Portastudio
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The iPad and MIDI hardware working together, here's how.
Create Digital Music has put together an interesting video detailing the various ways that you can connect MIDI gear (synthesizers / keyboards) to your iPad. MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) is the standard means by which musical information is communicated between MIDI capable hardware and software. As Create Digital Music puts it, "... [MIDI] doesn't transmit sound, but it does transmit information like pitch, note events, knob twists, button presses, and clock and transport information." Using various MIDI-compatible apps on your iPad, and the Apple Camera Connection Kit or the Line 6 Midi Mobilizer, it's actually pretty straight forward getting MIDI gear (from today, dating all the way back to the 1980s) to work with your iPad. Since Apple introduced Core MIDI into iOS 4.2 and above, it's easier than ever to get your iPad working with MIDI devices -- and that's what the video after the break demonstrates. If you've found some interesting music apps for your iPad, but you're struggling to integrate them with your music-setup (or even just use a MIDI keyboard with your iPad) then the video after the break is for you. [Via Engadget]
Tascam introduces Portastudio, 4-track recording on your iPad
It was about 30 years ago that Tascam introduced the first 4-track cassette recorder -- the Portastudio 144. In 1984, Tascam introduced the Porta One, a revolutionary product that many would argue kick-started the home recording studio as we know it today. Many artists demoed their music on the Portastudio, and some even released records recorded entirely on a Portastudio. Now, Tascam has released Portastudio for the iPad. Faithfully modeled after the Tascam Porta One, the Portastudio app has four tracks to record onto (one at a time), VU metering, high and low EQ, panning and a vintage vibe cassette transport and counter to track your position. It does look remarkably like the original Porta One. Once you've finished your production, you can mix down your recordings to a CD quality WAV file that will land in your iTunes library. The Portastudio will use the iPad's built-in mic or a mic plugged into the tablet's headphone jack. Tascam says that Portastudio for iPad doesn't officially support class-compliant audio interfaces, but they do acknowledge that some have worked in testing when plugged in through Apple's Camera Connection Kit. It's also been reported that some USB microphones will work with the iPad through Apple's Camera Connection Kit, too. Naturally, It goes with out saying that the better the mic, the better the quality of your recording. Portastudio is available on the App Store for US$9.99. [via Engadget]
Tascam Portastudio for iPad could make you a four-track superstar all over again
If you've never experienced the joy of conveying four precisely-played tracks onto a single, rattly plastic cassette tape, prepare to see what you've been missing. The iconic Tascam Portastudio is coming to iPad in a very virtual way, a $10 app that presents a simplified replication of the original's decidedly more tactile controls. You can mix four inputs to stereo output, which is stored on a pretend cassette -- and can then share via iTunes or Soundcloud, which is rather more useful than a picture of a tape. It's available right now for the iPad only, with no plans for a release on any other platform. Yeah, boo.
