How do you integrate Reason and your iPhone?

Want to talk about music hardware or software that doesn't include Reason?
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jfrichards
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20 Jan 2015

I just got an iPhone today.  In all the recording studios and back-stages I've been in lately, every musician and engineer has one, and it seems to be great for keeping in touch with other musicians, managers, tour contacts, and especially family.  But I am very interested in how it can be integrated with Reason.  I got Figure and Take right away, which are beginning to be integrated with my 8.1 through Discover.  I've already used it to make several song outlines.  It also has Garageband, which is very nice, and I'm hoping it will integrate with my Logic9.  I also get notifications for email, including responses from ReasonTalk.

Does anyone have an iPhone here?  How do you integrate it with Reason?  Do you use iCloud, if so, how?  Do you know of any good apps for working on music, especially that integrate somehow with Reason?  I'm also hoping to use it for video clips for use in later videos.

Any ideas, cautions?  Dislikes?

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eusti
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20 Jan 2015

Hey John!

Welcome to the iPhone user community!

There is a way to use what you made with Garageband iOS, but I forgot how... But I really like Nanostudio... http://www.blipinteractive.co.uk/
You can download the Nanosync app for your desktop and the free desktop versions and render the parts out or export them from there...
And as a non-guitar player I like guitarism (iOS app)... It lets you connect wirelessly to your desktop and use the iPhone to create strumming patterns with Reason via midi...

D.

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Failed Muso
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21 Jan 2015


I've used Garageband to quickly lay down ideas. It's great for doing this, especially with the 'Smart' instruments. To get this stuff into Reason, I use the Mac version of Garageband (you can use Logic too) and then export the MIDI files into Reason. This way, I get all the performance MIDI data as well as the notes.
As eusti says, Nanostudio is good too.

Aside from doing what I mentioned earlier, I find that I use the iPhone/iPad most as simply an external MIDI instrument within Reason. I use my iPad in an Alesis IO Dock with the audio hooked up into my Balance and simply setting up an External MIDI rack module connected to the IO Dock USB MIDI channel. That works great with some of the great iOS synths such as Alchemy (although that no longer exists), Animoog, Akai's Synthstation and various others.
I love Reactable for just the pure joy of experimentation and Yamaha's TNR-i can be fun too.

For me, Propellerhead's Discovery service will only become truly useful when you can export the MIDI data from Figure and such like, because I don't want to be restricted to a stereo audio file. I want to be able to mess with my stuff fully :) But at least they've started down the right track.
Another all in one sequencing app in iOS is Yamaha's Mobile Sequencer and Akai's iMPC is pretty nifty. And if you fancy some Fairlight action (slight bias here) there is the Vogel CMI app, which is getting an update soon with some nifty new features :-)

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normen
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21 Jan 2015

I can recommend ThumbJam, first of all its great fun to play solos of all kinds of styles and then it has a "hidden" feature where you can literally whistle or sing into the phone and output MIDI to your computer from that.

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phasys
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Joined: 17 Jan 2015

21 Jan 2015

I call for an iPhone topic! Got an iPhone 6 plus and loving it. :D

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Failed Muso
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21 Jan 2015

phasys wrote:I call for an iPhone topic! Got an iPhone 6 plus and loving it. :D
iPhone 6 is indeed very nice. I got the 6 plus and am very enamoured with it. I barely use my iPad anymore. I just wish devs would/could allow the use of iPad only apps on it.

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phasys
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21 Jan 2015

phasys wrote:I call for an iPhone topic! Got an iPhone 6 plus and loving it. :D
Failed Muso wrote:
iPhone 6 is indeed very nice. I got the 6 plus and am very enamoured with it. I barely use my iPad anymore. I just wish devs would/could allow the use of iPad only apps on it.
Yeah me too, so I could use Rebirth on it. Another hit from Propellerhead, to kill off Rebirth for the iPhone. Bastahds!

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eusti
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21 Jan 2015

phasys wrote:I call for an iPhone topic! Got an iPhone 6 plus and loving it. :D
Failed Muso wrote:
iPhone 6 is indeed very nice. I got the 6 plus and am very enamoured with it. I barely use my iPad anymore. I just wish devs would/could allow the use of iPad only apps on it.
phasys wrote:
Yeah me too, so I could use Rebirth on it. Another hit from Propellerhead, to kill off Rebirth for the iPhone. Bastahds!
Yup. I don't mind stuff being small... But I'd love to use some of the iPad stuff on the phone...
Processor speed shouldn't be the problem in most cases... :P

D.

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eusti
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22 Jan 2015

Here is a post by FailedMuso about exporting midi from Garageband iOS:


FailedMuso
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 2,003
 

Extracting MIDI data from Garageband Files
Until Propellerhead come out with Reason Mobile (or some such), I like to use Garageband on my iPhone or iPad to either get ideas in my head down or just create stuff when I'm not in my studio.

The only problem with this is that getting the data out of Garageband and into Reason isn't that straightforward. I've got the desktop version of Garageband on my iMac and so I can import creations from my mobile devices and then export the audio, but I prefer to work with MIDI so it seemed that the only way to do this was either transcribe everything by hand or buy Logic, which has the ability to import GB files into editable form. As much as I like Logic, I don't own it and resent spending £140 just to perform this task.

So imagine my joy when I discovered this little nugget of info, along with a tiny script that extracts the MIDI data from Garageband loops, all for free!

http://scotttroyer.com/2014/05/export-m ... arageband/

Simply select the region of data in GB that you wish to extract audio from, save it as a loop and then go to the Audio folder, and copy the .aif file it creates. Then simply drop that onto the script and, hey presto, it creates a .MID file that can be imported directly into Reason (or any other DAW). It also delivers all MIDI data, such as expression, so all you need to do is choose an instrument and away you go.

Just thought I'd share that for anyone else that might find it useful
__________________


Wanted to bring this over before it all disappears! ;)

D.

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Failed Muso
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22 Jan 2015

eusti wrote:Here is a post by FailedMuso about exporting midi from Garageband iOS:

D.
Oooh, that was close! Good call, too. I'd forgotten about that! :thumbup:

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Orion
Posts: 32
Joined: 18 Jan 2015

09 Feb 2015

I'm trying to figure this out right now.

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EnochLight
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10 Feb 2015

jfrichards wrote:I just got an iPhone today.  In all the recording studios and back-stages I've been in lately, every musician and engineer has one, and it seems to be great for keeping in touch with other musicians, managers, tour contacts, and especially family.  But I am very interested in how it can be integrated with Reason.  I got Figure and Take right away, which are beginning to be integrated with my 8.1 through Discover.  I've already used it to make several song outlines.  It also has Garageband, which is very nice, and I'm hoping it will integrate with my Logic9.  I also get notifications for email, including responses from ReasonTalk.

Does anyone have an iPhone here?  How do you integrate it with Reason?  Do you use iCloud, if so, how?  Do you know of any good apps for working on music, especially that integrate somehow with Reason?  I'm also hoping to use it for video clips for use in later videos.

Any ideas, cautions?  Dislikes?
Hi John,

I didn't see your post from last month, but figured I'd chime in as I've had an iPhone (all versions) since they came out in 2007.

Here's my input:
  • iCloud: absolutely use it for backup.  Having had to replace iPhones in the past due to hardware failure (dropping or breaking them, etc) or potential loss (theft, etc), iCloud backup removes all worry.  The free storage will usually accommodate, but if you need to - buy the extra storage.  It's worht it.  It will backup automatically just so long as you're plugged in and charging and on WiFi.
  • Turn on "Find My iPhone".  An absolute must - it allows you to locate your phone if you lose it (or even misplace it in your house!) and adds a level of security that cannot be overridden easily.
  • iCloud ID: Valuable.  This ties your phone to your account, and means that if it is stolen or "found", you can remotely lock it/wipe it and the person who has it cannot use it at all, making it useless for resale.
Now, Reason stuff:
  • If you like recording "in the field' or generally just have an idea that strikes you, download Take from the app store.  All recordings have time signature and tempo embedded in the files Dropped to Propellerhead and can be opened in Reason.  Think of it as an extension of Reason's audio recording ability, one track at a time, on the fly, anywhere you are.  Highly recommended.
  • TouchOSC - it requires a few additional apps to be installed on your computer, but it allows you to wirelessly (via Wifi) control Reason, and in particular - its transport.  Very handy for recording sessions so you don't have to sit right in front of your computer.  
  • Onyx Spectrum Analyzer - always handy to have a pocket realtime frequency spectral analyzer handy!
That's all I can think of right now.  Enjoy!
Win 10 | Ableton Live 11 Suite |  Reason 12 | i7 3770k @ 3.5 Ghz | 16 GB RAM | RME Babyface Pro | Akai MPC Live 2 & Akai Force | Roland System 8, MX1, TB3 | Dreadbox Typhon | Korg Minilogue XD

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