Mobile Apps and Hardware • Re: Why did mobile music production never take off?

When iOS production became a thing a decade ago, it seemed such a promising direction, with a vibrant producer scene, loads of new apps, mobile DAWs and effects. But to me, it seems like, it never really got out its niche. And I' wondering why? Is it because Android never really caught up?
Are iOS/iPadOs devices not powerful enough to produce full tracks?

This is a very strange string of questions and postulations, clearly from someone whose never stuck his head over Apple's walled garden to see what's out there.

I've been doing "mobile music" for almost 40 years. If you're a gigging musician, it's what you do. I started off with a van full of hardware, which gradually got smaller and smaller over the years. Then, for a couple of years, we carted a desktop computer and CRT monitor to gigs. In 2006 I bought my first laptop, the first ever Dell XPS model, and that's when "mobile" meant I could carry my whole set-up to a gig on the bus. I've continued to refine it over the years, to the point my entire set-up fits into my carry-on luggage.

As of several weeks ago, we're doing it on a PC the size of an iPad Mini, that runs a full version of Windows 11. It allows us to use all the same tools we've been using for years/decades, without compromise. It probably runs better than any set-up I've had previously, yet I can fit it into a coat pocket.

OTOH, an iPad doesn't run any of the software we've been using for years, so it's of absolutely no use to us at all. We'd be buying into a whole new ecosystem, which would cost us money and involve hundreds of hours of extra work for no benefit.

Also, making music on a phone can be fun.

So can beating up your girlfriend but you don't do it, do you?

Yes, you can easily make full tracks on a phone. Yes, you can even master and release a whole album from your phone.

So what? I could do it all on hardware, too, but there is no reason in the world why I'd want to.

Part of the reason for the lower popularity is displayed in this thread: bias against.

No, there are good and valid reasons:

1. Connectivity. How many devices can you plug into a phone?

2. Features. Can a DAW that runs on your phone offer anywhere near all the features of the DAW you're running on your big computer? No, they can't. In fact, they are mostly just toys to help us waste away the idle hours in our pointless lives.

3. Ease of use. There is nowhere near enough screen real estate to facilitate good workflows, especially for apps designed for touch.

Ultimately, just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should.

Who sez?
I know lots of people who mix & master entire albums while walking down the street, grabbing a burger & beer, and taking a piss.

Taking the piss, more like.

... since getting a new computer in 2021 I have barely used my iPads for music aside from sampling things with my phone sometimes .

I don't understand why you'd use an iPad for anything. I've had a handful of tablets over the years, from a Blackberry Playbook to a couple of different Windows tablets and, honestly, they were a complete waste of money. I got them because they seemed really cool but when it came to actually getting stuff done, they weren't much chop. I could run 3DS Max on one of them, but not very well, even hooked up to a monitor, keyboard and mouse. All of those devices ended up sitting on the far end of the sofa after a few months. They just weren't useful for anything. Now that phones have such huge screens, they make even less sense than ever.

It's only now that you can get things like Lenovo's Legion Go or Asus's ROG Ally that tablet sized computers are finally coming into their own - no nonsense, no compromise desktop replacements that fit in your coat pocket.

I’d like to see someone holding their tower pc make music on the crowded bus, train, or a cafe for hours.

And I'd like to see someone get up on stage with just their phone and put on a 90 minute performance. But the thing is, a full-size tower is not the only alternative, there are plenty of solutions that allow you to work on your music on the bus, to do top quality recording and production work in a studio and do your 90 minute live set. Only our first two albums were done on a desktop computer, everything since has been done, from start to finish, on a laptop.

Also, pro tip: there’s such a thing as a stand for your phone or iPad so you don’t have to hold it if that’s such a concern to someone.

That's gonna make it a lot less portable. I got one for my Legion Go but the portability factor has relegated it to the desktop. Luckily the Go has a kick-stand.

I do notice a lot of ignorant people simply dismissing mobile devices as being useful

Right, because none of us have ever actually owned mobile devices, so we can't possibly know what we're talking about.

not knowing just how useful they can be - even as extensions and enhancements to the desk-bound studio, if replacement or substitution isn’t a thing for someone.

Well, this is the low hanging fruit, so let me point out that all but a very few mobile devices run a different OS to any desktop computer, so the interoperability simply isn't there. e.g. There is no way I could open a Studio One project on any phone or iPad, is there? So anything I might want to work on, would have to basically be re-recreated on the other device, which is hardly useful, is it?

You know, reading your posts here makes me wonder if you even make music. Seriously, the limitations and pitfalls of using a mobile for music production are so obvious, it's hard to believe anyone even needs to explain them to you.

Statistics: Posted by BONES — Sat Oct 05, 2024 2:33 am

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