The iOS bass player thread, PART II. (Jamup XT, Audiobus, Multitrack DAW and more)

[adambomb]

The airturn pedal board "looks" cooler than the IK board the little plastic a-d buttons on top look cheesy

[Rip Topaz]

Originally Posted by adambomb

I want to tell you to throw all the tracks my way and let me put it through logic 9 but I want you to birth that baby!
I love the way your "labor" has been progressing

Yeah Duke sent me the tracks so I could work up some drums, but he's progressing just fine on his own!!

[Rip Topaz]

Originally Posted by adambomb

The airturn pedal board "looks" cooler than the IK board the little plastic a-d buttons on top look cheesy

I was on the fence. I kinda like the really clean look of the IK board, but something tells me it's gonna be cheap plastic.

The Airturn board to me looks more durable. It also looks to be more easily expanded iPod and modified.

Amazon is still showing the 4 button Airturn as not available at this time.

[justbark]

Is it normal to have to crank the app volume on Jamup or Ampkit when using it with your bass amp? Headphones aren't an issue, but after reading this thread I thought I'd try to use it as a multi effects / modeling processor in a live situation.

I'm using a GK MB115 which does not have an effects loop. My question is whether I am doing something wrong because the amp is a lot quieter and more muddy when I connect from the iPad to the GK amp. Here is how it is setup:

Passive jazz bass --> Apogee Jam --> iPad --> headphone out connected to passive input with a 1/8 to 1/4 inch cable.

Apogee Jam gain set halfway (what I use for headphones)
Amp is EQ is flat, master at 3 o'clock, gain at 7 o'clock. Contour off. Limiter on. Tweeter off. Boost 7'oclock.

At these amp settings, it is really loud when I plug straight in. To achieve the same volume through Ampkit or Jamup, I have to crank the gain up to 11 o'clock.

[Rip Topaz]

You shouldn't have to turn up the Jam's gain, but turn up your iPads volume to play into your amp.

[justbark]

I'll crank the Ipad then. I have a headphone amp (FiiO E7) I could also run in between the headphone output and amp input.

[Rip Topaz]

Shouldn't be necessary. Just crank the iPad.

[Duke21]

I'm a bit late on this PG Airturn vs IK Blueboard.
Here is my thoughts.
Both units looks nice. The IK unit is smaller, cheaper and more mobile. The PG unit looks a bit more "pro".
I have 3 points which I'm curious about.
1) material and internal construction. Let's not assume plastic is bad. I've design parts for roller skies made out of plastic. The thing about plastic is that often it is re enforced with GF or CF without us knowing it. Plastic alone have upper strength limits of 60 MPa while plastic with fiber can reach 200 MPa which is just as good as Aluminium.
2) bluetooth technology. This one is the area Steve knows best.
3) the IK unit looks like on/ off switches. While I hope the PG unit have some function which is the same as a volume pedal which is Better for a Wah pedal!

And, Adam, Rip and the rest, thanks for the help offers and the feedback, I really appreciate it!

[adambomb]

Always run the headphone out full.... Unless its clipping (it shouldn't ) I, when I was using headphone out to DI, maxed minus one just to be on the safe side.

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by justbark

I'll crank the Ipad then. I have a headphone amp (FiiO E7) I could also run in between the headphone output and amp input.

What kind of headphones? The typical issue is are they easy or heavy to drive. The FiiO can drive serious headphones, so just sett the headphone out at 80-90% and let the FiiO do the rest. If the headphones are easy to drive such as AT M50 etc no need for the FiiO.

[adambomb]

Originally Posted by Duke21

I'm a bit late on this PG Airturn vs IK Blueboard.
Here is my thoughts.
Both units looks nice. The IK unit is smaller, cheaper and more mobile. The PG unit looks a bit more "pro".
I have 3 points which I'm curious about.
1) material and internal construction. Let's not assume plastic is bad. I've design parts for roller skies made out of plastic. The thing about plastic is that often it is re enforced with GF or CF without us knowing it. Plastic alone have upper strength limits of 60 MPa while plastic with fiber can reach 200 MPa which is just as good as Aluminium.

+1
Plastic isn't bad for sure. But to me (in the pictures) the IK unit (in the buttons and surround) doesn't look as sturdy. It may be totally opposite in life but in the pictures the airturn boards "look" more of a durable product....like you said "more, pro"

[Duke21]

The buttons IK unit look like kind of rubber/ elastomer.
The PG unit looks for sure more sturdy and well, build. The price differences also seem to fit our assumptions.
Anyway, good to have several options out there.
I'm a bit more curious about the Airturn due to the design.

[adambomb]

Originally Posted by Duke21

And, Adam, Rip and the rest, thanks for the help offers and the feedback, I really appreciate it!

All the birth talk got a little weird I know....but no one wants to be known as the group's virtual midwife

[Rip Topaz]

Yeah, I've got nothing against plastic at all. Just by looks alone the IK unit appears to be of the less sturdy variety. Looks like it would break quicker than the average piece of Behringer gear (said tongue in cheek, no one get their knickers in a wad).

The Airturn unit isn't new. It's meant for page-turning applications but developers have been nice enough to see the possibilities in our world.

[justbark]

Originally Posted by Duke21

What kind of headphones? The typical issue is are they easy or heavy to drive. The FiiO can drive serious headphones, so just sett the headphone out at 80-90% and let the FiiO do the rest. If the headphones are easy to drive such as AT M50 etc no need for the FiiO.

I only use the FiiO to drive a set of Grado SR225i's. Otherwise, I'm practicing without the FiiO through a set of MEElectronics SP51 earbuds or Sennheiser HD212's.

[adambomb]

Originally Posted by justbark

I'll crank the Ipad then. I have a headphone amp (FiiO E7) I could also run in between the headphone output and amp input.

Let us know how it goes I usually run mine to FOH DI not directly to an amp with a bass cab. Are you just using jamup as an effect board or are you using the amp sim too?

[adambomb]

Originally Posted by justbark

I'll crank the Ipad then. I have a headphone amp (FiiO E7) I could also run in between the headphone output and amp input.

Let us know how it goes I usually run mine to FOH DI not directly to an amp with a bass cab. Are you just using jamup as an effect board or are you using the amp sim too?

Maybe this is not your problem but.... I went back and read where you were using an 1/8" to 1/4" adapter cable. If both sides are stereo. This also may be causing a drop in signal strength. It shold be a splitting cable from 1/8" stereo to a 1/4" left side cable and a 1/4" right side cable and only one side, usually left, should be plugged into amp input. In the iOS 101 thread bluesman845 was having the trouble with a powered monitor being really quiet from both sides being plugged in the RCA left and right and one side was canceling the other somehow and when he unplugged one side it worked like it should...so if your plugging in a stereo 1/4" that may be the problem.

[justbark]

Smart thinking. Ill bet it is a stereo cable. It is an old one I grabbed out of my box o cables and I know I usually buy stereo cables.

Currently I use Jamup with headphones for practice. Once I get everything straightened out, the plan is to use Jamup for effects and as an amp sim. I'm in love with that SWR redhead amp that it has.

[Rip Topaz]

The Redhead is my current favorite, too.

When I run to my amp, I only use one end of the stereo Y cable that I use as the output from my iPhone. If I use the right side, the output is significantly lower. The fix is simple. Use the LEFT side cable only into the DI.

Bass in stereo in a live situation tends to lead to weird phasing issues. Lets face it, most FOH systems at a club level (and beyond) are run in mono, so adding a stereo bass is gonna get you quickly lost in the mix anyway. Save yourself the headache and aim towards a mono output, because that's all most soundguys are gonna be willing to give you, anyway.

That's now a bad thing unless you run a ton of stereo sweeping effects, and those are best left to the recordings. Unless you're wearing headphones, you won't be able to hear the stereo effect anyway.

But yeah, pull the right cable and you'll have your output.

Btw, what's the story with the 1-2-3 switch on the Blueline?

It still only switches between 1 & 2, or am I missing something. The Blueline seems to have improved sound wise, as well. So did the GK, in a big way. All the amps have improved in some way, but the Redhead and the GK are the most evident.

[faviobarrio]

It looks like IK's been concentrating on getting an Android solution out there:

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products....php?C=android