Well I guess everyone knows about how great the iPad is for media-consume, but how good can you use it as producer?
There is a really wide spread range of Apps you can download for nearly all kind of media work like photography, video-editing, webdesign, illustration and after all also audio. Looking at all those audio Apps out there you can split them into three groups: recording solutions, synths, controller.
The first part of this three-part series is about the good old analog synths made by Korg called iElectribe and iMS-20.
Both of this legendary analog hardware synths by Korg became digital reconstructed by their manufactor itself, so it’s no suprise they look exactly like their ‘big brothers’. The first thing you of course have to mention: the price. Where the original Electribe costs around 500 bucks you get both Apps for around 30 € (sumed up). Professional audio should not be dominated by the price of it’s gear so it’s up to you at this point.
What matters much more: the sound.
I did not have a chance to compare the iMS-20 with it’s analog brother but ‘Klangfarbe’ a great store in Vienna offered me the chance to test the Korg Electribe MX for some time and let me compare it to the iPad version.
They sound absolutely the same, all effects, all settings, all modulations sound exactly the same BUT the iElectribe works 100% digital and this is finally what you can hear! Working with analog technique and tubes inside the Electribe MX sound more ‘fuzzy’ and kind of ‘warm’ like it’s used to sound using tubes. Well how important is this? I think 50%: working in a studio this kind of cold sound of the digital version can be modified – no problem, direct out the box I think the original just sounds better. The second reason for the analog version: it’s size: the screen of the iPad is not that big. It’s bigger than the one of the iPhone or something like this – great marketing Apple – but indeed it’s just a mobile device and as it is, it’s small. You can use iElectribe without bigger problems, because it’s interface is very organized (like the Electribe itself) but some smaller buttons might be a little unprecise to work with ‘live’. Looking at it’s usability the iMS-20 shows the power of confusion: it’s nearly impossible to work with it ‘live’ when things just have to work, because there are far too many layers and submenus an too small buttons.
Well let’s sum it up:
Both synths, iElectribe and iMS-20 sound really good and are perfect for small budget. If you buy them together with a small version of the iPad you can save around 500€. They work good, are reliable, never had any crash or something like that but after all it’s up to you, whether you like to work on a small screen or on a really hardware synth.
I just can recommend that people plan to use it more than once a week should really think about at least a used version of the synths but should give those great iPad Apps a try.