Excellent! I got the first Iconnectmidi 2+ from Sweetwater sound here in the U.S. I've had it for about 2 months now, and can't imagine anybody that uses music apps, not having one. Simply amazing! Keep up the great sonic touch shows Nick, and Gaz. Always makes me happily nervous every time I start up a sonic touch episode, cause I know you guys are gonna show me something I want to buy, and my wallet is gonna get a little lighter. lol.
Some people forget the iPad is not a dedicated music device. These workarounds are fine for what this device is. Apple has given us many great music making tools and enriched my life as I see it.
Just got myself one of these. Annoyingly had to spend £25 on a lightning to 30 pin Apple adaptor but i think its worth it. Been looking for something that does this job for ages.
Brilliant as always Gaz and Nick! Thank you! I'm holding out for the +4 as I want to bring my Win7 laptop to the Mac Mini & iPad party :) What I'm really, really, really hoping is that I can route midi timing and audio drum loops out of Ableton Live - to the iPad running Turnado (clocked by Ableton) - effect the audio in real-time with my fingers (!) - and record the manipulations as audio back in Live... I hope this is possible!!! Eeek!
Great review covering the iConnectmidi2 for I just bought mine. Though this review was done months back it was still very informative for I have a Sythstation25 that I use more as a controller these days for Reason then docking my iPod4 into. Also wasn't aware of the companion app in the AppStore. You guys are very passionate and funny when doing your reviews and I like that! Thx
"I have a donkey, but it's too difficult to take care about him because he always struggles to carry just enough of his own donkey food to stay alive." That's practicly the point of all what I've just seen. Fuck Apple !!!
Does the iConnect allow midi to record from ipad to daw also? Touchscreen allows more creative ways to control music than simple keys and knobs like in thor and animoog.
you guys are great , I still have Ipad2 with an iodock running through ableton I can get pretty complex routing capabilities(monome,polygome controlling animoog etc.) but I always wanted to get the OG Iconnect but it was rather pricey. with this new price point and all the features it's a definite no brainer . thanks again. Cheers.
Thanx for the review .U did once again a terrific job .What If Kontakt gets integrated as well as some others from NI .Do U think That could happen anytime soon
Is it possible to route multiple midi inputs to multiple outputs? ie: send a single controller to all outputs on midi channel 1 as well as route clock sync from a different input to the same output on the same channel?
Wonder how it works with Windows? Also, does Audio Pass-Thru work both ways? Can you get audio into the iOS device for sampling/processing for example?
yikes! Believe it or not it´s meant to be like that, it was a gift and quite an expensive "fashion" jacket! Not being one for fashion (have you seen other Sonic Touches?) I gave it a go, back to straight shirts in future then!
FOR THE RECORD i have found an ALTERNATIVE POWER SUPPLY, i have ordered it off ebay, and await its arrival. I simply matched the specs and ordered a generic one. i will of course re-post here with the results asap when it arrives.... cheers
I'm with Gaz on getting the iConnectMidi+4 I see it being the hub of my studio to connect most of my old midi gear, all my usb controllers, and a Mac, iPad, & windows box(for those vst's that are only windows-ish). All for $200AU - that just F^&kin' ROCKS!!
ps. $199.00AU for those of you who live down under - in stock on Wednesday 12 February, 2014.@ www.awave.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=4776 (no, I don't work for them.)
You could always route midi without an extra device via wifi in and out of an ipad and iphone. Then there's the Pure i-20 for routing audio digitally to your DAW, or just connecting to your speakers with excellent on board converters 24-bit/192KHz. As well as video out.
Does anyone know of an app that acts likes iconnect midi, that will allow me to plug my iPad directly into my laptop and use apps as plugins in the same way?
Looks like the iConnect 4 doesn't have an audio jack, so you're still using the headphone jack in that case? I hadn't heard that it could power the iOS device, I'm excited about that. I mostly use my iPad for music, so it's always annoying to have to unplug it from my music stuff in order to charge it.
You said something about the iConnect 4 having a standalone mode though? Where you can plug a usb keyboard in to the iConnect and control the iPad with no computer involved. It would be useful to have an audio jack in that case. Unless I misunderstood the feature you were describing.
I like the nice straight forward description how this is setup. Is it possible to rename the USB ports for your own setup? Might make it less confusing
Thank you guys for your reviews!!!!! I'm not understanding the benefit of getting digital recorded music verses just going out audio from the Ipad into an audio interface. Can anyone help me understand this?
Yes, I have the same concern. If you have to connect iConnectmidi to computer in order to have audio out, why don't you use directly plugins/vst/au on copmuter? Ipad is cool for his portability, but if you need to plug in into computer just use computer with midi controller.
question for Gaz: is there a simpler way to use the iconnect? for example i use the Alesis I/O Dock with an Ipad 2 and to use it with ableton i create an external instrument. could it be that simple? can i use it with my main soundcard at the same time? thanks! :)
Yes you could set up and external instrument within Ableton. I think that is a good idea, we just wanted to demonstrate the connections that would essentially apply to any DAW.
sadly not this version. That is one of the main features of the bigger (and more expensive) iConnectMidi 4 which has yet to be released but will achieve what you are asking.
I have a digital piano with only (midi) USB in/out. I want to connect it to an external piano sound module with only 5pin Midi ports as stand alone with no PC and using the piano as a controller for the modules. No computer involved. Will this iConnectMIDI2+ do the job? Thanks
Finally! Somebody explained in easy terms how to set up the midi for this device... I have spent days trying to work out what to do, got the audio through to the DAW OK (ish) but no midi control (using the touch screen is not always ideal). Think I might be able to work it out now. The iconnect provided manual makes too many assumptions that you actually know what you are doing... I am a technical person, but midi always makes my brain hurt (I am probably over thinking it)
Thanks for the review! :) I've had similar issues with popping audio as you turn UP the latency with aggregate audio devices... As your project gets large this can become an issue... If you're like me and you don't bounce everything to audio
looked like you were trying to pull your hair out when you were talking about integrating apple products, suggest you try and pull Gaz's hair out instead :D Seriously tho, great show as always!
Integration into a windows / asio is quite a challenge, as asio only allows one audio device. The approach gaz mentioned , using asio4all , is usually not feasible , so - in an osx environment the gold award is well deserved, in a windows environment not.
Interestingly all the midi and audio routing shown with the iconnect2 I've done for years with a Tascam iU2.. It was panned for (admittedly weak) build quality and I heard it was pulled from the market due to the name infringing on U2's intellectual property, yet it has all these features.
Kind of ironic Apple released IDAM not too long after this, so all you have to do is hook iPad up to your mac and you get a digital audio + midi streams direct from iPad, simplifying everything they did here. Too bad it's not bi-directional audio though.
The main benefit seems to be digital audio as opposed to audio from the headphone jack, which understandably carries some amount of noise. My interest in the iConnectMidi4 device is that it allows my keboard with only USB MIDI to easily connect to my DAW and back out to another keyboard with only the standard MIDI Din jacks. Even better, I can connect the two keyboards without having to go through my computer. Having said all this, it still seems overly complicated to integrate an iPad into a DAW setup where VST instruments already abound. I can't say I've found any synth on my iPad that doesn't already exist as a VST instrument. I'm still waiting for the day when I can purchase a DAW for my iPad and use any iPad synth as a VST, without having to go through the additional process of setting u and routing everything though AudioBus. The whole thing just seems so ungainly.
Hmm not sure I would agree about equivalent VST´s. Have you tried Samplr? That alone, especially with its unique touch interface, would justify this method for me.
Indeed there are many unique instruments available on the Ipad. Samplr is fantastic but I've only used it as a standalone instrument. I'm talking about the huge number of subtractive synths, and to a lesser degree wavetable synths. I've soured a bit on Ipads hoping that there was an easier way to integrate separate synths and sequencers. I really enjoy certain apps but find too many roadblocks for the limited time I spend on music making. Perhaps this is why hardware synths have made a comeback.
I use iConncetMIDI2+ with my iPad 2 & iPhone 5S and never get a latency bellow 30ms. With such a huge latency it's imho bogus calling the iConnectMIDI "game changer". You can check out my latency analysis for the iConnectMIDI2+ here: iConnectMIDI2+ Audio PassThru Latency Analysis (IOS7)
The routing software could be easier to use. Getting your head around the MIDI side of it is not so easy. The tutorials online are awful. This review is actually the best tutorial I have seen. Also some apps like Animoog do not have the character length in its setup menu to display the entire name of the iConnect MIDI port so you cannot see what port you are actually choosing. Some apps I can't get to work at all, like GlitchBreaks.
***** Because many people saw it as "just" a toy. Besides all, it is a flexible human interface who, in audio, let you play the softwares. I think he saw it in advance what the kids now think like obvious. It was risky, but right.
***** As you said, it stills. You´re right. But I´m talking about where the ball will be, and not about where it is. Sadly, we, as consumers have to wait the industry movements, and, if there´s no hurry, they will lauch just little steps each time. All that said, I won´t spend my money on it now. I think I need Push, or Maschine, or a Mopho as my midi controller. But, as time goes by, Lemur software seems more attractive to find my way.
One word... always 30ms "latency" (measure it) th-cam.com/video/Skh5HS8OkDk/w-d-xo.html and a 2015 update itunes.apple.com/nl/app/music-io-midi-over-usb/id966003016?l=en&mt=8 (music-io-midi-over-usb)
Excellent! I got the first Iconnectmidi 2+ from Sweetwater sound here in the U.S. I've had it for about 2 months now, and can't imagine anybody that uses music apps, not having one. Simply amazing!
Keep up the great sonic touch shows Nick, and Gaz. Always makes me happily nervous every time I start up a sonic touch episode, cause I know you guys are gonna show me something I want to buy, and my wallet is gonna get a little lighter. lol.
Sorry! Although to be fair this device represents a bit of a bargain if you are looking for this solution.
Great to see a Sonic Touch show again. That was some time since the last one. But its always nice to keep up with the developments. Great work guys!
got my iconnectmidi 4 today, CAN'T WAIT you guys get one!!!!
Some people forget the iPad is not a dedicated music device. These workarounds are fine for what this device is. Apple has given us many great music making tools and enriched my life as I see it.
Been waiting for a review which shows computer integration, good work guys
Now I've seen it working, I totally share your obvious excitement for the iConnect. And at that price? Wow.
Just got myself one of these. Annoyingly had to spend £25 on a lightning to 30 pin Apple adaptor but i think its worth it. Been looking for something that does this job for ages.
FYI: In Live you should be able to use the External Instrument device to send MIDI and receive audio on the same track instead of two separate tracks.
You can't run audio & MIDI on the same track!!
although im not a computer musician, i still found this very interesting & groudbreaking.
Nice work guys, love these videos. This really was a milestone in audio tech
Brilliant as always Gaz and Nick! Thank you! I'm holding out for the +4 as I want to bring my Win7 laptop to the Mac Mini & iPad party :)
What I'm really, really, really hoping is that I can route midi timing and audio drum loops out of Ableton Live - to the iPad running Turnado (clocked by Ableton) - effect the audio in real-time with my fingers (!) - and record the manipulations as audio back in Live... I hope this is possible!!! Eeek!
Very nice review. It looks like the easiest way do midi / audio with the iPad yet.
Price point seems very reasonable.
Great review covering the iConnectmidi2 for I just bought mine. Though this review was done months back it was still very informative for I have a Sythstation25 that I use more as a controller these days for Reason then docking my iPod4 into. Also wasn't aware of the companion app in the AppStore. You guys are very passionate and funny when doing your reviews and I like that! Thx
Watching this video with the captions on is highly recommended for a good laugh :)))
4:10 And there we are again... Hardware gets faster, software slows it down. User experience changes marginally. History repeats.
You guys rock. Great review.
Golden award.... yep, iConnect certainly deserves it! Huh, can't wait for 4+
no brainer for me awesome thanks for bringing this to my attention
great review guys.
"I have a donkey, but it's too difficult to take care about him because he always struggles to carry just enough of his own donkey food to stay alive." That's practicly the point of all what I've just seen.
Fuck Apple !!!
Does the iConnect allow midi to record from ipad to daw also? Touchscreen allows more creative ways to control music than simple keys and knobs like in thor and animoog.
you guys are great , I still have Ipad2 with an iodock running through ableton I can get pretty complex routing capabilities(monome,polygome controlling animoog etc.) but I always wanted to get the OG Iconnect but it was rather pricey. with this new price point and all the features it's a definite no brainer . thanks again. Cheers.
Thanx for the review .U did once again a terrific job .What If Kontakt gets integrated as well as some others from NI .Do U think That could happen anytime soon
Is it possible to route multiple midi inputs to multiple outputs?
ie: send a single controller to all outputs on midi channel 1 as well as route clock sync from a different input to the same output on the same channel?
Wonder how it works with Windows? Also, does Audio Pass-Thru work both ways? Can you get audio into the iOS device for sampling/processing for example?
fabulous - there is a lightning connection version! Just ordered :)
Nice. My only complaint is it not running at 48kHz. As most HD material is at 48 or 96, not 44.1. However, for the price, it does quite a lot.
Is Gaz's jacket shrinking?? Try switching to 30º.....
yikes! Believe it or not it´s meant to be like that, it was a gift and quite an expensive "fashion" jacket! Not being one for fashion (have you seen other Sonic Touches?) I gave it a go, back to straight shirts in future then!
Gaz Williams Hahah no don't mind me, just having a bit of fun! :-) Looks cool mate!
FOR THE RECORD i have found an ALTERNATIVE POWER SUPPLY, i have ordered it off ebay, and await its arrival. I simply matched the specs and ordered a generic one. i will of course re-post here with the results asap when it arrives.... cheers
I'm with Gaz on getting the iConnectMidi+4
I see it being the hub of my studio to connect most of my old midi gear, all my usb controllers, and a Mac, iPad, & windows box(for those vst's that are only windows-ish).
All for $200AU - that just F^&kin' ROCKS!!
ps. $199.00AU for those of you who live down under - in stock on Wednesday 12 February, 2014.@
www.awave.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=4776
(no, I don't work for them.)
you are looking pretty fly Gaz. Nice threads
help please- my ableton doesnt see the aggregate device (and only i connect midi) why can that be?
You could always route midi without an extra device via wifi in and out of an ipad and iphone. Then there's the Pure i-20 for routing audio digitally to your DAW, or just connecting to your speakers with excellent on board converters 24-bit/192KHz. As well as video out.
Would the iConnect MIDI 2 (or 4) allow me to connect the OP-1 as a MIDI interface/keyboard on the Elektron Analog Four, for example ?
Does anyone know of an app that acts likes iconnect midi, that will allow me to plug my iPad directly into my laptop and use apps as plugins in the same way?
do you think yhat ipad mini is to small for audio apps??
Is it possible to use this set -up with the Focusrite iTrack Dock, and iconnectMidi2+ with Logic as your DAW?
Ok so i can use iConnect MIDI instead of my old standard audio interface. Can I connect two interfaces simultanously?
Thanks for great review!
hey guys,nick or gaz,can the connect midi sync the op1??
Looks like the iConnect 4 doesn't have an audio jack, so you're still using the headphone jack in that case? I hadn't heard that it could power the iOS device, I'm excited about that. I mostly use my iPad for music, so it's always annoying to have to unplug it from my music stuff in order to charge it.
Ah no, like the iConnect 2 the audio comes from your computers audio interface if you use these devices and not from your iPad.
You said something about the iConnect 4 having a standalone mode though? Where you can plug a usb keyboard in to the iConnect and control the iPad with no computer involved. It would be useful to have an audio jack in that case. Unless I misunderstood the feature you were describing.
Ian Page-Echols
it is a digital interface=no conversion, no opamps etc..hence the price.
It would be like asking a spdif to be a DAC!
I like the nice straight forward description how this is setup. Is it possible to rename the USB ports for your own setup? Might make it less confusing
Thank you guys for your reviews!!!!! I'm not understanding the benefit of getting digital recorded music verses just going out audio from the Ipad into an audio interface. Can anyone help me understand this?
Yes, I have the same concern. If you have to connect iConnectmidi to computer in order to have audio out, why don't you use directly plugins/vst/au on copmuter?
Ipad is cool for his portability, but if you need to plug in into computer just use computer with midi controller.
question for Gaz: is there a simpler way to use the iconnect? for example i use the Alesis I/O Dock with an Ipad 2 and to use it with ableton i create an external instrument. could it be that simple? can i use it with my main soundcard at the same time? thanks! :)
Yes you could set up and external instrument within Ableton. I think that is a good idea, we just wanted to demonstrate the connections that would essentially apply to any DAW.
Can the iConnect MIDI act as a stand alone device? For example, could I connect my QuNeo to it and use the MIDI out to control a synth?
sadly not this version. That is one of the main features of the bigger (and more expensive) iConnectMidi 4 which has yet to be released but will achieve what you are asking.
Gaz Williams
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, Gaz. I love your work.
excellent review!...I'll hold out until tiConnectivity iConnect MIDI 4 is available
The crackling is caused by the buffer setting being different across the aggregate devices.
Why would you want to use ipad vst's anyways?
Great review guys thank you.
I believe that most apps have a fixed buffer of 256. That's why it distorts if the buffers are not set the same.
Aha we have been corrected by Al from iConnectivity who says that if we had set the aggregate clock to the iConnect we wouldn´t have the glitching.
I have a digital piano with only (midi) USB in/out. I want to connect it to an external piano sound module with only 5pin Midi ports as stand alone with no PC and using the piano as a controller for the modules. No computer involved. Will this iConnectMIDI2+ do the job? Thanks
Still looking for a way to sync iPad with hardware sequencers (JDxi, Electribe EMX.) No computers in between.
I cant help but think that Gaz used to be a member of the wurzels
Thanks Gents!
does this work in tandem with my main audio interface, say a MOTU Ultralite??
Finally! Somebody explained in easy terms how to set up the midi for this device... I have spent days trying to work out what to do, got the audio through to the DAW OK (ish) but no midi control (using the touch screen is not always ideal). Think I might be able to work it out now. The iconnect provided manual makes too many assumptions that you actually know what you are doing... I am a technical person, but midi always makes my brain hurt (I am probably over thinking it)
Thanks for the review! :) I've had similar issues with popping audio as you turn UP the latency with aggregate audio devices... As your project gets large this can become an issue... If you're like me and you don't bounce everything to audio
I'm guessing this would work with iPods and iPhones as well?
Yes
looked like you were trying to pull your hair out when you were talking about integrating apple products, suggest you try and pull Gaz's hair out instead :D Seriously tho, great show as always!
Yeah, yeah, yeah Gaz´s hair again lol
Integration into a windows / asio is quite a challenge, as asio only allows one audio device. The approach gaz mentioned , using asio4all , is usually not feasible , so - in an osx environment the gold award is well deserved, in a windows environment not.
Sorry, I don´t have a PC to test stuff on so was just repeating what I´d read in the manual!
Interestingly all the midi and audio routing shown with the iconnect2 I've done for years with a Tascam iU2.. It was panned for (admittedly weak) build quality and I heard it was pulled from the market due to the name infringing on U2's intellectual property, yet it has all these features.
saw this last week. looks pretty cool first step for getting ipads and computers to talk.
Kind of ironic Apple released IDAM not too long after this, so all you have to do is hook iPad up to your mac and you get a digital audio + midi streams direct from iPad, simplifying everything they did here. Too bad it's not bi-directional audio though.
I've already been using my io dock to do this for ages and it only cost me 75 bucks used in mint condition.
The main benefit seems to be digital audio as opposed to audio from the headphone jack, which understandably carries some amount of noise. My interest in the iConnectMidi4 device is that it allows my keboard with only USB MIDI to easily connect to my DAW and back out to another keyboard with only the standard MIDI Din jacks. Even better, I can connect the two keyboards without having to go through my computer.
Having said all this, it still seems overly complicated to integrate an iPad into a DAW setup where VST instruments already abound. I can't say I've found any synth on my iPad that doesn't already exist as a VST instrument. I'm still waiting for the day when I can purchase a DAW for my iPad and use any iPad synth as a VST, without having to go through the additional process of setting u and routing everything though AudioBus. The whole thing just seems so ungainly.
Hmm not sure I would agree about equivalent VST´s. Have you tried Samplr? That alone, especially with its unique touch interface, would justify this method for me.
Indeed there are many unique instruments available on the Ipad. Samplr is fantastic but I've only used it as a standalone instrument. I'm talking about the huge number of subtractive synths, and to a lesser degree wavetable synths. I've soured a bit on Ipads hoping that there was an easier way to integrate separate synths and sequencers. I really enjoy certain apps but find too many roadblocks for the limited time I spend on music making. Perhaps this is why hardware synths have made a comeback.
I use iConncetMIDI2+ with my iPad 2 & iPhone 5S and never get a latency bellow 30ms. With such a huge latency it's imho bogus calling the iConnectMIDI "game changer". You can check out my latency analysis for the iConnectMIDI2+ here: iConnectMIDI2+ Audio PassThru Latency Analysis (IOS7)
The routing software could be easier to use. Getting your head around the MIDI side of it is not so easy. The tutorials online are awful. This review is actually the best tutorial I have seen. Also some apps like Animoog do not have the character length in its setup menu to display the entire name of the iConnect MIDI port so you cannot see what port you are actually choosing. Some apps I can't get to work at all, like GlitchBreaks.
Thanks for positive comment. I haven´t tried it with Glitchbreaks yet although I think that is a very cool iPad specific app.
Gaz Williams Always love your reviews and your channel. Keep it up. =)
lol - "Supports Over 64 Ports of 16 Channels of MIDI I/O Per Port" - in what universe was the routing ever going to be easy?? :-P
Much easier using Apollo Bluetooth midi.. cheaper, no wires great latency. Input connector remains free for power or usb interface.
Steve Jobs would be laughing now from iPad detractors. At least I am.
***** Because many people saw it as "just" a toy. Besides all, it is a flexible human interface who, in audio, let you play the softwares. I think he saw it in advance what the kids now think like obvious. It was risky, but right.
***** As you said, it stills. You´re right. But I´m talking about where the ball will be, and not about where it is. Sadly, we, as consumers have to wait the industry movements, and, if there´s no hurry, they will lauch just little steps each time. All that said, I won´t spend my money on it now. I think I need Push, or Maschine, or a Mopho as my midi controller. But, as time goes by, Lemur software seems more attractive to find my way.
One word... always 30ms "latency" (measure it) th-cam.com/video/Skh5HS8OkDk/w-d-xo.html and a 2015 update itunes.apple.com/nl/app/music-io-midi-over-usb/id966003016?l=en&mt=8 (music-io-midi-over-usb)