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iOS 9 compatible DAW or multitrack audio editor?

ricecrispies

ricecrispies

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 27, 2018
40
1
Is there a reasonably priced and reasonably usable DAW or audio editor with multitrack capability available for iOS 9? I am trying to get a fairly young person set up to start experimenting with home recording, and the only hardware she has is an iPod Touch 5th Gen. Or at a push she can also borrow her mum's iPad, but that is also limited to iOS 9. I live a long way away from this young person, so I can't myself get hold of her iPod to browse the apps available on iTunes.

Am I also safe to assume that any USB audio interface that is marketed as being compatible with iOS should work with this version of the iPod Touch? Or should any USB audio interface that conforms to the USB audio standard work, even if it's not marketed as being iOS compatible?

And what kind of socket is the USB port on the iPod Touch? Is it the same as on current iPhones? Would her mum's iPad have the same kind of socket? I just need to know so that I can get the right cable to connect an audio interface if I go that route.

Please forgive me for asking what must be fairly basic questions, but I haven't used Apple products for a long time so I'm a bit out of touch.
 
Garageband should work as a basic DAW depending on what you are trying to achieve.

As for the USB interface, not I would not assume that at all. I have recently shopped for an interface for my guitar and found that many are hit and miss with various levels for support. I ended up with and iRig HD2 for my setup as it also works with Bias FX.

It looks like that is a lightening port which is the most current type of port on her device.

Here is a link to the brand I went with and it works okay for what I needed it for.

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/
 
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Thanks for that information.

The young person in question says that she tried to install GarageBand, but it won't let her because she hasn't got iOS 11. If I've understood her correctly, GarageBand was pre-installed on the device but she uninstalled it for some reason at some point, and now she can't get it back.
 
ricecrispies said:
Thanks for that information.

The young person in question says that she tried to install GarageBand, but it won't let her because she hasn't got iOS 11. If I've understood her correctly, GarageBand was pre-installed on the device but she uninstalled it for some reason at some point, and now she can't get it back.
Click to expand...

Ah, well that would be a problem and will be a problem with most of the things that are out on the store with her being at iOS 9.

Sadly the devices she has access to will be an issue with anything that we tell you about as they are both on iOS 9. No access to a computer?
 
daflake said:
Ah, well that would be a problem and will be a problem with most of the things that are out on the store with her being at iOS 9.

Sadly the devices she has access to will be an issue with anything that we tell you about as they are both on iOS 9. No access to a computer?
Click to expand...
Her mum has an old iMac she can use.
 
daflake said:
She might be able to use Garageband there if it is installed and should be able to connect one of the interfaces to it instead. Sorry, but iOS9 is rather out of date now.
Click to expand...

The iMac is not in a very good location for her to do her stuff. Could she do a clean install of iOS 9 and get GarageBand back that way?
 
I've seen a long discussion of this issue on the Apple forums and it seems like, in the end, some of the users were finally offered the previous version that's compatible with iOS 9 when they tried to install Garageband.

Is the device updated to the latest version of iOS 9 (9.3.5)?
 
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BrianBaughn said:
I've seen a long discussion of this issue on the Apple forums and it seems like, in the end, some of the users were finally offered the previous version that's compatible with iOS 9 when they tried to install Garageband.

Is the device updated to the latest version of iOS 9 (9.3.5)?
Click to expand...
That's interesting. Do you happen to remember where that thread was? If not, I'll try to find it. I did find a thread about the more general issue of installing older versions of apps on older versions of iOS, but I got quite confused. It doesn't help that I'm not at all familiar with the iOS way of doing things or that I'm trying to do this at a distance. I'll ask the young person whether her device is up to date when I get a chance. But presumably that's easily fixed if it isn't up to date?
 
BrianBaughn said:
This is the thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7664688

The reason I asked about the iOS version is that I'm wondering if the glitch was fixed in one of the last updates.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I think that was the thread I saw before in fact, but it was so confusing that I couldn't tell whether it ever came to a conclusion and so I didn't bother to read more than the first few posts. From what you're saying, it sounds like it will be worth sitting down with a large pot of tea and reading all the way through it :D
 
I'm in the same situation (my iPad Mini only goes up to IOS 9) and I've just been able to successfully download and install a compatible version of Garageband (I hadn't downloaded it before, so other suggestions involving that didn't apply).

I quickly read through the above link which might or might not have solved the problem, but in any case, this is what I did in just a few steps (so you can save that pot of tea for later) :p:

1) in iTunes on my Mac I went into the "app" section, searched for Garageband and clicked on "download" (ignore what it says about being only for IOS 11 or later). I had to log in with my Apple ID in order to download it.

2) Once download to the Mac I picked up my iPad, connected it to a wireless network and opened up the "App store" app. Once again, log into the app using your Apple ID.

3) Click on the "Purchased" icon at the bottom of the screen. It should list everything you've purchased or downloaded for free from the App store. This includes Garageband which you just downloaded to iTunes on the Mac.

4) Next to "Garageband" in the list you'll see a cloud type icon. Click on it to download it "from the cloud".

5) Now here's where the fun starts: once you've clicked on the download icon you'll get an alert saying this app will only work with a newer IOS version (as expected), but..... read on further and you'll see that you're also offered to download the latest compatible version! So click on "Download" to do that.

That's it. Now you should have a working Garageband in IOS 9 :)
Let us know how it goes.
 
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The young person ended up having a complete change of plan about how to go about making music, so the DAW side of things has got put to one side and we haven't been able to test this solution. Maybe she will come back to it in a few weeks or months, in which case we'll give it a go.
 
Glad she found a solution.
Since I got Garageband to work on my iPad I'm curious to see if it'll work with my Focusrite audio interface (bought for my Mac Pro). I understand I need the "USB camera kit" Lightning cable for that, so I'll see about getting it at some stage. Could be refreshing to make music without a computer as a more minimalist setup :)
 
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