Ableton for iOS?

[pokeyoats]

So, now that we have FL Studio for iOS is it possible that an Ableton for iOS could be become a reality?

[Angstrom]

As I've said before :

Do you want clips with warping? How many of them? Do you want VSTs to work? How? And if it's only native effects then which effects? How many at a time?

How does this iOS app load an existing song which uses 40% CPU on a laptop, because when you look at the power of an iPad compared to modern computers the iPad is very underpowered for the job.

(2011) MacBook pro geekbench score: 10,164
(2003) PowerMac G5 1.6 GHz : 1000
(2011) IPad 2 geekbench score : 721
(2010) iPad 1 geek ench score : 431

That's quite a difference in power so a 40%CPU set (on a laptop) would become a 563.88% monster on an iPad 2, on an iPad 1 it would hit 941% on the CPU meter.

would you like Ableton to divert company resources away from fixing bugs in the OSX and Win versions to make a whole other "player" version that even more people complain about in new and different ways?
Random iApp purchasers swamping the forum with grief.

this is why not.

Ableton prefer to link up with 3rd party controller apps, like griid, etc.
it leaves them free to work on the main Live application. Others can make performance screens.

[perplex]

like angstrom just put so eloquently, it would have to be a "diet" version. Which I would not be interested in.

[pokeyoats]

You make some good points. Personally though I think my iPad 2 with a dual core is quite capable. The OS however is limited, I agree and VSTs as such do represent a problem.

However, it doesn't represent any more of a problem that I have collaborating with a friend. He has suite, I have only Live (yes, it was a tough choice, iPad or upgrade - iPad won, now saving for Ableton upgrade). He also has a Mac with VSTs that I don't have (and can't afford) and I have a Pc along withsome VSTs he doesn't have.

In the end we have to render out as audio and share between. If something needs a major change either of us have to save the midi track as audio and re-render. It's a bit of a hassle but it's doable.

This same methodology could be used for the iPad where you import an Audio rendered Ableton track.

Though, I guess, given that FL Studio is now for iPad you could use it to render out a track and bring it into Ableton.

I'm old and tired these days and have not the energy to argue or solve developmental problems anymore; there are people paid far more than me to do that.

It was just a simple question. Your answer was more along the lines of complete across the board compatibility. I was thinking more along the composition and jot an idea down anywhere line, you were thinking in terms of external devices, control and compatibility.

I guess I could rephrase my question to be, how about a cut down version of Ableton for iOS that fulfills some kind of purpose that a clever dev at Ableton can think up!

Overall, your points are reasonable. iOS does seem to be a burgeoning market though and I was curious to see if Ableton was going to leverage that market.

I think complaining about iOS users in the Forums is a bit much, unless these are your forums.

$20 for FL Stuido is certainly looking appealing though given your answer.

Time will tell how this all works out.

[perplex]

FL wants a share of the 'garageband' consumerbase. Nothing wrong with that. And those who download it are probably the kind of people who wouldn't mind severe limitations from its DAW counterpart.

BUT Lettuce be beef and cereal, if Ableton Live came out with an iPad app, I would buy the sh*t out of it. lol

[aizo]

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.

[regretfullySaid]

I'm not sure you could fit Ableton in an iPad when they are a company; as in, human beings.

[perplex]

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

[beats me]

What I think is funny is anytime an established music company releases an iPad app or another controller/DAW app comes out people start posting like music companies that haven’t yet must be quaking in their boots, falling behind the times, and having long serious employee meetings on how they should counter this upsetting turn of events.

And I’m sure that happens on just about every music software related forum.

And for the companies that have released iPad apps it’s an avalanche of complaints on how the app falls short of the full version.

[pokeyoats]

What I think is funny is anytime an established music company releases an iPad app or another controller/DAW app comes out people start posting like music companies that haven’t yet must be quaking in their boots, falling behind the times, and having long serious employee meetings on how they should counter this upsetting turn of events.

And I’m sure that happens on just about every music software related forum.

And for the companies that have released iPad apps it’s an avalanche of complaints on how the app falls short of the full version.

Fair enough.

Look, I should have been more ... verbose. I wasn't looking for the full version, just a means of being able to do something with LIVE on the go, or in bed, or on the toilet. That's all.

Honestly, I can find it hard to be creative at my PC at times. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair, distractions, all kinds of little irritations. Now admittedly, the iPad is my new toy, but I enjoy using it, a lot!!

When I saw FL studio for the iPad my first thoughts were "I wonder if Ableton would make something for LIVE on the iPad so that it's users can have the same kind of compatibility that the FL Studio users now have". (I know Ableton is a company name, but the ABLETON MEETUP GROUP I goto isn't called the LIVE meetup group, and ABLETON is synonymous with it's flagship product, LIVE)

As for those that complain it's not as good as the PC/DAW version, perhaps companies should go to greater effort to explain the limitations of the iPad and what their iPad version does rather than writing these mega-hyped descriptions that get the less computer literate all excited and a reason why they end up so frustrated!!

[Tone Deft]

perhaps companies should go to greater effort to explain the limitations of the iPad and what their iPad version does rather than writing these mega-hyped descriptions that get the less computer literate all excited and a reason why they end up so frustrated!!

sure, we'll get the unicorns to write that up right away.

"warning, you might not like our product, think twice before sending us money."

fcuk the computer illiterate, take their money and run!!

consider using the iFad as a controller and not the actual brains. I believe there are apps that let you do a VPN kind of thing but IIRC the latency sucks. I gather that problem will get better as the hardware matures.

[beats me]

As for those that complain it's not as good as the PC/DAW version, perhaps companies should go to greater effort to explain the limitations of the iPad and what their iPad version does rather than writing these mega-hyped descriptions that get the less computer literate all excited and a reason why they end up so frustrated!!

Well, from what I read from the people complaining about the FL iOS app wasn’t so much about it not being a mirror of the desktop version (although there was some of that), but more along the lines of the app not doing things some other iOS DAWs do – sample import, synths with real parameter adjusts, etc. So there’s also that angle. The instant another app can do something then people feel all apps should have that function, and really it sounds like the independent developers are doing a better job than those apps released by established companies just tossing an iOS app into their portfolio.

FFS you can’t do any level of editing MIDI in Garageband in the iOS version. Your only option is to just play the part better next time.

[pokeyoats]

sure, we'll get the unicorns to write that up right away.

Asolutely!! Put those damn Unicorns to work.

Wow, the Ableton Forum crowd have become a lot more snarly, cynical and sarcastic then the last time I was here...

Don't get all bent out of shape Tone Deft, I'm speaking collectively, just in a thread that's replying to your sarcastic statement.

[Tone Deft]

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?

[23kon]

It'd be crazy to wish for a full-blown Ableton Live app as that kind of processing power in something the size of an ipad is years away.

I don't think it's crazy to wish for an App from Ableton though, and to be honest i'm surprised they haven't released one already! Perhaps they are working on it at the moment.

Perhaps it might just be a really well designed clip-launcher with inbuilt effects per channel/clip that are tweakable.
That's all you'd need for playing stuff in a gig situation.
Their app would integrate seamlessly with Live - perhaps there's an 'export' function which renders all your vst synths etc into samples within your clips then packages it all as a project file which is instantly exported then imported into your ipad app.
They might even throw in some mini synths in there too.

There are some great clip launcher apps at the moment.

Electrify
http://www.electrifyme.net/
Great sample clip launcher built by ONE guy in england. Imagine if this kind of app had a whole team behind it, integrating it into live's workflow. Not an impossible task!

If an app like Electrify had a nice interface like
http://www.midipad.de/Website/midipad.html or Griid our Touch-Able but was using all inbuild samples or synths like NanoStudio then this would be an awesome app!

It's a matter of building something fit for the platform and fit for what users want/need.

I wouldn't be surprised if ableton launched an app in the near future and actually think they'd be stupid if they didn't, especially with more and more of us going out and actually buying ipads to use programs like touch-able etc with ableton.

I hope that an admin at ableton reads my post and sees my wishlist for the kind of app i'd like to have on my ipad.
I dream of the day of being able to rock up at a gig with just an ipad and being able to play a credible tweakable set with it haha.