When you put together a MacBook, iPad, Ableton Live and Air Display app you can control your Audio Units and Virtual Instruments from your iPad touch screen.
The Air Display app for iPad allows you to extend your desktop onto the iPad screen – drag over an AU / VSTi and you get to control the parameters from your touchscreen wirelessly. In use Air Display is responsive albeit with some anti-aliasing. It provides you with extra screen real estate and allows you to pack another screen in your bag that can all happily run on battery!
If you happen to have the right collection of hardware then £5.99 for the app is a bargain and well worth experimenting.
Here is someone else doing something very similar: http://homemusicproduction.net/2010/05/29/air-display-for-ipad/
GaryJudge Music Technology
This one is well worth investigation as VJ, AV guru and all round nice chap Leon Trimble (aka Chromatouch) is making some rather tasty electronic music.
Look, listen, Enjoy!
http://chromatouch.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/making-music-again/
GaryJudge Technology
Having now spent a bit of time playing with my iPad and running a number of iPad apps I thought I would list my top 3 music makers.
Korg iMs-20
What can I say. Phat sound, easy to use sequencer, Kaoss pad controller, Midi control, the list of great features goes on and on. This is the perfect app for writing bass lines on the go, bounce them to SoundCloud and work with them in your fave DAW. Love it!
Further info and videos can be found here: CreateDigitalMusic.com
Korg iElectribe
Having owned the ER-1 Electribe for the best part of 10 years this application is a marvel. I would even go as far to say that this is actually slightly better than the real machine being as it improves in a number of key ways. In the iPad version all of the virtual knobs can be automated, which opens the possibility for more expressive loops, whereas the real drum machine only allows the recording automation from one knob. The number of effects has increased, however the number of parts decreased. If you haven’t guessed already I would say that this is the best on the go beat making app.
Looptastic HD
A fun, creative tool that allows you to quickly and easily put loops together on the fly in a DJ type interface. You can add your own loops or download additional content. I am particularly impressed with the built in FX and that the software is always recording your session which you can then bounce either to Studio HD or better than that SoundCloud and work further in your DAW of choice. Smashing!
GaryJudge Music Technology
There are many reasons why you might want to create a media centre:
- HD Video File Playback
- Storing and playback of MP3 Music Collection
- Accessing YouTube from the comfort of your arm chair
Well at least these are the three main uses I have for mine! Selecting what to use to create your media centre may not be so obvious so I thought it worth while sharing some of my experiences I went through setting up my media centre.
When putting together my media centre I decided it was important to have something that could sit behind my LCD TV, not make much noise and comfortably handle full screen video.
The Acer Revo is a brilliant little unit, which given its Intel Atom 270 processor and NVidia Ion graphics chip is capable of playing HD Video at around a fifth the power consumption of a regular Core2Duo based machine would require (around 30 Watts compared to 150!) When combined with built in Wifi, 160Gb HDD and most importantly HDMI output the small white unit happily sits behind the screen and works wonders.
Read more…
GaryJudge Technology
