All of the "“scaper” apps get lots of use here. Fieldscaper, Soundcaper, Synthscaper… unique and wonderful.

Koala is definitely my first recommendation, but I honestly do most things on my phone when I’m out and about that I would do on my ipad when at home - the only restrictions are that some apps are not universal so they don’t work on my phone. I’ve got to admit, I’ve been so obsessed with Koala of late that I’ve not really given much else a look in. I tend to make things in there, render loops out of it and import them into AUM on separate channels where I effect them and generally just dub them out

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So what is the general consensus: what is everyones favorite piano roll app? I just want to take down quickly a bass line I have in my head.

(Why not learn to write sheet music you ask. I would answer you ask a good question.)

Atom is 20 characters of awesome

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This is what I initially bought my iPad Pro and pencil for and to be honest I never found a solution I was happy with. Not sure if that’s just me not enjoying the tactile experience though. I also planned to use it for pdf versions of scores I was working with for notes etc but that went out the window fast too, a paper version and pencil just works 100 times better for my needs.

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Do you own the 2017 or 2018 ipad pro + pencil? They advertise the new one is suppposed to be more tactile and accurate.
In any case, I will probably save up for a bit longer and go with a MBP. If there isn’t a professional music notation app available on ipad, it doesn’t really make much sense for me - although i do think the tablet + pencil would make a great (maybe even superior to a laptop) interface for this kind of work. I need an app that can do all the tuplets, subdividions, special symbols, different note heads, staff shapes/sizes, fonts, graphic notation etc. that I can dream of. If they could port the whole Sibelius desktop version to iOS (or iPadOS i guess), that would be perfect. I’d even pay the same price for it as the desktop version.

Mine is actually the original 12.9", I think, I bought it refurbed in 2017. So there is definitely a chance the newer versions are a lot better.

I am going to go out on a limb and say you will not find the feature set you need, or even close on the iPad yet. As much as I love that device, and as much as I’d like to be proven wrong, it’s just not there.

Why not go with a cheaper laptop than an MBP though? Just curious, nothing wrong with waiting for an MBP, I have one myself. You could easily get a nice laptop which will run Sibelius perfectly well for half the price of an iPad Pro + Pencil.

I have a 2009 MBP and had an old white mackook before that one so I’m just used to the operating system I guess. My girlfriend uses windows on desktop and laptop and I go crazy everytime I have to do any work there, so I don’t intend to switch to windows. Mine still works fine, albeit a bit slow, so I can wait to save up.

Fair enough, I definitely think efficiency of workflow is highly under-rated and worth extra money. If you are faster/more comfortable in OSX, it’s worth the cash,

As to the interface. That was my thinking too initially, I think the issue is the device learning to translate your pen strokes into what you intended is clunky. The more complicated you get with the notation the worse it is at that translation. At a certain point, if trying to be as accurate as possible (which is always my goal with notation), it just becomes a frustrating series of corrections and you could have been quicker and more accurate with a pencil.

The advantages we get from creating digital versions of scores are obviously massive, but again, you need to be completely accurate for that to be worthwhile and there isn’t IMO an efficiency advantage in the device interpreting pen strokes over putting the work into learning keyboard shortcuts extremely well or using lily pond to code exactly what you want.

For those of you with the most recent iPad Pro, how do you deal with connecting the USB-C -> Headphone adapter AND hooking up a MIDI USB device? A different dongle? A hub? Which?

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I am pretty sure I will be ordering the hyper this week as I can find no better all in one, although I am looking.

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I’d be wary of fixed direct input ones like that. Seen some of those Satechi ones snap off an MBP a bit too easily, leaving the usb c plug inside the jack.

I’ve been using the Satechi cable one and liked it a lot. Both with an MBP and the latest iPad Pro. https://satechi.net/products/satechi-aluminum-multi-port-adapter-4k?variant=27067045065

I’m not sure if this would solve the tactile experience, but a friend of mine who does a lot of drawing on iPad swears by the feel of PaperLike screen covers.

They wind up blurring the display a little bit (basically so that it doesn’t feel like retina anymore; everything is still legible of course), but they make the pencil-on-screen feel much much more like pencil-on-paper

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This one killed power delivery on my iPad Pro so I would avoid as others have had same issue

Decided to look this up myself.
Here is best description of the problem that I found
https://www.laroquephoto.com/blog/2019/2/28/the-not-so-hyper-hyperdrive.
Please chime in and fill in my knowledge.for me - the ipad is becoming central to jam session and I want to expand how I use it in as ergonomic way possible

Thank you @dangriffiths for bringing this up.

The Satechi looks nice but does not have headphone jack.
The hyper comes with an extension cable which was how I was planning to use it.

Anyone with other solutions please let me know my goal is one simple dongle with usb and headphone out - trying to avoid a mass of cables so its easy to travel with. Audio in is bonus points and would make it perfect.

Yea it doesn’t have audio I/O. I usually just plug in my Babyface Pro and get those that way.

Was an odd one as I could still backup and data transfer but couldn’t charge. Apple ended up replacing it and company promised a refund which I am still waiting for. Shame as it was a nice device but wouldn’t risk it again!

I am really surprised someone like Belkin or iConnectivity hasn’t made anything like this yet…

I would love to see a “docking-station”-like breakout that connects via USB-C, supports pass-through charging, has a few USB-A ports, and has stereo line in and line out.

Like, something in the vein of any one of these, but with audio instead of HDMI https://www.theverge.com/this-is-my-next/2018/6/1/17413728/the-best-usb-c-hub-for-laptops-macbook-pro

This might be close to what you’re looking for: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1478612-REG/kanex_k172_1041_ipad_premium_usb_c_hub_for.html