Replacing my Amp With an iPad
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- In this video I give a brief intro to my new guitar rig and my experience with it over the last few months. The rig is centered around my iPad pro, but any iPad or iPhone can be used. I use the xsonic xtone as an interface and midi control, as well as BIAS FX 2 for sound processing, and I must say the result is great!
I would highly recommend this as an alternative to a floor sim (multifx) unit like any of the Helix units or their competitors (Mooer, Boss GT, Neural Quad Cortex, Headrush etc). Of course this set up is not necessarily better, but I mean that it is worth considering as it delivers very respectable results.
My instagram: / bedroom_guitar_hero
My band: / @bringtobearband
#metalguitar #guitargear #metalband
0:00 Intro
1:42 Xtone overview
4:15 Gojira sound in BIAS FX
5:52 Assigning midi to BIAS pedals
8:52 Personal tone preset demo
9:43 My opinion of the iPad guitar rig - Hudba
What amp alternative do you guys use? Would you use an iPad for your sound live?
I use my iPad live. I have two powered PA speakers, not that I need two powered speakers, they both have mixers in the back, but I just use one to run my interface, and to send my line to the other active speaker’s line input. But I use both for extra noise. With a band, you wanna use something that pushes air. So when I see guitarists using PA systems or active speakers they usually demo with a 12” speaker… makes no sense to me. But I realize why… won’t go into it. My speakers are at 15” . These babies push air. I went for a guitarist as a DJ type of direction. So I could plug in anywhere and be loud as hell if it’s needed
That’s cool, going straight in I definitely notice a lack of massiveness in my sound that I expect even from 12 inch speakers, but I don’t even have a car, can’t lug around any PAs
@@BedroomGuitarHero oh I get ya. I hated lugging around my half stack.. let alone my 60 watt 6505+ combo. Thing is heavy. I always meant to build a road case for it.. but my PA speakers don’t even equal to half the weight of an amp and cabinet. But I have a ton of options, now, for live audio. And I used to drive my band mates to and from practice and shows, the PA system (my PA system) is lighter in weight and it’s better for gas mileage if your getting a ride from the homie who goes to all the gigs, lol.
Also, I didn’t catch the brand of interface you have.. I love it and want one. To have an interface, with foot switches, on your board is pretty handy. I have mine velcro’d to the top one of my speakers 😂.
@@Seansquatch7 thats actually a really cool option, will defo keep it in mind, right not the issue isnt just weight its space too, its the UK everyone has tiny cars, we have trouble fitting just one extra guitar as a spare and thats considering neither guitarist nor the bassist pack an amp much less a cab 🤣
Might get a car at some point tho, or maybe a band van, could be an option then 😁
I only play with a small group of friends - so I don't have big needs. For a while I've been using my strat through a Vox Amplug2 clean model - directly into a 20W JVC bluetooth speaker - and that's been fine; not a big sound... but acceptable for practice and small groups. However - I've tried the GE Labs amp/effects emulator on my iPad and that seemed to work really well but considering where I had the speaker, I couldn't hear all that well. Having seen this vide and others - I tried Bias Amp 2 today - into the same speaker, with the Amplug 2 set to the clean channel as an interface - and connecting via a $5 USB sound card - it was more than acceptable so given that I like clean and slightly overdriven sounds, with a touch of reverb for playing jazz and blues - I might be shelling out for a licence to set up some presets; it's also more convenient than ligging my practice amp around - I only need the gig bag and my normal shoulder bag!
Love seeing the iPad used in many great ways. Nicely done.
This was helpful as I'm going down this path presently. Thanks for the video!
Thanks! Glad it was helpful. I used the setup live recently, and plan to make an update vid about my experience :)
Thanks for sharing!, this is an awesome advice or how to use alternative tools, we are used to use traditional stuff (pedals etc) and this solves a lot of space, cabling and unnecessary cost.. Many Thanks, just brilliant!
Thanks for the video. Very helpful.
Thanks Niki for sharing these informations...
XLNT demo and commentary. No frills, just the hard facts. Checking out your band now. Tanx!
I agree with you on the minimal approach! I use the RIFF and an iPad - Bias FX2 Elite and it all fits into my guitar bag/case pocket!!
Good presentation sir!
On side note, I know many guitar players are switching to a rig they can bring to stage in a small bag slung across their shoulder and don't get me wrong my lazy black ass loves convenience lol, but my biggest gripe with using "non traditional" gear on stage (and I've tried mind you) is that I could never really get that feel and immediacy that a tube combo amp like my good old Fender 65 blackface twin reverb hitting the back of my legs can give me, and even more so having to rely on the PA/monitor system and the often times inept sound man running the damn thing.. very frustrating!
But yeah as far as playing in my home studio goes, I prefer using digital because I've found it so much easier to dial in a recordable tone than trying to mic up a real speaker cab.
I'm actually impressed with the tone! As a neural user I'm biased (see what I did there) but that EVH5150 is on point!
Yeah man especially for live or rehearsal, you arent that audible plus there's so much of the room in your tone (which always degrades it by a lot) that small differences arent actually recogniseable
You don’t need anything more than a IPad and a nice sound card. I like Bias Fx i have all from them. My favorite is GE Labs, it’s free and it’s unbelievable good. There are a lot more, still i managed to get everything from Eventide, just to see people raving about their new hardware, which i have already on the ipad.
I did this a while ago for a few years. I recently went back to an amp and it’s so much better. I don’t know what I was thinking with these convoluted setups. A good multifx pedal with a small amp is all you really need. No cables all over the place, worrying about my iPad getting yanked onto the floor, as well as latency issues. 😫
I love ToneStack Pro. Also I use Xtone pro with expression pedal. ToneStack works well with expression and they have many Wah pedal.
Great vid man,
Thank you! :)
Useful video thanks!
Glad to hear! :)
Glad to hear! :)
I bought the iRig HD 2 for that same purpose and it's really nice
This was very helpful. I have countless guitars and gear so I don’t need anything. I, however, always thought playing thru my iPad might be fun. I didn’t know how to do it though so this looks like fun. I just have to figure out how to make it go thru an amp or power amp and the fun will begin.
How did it work for you into an amps effects return? Or into a channel input on a live sound mixer perhaps? The live application is still the question with this type of setup. Thanks for the video!
Hey, it works great with both. I made an update vid after using it live for the first time, check it out (TLDR: it works well) :)
Hola, como haces para grabar desde BIAS fx al PC con Windows?
Thanks for taking the time to make this vid
You mention using this rig for rehearsal But not what you amplify the sound with
Do the guys have an amp or frfr speaker or are you using a PA ??
If your not bringing a cab who is providing your sound ??
Cheers
Hey, thanks for the comment! :)
What I do is hook up to the PAs through XLR > mixing desk along with the vocals and our accordion. I've also briefly tried going through the FX return of an amp hooked up to a 4x12, but the sound requires tweaking when doing that, so instead I just go direct every time. Each different cab is going to have such a dramatic effect on your sound that I would not consider this a normal option, rather an emergency one if you cant go direct to PA, but it can definitely work.
Did you adjust settings at all to reduce latency? I thought this worked great at home, then when I went to jam with a friend I def. Felt like my input was a bit delayed compared to their traditional setup.
The thing that increased latency for me in the beginning of the video is screen recording on the iPad. So if you noticed latency at some point and didnt at another, I would suggest checking if you've got any other intensive apps running. I've rehearsed and played live with this setup a bunch of times and never actually noticed latency, but I may just be not very affected by latency.
Overloud by THU for the win!
Need to check that one out, havent heard of it :D
Hey I use iPad with Bias Fx 2 mobile as well for live situations but have latency when switching FX. Do you have any issues with that?
I use an older iPad from 2015, and a blueboard Bluetooth pedal.
Not sure if it’s the pedal or the processing speed of my iPad.
Hmm interesting, I dont get any latency I notice, no. Mine is an iPad pro from 2020, not sure which gen :p
The only time I got noticeable latency is when I screen recorded at the same time.
I also use an iPad with BIAS for guitar. Love the sounds, but I have issues with volume loss during playing. I have to unplug the lightening jack and plug it back in to fix it.
You ever had this issue?
Hmm that's interesting, I do not, never have. Are you doing it on a phone? First thought would be notifications or something, so maybe airplane mode would fix it?
I want to do exactly what you have demonstrated. I live in south Africa so it's difficult to find the xtone by xsonic. If you do it's very expensive.
I still have to buy an iPad which is also very expensive.
I am planning to make an extra video about my experience with this setup after using it live. But my short summary of what I think is that unless you actually want the iPad for other reasons, a floor sim is a lot more practical, and I am sure compares well in terms of sound. Also, you dont have to use an iPad pro, I think this will work with one of the cheaper/older iPads (check though) and iPhones too.
This was extremely helpful! What ipad do you have? I want to try it but i have an older ipad air.
I have the 2020 ipad pro
is the latency noticeable? the only experience I have using amp Sims is Stevie T's djent god sim with a Rocksmith cable as my audio interface and it had a lot of lag lol. I'm guessing getting a focusrite would help with that
I've had no latency issues with either the focusrite or the xsonic, in some cases you may need to go into the supplied software (in focusite case) and tweak settings there to reduce MS. Xsonic going into ipad no issues at all.
The Latency comes from the Rocksmith Cable
Did the same thing. I Rig HD2, Blue board to switch pedals. Free GE Labs guitar app, $30 expression pedal. Straight to PA or Amps FX return.
Total investment $130
Where was this stuff when I was starting guitar 😭
Do you know if it’s possible to use a external pedal like a digitech drop with the xtone and if so would you know how to hook it up?
Well you can plug your pedal into your signal chain as normal, but not between the simulated bits in BIAS as theres no “FX loop” in the pedal. So depending on the pedal, you may or may not be able to have it as the very first or very last thing in your chain. You can however plug in a midi pedal to control a similar effect in the software if you can find it.
When playing in your home studio do you ever play through studio monitors? If so, which ones, and do they sound pretty good?
Hey, yes, I use the Kali LP6s. They sound great to me, but I have no experience with any other monitors, they were just recommended to me :)
If this setup works for you then that's great! Whatever gear you use to get your tone, and you feel comfortable using, go for it and don't look back! You probably will get a WTF moment from other gear heads impressed at how your embracing technology and that's okay. I personally tried the iRig IO Stomp (and still own it) which is a hardware pedal board for iPad. While the pedal board is rock solid with no complaints there, I found it to be unreliable with the software and had to play with connections until I found a sequence to make it work consistently. In the end because I couldn't trust the reliability of it, and after trying the BOSS Katana I settled on a BOSS ME-80 multi-effects processor into the effects loop of a 2x12 combo amp. I get everything I want from it and just had to add a couple of external pedals like a BOSS TU-3 Tuner and a Digitech Drop for retuning. I know this would defeat your purpose of traveling lighter but it works for me. KEEP ROCKIN'!
Yeah, staying open minded. I mean I love a good tube amp as much as the next guy, but its not the only tool in the toolbox :D
cool stuff but 5:05 lag, hard to play is a deal breaker. i get lag on my mac with logic pro too so im still using pedals
is there still lag once you download presets?
Oh yes, the lag was only there when screen recording on the iPad, I think I stop that and mention it later in the video. Just playing through it I never encounter any noticeable lag personally.
@@BedroomGuitarHero nice thank you, i just ordered a boss pocket gt for $100 on reverb. if I dont like it il try xtone interface/ipad route
Does the program interface with GarageBand or Logic pro? Does the xsonic xtone interface with GarageBand? Thanks
If you mean BIAS, you can load it up as a VST inside of a DAW if you have the desktop version.
The xsonic xtone interface will work as any other interface with other platforms (I've tried it on my PC).
Hope that helps
Have you tried Rhino? Probably the best ios app for guitar.
No I haven't, thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out :)
Can you use this setup with amp/cab? I dont want to use monitors
Yeah definitely, you can turn off the speaker simulation in BIAS and run the output into the FX loop return of the amp. The speaker you connect to might sound very different to the digital sim in BIAS, so you might have to tweak your sound, and it will probably be pretty inconsistent between different cabs, unless you bring your own.
What did you use usb to lightning adapter for when your iPad uses USB-C? I got confused on that part.
The usb cable I connect the interface with is usb-c, so that connects directly to the ipad. The XSONIC interface also comes with a lightning to usb type a connector to connect it to an iphone.
Sorry I am not exactly sure what you are asking, but I hope that helps :)
@@BedroomGuitarHero got it, so the adapter just came with the xsonic but you did not necessarily use it as your ipad uses usb C. Thanks for the response!
Yup exactly! :)
Amp one is pretty good. For metal I love the Nembrini 8180! Bitchin.
Haven't heard of it, will check it out! :D
Which better bias fx or Tonebridge?
No idea about tonebridge sorry, but I can say BIAS is defo decent.
Can you tell me your lighting
Hi, I usually use the Amaran 100d with a 95cm octabox by LuxLight.
In this video, Im lighting myself with the Neewer 660 LED Video Light with the small softbox that is specifically made for this light, and the back wall is lit with the Amaran 100d with a red gel attached.
Hope that helps! :)
Is bias fx better than tone bridge?
Unfortunately I have no experience with tone bridge, so cant say
Tonebridge sounds terrible compared to most programs like Bias FX or Amplitube. But it is easier to use to find a song sound you are looking for. I use both.
I didn't understand where the guitar connects, maybe I have to look for a more basic video, for this topic: 9
The guitar connects to the audio interfact in this case, it is the Xtone via a regular instrument cable. The interface then connects to the ipad via a USB cable. Hope that helps :)
Nice sweater
Thanks! :D
Normal ipad or ipad pro?
I am using an iPad pro, but I’m assuming a regular iPad can run this no problem as well
If you play with an app on your iPad you cannot make anything else on your iPad.if you have an interface with a dsp like Steinberg ur22 you can do it.
I feel like a grandpa ... How does this litte thing create the sound .. and you do have it hooked up on a real amp ? Where does the sound come from certainly not your ipad right ?
The ipad produces a signal that can go into a mixing desk and be sent through the PA, its like plugging an mp3 player in. Its not amplifying. You can plug it into an amp too (front or FX loop depending on your signal chain), have it amplified and go to a cab.
Rule #1 if this is what your are whining about time to get an office job.
playing on stage with no amps and in ear only is so dull for those playing. explains the shitty live bands out there
Dumb idea
You're not wrong... :D