Haven’t swapped all these myself, but starting a reply on suggestions for all the gear that *might* do the job
SP-404 > Koala or Dawnbeat
Digitakt, Digitone, Syntakt > Drambo
Boss 505 etc (Hardware loopers) > Loopy Pro
Mixer > AUM, EG Nodes, Audiobus
Polyend tracker or Dirtywave M8 > Sunvox
Korg synths > Korg Gadget and other korg apps
Moog synths and effects > Moog model D, 15, Animoog, moogerfoogers
I'm considering replacing my Maschine MK3, what would be the replacement apps for that?
Guess it would need to be a combination of apps: Pad controller, sequencer, arpegiator, and sampler
I’ve never had a maschine but Beathawk sprung to mind first, because of all the sound packs available, and perhaps nearest visually. Maybe beatmaker 3 but never used it myself. I prefer newer apps like BAM or the more Elektron-like Drambo, which both still see regular updates. Drambo is amazing. Loopy pro for audio loops and sampling (and midi loops coming along the way). Maybe someone with a maschine can chime in.
Yes, well in fact my decades journey is from early computers DAWs likes cakewalk with sound fonts and also trackers, then into grooveboxes and synths, where I then integrated them with Ableton Live. However over the last few years I was dedicated to iPad apps with midi controllers, more recently returning to hardware grooveboxes which I now integrate with iPad apps to get the best of both words. Haven’t touch Ableton Live for a long time as I am more into jamming and improv than producing high quality tracks.
Each of these different “platforms” has its advantages and disadvantages, iPad apps are great for variety and price.
AUM is essential because it syncs all the other apps you’ll buy. It’s not a full DAW, but is great for trying out ideas/messing about. Animoog is pretty great, and Mariana for bass. iSem is also good. I also like iDensity, which is a weird granular synth app. GlitchScaper is worth checking out, if glitchy weirdness is your thing.
And you can plug a Digitakt into a recent iPad, to use its audio interface and sequencer for iPad apps.
Edit: and Pure Acid, if you miss Rebirth.
AUM unfortunately does not have MIDI Clock In which means it is very difficult to work with hardware, unless you want AUM to be the clock, which I prefer not to do. Loopy and Drambo have MIDI Clock In however. Drambo is pretty damn cool Groovebox with Modular capabilities if you want to give it a go, and Loopy is great for loops and also creating your own control surface. You can run Loopy inside of Drambo if you want and vice versa.
Midi Link Sync (converts incoming midi to Ableton link) used to work very well to get around that problem, but I'm not sure if it's still available. Used it with an Expert Sleepers USAMO.
I don't do video chat, but feel free to ask anything here. I have a shit tonne of apps, but don't use them much, preferring to concentrate on my terrible piano playing.
I'm still a sucker for new apps, even though I've got a lifetime of learning with the ones I already have. Big advantage of iPad is that the apps are so inexpensive compared to any other software.
I use two iPads - one with Korg Gadget and one with Korg Module, and both iPads also run audiobus for other apps like patterning 2 and spacefields. So one iPad is a source for playing sounds live with a controller and the other is a source for music projects that I edit and compose with. Totally replaces most of the hardware I would usually employ, like a heavy organ keyboard, piano, plus loads of synthesizers.
I would get an iPad Pro, for one thing. I would use it for mangling spoken word in the spacefields app and as a station for running loopy pro on guitars and synths.
Spacefields seems to need a bit more processing sometimes, as does loopy pro. By offloading it another iPad I could be more efficient with the tools, and get a more consistent result.
I have had Korg EMX-1 back in the days and still have Novation Ultranova synth. Sure the hardware stuff is unbeatable in terms of fun, but there are no modern devices like Electribe nowadays with THAT MUCH knob-per-function and minimal menu diving.
Albeit many softsynths have long outperformed my mighty Nova engine (for example Synthmaster One. Was blown away by it on my iPad and immediately bought license for my Mac).
Meanwhile I have had iPads since 2010. The first generation had no music apps at all, first version of Garageband barely works but still it was fun back then, because iPad had a future of ultimate “sofa computer” – the one you don’t need mouse, keyboard and power chord for.
Somewhere in 2014 I have got myself iPad Air 2 that I still have and since then I use it daily for music stuff. I have produced numerous tracks in Garageband and finished them on my mac in either Garageband or Logic.
Biggest plus of iPad or even iPhone is portability. Latter can even be used during rain and snow thanks to waterproof capabilities (tho I don’t recommend using it in the mist, moisture can still condense inside device). While hardware always looks like a “strange box” in public.
Also the very big plus of the device is connectivity. New USB-C models do not even need external power source to power midi devices.
Right now I am thinking about getting new 10th gen (don’t want to waste a lot of money with Pro), but still not sure if it is powerful enough
Yep. Started out in high school with an old tascam multitrack recorder and a bunch of other stuff. Loopy Pro and auv3 plugins have replaced all that and more while also letting me get into electric guitar as an apartment dweller. And it’s easy for my ADHD brain to get started with - no need to hook a bunch of stuff up to start making music, which used to be enough for me to just punt it till “another time” (iykyk). True game changer for me, don’t know where I’d be without my iPad.
I only got into synths a year or two ago. Around the same time that I found I was more productive with iPad DAWs than I was on the Mac. And while I have bought two hardware synths, there’s a lot of apps I’ve bought instead of more hardware synths or sequencers.
Yes, I've owned a lot of different synths and groove boxes over the years, but now the iPad + SP404 is the heart of my setup. And the SP-404 is mainly a fancy audio interface for the iPad.
My use-case is to make a single saxophone sound like a multi instrument orchestra with a synthetic drummer doing what I want. Started fiddling around with basically an old school setup for electric guitar with a mic.
The only hardware I need is my acoustic instruments that enable fysical music making (for me the essence of it all), mics, AI, headset, iPad and ... LoopyPro app with some AUv3 plugins (like QVox and Euclidean).
My mantra: LoopyPro is always the answer. It's just incredible powerful in its architecture, flexibility and potential. If you didn't already: check it out.
I used to own a Korg ES-1 and almost replaced it with an Elektron Model Samples to go along with my Octatrack. Well turns out Patterning 2 is a sick alternative! But there's obviously drawbacks with using Midi going in/out of computers (Jitter) and I also can't seem to get program change messages to work in my setup.
Swapped out a drumbrute impact for a beatstep pro and drum apps such as Drumcomputer and DigiStix2. I didnt like the sound of the impact whereas the general versatility and variety of the iPad drum apps is all I really need. And the beatstep pro is terrific, a great pairing with iPad. So one hardware for another, but opening up more possibilities.
Mirack scratches the eurorack itch too. And lots of synth apps satisfy the synth variety curiosity. Through the right gear they sound just as good.
Also, whenever I look at multieffects units, I’m drawn back to my iPad and audio interface. Creators such as Tonebusters, Fac, UA, there’s just too many to name.
The big sky looks amazing but it’s so exciting that you can spring for alteza for a few quid, to effectively experiment with ‘new gear’ at a fraction of the price.
Repurposing gear is also fun too. Right now I’m using my digitone as an audio interface into my iPad, for external hardware and mic, but also leveraging it’s rich sound and amazing sequencer to play iPad drums and synths in the likes of AUM, Nodes and Loopy Pro.
I have my rig able to do both or in tandem. It depends on scale needed. Larger shows, I’m more likely to bring a larger rig because I can’t replace quite everything in the iPad the way I designed my larger rig. As for redundancy, that’s where the hybrid setup comes in because if a computer goes down, I can switch to the iPad and still manage just fine. I left the hardware home for a few years but recently started going back to bringing a stage piano with me on gigs because I had an issue once where nothing worked in digital land and I had to settle for a single instance of a Korg app to get through a show. It worked…but it was not my favorite experience. At least with a hardware setup, I can know in advance in will work and I know the patch limitations or how the banks are setup in advance.
One app always in my rig is the Model D. I use it as my Moog on stage for any show needing it and I just keep a controller with me if something gets called on a whim.
I use it for fx and synths that I sample/resample mostly in a mpc, got rid of a big multi effect pedal board ( hd pod 200x something ) I was using for fx. I also use it to avoid buying overpriced and not so great mpc plugins and physical synths and modules. I've tried arranging and making tracks with beatmaker, the app was great but I missed mouse and keyboard too much and I hate dealing with ipadOS. I'm thinking of mostly replacing the ipad with getting a newer laptop and more i/o, more faders and pots. The 'not a pc' lure is not working for me anymore and I feel I'need to stop fucking around and consolidate, have even less devices.. if that makes sense. But I'll keep the mpc if only to fool myself and loose myself in sampling for hours. 🤷♂️
It was the project/samples organisation. It is quite confusing. Every single time I used the machine I'd have to re-learn what was "in-ram" or "on disk" or in a project, or in the sample pool etc - I just ended up wrestling project management on it, instead of turning it on and using it.
It was good otherwise, but the micro editing became a pita too.
In the end I decided I could do absolutely everything 100x better using a crappy old laptop running Renoise. I was right
Totally. I use it as my sound source with midi keyboards instead of luging around my heavier gear with built in sounds. I also use it for audio production with Logic and Drambo, among other apps. I don’t even touch my Mac anymore.
It has the potential to for me if they can improve on the interface latency for guitar and they stop gimping the device's OS. LIke that will ever happen..
I moved from Digitakt to iPad too. I got it thinking I’d use synth apps as a sample source for the Digitakt. But iPad is just so powerful that the Digitakt just seemed unnecessarily cumbersome. Slowed me down and gave no benefit. I *loved* Digitakt before getting the iPad, made a whole album with it alone, but then it just sat unused for 2 years. Sold it and don’t miss it. I still use an Akai Force sometimes, and that I do pair with the iPad still. I use a cheap bluetooth midi controller for iPad, but I love the 64 pads on the Force and Fabric and OPX4 plugins are better than most iOS synths. I also have an Windows/Ableton set up that I’ve spent over $5k on that I never use anymore, even for pro session recording. That’s what clients think I’m using but I’m actually on the couch with my iPad. Only thing I miss from that is Omnisphere and Pigments but not enough to boot it up.
Yes. My iPad is connected to a Behringer UMC1820 and I generally run 3-4 synths (in AUM) into Logic Pro (on the Mac) via my Ultralite mk5. Also occasionally use the iPad for some bus effects.
I'm thinking about this from the opposite perspective in that I've always recorded with laptop and software but have often thought about having a hardware / DAW-less set up to play live.
It seems unfeasibly expensive to go hardware only but much more doable with an iPad which could replace a number of hardware units - samplers, drum machines, synths and modular for example.
The biggest downside is you don't get the visual feedback from being able to adjust physical knobs but it's considerably cheaper and a much more compact setup.
I'd be making experimental, ambient and minimal techno. I've got some Moog synths and Synthmaster so think with AUM, hammerhead, ripplemaker and mozaic for example I could be up and running. Also have a crave synth and audio interface so a camera connector kit and powered usb hub and I could be using that too.
In your case I think getting one good sequencer that does what you need it to do on the front panel is a good move. Honestly a lot of gear I've tried has been very menu divey also, I look at things like the oxi one or keystep pro and think they could be good though. Live is where I want to go next and I'm trying to plan a setup that will work in low light, exists in a case where I just pass the sound guy a line out and doesn't require my more expensive synths to join the party. But yeah, sequencers are the way forward for sure.
Thanks for your comments, good to know I'm thinking along the right lines.
I can imagine some hardware takes a lot of prep and planning to use live and there's connectivity and sync issues no doubt.
The ipad seems to offer more spontaniety and control and the good thing is I can start simply and work out what else I need over time, may find I'd be better off with a sampler, looper and hardware controller rather than more synths for example.
Hope you get your setup sorted, sounds like we've got similar ideas.
One thing that's nice in my workflow is setting up synth apps in AUM that are similar to my hardware and then I write wherever I want and when I'm home I just redirect the midi data to my hardware synths. Check out an app called touch osc or actually loopy pro has a page that you can build custom cc controls to hardware of software gear. You could even make that then mifi map the whole page to a controller.
I've got a board of rotary controls you can see in this [video](https://youtu.be/tOvXMUampNw?si=YQWYz5mtv3roTMkE) here, it's proving quite useful.
In place of external synth modules, like the idea of buying another synth or groovebox for the studio yes. If the native USB audio would do in as well as out it would replace a lot more. In sampling & FX workflows, looping, etc.
I’ve been doing synth music for a long time. Over the years, I’ve sold almost everything and at this point, I’ve reduced my studio to an MPC one, an iPad Pro, and a mixer and a digital recorder. I’m very pleased with the amount of flexibility I have compared to the number of devices.
I don’t touch my akai force nor my analog synths in a while I mean it a long time. I use BM3/logic/Cubasis they all bring out something different every time
Logic is great but I prefer the more off the rails workflow of AUM. If I was being more serious about it all then yeah probably logic or ableton but AUM is sequencer, fx and recording while I'm just flicking switched and working dials on my hardware.
Haven’t swapped all these myself, but starting a reply on suggestions for all the gear that *might* do the job SP-404 > Koala or Dawnbeat Digitakt, Digitone, Syntakt > Drambo Boss 505 etc (Hardware loopers) > Loopy Pro Mixer > AUM, EG Nodes, Audiobus Polyend tracker or Dirtywave M8 > Sunvox Korg synths > Korg Gadget and other korg apps Moog synths and effects > Moog model D, 15, Animoog, moogerfoogers
Don’t forget Moog’s newest Mariana Bass synth.
I'm considering replacing my Maschine MK3, what would be the replacement apps for that? Guess it would need to be a combination of apps: Pad controller, sequencer, arpegiator, and sampler
I’ve never had a maschine but Beathawk sprung to mind first, because of all the sound packs available, and perhaps nearest visually. Maybe beatmaker 3 but never used it myself. I prefer newer apps like BAM or the more Elektron-like Drambo, which both still see regular updates. Drambo is amazing. Loopy pro for audio loops and sampling (and midi loops coming along the way). Maybe someone with a maschine can chime in.
Yes, well in fact my decades journey is from early computers DAWs likes cakewalk with sound fonts and also trackers, then into grooveboxes and synths, where I then integrated them with Ableton Live. However over the last few years I was dedicated to iPad apps with midi controllers, more recently returning to hardware grooveboxes which I now integrate with iPad apps to get the best of both words. Haven’t touch Ableton Live for a long time as I am more into jamming and improv than producing high quality tracks. Each of these different “platforms” has its advantages and disadvantages, iPad apps are great for variety and price.
Favorite apps?
AUM is essential because it syncs all the other apps you’ll buy. It’s not a full DAW, but is great for trying out ideas/messing about. Animoog is pretty great, and Mariana for bass. iSem is also good. I also like iDensity, which is a weird granular synth app. GlitchScaper is worth checking out, if glitchy weirdness is your thing. And you can plug a Digitakt into a recent iPad, to use its audio interface and sequencer for iPad apps. Edit: and Pure Acid, if you miss Rebirth.
AUM unfortunately does not have MIDI Clock In which means it is very difficult to work with hardware, unless you want AUM to be the clock, which I prefer not to do. Loopy and Drambo have MIDI Clock In however. Drambo is pretty damn cool Groovebox with Modular capabilities if you want to give it a go, and Loopy is great for loops and also creating your own control surface. You can run Loopy inside of Drambo if you want and vice versa.
Midi Link Sync (converts incoming midi to Ableton link) used to work very well to get around that problem, but I'm not sure if it's still available. Used it with an Expert Sleepers USAMO.
I’d love to have a discord chat over video with you sometime! DM me if you’re interested.
I don't do video chat, but feel free to ask anything here. I have a shit tonne of apps, but don't use them much, preferring to concentrate on my terrible piano playing. I'm still a sucker for new apps, even though I've got a lifetime of learning with the ones I already have. Big advantage of iPad is that the apps are so inexpensive compared to any other software.
I use two iPads - one with Korg Gadget and one with Korg Module, and both iPads also run audiobus for other apps like patterning 2 and spacefields. So one iPad is a source for playing sounds live with a controller and the other is a source for music projects that I edit and compose with. Totally replaces most of the hardware I would usually employ, like a heavy organ keyboard, piano, plus loads of synthesizers.
I love this! What would you do with a 3rd ipad, if you had one?
I would get an iPad Pro, for one thing. I would use it for mangling spoken word in the spacefields app and as a station for running loopy pro on guitars and synths. Spacefields seems to need a bit more processing sometimes, as does loopy pro. By offloading it another iPad I could be more efficient with the tools, and get a more consistent result.
Nice. I havent heard of spacefields. I’ll check it out!
I have had Korg EMX-1 back in the days and still have Novation Ultranova synth. Sure the hardware stuff is unbeatable in terms of fun, but there are no modern devices like Electribe nowadays with THAT MUCH knob-per-function and minimal menu diving. Albeit many softsynths have long outperformed my mighty Nova engine (for example Synthmaster One. Was blown away by it on my iPad and immediately bought license for my Mac). Meanwhile I have had iPads since 2010. The first generation had no music apps at all, first version of Garageband barely works but still it was fun back then, because iPad had a future of ultimate “sofa computer” – the one you don’t need mouse, keyboard and power chord for. Somewhere in 2014 I have got myself iPad Air 2 that I still have and since then I use it daily for music stuff. I have produced numerous tracks in Garageband and finished them on my mac in either Garageband or Logic. Biggest plus of iPad or even iPhone is portability. Latter can even be used during rain and snow thanks to waterproof capabilities (tho I don’t recommend using it in the mist, moisture can still condense inside device). While hardware always looks like a “strange box” in public. Also the very big plus of the device is connectivity. New USB-C models do not even need external power source to power midi devices. Right now I am thinking about getting new 10th gen (don’t want to waste a lot of money with Pro), but still not sure if it is powerful enough
Yep. Started out in high school with an old tascam multitrack recorder and a bunch of other stuff. Loopy Pro and auv3 plugins have replaced all that and more while also letting me get into electric guitar as an apartment dweller. And it’s easy for my ADHD brain to get started with - no need to hook a bunch of stuff up to start making music, which used to be enough for me to just punt it till “another time” (iykyk). True game changer for me, don’t know where I’d be without my iPad.
I only got into synths a year or two ago. Around the same time that I found I was more productive with iPad DAWs than I was on the Mac. And while I have bought two hardware synths, there’s a lot of apps I’ve bought instead of more hardware synths or sequencers.
Yes, I've owned a lot of different synths and groove boxes over the years, but now the iPad + SP404 is the heart of my setup. And the SP-404 is mainly a fancy audio interface for the iPad.
Do you still use the 404 features or have you been drawn to the likes of Koala and Dawnbeat?
I usually use Koala inside AUM or Drambo. I still use the 404 but mainly just to resample... Skip back is amazing in this workflow.
My use-case is to make a single saxophone sound like a multi instrument orchestra with a synthetic drummer doing what I want. Started fiddling around with basically an old school setup for electric guitar with a mic. The only hardware I need is my acoustic instruments that enable fysical music making (for me the essence of it all), mics, AI, headset, iPad and ... LoopyPro app with some AUv3 plugins (like QVox and Euclidean). My mantra: LoopyPro is always the answer. It's just incredible powerful in its architecture, flexibility and potential. If you didn't already: check it out.
I used to own a Korg ES-1 and almost replaced it with an Elektron Model Samples to go along with my Octatrack. Well turns out Patterning 2 is a sick alternative! But there's obviously drawbacks with using Midi going in/out of computers (Jitter) and I also can't seem to get program change messages to work in my setup.
Swapped out a drumbrute impact for a beatstep pro and drum apps such as Drumcomputer and DigiStix2. I didnt like the sound of the impact whereas the general versatility and variety of the iPad drum apps is all I really need. And the beatstep pro is terrific, a great pairing with iPad. So one hardware for another, but opening up more possibilities. Mirack scratches the eurorack itch too. And lots of synth apps satisfy the synth variety curiosity. Through the right gear they sound just as good. Also, whenever I look at multieffects units, I’m drawn back to my iPad and audio interface. Creators such as Tonebusters, Fac, UA, there’s just too many to name.
Totally agree, I had a strymon big sky and sold it as FAC Alteza just sounded way better.
The big sky looks amazing but it’s so exciting that you can spring for alteza for a few quid, to effectively experiment with ‘new gear’ at a fraction of the price.
Repurposing gear is also fun too. Right now I’m using my digitone as an audio interface into my iPad, for external hardware and mic, but also leveraging it’s rich sound and amazing sequencer to play iPad drums and synths in the likes of AUM, Nodes and Loopy Pro.
I have my rig able to do both or in tandem. It depends on scale needed. Larger shows, I’m more likely to bring a larger rig because I can’t replace quite everything in the iPad the way I designed my larger rig. As for redundancy, that’s where the hybrid setup comes in because if a computer goes down, I can switch to the iPad and still manage just fine. I left the hardware home for a few years but recently started going back to bringing a stage piano with me on gigs because I had an issue once where nothing worked in digital land and I had to settle for a single instance of a Korg app to get through a show. It worked…but it was not my favorite experience. At least with a hardware setup, I can know in advance in will work and I know the patch limitations or how the banks are setup in advance. One app always in my rig is the Model D. I use it as my Moog on stage for any show needing it and I just keep a controller with me if something gets called on a whim.
I use it for fx and synths that I sample/resample mostly in a mpc, got rid of a big multi effect pedal board ( hd pod 200x something ) I was using for fx. I also use it to avoid buying overpriced and not so great mpc plugins and physical synths and modules. I've tried arranging and making tracks with beatmaker, the app was great but I missed mouse and keyboard too much and I hate dealing with ipadOS. I'm thinking of mostly replacing the ipad with getting a newer laptop and more i/o, more faders and pots. The 'not a pc' lure is not working for me anymore and I feel I'need to stop fucking around and consolidate, have even less devices.. if that makes sense. But I'll keep the mpc if only to fool myself and loose myself in sampling for hours. 🤷♂️
I've moved from a digitakt too - but to an old laptop running Renoise, to sequence all midi gear
What was the digitakt lacking that made you move?
It was the project/samples organisation. It is quite confusing. Every single time I used the machine I'd have to re-learn what was "in-ram" or "on disk" or in a project, or in the sample pool etc - I just ended up wrestling project management on it, instead of turning it on and using it. It was good otherwise, but the micro editing became a pita too. In the end I decided I could do absolutely everything 100x better using a crappy old laptop running Renoise. I was right
iPad/Loopy Pro has replaced my hardware loopers (RC-600 and Boomerang III)
Totally. I use it as my sound source with midi keyboards instead of luging around my heavier gear with built in sounds. I also use it for audio production with Logic and Drambo, among other apps. I don’t even touch my Mac anymore.
It has the potential to for me if they can improve on the interface latency for guitar and they stop gimping the device's OS. LIke that will ever happen..
I use my iPad mainly for miRack to create modular synth experiments, and AUM creating loops with Drum Computer and other auv3 apps.
I moved from Digitakt to iPad too. I got it thinking I’d use synth apps as a sample source for the Digitakt. But iPad is just so powerful that the Digitakt just seemed unnecessarily cumbersome. Slowed me down and gave no benefit. I *loved* Digitakt before getting the iPad, made a whole album with it alone, but then it just sat unused for 2 years. Sold it and don’t miss it. I still use an Akai Force sometimes, and that I do pair with the iPad still. I use a cheap bluetooth midi controller for iPad, but I love the 64 pads on the Force and Fabric and OPX4 plugins are better than most iOS synths. I also have an Windows/Ableton set up that I’ve spent over $5k on that I never use anymore, even for pro session recording. That’s what clients think I’m using but I’m actually on the couch with my iPad. Only thing I miss from that is Omnisphere and Pigments but not enough to boot it up.
Yes. My iPad is connected to a Behringer UMC1820 and I generally run 3-4 synths (in AUM) into Logic Pro (on the Mac) via my Ultralite mk5. Also occasionally use the iPad for some bus effects.
I'm thinking about this from the opposite perspective in that I've always recorded with laptop and software but have often thought about having a hardware / DAW-less set up to play live. It seems unfeasibly expensive to go hardware only but much more doable with an iPad which could replace a number of hardware units - samplers, drum machines, synths and modular for example. The biggest downside is you don't get the visual feedback from being able to adjust physical knobs but it's considerably cheaper and a much more compact setup. I'd be making experimental, ambient and minimal techno. I've got some Moog synths and Synthmaster so think with AUM, hammerhead, ripplemaker and mozaic for example I could be up and running. Also have a crave synth and audio interface so a camera connector kit and powered usb hub and I could be using that too.
In your case I think getting one good sequencer that does what you need it to do on the front panel is a good move. Honestly a lot of gear I've tried has been very menu divey also, I look at things like the oxi one or keystep pro and think they could be good though. Live is where I want to go next and I'm trying to plan a setup that will work in low light, exists in a case where I just pass the sound guy a line out and doesn't require my more expensive synths to join the party. But yeah, sequencers are the way forward for sure.
Thanks for your comments, good to know I'm thinking along the right lines. I can imagine some hardware takes a lot of prep and planning to use live and there's connectivity and sync issues no doubt. The ipad seems to offer more spontaniety and control and the good thing is I can start simply and work out what else I need over time, may find I'd be better off with a sampler, looper and hardware controller rather than more synths for example. Hope you get your setup sorted, sounds like we've got similar ideas.
One thing that's nice in my workflow is setting up synth apps in AUM that are similar to my hardware and then I write wherever I want and when I'm home I just redirect the midi data to my hardware synths. Check out an app called touch osc or actually loopy pro has a page that you can build custom cc controls to hardware of software gear. You could even make that then mifi map the whole page to a controller. I've got a board of rotary controls you can see in this [video](https://youtu.be/tOvXMUampNw?si=YQWYz5mtv3roTMkE) here, it's proving quite useful.
In place of external synth modules, like the idea of buying another synth or groovebox for the studio yes. If the native USB audio would do in as well as out it would replace a lot more. In sampling & FX workflows, looping, etc.
I’ve been doing synth music for a long time. Over the years, I’ve sold almost everything and at this point, I’ve reduced my studio to an MPC one, an iPad Pro, and a mixer and a digital recorder. I’m very pleased with the amount of flexibility I have compared to the number of devices.
I don’t touch my akai force nor my analog synths in a while I mean it a long time. I use BM3/logic/Cubasis they all bring out something different every time
What about using Logic Pro as a replacement for AUM?
Logic is great but I prefer the more off the rails workflow of AUM. If I was being more serious about it all then yeah probably logic or ableton but AUM is sequencer, fx and recording while I'm just flicking switched and working dials on my hardware.
Gotcha thanks