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My favorite exchange in the comments:

AU is great, but VST support would be nice too


I’m guessing the incentive for apple to support VST is exactly 0%

If apple's intent is to sell more iPads and not so much to give away more copies of GarageBand then vst would not be a bad thing. I was playing around with Auria and wondering whether we would see AU support. Auria is pretty complete as an audio only sequencer already with a good array or plugins available. How long can it be before MOTU takes the plunge?

There are so many apps that would make more sense as plugins in the iOS environment.

On one hand, it is like making the iOS suck less, and be more like a laptop.

On the other hand, it looks like it will force people to choose between the mess that is Audiobus, and all the legacy apps, or updating iOS and apps to get the new and more elegant structure.

I guess to it will be another tough fork in the road in terms of an OS update and app updates. Good for developers though.

Hopefully, many developers will use the "bundle" trick to let customers buy their plug-in version at a discount if the user already owns the stand-alone.

I sort of think it's amusing that as more power is added to iPads, and people start using bluetooth keyboards for ease of use and hunger for the ability to transfer a file to a USB thumb drive, for example, the iPad may someday evolved into the laptop. I kid, but I remember struggling to shoehorn my iPad 2 into the role of playing live backing tracks, until I finally just gave up on it and bought a used MacBook for $350 and never been happier. It was just too cumbersome and not worth the effort.

James Steele wrote:I sort of think it's amusing that as more power is added to iPads, and people start using bluetooth keyboards for ease of use and hunger for the ability to transfer a file to a USB thumb drive, for example, the iPad may someday evolved into the laptop. I kid, but I remember struggling to shoehorn my iPad 2 into the role of playing live backing tracks, until I finally just gave up on it and bought a used MacBook for $350 and never been happier. It was just too cumbersome and not worth the effort.

I agree. iPads are cool, but shoehorning them into a laptop role sometimes smacks of trying too hard. "Can I make this hot dog taste like a cheeseburger?" Just get a cheeseburger.

philbrown wrote:

James Steele wrote:I sort of think it's amusing that as more power is added to iPads, and people start using bluetooth keyboards for ease of use and hunger for the ability to transfer a file to a USB thumb drive, for example, the iPad may someday evolved into the laptop. I kid, but I remember struggling to shoehorn my iPad 2 into the role of playing live backing tracks, until I finally just gave up on it and bought a used MacBook for $350 and never been happier. It was just too cumbersome and not worth the effort.

I agree. iPads are cool, but shoehorning them into a laptop role sometimes smacks of trying too hard. "Can I make this hot dog taste like a cheeseburger?" Just get a cheeseburger.

A cheesburger hot dog sounds absolutely fantastic. Have you never had a cheeseburger bite from 7-eleven? They are awesome!

philbrown wrote:

James Steele wrote:I sort of think it's amusing that as more power is added to iPads, and people start using bluetooth keyboards for ease of use and hunger for the ability to transfer a file to a USB thumb drive, for example, the iPad may someday evolved into the laptop. I kid, but I remember struggling to shoehorn my iPad 2 into the role of playing live backing tracks, until I finally just gave up on it and bought a used MacBook for $350 and never been happier. It was just too cumbersome and not worth the effort.

I agree. iPads are cool, but shoehorning them into a laptop role sometimes smacks of trying too hard. "Can I make this hot dog taste like a cheeseburger?" Just get a cheeseburger.

Yep. I tried hard, too. Wanted to be soooo cutting edge. But there I was running Meteor as my sequencer, using the unwieldy Camera Connection Kit, to then connect a USB cable to a MIDI/Audio interface because the DAC in the iPad 2 is crap. Even I can hear the difference. Then on top of it, until MOTU makes an iPad version of DP, you have to go through the tedious process of getting a sequence you created in DP into the iPad, which involved importing WAV files and a MIDI file, etc.

I did all this and in the end sometimes the iPad would randomly lose connection to the interface. It was underpowered. Editing was cumbersome once it was in the iPad.

But the real kicker, is that DP has the killer app when it comes to live performance backup: CHUNKS!! No other DAW has this. Using Meteor on the iPad, my drummer had to close a sequence when Meteor was finished playing, squint at the iPad screen and tappity-tap to load the next sequence, wait for it to be ready and then tap the small on screen play button. It took a fairly long time. Now he's using the iPad to remotely control DP on the laptop and things are much faster.

philbrown wrote:I agree. iPads are cool, but shoehorning them into a laptop role sometimes smacks of trying too hard. "Can I make this hot dog taste like a cheeseburger?" Just get a cheeseburger.

I agree. I tried giving the iPad a serious chance at that, but in the end it makes more sense as a studio accessory than it does as a central unit. I remain undecided about it's use for synths, but for tasks like remote control, lyrics sheets, and so on, it's great. As for fiddling around with a DAW on it trying to do serious work, no thanks.

My iPad use is different but, if I tried to use it like DP, it would be useless.

In my case, I either

a) play live through VIs, mostly the builtin instruments from GB but there are a couple others as well. I use the touch screen (bass or guitar) or my Line 6 Mobile Keys (anything else). The audio goes direct to the PA from the 1/8" TRS.

b) sing to pre-recorded audio files stored in my iPad. I use Twisted Wave to store and trigger the audio files – so much faster and easier than any other app I have tried. The files are prepared in DP beforehand. Same audio path as above. Getting them in through DropBox is as easy as anything else - iTunes has too many steps.

I can switch back and forth as needed among the three choices without making any hardware adjustments. One song, I play bass and sin. Another, I'll pull up a Hammond patch and play on the Line 6 (who needs two hands? This is rock and roll!!!). On a third, it's my wife's pre-recorded piano part and the band is playing along.

The iPad is convenient and lightweight, that's all. Anything more complex would require a laptop and I could still do the above except that I'd have to use my iPad as a touch screen controller or play keyboard bass.

mikehalloran wrote:One song, I play bass and sin.

I know a death metal band looking for a bass player.

You mean a base player?

bayswater wrote:You mean a base player?

Well yeah... if they sin, I guess they're fairly base.

James Steele wrote:

mikehalloran wrote:One song, I play bass and sin.

I know a death metal band looking for a bass player.

Hahaha!

I was near death that day. Does that count?

Naw... my abilities to sing came back but sin is something I'm still working on. Perhaps I can join a support group.