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I'm looking for something that can do the whole midi thing. What's out there? What are some good software or physical devices or even apps for say, an iPad?

I just want something to play synths and other instruments along to.

You may try iMaschine 2 by Native Instruments on an iPad. It's cheap but very versatile.

Oh while writing, I saw you asked for MIDI

Well, Maschine uses MIDI, as does pretty much everything else.

How one would connect that to an iPad I don't immediately know, but there is a small Maschine app for iPad that doesn't need a control surface.

But, how do you really imagine your workflow, Steven? It might a little easier to say if you told us how you wanted to work.

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The question is do you want to play pads or program your drums?

The answer is... I have no idea... To basically all of the above.

buy an older Korg Electrictribe ER-1 (mk1 or mk2). I've been using mine (mk2) since i bought it new...2006 i think. I find it easy to make quick beats on and sequencing my synths that have midi (juno, jv880, M1r, etc) is Super easy imo. You can add your own samples for custom beats but I use some of the stock sounds still.

StevenO wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 29, 2017 3:46 pm

The answer is... I have no idea... To basically all of the above.

My advice would be to check out a MIDI controller for a DAW. Ableton, ProTools, Cubase, Logic, etc. Whatever your drug of choice is. The reason i'd go this route over a dedicated hardware sequencer is you'll be building useful skills with your DAW that will allow you to expand your interests much further (if you want to) later on wether its recording or music production.

For some examples, check out the Novation Impulse ( https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Impulse49 ) which has decent pads if you want to play that way, alternatively you can use the keys or program instrument tracks through the software directly. You've got 3 options based on your preference and you can do all 3 in your DAW. The Impulse in particular comes with Ableton Live, which by default has a big library of drums, synths, effects and a lot more. You can go more expensive or even cheaper, Akai, M-Audio, Native Instruments, Novation, and numerous other brands all have their own offerings for MIDI controllers.

The big thing with a controller is flexibility. All of the processing is done on your PC through your DAW software and there is a huge library of plug-ins out there for almost any DAW you could pick. Furthermore, you can change or upgrade your controller and your sounds and workflow stays the same. You can track live instruments, write, compose, produce, or just mess around with live looping.

OffYourFace wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 29, 2017 4:25 pm

buy an older Korg Electrictribe ER-1 (mk1 or mk2). I've been using mine (mk2) since i bought it new...2006 i think. I find it easy to make quick beats on and sequencing my synths that have midi (juno, jv880, M1r, etc) is Super easy imo. You can add your own samples for custom beats but I use some of the stock sounds still.

I was actually looking at these a few weeks ago and they certainly seem to be more my speed. I was considering a TR707 as well, as they're fairly inexpensive and the sounds in them are kind of classic at this point. I want something as easy and intuitive as possible.

Grey wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:01 am

StevenO wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 29, 2017 3:46 pm

The answer is... I have no idea... To basically all of the above.

My advice would be...

Good information to have! I'm still pretty iffy about using too much software stuff as I'm not really good with that stuff to begin with, nor do I have anything currently. But as a point of future reference, very helpful!

Alternatives to the 707 you might look at are the Alesis SR-16 or a Zoom RT-123, both pretty cheap these days unlike the Akai MPC or its E-MU equivalent.

If I were you I would seriously consider an option that allows phrase sampling - i.e. the Boss SP-202 and its descendants. the Roland SP-404 is in the mid-range price bracket but looks like a good buy if you can stretch to it. If you want big pads to play with sticks something like the Roland SPD series could work for you, or if you want to keep it cheap and cheerful, the Alesis Samplepad.

Another option is the Zoom R8 which can be found pretty cheap.
It's a 8-track digital recorder, sampler, drum machine. It works with SD-cards and it's completely stand-alone, so you don't have to have a computer within miles.

StevenO wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 27, 2017 1:50 am

I just want something to play synths and other instruments along to.

If you have a Mac and don't need a physical device, Logic is perfect for this. I've said it ad nauseum in other threads, but Drummer plugin is amazing, the drum machines it comes with are amazing, the loops it comes with are amazing, and the synths it comes with are amazing. Best of all, it's $200.

I've also been looking for a more modern drum machine. I'm still using a pair of alesis hr-16's.
From my research the electribe seems perfect. It's basic and intuitive but has tons of options.
One thing I've really been wanting to do is mod one of my hr-16's to have drum pad triggers. That way I can play with sticks instead of my fingers.

FightingPlankton wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:40 pm

One thing I've really been wanting to do is mod one of my hr-16's to have drum pad triggers. That way I can play with sticks instead of my fingers.

Seems like an Alesis Percpad would be a reasonably cheap way to achieve this. There are a lot of them out there on the second-hand market for a modest outlay.

Disclaimer: I DON'T work for Alesis, despite how it might look.

UlricvonCatalyst wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:24 pm

Seems like an Alesis Percpad would be a reasonably cheap way to achieve this. There are a lot of them out there on the second-hand market for a modest outlay.

Disclaimer: I DON'T work for Alesis, despite how it might look.

That would work, but since the hr-16 has 16 pads, I'd prefer more than 4. The open, close, and foot hi hat sounds would ideally be setup like it is on an electonic kit... but yeh. My original idea was to just attach piezo sensors to practice pads and solder them to each exiting pad... then I realized I could just use midi...
now to get back on topic:
Besides the electribe, I've been looking at the aka Tom cat and mpc1000... any thoughts on those? I've seen some cheaper alternatives as well such as the native instruments maschine and mikro... but those look less ...good.