Ableton for iOS?

[Tone Deft]

funny you're still here. a coworker just showed me Garage Band on a Gen 1 iFad, sweet!

[perplex]

There is no doubt that any mentionable software will have an iOS app counterpart. Its just economics.

[jenya solid]

True, the question is what will be the Ableton Live app on the iPad?

A mere controller for the desktop software? No point - there are good controller apps already. Plus it would not give a taste of what Live is capable of.

Cram the whole Daw in iPad - also not an option. The app will differ greately from the desktop DAW and will never meet the expectations of the Live users.

Letting you play with one Live instrument at a time and being able to continue on the desktop - this is one viable route.

[Saxer]

live started years ago when desktop computers had the possibilities of the today ipads. but it was ok for simple things. i would like to have a little sister app of live on the pad. it doesn't take my possibilities of my desktop or laptop but it could give new touch features. i would love to use operator without mouse!

[gavspav]

A simple timestretch app which supported copy and paste would be a good start.

[pokeyoats]

oh no, you'll know when I'm bent out of shape. this is just me bored at work.

who knows if the Abes will ever write for the iPad. maybe it's better visibility for them not too. FL has a reputation as a low end DAW, if Ableton were to follow them it might make them look more like a low end DAW than a high end one. are people clamoring for a Pro Fools iPhone app?

Work does that to me as well.

And I should point out that the iPad version of FL is "HD" to coin Apple's term and uses more screen space etc. than the iPhone app. I actually bought it last night and to be honest it's not terrible. Some of the demo tracks are even quite good.

For me, I'm using it predominantly to create intersting ryhthm sections whereever I am both in drum track and also in regards to chords. I will find a pleasant chord progression and then mess around with it's ryhthm which I must say isn't that awkwad on a touch screen. Technically a select and move around with the arrow keys in ableton is more efficient but I can't really do that lieing in bed or on the loo.

For me I can find it difficult to be chained to my PC with Ableton, I get distracted and sometimes the whole desk routine sucks the life out of me. The portability of the iPad has really allowed me to get more ideas down with something like Beatmaker or FL due to the environments I find myself in!

[glitchrock-buddha]

I believe that I cut down but useable Ableton Live would absolutely be possible on the iPad currently. I can see both sides and agree with what Angstrom is saying as well. however look at what people are doing out there right now for sequencing, especially Beatmaker 2 and the new Nanostudio. These. mixed with electrify have a good amount of the features we'd want to see in an Ableton Live app. And these are being developed by one or two guys.

I think the advantages are quite clear - as ableton Live users, the instruments and effects would be familiar, as they would hopefully move their native and suite devices to an ipad version, much as Korg did with their MS-20 (which is actually many MS-20s in the app). The workflow and interface would also be familiar and being able to save a set and export to your computer would be great, just as you can do now with garageband.

Now, when someone says they'd rather not see resources moved away from development of the main DAW in favor of an iOS version, my instinct is to agree, but this isn't necessarily the choice. An iOS version would be a new product with additional revenue. There's a good reason developers are flocking to iOS products. You actually get money for it. If the makers of Electrify, Beatmaker and Nanostudio can bring us such cool apps with such a small development team (often one person), why wouldn't ableton be able to hire someone or a few people specifically for the iOS development, thus not having it affect Ableton development or finances otherwise? FL for iOS for example was a completely separate development team and is really a whole separate product. But having the name and interface and having the development under the same company, obviously that opens the door to the potential for the ipad version to export to the DAW version, which is really the big advantage.

What's really funny is that when I first went to post this thread, I was essentially going to say that I don't need an ipad ableton app and I'd rather just use the ableton controllers like touchable and griid and have ableton focus on the main DAW, but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense that they should be jumping on it. Not because they owe us that or anything, but because it would be in their interest I would think. And it would be pretty cool too.

On another point, about laptop size - Again my general philosophy is to agree with Angstrom that a lappy is already extremely portable, why would I cut things down and not have my VSTs that I love etc? But once you get used to throwing around this little thing the size of a small magazine around, you realize how much more likely you are go anywhere in a second, be it from the couch to the kitchen table or the the bad or the backyard, or to the throne! You don't even have to find somewhere to put it, so sometimes it is rather nice to use this little thing for messing around. And we all like to mess around in Live.

[Greeg]

I hope that it's not gonna happen.

Do you want to have less reliable DAW ? I don't want, so I don't want developers splitted into one more platform you need to program, test etc. ... I don't want them to divert their resources... I prefer them working on Live 9, Live 10, fixing bugs, planning new features for new versions etc. rather than some Ipad App

[AaronYeo]

BUT Lettuce be beef and cereal,

There's no escaping this, is there?

tell me you guys wouldn't buy an operator app. Imagine an app that lets you mae operator patches on the go then DL them to ableton. Sound designing while I travel and making songs while I'm at home.

that's a great idea actually

There’s a really great synth app called “NLog Synth” and it can produce some wicked sounds. Very, very extensive interface, and I haven’t found a VST that can model the same settings so I end up just sampling from my iPhone. I like using it better than Operator.

As for FL Studio Mobile, I love it. As a sketchpad, because it’s so limited. I’m on the go, I have a tune idea, and instead of discretely making a voice memo with my awful beatboxing and bass skillz in public, I just write in a quick four/eight bars in FL Studio Mobile, then when I get home I can grab the midi straight out, or just copy the piano roll. It helps your transcribing skills too.

[pokeyoats]

There's a good reason developers are flocking to iOS products. You actually get money for it.

AWESOME comment!! It totally cracked me up!! Nothing like making a point with humour!!

But once you get used to throwing around this little thing the size of a small magazine around, you realize how much more likely you are go anywhere in a second, be it from the couch to the kitchen table or the the bad or the backyard, or to the throne! You don't even have to find somewhere to put it, so sometimes it is rather nice to use this little thing for messing around. And we all like to mess around in Live.

EXACTLY my experience too! I find myself grabbing this thing and taking it everywhere and in any downtime I find myself tapping away working on basslines, melodies etc. I'm not making full tracks, far from it, but I am progressing my loops melodies etc. so that I can then really expand upon them in Ableton!!

[pokeyoats]

^consider this. the iFad is as powerful as the computers that were around when Live 1 was released. I believe that's a true statement, too lazy to google for MIPS and dates.

It's a very pleasant and portable device to use...

[pokeyoats]

Seriously, I have an iOS development team working with my company - they did apps for Orange and others. I'd even go as far as writing an app like that. All I'd need is some expertise and the code for the synth engines and effects.

I'd be happy to develop it for a share from sales as I am a Live user and an owner of a marketing agency and I am sure about the success of this.

I hope some product manager from Ableton reads this and gets back to crush the hopes or cast a bit of light on this subject.

I think your ideas are excellent!!!

[hacktheplanet]

Ableton should make an iPad control surface app for Live that mirrors 100% the screen on a host computer. Similar to a VNC screen sharing session, but with its own protocol so that it would quick and responsive. That way, the user could control Live with multitouch! It would be totally sick and probably make me buy an iPad.

[beats me]

Ableton should make an iPad control surface app for Live that mirrors 100% the screen on a host computer. Similar to a VNC screen sharing session, but with its own protocol so that it would quick and responsive. That way, the user could control Live with multitouch! It would be totally sick and probably make me buy an iPad.

Take this in the spirit in which it is intended: No.

Cramming the entire Live screen onto an iPad would be almost useless unless you also plan to employ a mind reading spider monkey to play it for you with it’s tiny digits.

[jenya solid]

I think it'd be dangerous to release an Ableton branded controller app for iPad - you can resolve the interface issues avoiding a direct cram of the layout to a smaller es ipad screen, but the danger lies in the very fact that controller surfaces is what creates the ecosystem of developers around Live. Releasing a deeply integrated Ableton controller app would be a straight shot at the developers. Take a look at NI - who needs another Traktor controller when there's X1 and S4?

But, more dangerous is the fact that a controller surface does not suck in Live newbies i.e. does not justify extra investment in making it. To enjoy or even need a controller app you need to be a Live user. To have some fun with a Live instrument on you iPad, be it a synth or a drum machine you just need to be interested by musicmaking in general. This approach would broaden the scope of potential Live users exponentially. And instead of shelling out 99 quids or so for a Live lite version, the entry ticket for the customer would be considerably lower thus making it less of a decision to swallow and more of instant casual fun, what actually is the key talent of Live, i guess.

I am actually strongly confident that the Ableton team is prodiguous (did I spell that right?) and visionary enough to surprise us yet again and their iPad app will be brilliant