used to make the song. Bm2 is not reason...or logic...it has no logical file structure at all, it can NOT search and find files that are missing...it can only have a nameplace on a pad so name all of your samples so you know what they are.

Beatmaker2 is highly inefficient when saving and space are an issue.
Only the sample name placing has been addressed the whole time of this apps existence, meaning the file system is probably as good as it's gonna be.

DeeJohnson

@alien_brain how does that iconnectmidi2 app work? Can it be used to bring audio from a song from BM2 into Auria?

dubhausdisco

I would add that although the iconnectivity unit is amazing, if you are on windows you will have to deal with a bit higher latency due to asio4all. Unfortunately I am still on protools 8 so I am not able to use iOS devices like plugins.
That said, a Mac is def on my to do list!

dubhausdisco

You have no idea what you are talking about- to use iOS devices like "plugins" on a desktop host requires extremely low latency, and asio4all doesn't cut it.
I would think given your disdain for any kind of manual labor (trimming, time aligning tracks etc) you would hate the iconnectivity.

DeeJohnson

@alien_brain I own audio bus but have not used it in for ever since I been away from the music game due to my college work. But I will search for that trailer you mentioned. Though when I used audiobus I still had to use dropbox to import my songs into auria because any other way was to slow for me. Like for instance using audio share and muting tracks in order to separate them took too long for me.

On another note isn't the iconnectivity thing similar to virtual midi(I think that what it's called)? I don't see the added benefits of that device verses using wifi to control your PC?

Is it that the device can record sound as well from the ipad versus just giving you the ability to control an app on the computer while using the Ipad like a midi controller?

DeeJohnson

@alien_brain Thanks for sharing that man. I just watched it and it looks amazing though I do not know how it would work lol. I mean it seems super complicated and I hope they make some kind of demo explaining it. But it does look very nice though. I just don't get why there are so many chains and how those chains would work. Though on another note yeah, you definitely are going to need a new Ipad mini with retina display or air to get a real work flow out of it. It's going to take so much power to use it.