Advise on Tablets

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Re: Advise on Tablets

Postby dyker124 » Sat Sep 21, 2019 10:23 pm

Hi All,

I work alongside Jason at the Warwick Shadows guitar club and must say that the iPad is a godsend for playing the BT's. As Jason mentioned, the two APP's we use are 'One Track' and 'One Track Mind'. Like all technology, the Pad manufacturers periodically update their operating systems and it's up to the APP providers to keep up following their OP system update. Some are better at it than others so we are all their hands until the APP eventually doesn't work any more. We have been using the iPad for some years now and fortunately our APP's are currently still working which is good. Our iPad is now not updatable now due to it's age, but the APP's are still working fine. At home I also use the iPad for home recording using an APP called 'Multitrack DAW' which is brilliant.

I have also tried using an ASUS Pad which uses an Android operating system. This too is also very good but a word of caution with recording. The way that the audio signals route through the Android system is totally different to the Apple IOS operating system resulting in quite poor latency. For those who don't know what latency is, it's the time it takes between the input of the signal to when it is processed. Some APP's on Android systems have a manual adjustment for this but it can be a bit inaccurate or fiddly. The latency on the Apple devices is quite good.

Hope some of this helps.

Roger
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Re: Advise on Tablets

Postby dave robinson » Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:40 pm

I've been using backing tracks since 1979 in every form that was available to play them on, from a Revox 10" reel to reel through the compact cassette, CD, DAT, Mini Disc Windows Laptop PC, Apple iTunes on Macbook Pro then iPad using 'One Track Mind' then more recently 'Stage Trax'. The tablet format is handy and compact but Mp3s are not good quality for performance through a top quality rig, you need the music as a WAV or AIFF to get the top quality. It's the dynamics that suffer with Mp3s and although acts get away with using them they don't do one's talent justice.
The CD & DAT tracks were always superb quality, up there with the Revox - record quality with dynamics a full 20hz to 22khz, which when powered through a quality rig sounds like a real live band.
I know that this is way too much for most people here in cost and practicality, but I wanted to highlight why stuff you see on TV sounds so damn good, they use top quality samples. The difference is achieving a quality sound and 'live' sounding show, rather than sounding like a bloke singing or playing to a karaoke machine. Some acts and DJs n particular are guilty of using poor quality Mp3s, that when cranked up sound bloody awful and difficult to listen to for any length of time.
I would recommend a minimum 192mps when transferring CDs to Mp3 files, at least they sound respectable at club level, provided they are first generation.
My choice is still the iPad, you can buy a second hand generation III which will run the 'One Track Mind' & 'Stage Tracks' with no problem - £80 onwards will buy you one. I use an old one from 2012 and I have an Alesis i/o dock that it slots into and charges as it's playing, all the sockets are 1/4" jack, no silly mini-jacks. The I dock costs around £170 new, but you can find them used.
I can't vouch for PC based stuff, but having so many failures and crashes with my PC laptops in the past, I'm an Apple man through and through and have yet to have a problem. OK they are more expensive, but the peace of mind is priceless.
Hope some of this info helps. :)
Dave Robinson
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