Basic functionality and supported hardware

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HeikoMA
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:43 pm

Basic functionality and supported hardware

Post by HeikoMA »

Dear forum,

during my live performances I sometimes have problems getting my sounds set up in time – sometimes there are quite some delays as e.g. the drummer is ready to count in but I am still searching for the correct sounds on my keyboards.

To make life easier during gigs I would need some kind of "control center" to do the following (song based):

(i) send program changes to ALL keyboards in my setup (usually 2-3 keyboards)
(ii) in exceptional cases a transpose command has to be sent to ALL keyboards as well
(iii) if possible a volume command has to be sent to ALL keyboards to compensate the volume differences between very loud / silent sounds

Hence my questions:

a) is "iMIDIPatchbay" basically capable to accomplish ALL these tasks?
b) does "iMIDIPatchbay" work song based as described above?
c) can the songs in "iMIDIPatchbay" "only" be created on the iPad itself or is there some kind of "editor" on the Mac to benefit from the bigger screen?
d) is it possible to make a playlist for a whole gig and is it possible / easy to change the order of the songs on short notice?
e) is it possible to create some kind of "song library" (on the Mac) and "send" only the songs needed for the particular gig to the iPad?

Regarding the necessary MIDI interface – would this one do the job?

https://nektartech.com/midiflex-4-usb-midi-interface

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best regards,
Heiko
MarceloCaramuta
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2021 6:28 pm

Re: Basic functionality and supported hardware

Post by MarceloCaramuta »

Hello, in response to your questions. iMIDIPatchbay does almost all the things you want. PDF's are uploaded to Dropbox which then ties to iMIDIPatchbay so you can attach them to the songs on your list. The songs are created in iMIDIPatchbay. I use iMIDIPatchbay as a professional touring keyboardist with multiple shows a week.

The issue that I want to point out is that I haven't seen any posts or updates from the developer in a long time. iMIDIPatchbay was brilliant up until iOS 14. And support was excellent and personal, with good response from the developer. Since iOS14, a couple issues have popped up and though quite a few of us loyal users have pointed them out, there has been no comment. Some of those issues are critical - like PDF issues and hanging synths.

So at this time, I cannot recommend this app as the bugs are a real problem for me. And not that iOS15 is soon to arrive, things may get more problematic. I am waiting a little longer to see if the app is still being supported. If it is not, I will migrate my music to another app.
HeikoMA
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:43 pm

Re: Basic functionality and supported hardware

Post by HeikoMA »

Dear Marcelo,

thank you for your kind response.
Indeed this app doesn't "seem" to get "much" attention – and it is quite difficult to get any reply at all.

With the issues you mentioned in mind I prefer to wait for the situation in iOS15.

Regarding the hardware: do you have any experience with the "MIDIFLEX 4"?

https://nektartech.com/midiflex-4-usb-midi-interface

Alternatively: which MIDI hardware do you use in your setup?

Best regards,
Heiko