Top products from r/ipadmusic

> So far I’ve only used the included batteries and some energizer alkaline batteries. As you all know the battery life is pretty crappy.
>
> In the specs on their website it says NiMH rechargeable batteries can last up to 10 hours. Has anyone had these kind of results?

The specs probably come from the highest capacity NiMH AA batteries. The highest capacity I have seen are 2850 mAh Ansmann, but the reviews aren't very good:

• AmazonSmile: Ansmann 2850 mah Digital 4 pk: Home Audio & Theater
  
  These ones are cheap, popular, easily available, and decently good quality:
  
  
• IKEA LADDA 2450 are tough - forgot mine in a switched on RC transmitter for three weeks and they are still fine! : r/AAMasterRace
  
• IKEA LADDA AA NiMH 2450 mAh rechargeable battery 4 pack
  
  However, I recommend you get these ones (make sure your battery specifications match the packaging in this photo):
  
  
• New battery day! 24 AA Eneloop NiMH batteries in 16 and 8 cell packs. : r/AAMasterRace
  
  Get this package first to get the highest quality charger on the market:
  
  
• AmazonSmile: Panasonic K-KJ17MCA4BA Advanced Individual Cell Battery Charger Pack with 4 AA eneloop 2100 Cycle Rechargeable Batteries: PANASONIC: Electronics
  
• HKJ Review of Charger Panasonic BQ-CC17 - lygte-info.dk
  
  > A nice -dv/dt termination with only a small temperature increase and no trickle charge, this looks very good. [...] The charger is very good at filling the batteries.
  
  You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer.

I believe the Griffin StudioConnect does not have a mic input, just a 1/4" guitar/bass, line in and MIDI.

For $150, you can get the iRig Pro which has an XLR connector for mic, a 1/4" for guitar/bass and a MIDI interface.

You can plug any xlr mic into it, they are inexpensive, widely available used on craigslist, and come in a huge range of types. The $100 Shure SM58 is well regarded.
The Behringer XM8500 is ony $20, and will probably work great for you as well, so you can see the versatility in having a mic preamp and XLR connector like the iRig Pro provides.

It also has 30 pin, lightning and usb cables so you can hook it up to mac/pc/old ipad/new ipad. I have one and like the device, it's very compact and sounds good. I carry it and it's cables in a Tom Bihn Organizer Pouch

For $160 you can get the Presonus AudioBox iTwo which has a second xlr mic/1/4" input, allowing you to record acoustic or electric guitar and vocals simultaneously, for instance. It also comes with mac/windows software to edit your performances.

Then going on up they keep getting more expensive and have more features. I like having the mic preamp in the same device and the ability to hook it up to my mac or pc, so I spent the extra money on the iRig Pro. If I were doing it again today, I would probably buy the Presonus for the larger, sturdier box and the second input.

Have fun!

Its been kind of a well kept secret (or oddly little fanfare) but there are actually (affordable) solutions to that now.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter

On top of that it lets you play and charge even an iPad at the same time!

The Novation Audiohub 2x4 should also solve the problem and has really great sound out and easy way to plug in multiple midi controllers. I'm kind of disappointed by the input choices though, and most of all that there doesn't seem to be an easy way to adjust the input other than a high/low switch.

http://www.amazon.com/Novation-Audiohub-2x4-Combined-Interface/dp/B000Y02I6A

It is possible it can charge an iPad at the same time also but it will be a trickle. One nice thing is the powered hub, but that of course means another powercable, but if you just want to use the audio part of the hub you can use it with just usb power.

I have both of these and they work, and will work together.

If you're willing to monitor product availability, I would order it from Sweetwater and use your GC for a mic. It's only $40 at Sweetwater.

It's complete for me because it has MIDI in/out, RCA out, and it charges your ipad while you use it. It's INCOMPLETE for a lot of people because it doesn't have XLR in. I overcome this by using a mixer in front of the StudioConnect.

Soooo... in a perfect world, you could construct the following chain:

• SM57 - $99 from Amazon
  
• Mixer - $45 from Sweetwater
  
• StudioConnect - $40 from Sweetwater
  
  That drains your funds without getting you any cables. You can aim a little lower and get a SM48 ($30 at Amazon) and have enough room to cover cables and taxes.
  
  To get a good lay of the land in terms of interfaces, I'd shop at Sweetwater and buy at Amazon. It's easier to get a grip on what's out there. http://www.sweetwater.com/c1058--iPad_iPhone_Interfaces/low2high

There's two ways to do this:

1. Get a cable like this http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP159-Feet-Speaker-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345474918&sr=8-1&keywords=1%2F4+inch+1%2F8+inch+cable and hook it into your audio interface connected to your computer. That is great for using the iPad as an instrument. I do that a lot.
   
   
2. If you want to make songs, or loops, on your iPad and use them in your DAW then just render them to WAV in your apps and copy those to your computer.

I have a iPad and that keyboard and I use this.

Kingston Nucleum USB C Hub, 7-in-1 Type-C Adapter Hub Connect USB 3.0, 4K HDMI, SD and MicroSD Card, USB Type-C Charging for MacBook, Chromebook, and Other USB Type-C Devices https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076BGJXTG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HFIpDb81N3MGT

You can have it hooked up and use headphones with a usb-c headphone adapter and plus in usb drives or memory cards too. Even had hdmi out. But like all hdmi out it won’t play drm stuff. But for the music creation it’s awesome. Can even charge your iPad while you do all that. I bought it a while ago and might be better solutions now but can confirm this works awesome.

I think the Apogee One is great and you can keep it connected to your cpu to play your music through. You can find a used one for -200
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004350HHE/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1420847390&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=31VHMYqPGBL&ref=plSrch

Look for some in-ear monitors. They’ll give you a truer mix than any earbuds.

These are a classic choice. I use a pair of these and have been happy with them

I use this laptop desk clamp that I modified with some spacer pegs to keep my big-ass pro steady. Clears up a lot of my desk space. The drawback to using it on a keyboard stand would be the clamping style. You need a horizontal surface to grab, which can be limited depending on the stand type.

If you’ve got tubular stands, something like this would work better, granted the tune diameter is small enough. (Up to 1 3/4”for this particular one)

There’s way more options for the smaller screen iPads with spring clips and different types of clamps.

Also I was able to find a bunch of different styles just googling “keyboard stand music holder”

currently using a presonus studio 24c with this Hub https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B076BGJXTG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and it all works very well.

Probably one of those portable PA's, they normally have bluetooth and rechargeable batteries, something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/QTX-QR15PA-Rechargable-Microphones-Built/dp/B004CYU3SO/ref=asc_df_B004CYU3SO/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=218081924305&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2665592433344636696&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045837&hvtargid=pla-388379213255&psc=1

Try this one:

Gear Head USB 2.0 7-Port Hub with Energy Saving Switch (AC Powered) (RoHS) (UH7500ESP)
http://amzn.com/B004OBZ1XM

I think I want to go with a 30 pin, and the two I was looking at on Amazon are the Apogee JAM and the iRiffPort, but I don't feel I know enough about either to make a call. Any thoughts?

cheapest: knockoff 30pin adaptor with audio [flimsy connection, but works, I have several - audio at 100% not 30% like with headphone connector]
http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Adapter-Connector-Apple-iPhone/dp/B0041F3A02/

next cheapest: Apple composite AV cable

expensive: Alesis IO Dock

after trying several options, it's probably worth shelling out for the IO Dock

I use a Plugable hub with mine and have been able to successfully get multiple audio devices to all work seamlessly in iOS 8 and now 8.0.2.

However there have been problems with audio apps across the board, especially with midi, and many still don't work with AudioBus. It's very possible that it's a software bug in the Launchpad app.

Check the reviews on Amazon's listing for it. Looks like it works with the iPad as-is. For the iPad2, it needs an adapter of some sort. And it's questionable whether or not it'll work with the "new" iPad.

Disclaimer: I've got an iPad2, but do not own the iO Dock, so the above info is strictly hear-say.

Also available

https://foglings.bandcamp.com/track/polyurethane

https://music.apple.com/us/album/polyurethane-single/1486295085

https://www.amazon.com/Polyurethane-Foglings/dp/B08116BNZ4

https://open.spotify.com/album/7ygoFsmgU10hDHzkwbKyKt

not in my experience, I use this one which also acts as a usb/midi hub in addition to audio in/out. For a stage setup, I have the ipad as the host device, hook up one or more controllers through usb or midi, and take the audio out from it.

With this sort of y cable you can also use a battery pack as USB power. That preserves the portability.

this one right here

then i just need to spend my other 100 on a mic? Any ideas for that?

also, what do you mean by "complete interface"?

Can you show me what an incomplete interface is just for comparison?

Despite being technically correct, the smaller size is marketed regularly as 1/8". See http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Stereo-Extension-Microsoft-Speakers-Modulator/dp/B0038NC2R0 for example

themoreyouknow.gif

I have one of these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076BGJXTG/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_3

Can use it with keyboard and headphones (with USB to 3.5 adapter which I got anyway due to lack of jack)

That's a valid concern, although most of my synth apps only work in landscape mode, so it hasn't proven to be a problem for me. I think Korg Gadget is the only app I use that even allows me to use portrait mode, so I'm usually in landscape anyways.

My budget-minded recommendation would be to pick up the 30-pin Griffin StudioConnect ($16!!) and an Apple-brand lightning to 30-pin adapter. As long as you get a real Apple adapter, it will work with the Griffin (that's what I use). For less than $30 you'll have a fully-featured audio/MIDI interface for your iPad, and you can then decide if you want to upgrade at some point to an iConnect or a more expensive dock.