Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

For general questions or discussion of Auria.

Moderators: Corey W, Rim

blake
Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:39 pm

Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by blake » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:04 am

Hi Guys,
I would like to hear peoples views on whether I should go for an Ipad Air with Auria or a Mac Mini with Pro Logic X.

As I see it there are obvious reasons for choosing one over the other ; ie Ipad can be used almost anywhere, whilst the mac mini is far more powerful.

Auria, from what I have seen on youtube and reading masses of post on this forum, looks like a serious piece of recording software backed up with great support from the developers. The price for the main software in incredibly cheap for what you get.

Logic pro X is an amazing piece of software and everything you need is inside Logic Pro X. From reading forums there are a few things long time logic users don't like about the update. Primarily it's just a cosmetic thing rather than a overhaul.

So looking at price;

Ipad Air 128GB 1.4 Dual core processor, 1GB Ram £639
Auria £35. Plugins costing upto £120 for all major plugins that most users seem to install.

Mac Mini 2.3 Quad core processor 4GB Ram £679
Logic Pro X £139

I already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse etc to use if I bought the mac mini.

I have been using Sonar on windows 7 for a while and whilst I like sonar I do have trouble using and setting up soft synths inside sonar so I am hoping Auria or Logic Pro X can be setup with the minimum of fuss?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rampan
Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:26 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by Rampan » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:40 am

Hi, since I own both, allow me to give you my humbel advice.
If I had to pick one I would definitelly go with LogicX, it is an amazing value, LogicX is on a league on its own (sorry rim no offence). I'm not going to get into what each can or can't do, but LogicX in short gives you power. Adding an iPad to it also adds another level of control that is fantastic!

Auria on the other hand is great for what it does. It gives you freedom.

So I would say get both, but if you can't then start with one of them.
What would you pick first power or freedom. :D

blake
Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:39 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by blake » Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:28 am

Hey thanks Rampan for the advice. In an ideal world where I had the money and the time I would get both. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of either! I have spent more time looking in Auria to be honest I love checking out threads on this forum. The problem I suppose is more with the Ipad itself rather than the software.

Are both straight forward to set up from scratch?

That's what I loathe about sonar all the different settings you have to go through, I'm a musician first and a tech head way, way into the ether! :lol:

What does put me off going down the Ipad route as well is the need for lots of extra plugins to get going ie Audiobus etc. How easy is this app and others to be setup in Auria?

Can the Ipad be powered whilst using Auria?

What is the Latency like within synth apps?

Thanks.

Strizbiz
Expert
Posts: 158
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2013 2:27 am

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by Strizbiz » Sat Jan 18, 2014 11:50 pm

I like the portability of the ipad over the Mac mini, I'd more likely go with a MacBook over a mini. I'd have to say as far as Logic X vs Auria goes, Logic is more self contained. Lots of instruments, midi sequencing, more plugins, if you ever need more than 48 tracks you can add more with Logic. I love Auria but would love to see midi sequencing brought to it. Audiobus is a great tool but it can be a little distracting sometimes, I'd like to see more 3rd party iOS apps go inter app audio.
Setting up software synths in Logic is really simple compared to launching audiobus, launching the synth you want to use, launching Auria.. I'd go with Logic at the moment if you can only choose one.
IPad Air 2 128 gb Apogee Duet Ipad/Mac

thehigginssociety
Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:05 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by thehigginssociety » Sun Jan 19, 2014 4:59 am

A different point of view:

I use Auria for capturing very high quality demos (a lot of the demo will end up on the final record). When I'm writing I like to focus on the composition first (what the melodies, lyrics and chords sequences are) then the arrangement- basic instrumentation, tempo, sections, groove. The very last thing I like to focus on is things like EQ, compression, etc etc.

So, for me, I find the relative limitations of working on an iPad a positive thing. I used to work on a powerful PC with Cubase 5 and I found that I spent more time a) trying to get things to work properly and b) farting around with inconsequential settings than I did focussing on the things that matter- the songs (that's most important to me anyway- I appreciate that in other genres what is going on sonically is just as important).

I find that with an iPad and Auria a) everything more or less works more or less as it should more or less all the time. I plug it in and start focussing on music immediately. b) I find that I'm not as tempted to start plugging things in for the sake of it because that will cause me work (I'm of a healthily lazy disposition). So my focus is 100% on the songwriting. The tool facilitates my ability to do the job. So much so that when I needed to upgrade from iPad3, I considered getting a Mac and Logic, but decided that my workflow was pretty perfect as is. I went to an iPad air.

thehigginssociety
Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:05 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by thehigginssociety » Sun Jan 19, 2014 5:08 am

Which isn't to say that I don't think Auria is capable of doing all the things I used to do with Cubase on a PC (apart from MIDI, of course). It is. But the point I'm really making is that I've focussed on the songs more, so they are better. And better songs make better recordings.

Jus
Expert
Posts: 430
Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:34 am

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by Jus » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:11 am

Hmmm the Mac Mini looks interesting

If I use the Ipad as a screen for the Mini would I also be able to transfer projects and Songs both ways from Auria at the same time does any1 know please
Was thinking of getting a MacBook but this will be a better solution me thinks :wink:

blake
Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:39 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by blake » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:13 am

Strizbiz and thehigginssociety,

Thankyou both for your replies it is greatly appreciated.

As Rampan said get both :D . Which I suppose all of us would do in an ideal world. One point that was highlighted was about learning curve. I have to admit my attention span is very limited these days especially as I get limited time to make music. It does appear though that what ever route I go down there will be a learning curve.

Also I need to make sure what I do get will last for at least a couple of years.

Thanks.

Checkrath
Expert
Posts: 106
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:34 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by Checkrath » Sun Jan 19, 2014 4:26 pm

Another perspective..

2 years ago I bought my first ipad. Back then, this platform was a toy. There were people out there like SmiteMatter making decent electronic music on nanostudio, but I couldn't even plug a single guitar into the ipad and multitrack it. It was fun and novel, but not something I could really start a studio with.

A brief 24 months on and the picture is very, very different. This weekend, I simultaneously recorded a couple of vocalists, a bass guitar and a guitar live using the 18i8 plugged into an ipad Air. I was then able to put studio quality processing on the sound. This is no longer a toy. True, it's still not a MacBook with protools, but it's at the point that we can start actually comparing.

In another 2 years, I believe all the current shortfalls will have been addressed. All the top plugin, hardware and app developers will see this platform as crucial to their rollout. Auria will have midi and Audiobus/IAA will be slick :D

This is the future of music production.

thehigginssociety
Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:05 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by thehigginssociety » Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:30 am

Checkrath, I like the cut of your jib!

Bob Amser
Expert
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2013 3:46 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by Bob Amser » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:29 pm

I spent a couple of years trying to launch home recording from a PC. It's hard to express how that went for me without being able to attach a recording of a primal scream. Setup, for someone reasonably technical but lacking in time, just seemed unnecessarily difficult and problematic.

All that time, and I managed to record one guitar track. Then it fouled up. I had some fun doing some synth stuff, but that was it.

I then bought the ipad and Garageband and - voila - recording happened instantly! Garageband is so quick at developing ideas that I had a track down within two hours of buying the app. I still use it a bit, sometimes recording parts on there for instruments I don't play (keyboards etc.) but am Auria based now.

It has the same quality - it... works. I can do as much or as little processing as I want, which opens up more professional sounding recording and I'm now trying to learn much more about recording to be able to use all the fab tools.

For me, it's iPad all the way - fun, non-frustrating, and with Auria now able to produce seriously professional recording near the Protools sort of level, but without the need for technical know-how.

I guess it depends what you're after. I'm a live musician wanting to create good recordings and it's a much easier and more intuitive way of doing that than computer based recording. If I was more synth / dance music based, maybe I'd have a different view. An important point to make is that I've never owned a Mac, and it may be that it's less crappy to get to work than a PC.

I was frustrated by the obvious limitations of Garageband (particularly the lack of processing) and was thinking of trying to find the money for a mac, but now that I have Auria, I don't intend to get a mac.
_________________________________________________
www.soundcloud.com/bobamser

Auria, iTrack Solo, AKG414, Audio Mastering

blake
Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:39 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by blake » Tue Jan 21, 2014 3:12 pm

Hi Bob,
Thanks for your take on things. From reading your post you probably are quite like me. I am a guitarist/keys man with 30 years of playing, writing music. I feel very comfortable in any musical circles and feel I can hold my own when playing music with other musicians but when it comes to recording, mixing etc I just feel like my heads in a vice!

I think for must people who get inspiration to record their own music the recording process needs to be as simple as it can be so you don't lose that magic moment.

I too spent an eternity with sonar. I did like it but there where times I was pulling my hair out, spending hours just setting up soft synths, problems with latency etc. What a nightmare.

So I have come to the conclusion either way it's going to be a Mac whether it's an Ipad or Mac mini. I'm still trying to make my mind up which way to go.

I really do appreciate everyone who has chucked in their 2 cents though and hope to make a decision very soon.

Rampan
Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:26 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by Rampan » Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:35 pm

Hey Blake,
If you just wanted to record high quality audio kind of old school simplistic multitrack style, where you can just concentrate on the basic idea of the song and the composition, then Auria is the way to go, it is straight forward and works great.
But if you want to use keys and virtual instruments and have a virtual drummer to inspire you, record midi, have notation print outs, endless audio and midi loops, fine tune your recorded voice as if it was midi notes with no artifacts, never worry about CPU or memory running out, then LogicX is for you.

Of course in both cases you'll need to add a sound card, let me suggest the apogee Duet for iPad it works great for both, with acceptable latency, and great quality, and it will charge your iPad while you work and be able to have midi at the same time.

To help you decide maybe try to get your hands on both first from a music store or a friend.

If I where you and knowing exactly what both can do, I would save up for a MacBook and invest in LogicX and apogee duet, and later add an iPad for the extra control of the virtual instruments. So I can have the freedom and the power.
Take care and I hope this helped.

blake
Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:39 pm

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by blake » Wed Jan 22, 2014 5:09 am

Rhett wrote:Hey thanks Rampan for the advice. In an ideal world where I had the money and the time I would get both. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of either! I have spent more time looking in Auria to be honest I love checking out threads on this forum. The problem I suppose is more with the Ipad itself rather than the software.
Hey Rhett write your own posts :D

Rampan,
Thanks for your comments. I do have hardware I can use. I have a Roland Fantom X so not really a necessity for soft synths. If I did record the Fantom X though it would be analogue audio which is very memory hungry so again sort of puts me off going down the Ipad route. How many tracks of audio can you record on the Ipad Air with insert effects etc and it still performs without stuttering, going into the red?

Thanks.

mrufino1
Expert
Posts: 275
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 8:31 am

Re: Ipad Air 128GB and Auria V Mac Mini and Pro Logic X

Post by mrufino1 » Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:46 am

Many. I have projects with 30 tracks and they're fine. I freeze tracks with hungry plugins (Saturn, drumagog, old timer, timeless,etc), but that's not a difficult situation to deal with.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 186 guests