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You don’t need to get it. You do you.

Every time you’ve replied to one of my comments in the past, it’s been very binary in terms of workflows and the discussions always devolve.

So this time I’m leaving it as: I explained why it’s a big deal for me. If you have your own workflows or needs, so be it. But it’s irrelevant to why I like it.

I don’t need velocity for a quick idea for example. I just need to get the idea out as quickly as possible. Besides, you can always connect an external midi keyboard or audio interface to an iPad as well.

All that's well and good, I'm mostly just agreeing with the people who suggest a Macbook for this. The iPad runs iOS, it's gimped for all kinds of creative applications. I won't judge you if you've found a workflow to apply it to, but the status quo feels unchanged. Professional DAWs existed on iPad before, the world beneath our feet didn't crumble or anything.

> Besides, you can always connect an external midi keyboard or audio interface to an iPad as well.

Sure? Everyone can use class-compliant USB audio hardware. Android and Linux both support it, for whatever that's worth. Both of those OSes even support audio plugins, too.

Not everyone can install MPE drivers or get that Focusrite interface set up properly without software though. That's why I still carry a laptop, it may not apply to everyone.

>The iPad runs iOS, it's gimped for all kinds of creative applications.

It's also a great form for many kinds of creative applications, and it's a very hassle-free, it just works experience for those.

How hassle-free it is for a given workflow or user is highly subjective and relative to the task at hand. The file management on iOS is still a dumpster fire.

What’s wrong with the file management on iOS?

Lacking plenty of common power user functionality to do things efficiently. It's fine for casuals, they don't know what's missing, but it's pretty poor versus a fully-fledged file manager on a desktop computer.

Ah, I was going to join in with my own thoughts but this conversation seems to have gotten a little... personal...

For the record, I find touchscreen interfaces rather underwhelming. I've tried to love my iPad for creative purposes but I just find trackpad/mouse + keyboard faster and more versatile.

Of course - both pale in comparison to physical buttons. I dream of a touchscreen with really convincing haptics. That would be the best of both worlds.

Or 3D touch! Aftertouch and velocity are both possible on a touchscreen, the tech just never lived long enough to give it an earnest try. I'd be very curious to see how that works if someone had a POC up and running, doubly so with good haptics.

It should go without saying, but I’m not talking about absolute workflows because there are no such things.

Workflows are subjective and contextual. I too use a Mac for a lot of audio work, and I’m not suggesting that one replaces the other in all forms.

I’m simply saying why this is a big deal for that one part of my workflow that had a hole which a Mac doesn’t cover.

The whole “touch vs not” discussion doesn’t add much because it’s not a binary. It’s only a subjective preference for me in my workflows in a specific context.

I’m simply elaborating on why I prefer an iPad in this context. Rebuttals are pointless as a result because it’s not a debate, it’s an elaboration of choice.

So again, I would say to people: “you do you” because my workflow doesn’t impose or force other people’s choices with their own trade offs.

I think there's a difference in conversation style here.

If somebody says "I think x" I've always felt it was entirely reasonable to respond with "I disagree because y" - that's not being argumentative, it's just having a conversation.

You're not the first person that seems to feel differently about whether or not it's impolite to respond in this way. It just always surprises me when I hit this particlar difference in communication preferences.

That’s fair, and perhaps an issue of tonality being lost in text or cultural differences in speech styles .

though part of the issue is “I disagree because Y” is not relevant because it’s an opinion with no negative effect on those who disagree (as opposed to say opinions on very factual science). So “I disagree because Y” is implicitly a rebuttal.

Instead , the subtly different “I see where you’re coming from however for me Y” is not a rebuttal. It’s an acceptance that two views may exist simultaneously and be equally valid.

If you look at the responses of the person I responded to, they’re always in the form of “well I need this so it makes no sense”

Note that they never acknowledge that others may not have the same needs or views. There’s an absolute way in all the interactions I’ve had with them.

The simple act of accepting another’s perspective changes the post from a negation to something that builds upon it.

Yeah. I probably would have found smoldesu a little brusque if they were replying to me. But on the other hand I'm sure I'm a little too brusque for by other people's standards.

What's the human version of Postel's Law?

I'm with you on every one of your preference points. My own extra one is that I spend all day every day at work on my Mac, when I want to relax and work on music I want to physically separate myself from the thing I do my work on. I embraced touch in the first place just for that, but now I'm infinitely more productive for music on my iPad than I am on desktop. I can reach a state of flow that's just not there when I use Logic on my Mac.

>Even as a paying Bitwig subscriber, I don't get it. My instruments are velocity and aftertouch sensitive

So what? You can get an idea down without either. It's not about making the final performance (though you can also program the DAW piano-roll this way just fine too).

>And then if you want to plug in hardware, you have to either settle for one thing and no charging or buy a dongle.

God forbid you have to buy a $20 dongle, or like, just use the device without one, and enjoy merely 10 hours of use instead of 15.

I bring up Bitwig because it was originally made as a touch-enabled DAW. I daily-drive it on a laptop with a touchscreen, and used to even have it configured to run on my Surface Pro. Despite all this, the touchscreen was never really intended as a performance surface. If you look at how Bitwig (or even the new Logic) is designed, this is obvious: the portion of the screen reserved for performance is minuscule. Touchscreen devices are outclassed in expression by cheap XY pads with aftertouch sensitivity. Everyone, Apple included, knows people are not going to use this as a touchscreen MPC. Akai's touchscreen MPC does not rely on a touchscreen for expression.

> God forbid you have to buy a $20 dongle

God forbid the iPad ever exposes a second USB port worth of IO bandwidth.

Actually, I take it back. Knowing Apple, I'll get my wish fulfilled with 2 Lightning ports and some MFi cable DRM...

There seems to be a divide between people who find the extra level of abstraction with a keyboard/mouse to be a problem. I don't understand it either, to the point where I see people try to flex with a room full of synthesizers, I just roll my eyes as I pull up my favorite VST

FWIW, the iPad is velocity sensitive. I haven't tried Logic Pro on it yet, but with Garage Band, it definitely plays louder if you hit it harder (for patches that support it). Some software synths in GB also have a pseudo-aftertouch where you slide your finger up after hitting the key to invoke aftertouch.

That said, I don't like playing on a screen. I'm a long-time piano and keyboard player so I just hook up an external instrument. But I was pleasantly surprised by what I could do just on the iPad with GarageBand.

I wonder if this works by measuring the size of your touch (i.e., how much your finger "splats" when it touches) or using the accelerometers/gyroscope or what.

It just uses the accelerometer, it's just as neat and inaccurate as you can guess.

Lots of electronic music devices don't have velocity.