Audio and Video production using iOS (iPad and iPhone)

I posed a question in another thread and then decided this warrants a new one instead.

I have been recording for a while now using an old Flip cam and an Zoom H2 mic and then mixing on PC but I've acquired a lot of iPad related gear now and am taking the plunge on at least using it for capture and basic mixing directly on the iPad.

I'm curious who has worked with it and what hardware and apps you have tried and like or disliked and why.

My Hardware

• 
  iPad retina 32gb
  iPhone 4s
  Optrix XD4 case with wide angle lens and tripod mount
  Apogee Jam96k guitar interface
  Apogee iMic microphone

My Apps

• 
  Jamup Pro with 8 track mixer plugin / FinalTouch from Positive Grid
  Audiobus
  GarageBand (maybe)
  Sunrizer synth
  LoopyHD

My hope is to do basic audio and video capture and some mild use of effects and JamUp! amp models via the apogee hardware. If it works well I may consider a Apogee Duet interface so I can record two audio sources at once into the iPad but only if this seems to be working well.

What have you tried? What worked well or was a problem using iPad or iPhone?

That's pretty much the setup I have. I have recorded backing tracks then played them from garage band on my iphone into an amp then video with the ipad etc.

I use the mic and jam. Having both the iPhone and an ipad gives me two ways to use the apogee products at once. The duet looks good but I think it's way too expensive.

My recordings are quite simple but they are all done on the Ipad with apogee products. Hence the lack of hiss etc...

You can check them out on my youtube channel

I think the apple/apogee combination is an excellent choice. My only complaint is not being able to charge or plug in the apple devices while using apogee products. Hopefully that will be less of an issue with the iphone 6 plus as it has a much longer battery life.

By the way loopyhd is excellent and if you plan to use it I highly recommend checking out the 4 pedal Bluetooth board from airturn. Amazing combo



My latest purchase is beatbuddy for some real time drumming tracks, but that won't ship until the end of the month.

If you want multichannel input, I think the Apogee Duet may be overkill. I'm sure it's good, but $600!?! I have a Focusrite iTrack Solo which runs $120 now. I don't record two tracks at once but it does work that way.

I sometimes use my mini iPad with the Sweet midi player from Roni music to play my Ukulele backing tracks for performance. I output the sound via a mixer and also use a VGA cable if I'm using a big screen projector or TV for the video component so people can play along. I still do all of my recording, mixing and editing on my PC's though. Old habits die hard.

Jim Hanks said:

If you want multichannel input, I think the Apogee Duet may be overkill. I'm sure it's good, but $600!?! I have a Focusrite iTrack Solo which runs $120 now. I don't record two tracks at once but it does work that way.

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Thanks Jim. I agree the duet looks real expensive and I would even consider it unless I was really loving the iPad. I've seen it used for as little as 350, but the Focusrite looks like a good option as well. Thanks for the recommendation.

It looks like I would need a 30 pin to lightning port adapter for that but compatibility with both PC and Mac make this a compelling choice. I saw there is a Focusrite iTrack Dock which has simultaneous dual inputs and is native lightning port compatible for a little more. I will have to do some more research there. That's one third the cost of the Duet!

Olathe, thanks for your recommendations also. I have seen the blueboard also and it looks pretty sweet since I could use the Bluetooth control on other apps as well like sheet music organizers.

Good stuff so far!

I know over a year ago, Andrew recommended the Duet 2 to me. I don't know what he would recommend now.

The video on my iPad is excellent (as you know), the sound is great but the microphones are tiny. One solution: play electric ukulele in amplifier and turn up the volume so that it is well-captured by the iPad.

All uke players have amps and pickups in ukes, no? If so, I suggest trying it before buying other gear. I hate post-production editing, syncing, blah, blah, and using the mics in the iPad eliminates all this mucking around. The amplified sound does it for me--the iPad picks it up well and records it nicely. The latest iPads (ever since late 2012, I think) even have dual built-in microphones (thanks, Apple). All music "massaging"--reverb, gain, etc.--done through the amp and your ears. Then, just hit record.

YMMV.

Jim Hanks said:

If you want multichannel input, I think the Apogee Duet may be overkill. I'm sure it's good, but $600!?! I have a Focusrite iTrack Solo which runs $120 now. I don't record two tracks at once but it does work that way.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation, Jim...nice tutorial for recording 2 track (vocal and instrument) at Amazon using iTrack Solo with Garageband...

ricdoug said:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=T2ogECCKQuw

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That's pretty funny!

sonomajazz said:

Thanks for the recommendation, Jim...nice tutorial for recording 2 track (vocal and instrument) at Amazon using iTrack Solo with Garageband...

Click to expand...

Here's a link to one of the tutorials. I've never used it but enjoy learning about all this stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEzqlx-37HE

The iTrack Solo looks like a great interface indeed but you can't use both inputs at once. Although the beginning of the video shows both inputs plugged in, they clearly state at the end that the vocals were overdubbed after in a second take. This makes sense as the the name "solo" indicates a single available input. I gather the mic input has a preamp and the instrument input does not.

The iTrack Dock or the 2i2 allows simultaneous recording on two inputs like the Apogee Duet 2 but for less than $200 it is very compelling and it can charge your device at the same time. Very cool.

AS far as quality goes, according to Focusrite, the 2i2 and the iTrack Solo use the same preamps and the same converters, so the audio quality should be the same in both units.

I really like the idea of an interface that works with both the iOS and PC like this. Then I could also use the interface to record direct to PC or laptop when desired and/or use an online service like JamKazam

P.S. This may seem a bit esoteric but I'm adding this for future reference in case anyone is considering the iTrack dock. The literature says the USB port lets you connect MIDI instruments and controllers (plural) in fact you can only connect 1, even if using a USB hub powered or unpowered. According to Focusrite, "The iTrackDock does not support the use of USB hubs, so you will only be able to use one MIDI controller at a time." Of course this in only of interest if you plan to use a midi controller and other midi devices at the same time. I doubt that would be something I would run into personally.