Chas Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 Hi all, As per my other thread, I'm looking at possible options for external MIDI CC control of my XW synths, AND my Roland JX-3P and Korg DW 8000. Likely there will be other equipment too that I can also control. I know little about apple products (I've never owned any), and if I were to go down the ipad route it will be only used as a MIDI controller. As such, I don't need an all singing all dancing latest version, just something that I can pick up used for not much that will do the job of running MIDI Designer effectively. And won't become obsolete by the manufacturer refusing to update or support older O/S etc. Can any ipad be used to run MIDI Designer? Does it matter how old they are i.e. first generation ipad? Which model is best suited to my needs? Anything else I need to be aware of? Also, from what I understand I will also need a special cable to connect to the standard MIDI connectors on the JX-3P and DW8000? What cable will I need to connect an ipad to my XW's? Thanks in advance for any help! Cheers! Chas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 I wanna say all of the ipads can run midi designer. The app itself requires iOS 8.4. As long as the ipad is up to date it should work. But I cant speak for the oldest ipads out there. I have an ipad mini 2 which it runs fine on. That is a good value model since its not the oldest ipad yet is fairly newish (from 2014) with a high resolution display. And the mini fits the XW tray nicely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XW-Addict Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 Recently purchased a refurbished Ipad2 works fine although purchasing the connection kit is the oddest thing just to hook up an usb cable to the keyboard ah its an Apple thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Cheers guys! Yes, it does seem odd that you have to buy an additional connection kit simply to connect a USB cable to the XW. I can sort of understand it for older MIDI equipment requiring 5 pin DIN plugs, not so much connecting USB to USB! I have also looked to see if there was any possibility that Android devices can do MIDI CC, but it seems that whereas MIDI USB keyboards can control the apps on Android, for some strange reason it doesn't seem possible to do it the other way. Plenty of Android apps that can control DAWs via USB, but none that can control oldschool synths via 5 pin DIN MIDI. Still not sure which way to go - tablet based or hardware MIDI controllers. I shall continue researching until my gear gets over here, and then make a decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaintjohn Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 I've been very happy with the old iPad 2 and MIDI Designer (and the XW Solo Synth editor), but it's 4 1/2 years now and the battery is draining fast these days. And with these older iPads, there are very few ways to use it as a controller (data over USB) and still power it over USB. So if you do get something older or refurbished, try to make sure that the battery doesn't drain 1% per minute just by being on, or that the battery has been replaced. Also, it's started to get pretty sluggish with each iOS update. I think it started on 7 and is now up to 9.2. I don't think you can go wrong with an iPad, even a used one, with these things in mind. But I would recommend you stay away from iPad 2 or earlier with the older 30-pin connection sockets like I have. Go with something that uses the smaller Lightning adapter, then you can get a connection kit like this that will let you use the iPad for MIDI data and charge it at the same time:http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter?fnode=37 A used/refurb'd iPad Air or Air 2 should provide all you need at a significant discount from newer models. Just be aware: you may intend to use it just as a MIDI controller, but it's easy to get sucked into all the other cool things like synths and sequencers that are available. You can use up a basic 16GB on one of these tablets fast! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XW-Addict Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Well my initial though were the troublesome one slot for either USB or charger, I needed to have the usb slot free for charging in case I've run out near empty. And then I though why not hook up an Bluetooth midi to keep the connection socket free. But the keyboard doesn't have Bluetooth and so far I know the ipad doesn't do wifi midi neither. Luckily Casio keyboard have 5 pin midi and yamaha seem to deliver soon an extraordinary solution called MD-BT01 which would fulfill that gap hopefully it will work like a charm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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