Lessons from NAMM 2012

[Lee Flier]

I just wish I could get a promise that Apple won't change the connector or interface spec for many, many years

 

Yeah, that is the one worry and I don't really trust Apple in that regard. But hopefully as this continues to evolve, and more companies release iPad-compatible stuff, public pressure will keep Apple from doing anything stupid. Probably not everyone at Apple is as intractable as Jobs was.

[MikeRivers]

 

I agree with Ken, Mike - you're over-thinking this.

 

 

Please - just what do you mean by "over-thinking?" I'm only telling you what I know, how I'd solve problems, and the problems I anticipate based on many years of experience with a wide range of electronics products.

 

 

First of all, I do know several people who have older Roland synths that work fine except that the LCD screen doesn't work anymore and they can't find a replacement for less than a gajillion dollars.

 

They could probably replace the screen for a perfectly reasonable cost if they bought another synth like theirs, and either just used that or used it for parts. If it's an irreplaceable synth, then you simply have to understand the responsibility of owning it. Buy a replacement for the known weak part when you can. I have laptop computers that are more than 10 years old that still have good screens. I have a MIDI patch bay that I thought had a bad display until I found that the connector for the backlight power wire had come loose. Cost to repair - $0. I'll grant you that people who own Roland synths may not be as resourceful as I am.

 

 

Screens are often the first things to burn out on any electronic gear and if it was a custom purpose built thing, chances of being able to find a compatible replacement are not good.

 

 

This is the curse of modern electronics. There are ICs that are no longer available, EPROMs for which code is no longer available (usually because the manufacturer has gone out of business or they're just being jerks), and breakable parts that break. I don't see why the iPad should be any different.

 

 

I am also willing to bet that iPads will last longer than the cheapo screens they put in these products - they were built to stand up to the abuse of being carried around in all sorts of conditions.

 

 

Neither of us can do anything but speculate. I don't know the failure mode of the screens that you know have failed. I know that there was a rash of laptop computers with cracked screens because people were careless. But I'll bet that portable GPSs last longer than cockroaches.

 

 

Second, again, just because companies make products that "depend on" an iPad doesn't mean exactly what you're saying it means. It just means that people who already have iPads can find even more cool uses for it.

 

 

No, you don't get my point here. It means that when the iPad that the product was designed around is no longer available, and the consumer's equivalent doesn't work with the product for which the iPad is an integral part, you can no longer use that product. If someone steals your 2nd generation iPad ten years after you bought the mixer and the mixer stopped being updated before the 4th generation iPad came out, you're then in the market for either a new mixer or an old iPad.

 

 

Again there is one Mackie mixer out of many that requires an iPad. Presumably you would only buy it if you already have an iPad. If you don't, there are plenty of other Mackie mixers that have the same preamps and other features and do not require an iPad.

 

That's not at all true. And let's not talk about me or you, let's talk about "them." I'm not going to buy one of those new Mackie mixers because I don't need one. But someone who DOES need a mixer and has an iPad might be tempted - without realizing what might lie in store in a few years.

 

 

I mean, most people don't buy stompboxes unless they own a guitar. So it would be silly to complain that you have to invest in a guitar if you want to buy a stompbox.

 

 

Of course. Who's over-thinking now?

[MikeRivers]

I just wish I could get a promise that Apple won't change the connector or interface spec for many, many years

 

My point (at least one of them) exactly. The track record isn't good. You also need to get the promise that either the operating system won't change or that it will be backward compatible with older hardware and applications. Mackie's track record for updating drivers to work with new operating systems is not very good for current products and zilch for discontinued products. I can continue to use my 1200F as long as I can keep a Windows XP computer running, but I won't be able to use it with Pro Tools because there's no Windows 7 driver for the interface and I'm quite sure that there never will be one. When Mackie discontinues the DL1608 in a few years (and I assure you that they will) and you need a new iPad, you could be SOL. And think about the people who buy one second hand in 2016 expecting that the iPad that they just got for Christmas will work with it.

 

On the other hand, we are in an era of disposable electronics. Many people who buy a DL1608 when it comes out this Summer will be ready to abandon it in a couple of years.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Additionally, the iPad has reached "critical mass" in the music market. You might be really reluctant to buy an iPad if it worked only with, say, a Mackie mixer and the DigiTech iPB-10. But there are so many options right now you have major choice, and what's more, because it has become a sort of standard, companies will be more likely to design accessories (e.g., the PreSonus remote control) around it.

 

 

Tablets are predicted to overtake PCs possibly as soon this year (!).

 

 

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9199918/In_historic_shift_smartphones_tablets_to_overtake_PCs Computerworld - Shipments of smartphones, tablets and other app-enabled devices will overtake PC shipments in the next 18 months, an event that may signify the end of the PC-centric era, market research firm IDC said. It may be seen as a historic shift, but it is one that tells more about the development of a new market, mobile and tablet computing, than the decline of an older one, the PC. Shipments of personal computers will continue to increase even as they are surpassed by other devices. IDC said worldwide shipments this year of app-enabled devices, which include smartphones and media tablets such as the iPad, will reach 284 million. In 2011, makers will ship 377 million of these devices, and in 2012, the number will reach 462 million shipments, exceeding PC shipments. One shipment equals one device.

 

[MikeRivers]

 

Tablets are predicted to overtake PCs possibly as soon this year (!).

 

 

Notebooks overtook tower and desktop computers a few years back. People don't want to see they just want to use the functions that computers offer. That's fine for some applications, and for some people, but not everyone. But the industry follows the buying trends.

 

Notebooks are popular with musicians for their portability, but I don't see anyone throwing who does any serious recording discarding his notebook computer in favor of an iPad in the next couple of years. It's clear, though that the iPad is a popular supplement to the notebook or desktop computer. It can do a lot of things, but as long as there's still a need for both, we'll still have both - and more and more people will have both rather than one.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Notebooks are popular with musicians for their portability, but I don't see anyone throwing who does any serious recording discarding his notebook computer in favor of an iPad in the next couple of years.

 

 

It largely augments a more "serious" system, but can do so in amazing ways. And for relatively cheap. But look at what you're already saying. A few years ago, weren't you saying that no one would do any serious recording on a notebook computer?

 

 

It's clear, though that the iPad is a popular supplement to the notebook or desktop computer. It can do a lot of things, but as long as there's still a need for both, we'll still have both - and more and more people will have both rather than one.

 

 

Exactly. I see all this stuff as complementary, and think it's all great.

 

I was seriously considering an iPad largely for photography, but have come to the conclusion that an Air or other sort of ultrabook would probably suit my needs better. But the iPad is a tempting thing and a really great thing, in my opinion.

[deanmass]

Ken, I can tell you that the iPad for photography on your level? nope...I don't even load many pics to mine...It just does not have tha space. As a selling tool, it is awesome. As a field capture/dump/editor...too small. The thing I don' like bout the air is, I'd have to carry a bag or connectivity crap to get it equel to a 13.3 MBP, which is why I have a 13.3 and iPad instead of an air and iPad.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Ken, I can tell you that the iPad for photography on your level? nope...I don't even load many pics to mine...It just does not have tha space. As a selling tool, it is awesome. As a field capture/dump/editor...too small. The thing I don' like bout the air is, I'd have to carry a bag or connectivity crap to get it equel to a 13.3 MBP, which is why I have a 13.3 and iPad instead of an air and iPad.

 

 

Agreed. That's the same conclusion I came to with the iPad. With the Air or ultrabook equivalent, I'm holding off on now because of the cost (I'm looking at ~US$1000), another thing to lug around, and other stuff, so I'm just gonna hold off for now. I've been doing really well with my back-up schemes in general (one of them is that I go into an internet cafe, and simply use their computer to transfer photos to a USB stick), but if I go to Namibia and am out in the field for two and a half weeks this summer, I may need to come up with another back-up scheme. Not sure yet. The iPad could have been good for viewing photos to make sure everything's in focus and all that, something that's difficult to do on small screens, but so far, I've been really lucky and most of my shots, even on the move, have come out focused.

[MikeRivers]

 

A few years ago, weren't you saying that no one would do any serious recording on a notebook computer?

 

 

Probably I did say that, and a few years ago it was true. I think that today it's certainly possible to do about as much multitrack capture as you need on a moderate notebook computer, so, yeah, that's "serious recording." But do you want to try to edit 90 tracks on a little screen like that? Or keep track of a couple of dozen plug-ins? I don't know about you, but I'd go nuts zooming here and scrolling here, and then trying to find my way back to what I actually wanted to do. I can barely handle a 24 track project on my 22" monitor, and that's with some difficulty.

 

So, yes, it's possible. Does it make sense to do it that way? Not to me. If I had to phone in audio or video stories for daily reports, that's clearly manageable on a notebook. That's what Craig does every evening after the NAMM show instead of taking his buddies out for drinks and dinner on his Harmony Central or EQ Executive Editor expense account. But I'll bet that even he'd rather work on a complex mix somewhere else with at least a different screen and pointer.

 

When the year comes that he can do all his video editing on an iPad and it saved him enough time over working with his present portable computer so that he was able to go out for dinner and drinks, I'll buy.

 

The problem with augmenting things that you already do is that you then have more things you can do, so you have to think about whether you want to do them (and you usually decide that you do). Costs more time as well as money. Does it help you to do a better job? Do you really have to do a better job? Those are the things I look at.

 

Back in the 1960s and through much of the 70s, we had a secretary in the office who did all the typing. She was great. She hardly ever made mistakes, she cleaned up sloppy grammar, and she had spent enough time on the job so that she knew how to spell all the technical terms and recognized the acronyms. I could hand write a draft and she'd give me back a finished product. Now I have a word processor and I have to do all fo that myself. Takes me more time and the secretaries make less money because they hardly even have to answer phones any more, much less type and spell.

[rrrredrvr]

I find my iPad 2 incredibly useful, and almost too much so. I can see the day coming when I may need iPads dedicated to specific tasks. For example, I scanned all my charts and moved them to the GigBook app. I have a perfect RAM mount for my mic stand, and I no longer have to carry a binder of charts around, tape setlists down that would still blow away, and I can find any tune in seconds, if needed. I would love to try the new Mackie mixer and mix my monitor myself. I've used Garage Band and its instruments to create some demo tracks, and use it for rehearsing and improving my licks, sound, and vocals (you really need to listen to recordings of yourself often to hear how good or BAD you REALLY sound)! And, I just bought Aria and am starting to explore its extensive capabilities for recording and editing. While I probably wouldn't use the iPad live yet as a Midi interface for a keyboard, I might rethink that soon.

 

And regarding wireless, that has a HUGE benefit for us gigging musicians. The absolute WORST part of a gig is the loading in and out, especially for fast turn arounds where other groups are waiting for the stage. I've made my pedalboard completely wireless, so I just drop it and play, and close the lid and go when I'm done. We're downsizing the PA from a fully mic'd 16 channel setup and eliminating the snake and wiring across the room to strictly an on-stage setup. If ALL the mics were wireless, this would eliminate another dozen or so cables to be plugged/unplugged, wound, and properly stored....MORE time and energy saved. In today's world, there's really no reason why ANY of our equipment needs a wired connection, other than power, and many of the power sources can be rechargeable Li Ion with plenty of power and capacity. ALL of the signal, and control lines should be wireless, whether its WiFi, Bluetooth, or dedicated RF. Lighting, again can be wired power, but wireless control (again with the iPad)!

[A. Einstein]

iPad...

 

I am somewhat afraid that my latest wife will leave me too when I start working already during breakfast in the kitchen.

[Mileskb]

Ok... it's been a few months... Is wireless really ready for consumer level ? I was just asked if I'd seen this new unit from Mackie, the DL1608... http://www.mackie.com/products/dl1608/about-the-dl1608/ Not a mackie fan, but it does look cool. I'm sure it works well in demonstrations, but what about the real world. My opinion from recent experience and from input from colleagues is that wireless control is nice, but you don't really want to be without a real tactile interface if your paycheck depends on it, if for nothing else than to get you through the couple of minutes it takes the iPad to restart when you do (and you will) loose the wireless connection.

[MikeRivers]

Visit the Mackie forum. There's a DL1608 section there. I don't read it myself, but I expect this is where you'll find some users who are having a trouble, and a smattering of those who are loving it.

 

Personally, I continue to be unimpressed with devices which decrease reliability and add latency of a device (a hardware mixer) that already works just fine. I think that using an iPad as an accessory can be a very handy thing for certain things - listening in a corner of the room and making an adjustment to something you can't hear well for example. But then you need to go somewhere else to see if you've messed up something else (which you probably have) so you'll have to make another change. I think it's a good idea for working on a mix that needs to work in a single place, for example, stage monitors. But honesty, not only would I be uncomfortable working at mixing a dynamic show (one where you have to move faders and change EQ based on what you hear rather than using a preset), but I'd feel kind of silly sitting in a regular audience seat with an iPad in my lap. The guy sitting next to me would probably want one, too.