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Lessons from NAMM 2012


Anderton

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1. Manufacturers now treat iPads as an OEM CPU/Display sub-assembly, but supplied by the user.

2. Wireless is replacing cables.

3. Stand-alone iPad apps don't make money (although Auria probably will).

4. Everyone has something that's iOS compatible.

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It's tempting me to get an iPad for music. I don't think I'd ever record much on it than a guitar scratchpad for ideas, but I like seeing it integrated with other hardware like FX pedals and mixers. I just wonder if they're really worth it (especially the mixers). I prefer to use a DAW on my PC I built. I like the idea of an iPad as a controller, tabulature viewer, ideas storage, etc.

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1. Manufacturers now treat iPads as an OEM CPU/Display sub-assembly, but supplied by the user.

 

I really really dislike this trend, for several reasons.

 

But most who do don't have the same thing compatible with the Android or other tablets. . I have nothing in particular against Apple, it's just that for the primary reasons for which these portable devices were designed, we have choices. But for connecting to audio gear, we usually don't have a choice. It's Apple's way or the highway. I think it was TC that had both an iOS and Android version of their TonePrint loader gizmos. Damn! I forgot to mention that in my report. It might have been the coolest iApp I saw at the show, not for what it does, but how it does it. That's what they get for not having a printed press release and no literature to hand me.

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I already have a physical control surface (9 sliders, 8 knobs, and a bunch of banks, all built into my 88 key controller) that I never use. And while I think there could be some really interesting things you can/could do with a pad/slate/whatever you want to call it, the downsides -- not to mention the cost -- bug me. On the latter, you have to realize, I do all my work and most of my play on a 6 year old refurbished Dell that cost $404 to my door. (I later effectively quadrupled the RAM, added a faster, 1TB drive.) That's all my web/database developing, all my video production, all my audio production, and virtually all my entertainment (it's my 'stereo' and my 'TV,' too). So, dumping twice that amount on something that has a relatively tiny screen, doesn't even have a keyboard or protective shell or even a kickstand or easel (because I'm certainly not going to sit there holding it up in the air like a fool) is pretty much a non-starter for me.

 

 

Actually, the only use I've heard of that really fired me up on the concept of a tablet/slate/pad is the concept of using one as an unwired outboard display for photo and video shoots. But I was talking to someone who said that while they were OK for photos, the video transmission speed was insufficient for video playback from his cam... But the potential is certainly there.

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I go back and forth on the iPad. It doesn't do anything I can't do already with my existing gear, but it's more convenient than a conventional laptop. And if I'm going to keep reviewing gear, I guess I need to get one...

 

Here's one thing I've found so far that an iPad can do that I can't do with my existing gear:

 

Spectrasonics Omni TR

 

Best,

 

Geoff

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1. Manufacturers now treat iPads as an OEM CPU/Display sub-assembly, but supplied by the user.

2. Wireless is replacing cables.

3. Stand-alone iPad apps don't make money (although Auria probably will).

4. Everyone has something that's iOS compatible.

 

 

I didn't happen to notice #2, but noticed all else you mentioned at NAMM.

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I go back and forth on the iPad. It doesn't do anything I can't do already with my existing gear, but it's more convenient than a conventional laptop. And if I'm going to keep reviewing gear, I guess I need to get one...

 

 

But there are also some real nice ANDROID alternatives !

 

dan

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Android is hacked. iOS is more relaible than Android because it's closed and controlled by Apple. And I'm not the Apple person :)

 

I use my iPad 2 as a reader and video player mostly. I've got some music apps and the best were Animoog and V-Control. Everything else were just a toys. iPad is fantastic educational tool as well as reference device, my 2 kopecs.

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Once I finally buy an iPad, I'll probably start buying virtual books too. Books take up a lot of space, take a lot of energy to pack, and cost a lot to move. I like the idea of being able to move my book (and video) collection as easily as I move an iPad.

 

Perhaps one day, it'll be almost as easy to move my studio too...

 

Best,

 

Geoff

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1. Manufacturers now treat iPads as an OEM CPU/Display sub-assembly, but supplied by the user.

2. Wireless is replacing cables.

3. Stand-alone iPad apps don't make money (although Auria probably will).

4. Everyone has something that's iOS compatible.

 

 

I've been able to suppress the wow factor and sustain from buying an iPad. After careful consideration I determined that I haven't found a situation where it wasn't just as quick and convenient to take my 15" MBP. When the iPad has a larger display and I can fold it up and put it in my pocket my thinking may change. It will be interesting to see how incorporating it into so many products will work out, I agree with many remarks made in this thread that it may prove to be a mistake. It's one thing to be compatiable but quite another to actually make it a vital component.

 

I like wireless but hasn't the frequency spectrum already become a pretty cluttered transmission medium?

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I don't think Android music apps are coming along quite as well. Seems everything is very much more weighted towards iPad, and for good reason - 1 device to design/code for.

 

 

It seems that Android's audio latency issue has yet to be fixed. The fix is needed for Android audio apps to get to the next level. According to this thread below, the issue was originally reported July 31, 2009. The latest posts were just a few hours ago, but nothing new - just more complaints:

 

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434

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Once I finally buy an iPad, I'll probably start buying virtual books too. Books take up a lot of space, take a lot of energy to pack, and cost a lot to move. I like the idea of being able to move my book (and video) collection as easily as I move an iPad.

 

 

That's why I just got a Kindle. I like it so far.

 

 

Perhaps one day, it'll be almost as easy to move my studio too...

 

 

That'd be my dream. I have so much stuff that is bulky or weighs a lot.

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Once I finally buy an iPad, I'll probably start buying virtual books too. Books take up a lot of space, take a lot of energy to pack, and cost a lot to move. I like the idea of being able to move my book (and video) collection as easily as I move an iPad.


Perhaps one day, it'll be almost as easy to move my studio too...


Best,


Geoff

 

And lose everything you have with one catastrophic glitch. :facepalm:

 

And besides, hauling around all my books helps keep me buff... broad shoulders, bulging biceps, tight abs and all that.

 

Dammit! Now I got the Zager And Evans song "In the Year 2525" stuck in my head. I always thought their predictions were way too far off. I'm thinking more like 2025

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I didn't happen to notice #2, but noticed all else you mentioned at NAMM.

 

 

Wireless was everywhere - wireless DI box (SM Pro Audio), wireless in-ear monitors and cable replacements (Wi Digital Systems), wireless snakes (iPad mixer control), wireless speakers (Alto, Behringer), etc. The 2.4GHz band is going to be very active...

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RME announced their new interface that works with the iPad.


When I can get an iPad with blazing fast 256 gig memory, and low latency audio and MIDI performance, I'll take the plunge.

 

 

You just need to set your sights lower. Use the iPad for capturing live tracks where latency is of no concern, and then send the files to your real computer for the serious work. Or just get a halfway respectable laptop computer. The new RME connects with USB as well as Firewire so you have a bit of a hedge on obsolescence there.

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The 2.4GHz band is going to be very active...

 

PreSonus wasn't even tweaking their live shows with an iPad (some of which I heard really needed tweaking from out front, or at least a walk around). They said they could see about 400 active wireless networks and just didn't trust the system in there well enough to show it off. Too bad. It would have been a good demonstration - if it worked.

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Why don't you read books and watch television on the couch with a bowl of popcorn? Or do you just like gadgets and can afford it?

 

It was a gift from my wife :)

 

I don't eat popcorn.

 

I don't watch TV, I watch bunch of educational lessons and documentory - Netfilx for example - and iPad is very good at it.

 

iPad = convenient tool.

 

And lose everything you have with one catastrophic glitch.

 

It could happen on any computer, too.

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