I’ve been researching a bit and would appreciate advice from anyone who has solved the same issue. A few weeks ago I replaced my crappy old semi-weighted semi-good sounding electric piano with a Korg SV1 which is so inspiring to play in comparison. But the one feature my crappy old piano had that I now miss, is a record button. It was just a simple MIDI recorder, but it is incredibly useful to me in two ways. First it lets me record improv noodles without needing to have a computer booted up & running, with all its distractions… Second, having improvised into it, I can hit play and experiment over the top of what I recorded. So the new piano feels & sounds great, but what I’d like input on is what device should I use to fulfill this need? I obviously own ProTools, ableton LIVE and Xx but I also really like the idea of putting the computer to sleep when noodling around improvising…
Heres the two options I’m considering:
1. I have both an iPad and an iPod Touch, so I could buy a Line 6 Midi Mobilizer – the list of apps isn’t that inspiring, although the MIDI Memo Recorder looks like it would do the first half of what I need. But, I’d kind of like some of the features of Option 2, which is old school….
2. Get an old hardware box like the Alesis MMT-8 MIDI sequencer which would also let me actually overdub…But transferring the MIDI recordings via email or wifi sure has appeal in Option 1…
So…. Do you own & use a Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer? Do you like it? The MIDI Memo Recorder App seems good but is there an app for it that would let me record a track & then replay it while I record/overdub another?
Since you already have iOS devices the midi mobilizer may be your best bet long term. If you really want to go the hardware route I would also look at the later models in the Yamaha QY series because they’re small and self-contained.
I would highly recommend a Yamaha QX-5 or QX-21. They are some of the only hardware sequencers I know of that have a resolution over 96ppq (I think the full resolution of the QX-5 is 380ppq), so what you play in is exctly what comes out, unless you want to start quantizing, etc. Other things I liked about those units: Built like tanks, and they have built-in power supplies, so you won’t have sacrifice extra outlets on a power strip to fit a wallwart.
http://www.youngmonkey.ca/background/museum/music_equipment/commercial/Yamaha-QX5.html
I too dislike playing into pro-tools. Too many toys to get distracted by.
I don’t know what the module is like, but my first thought would be to use the old keyboard as your storage medium, rather than buy an entirely new contraption. I have no idea what the circuit is like or how modular it is, but if you could pull the electronics out and re-house them you could just turn it on and MIDI in and out till your heart’s content.
Maybe you could combine options 1 and 2. Do most of your work with the Alesis, then when you are done use the Midi Mobilizer to send things out of the Alesis via WiFi. Maybe.
Those old Anatek “Pocket Midi” products from the 80′s could be the answer if you could find one on ebay?
http://www.izcorp.com/about-product-museum.php
And scroll down to ‘Pocket Record’
S
The June 2011 issue of Sound On Sound has an article on iOS devices for music. It discusses the Line 6 and some other ways of inputting MIDI and related apps for recording. It might have some useful info for you.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun11/articles/ios.htm (This is only part of the article. You need an esubscription for the rest but I just picked this up off the news stand a few days ago)
FWIW I’ve pursued two solutions
1. I bought a Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer as it works with my iPod Touch & my iPad, and it is an immediate solution available to me… ie I am using it now….
2. I bought an Alesis io dock for my iPad, which seems a little more future proof, as it supports core MIDI, and the iPad 2..