Ableton for iOS?

[Tone Deft]

^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.

[jenya solid]

FL for iOS got me thinking too about what would be the dream Ableton Live app for me. I'm with Live for more than 5 yrs and all my major releases where fully produced with Live. So, I kinda know what I want.

First things first, so, purely from the concept pov, ythe dream Live app should not substitute, but compliment the desktop DAW. As some have mentioned before, it is pointless to try and cram amodern DAW in the iPad due to hardware and workflow limitation. Second, the iPad use is mostly casual, so whatever you do on iPad should be similar to drawing a sketch, that can then be further developed into a drawing on a desktop.

Starting from here, it became obvious - what I want is Ableton Live Riffs and Beats app. It would welcome me with a choice of jotting down a melody riff or a beat. If I go for a riff, it would give me a synth plus a piano roll clip view. I need not operator here - analog would do. So i get to choose the length of the clip, loop it and get down to some sound design and melody writing. It'd be great if I could have a delay, reverb and a compressor on top. Plus the grooves of course (i'm sure this feature needs very little CPU). So, a 2 oscillator synth, delay, reverb and a comp shouldn't require a lot of power and the existing iOS synths prove it. Having operator instead of analog would. Be heaven.

Now, if I go for beats, I'm welcomed with impulse and an essential sample library plus a matrix to program beats. Add delay, reverb on a send bus and a few grooves and paint me satisfied

Now, you should obviously be able to save your clips and then export them as als files. They could be in Ableton Live 6 format to ensure compatibility.

Now add to this a performance mode, when you can simply playback the written clip and the screen would flash at each note/drum hit played and this app would take most of the time i spend with my iPad... and i would integrate it in my live sets. Imagine routing the ipad audio to the DJ mixer, starting a clip and raising the iPad that flashes with every note played. I can see many DJs doing that, especially if you could choose the colir of the flash.

I hope some product manager from Ableton reads this as this is 100% feasible and it fits perfectly the Live product line. People will snatch this app for 10$ and unevitably buy the desktop version. So, from the strategy pov, it should drive sales on a massive scale.

Sorry for the mistakes - i write this from my Android phone over a lousy wifi connection while enjoying a vacation in Turkey

[Angstrom]

I am against the idea of " turning up with just an iPad and playing a full set on it ", because the implication is : I don't want to carry much, I just want an easy life.
I mean really: how heavy is a laptop, even a laptop plus an iPad and an external rack. C'mon guys that will fit on your passenger seat. What exactly is the end objective here : eliminating heavy lifting or producing the best output. Because as fun as an iPad is, it's a pea brained fondleslab with a minijack output. This I'd not the les Paul goldtop of the electronic generation.

I come from the past, where everything was large and heavy. To me a fully featured copy of ableton, a rack, a controller and pedal setup seems like a featherlight setup.

This seems like guitarists demanding that they only bring strings to a gig. I mean ffs, man up !
It's not a "how small is my gear" competition. We are already there guys.

[Tone Deft]

100% feasible

but have you actually studied the hardware? do you really know what you're talking about? a quick google tells me that iFads, while running have 90-150Mb of available RAM. that's RAM for this iLive thing AND for all your samples and recordings.

have fun with that.

iFad for control, a real computer for number crunching.

sorry, killing time at work while you're kicking it in Turkey. that's lots to peck out on a phone, get yourself a drink, on me.

[jenya solid]

Forgot to describe the workflow. So, essentially, i use the app to write melodies / beats on the go and develop the most interesting ones into tracks using the desktop.

Also, I use the app to play riffs and beats in my live dj sets occasionally dropping a melidy with a perfectly synced flash sequence over my head (every DJ is a show off

That's it.

[jenya solid]

Mkay, i have an iFad as you call it and i have 90% of synths written for it. And there are zero latency, 2 oscillator synths with effects on top and drum machines as I've described. Check out NanoStudio - it does much more and on an iPhone 3G.

So, i am now really frustrated the I can not simply take my NanoStudio sketches and continue working on them in Live.

So, the mere existence of such apps is the proof of feasibility.

[jenya solid]

Ipads come with 16GB of storage minimum - that would be enough for storing an essential sample library and a ton of your sketches.

[Tone Deft]

I've read that the Electribe ports are pretty damn cool too.

time will tell. I have been really freaking impressed by what the hackers and coders have done with that device. I don't have one yet but it's inevitable.

oooph I can feel the GAS coming on...


re: 16 Gbs... AFAIK that's not available RAM. the OS, the wifi and other systems on the device require RAM. think it over.

EDIT: my 90-150Mb of RAM doesn't sound right.

[jenya solid]

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.

[Tone Deft]

very cool, you never know who's on the other side of the screen.

if you could bounce this idea of an iOS developer I'd love to hear their view. I'm a hardware engineer, I do some coding but mostly hardware design so this geekery interests me.

[jenya solid]

Search on youtube for NanoStudio and GarageBand on iOS. When you'll see how much can be done with those apps, you'll realise that it will work. I'd have to ask my iOS developers for a thirough feasibility analysis, but it's written all over it that it'd work.

[jenya solid]

let's just hope Ableton execs check this forum occasionally while surfing... on their yachts

[jenya solid]

Mkay, I'll get back to my Mojitos and will check back later to see if there's such thing as the butterfly effect

[Tone Deft]

I have no doubt that they've thought of this themselves and they've also heard it from the forum. remember, they're also avid Live users, the founders came up playing out. I imagine most people that work in the software field have thought of how their own technology could be ported to the iPad. it's been all over where I work, we've even developed internal tools like conference room trackers.

back to staring at brown cubicle walls, enjoy your life.

[jenya solid]

I would not be surprised if there is an Ableton app in the pipeline - i just put out what I'd feel as the best thing as a Live user and a marketing professional. Would love to dive in to this provided the occasion.