AxePad - iPad controller for Axe-FX is launched!

CyberFerret

CyberFerret

Power User
Well, after many, many hours of development and testing, AxePad for iPad is finally ready on the App Store.

iTUnes Link: AxePad for iPad on the iTunes App Store

The main website for AxePad is: AxePad Controller for Axe-FX

I am building up a list of FAQs, Tips & Tricks etc. on this site - please feel free to visit.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Fractal Forum members (a LOT of you!) for the support, encouragement and motivation to create this. Special thanks to the Beta test team.

Hope you guys and gals find this software useful... It has truly been a labour of love... and it ain't finished yet! :D

Cheers,
Devan
 
Scrutinizer said:
Very cool.

Quick question: Does it support the Standard/Ultra as well as the Axe-FX II?
Click to expand...

Yes it does!

I havent ACTUALLY tested with a Standard because I haven't got one, but the similarities with the Ultra means that it is pretty much 98% certain of working with it too.
 
Might just come in handy! Hope you continue to develop deeper editing screens.

guess irig would be the best interface for music related endevors but bulky for just this!

Question, can i just plug from the ipad camera connector with a usb cable into the usb on the AX? i hope so! if not now is it possible?
 
Last edited:
Dramelot said:
Might just come in handy! Hope you continue to develop deeper editing screens.

guess irig would be the best interface for music related endevors but bulky for just this!

Question, can i just plug from the ipad camera connector with a usb cable into the usb on the AX? i hope so! if not now is it possible?
Click to expand...

iPad Camera Connector Kit works great, but unfortunately you cannot plug straight into the Axe-II USB port at this stage, as CoreMIDI does not recognise it. If you have a USB MIDI cable with the DIN IN & OUT connectors then it works great. I use the Alesis USB MIDI cable with my CC kit which works great.


henryrobinett said:
Bought it. But I need an iPad midi interface to use it?
Click to expand...

Henry - yes, you need a MIDI interface. As above, I recommend the Apple USB Camera Connection Kit (which essentially gives you a USB interface into the iPad) plus the Alesis USB MIDI cable with the DIN ends.

Alternatively, I also use the iRig MIDI adapter which is fantastic. Whichever MIDI interface you use, just make sure that it supports two way SYSEX commands, as a lot of them don't (such as the Alesis IO Dock unfortunately).
 
Izzy said:
Does M-Audio MidiSport Anniversary work with this?
Click to expand...

Not 100% sure, as I havent tested that particular interface. If it supports 2 way MIDI SYSEX commands, then it should work OK. We've found a lot of devices (such as the Alesis IO Dock) that DON'T support SYSEX, and thus don't work with AxePad.

I checked the M-Audio site, and can't see any clarification of this. They say it full supports CoreMIDI, which is what AxePad uses, but they don't go as far as saying they support SYSEX.

You might need to drop an email to their support line to clarify this perhaps? Nothing worse than getting the software and then finding out that it DOESN'T work!

I guess one way to test it is to put the box between your Axe-FX and your PC and see if Axe-Edit can still talk to the Axe-FX via the MidiSport. If you've got enough MIDI cables to do this, it might be worth a try, and I would appreciate hearing about your findings!
 
Okay, got it, I'll grab the irig midi at lunchtime. Looks like the local GC has it in stock. Now if someone will write one for the 11R I'll be double-set.
 
I'm seeing only 10 user cabs in AxeII mode - does AxePad only support elements that are common among all three models?
 
Please let us know if iCOREMIDI ever can talk to AX, for me busting out my midi merge box is a pain (i use my ax midi dins for footpedals) for now i'll just use my mini notebook with ax edit direct to usb.
I am definitely interested if i can ever plug in usb.
 
Does AxePad support the control of all parameters of each block such as the advanced parameters, dynamics and speaker tab in the amp block?
 
Dramelot said:
Please let us know if iCOREMIDI ever can talk to AX, for me busting out my midi merge box is a pain (i use my ax midi dins for footpedals) for now i'll just use my mini notebook with ax edit direct to usb.
I am definitely interested if i can ever plug in usb.
Click to expand...
It is not a CoreMIDI issue; If you hook your AxeFxII up to your computer via US, and then switch the USB cable to the iPad CC, CoreMIDI sees the port and communicates with it just fine. I should say it does with MidiTouch; I've been unable to get AxePad to connect to my AxeFxII regardless of which MIDI adapter I use. It sees the adapters, but appears to be showing the destination port(s) as the only options for both the Source and Destination fields in setup (e.g., with USB it shows "AXE-FX II MIDI In" for both fields).

I also tried connecting it to another MIDI interface which is connected to my computer, and monitoring the ports--nothing is sent at all.

Edit: I'm hoping that AxePad will be successful and Devan will be able to provide some nice updates, so I'm hesitant to say anything prematurely that might put things in a bad light. I won't post an app store review until I've gotten a response from Devan. I will mention here that AxePad seems targeted at the Std/Ultra, not the II. For example, if you select Axe-Fx II for your model, the UI still shows only 10 user cabs; as far as I can tell, none of the UI changes. I'm hoping I'm wrong...
 
Last edited:
Awesome. Love the website too. You must be some programmer/web developer if you did all of it yourself. Then the graphics too? Nice work.

Now make it Android Compatible! ;)
 
Here's the deal with the Apple Camera Connection USB adapter and USB-MIDI interfaces. This is not specific to Axe-Pad application, it is an issue that applies to any device that you might plug into an iPad via the camera connection adapter.

When you plug a USB device into a host system (computer, or iPad Camera Connection adapter), the host system receives a block of information from the device that lets the host system know what type of device was just attached. Contained in this block of data is a value called MaxPower, which specifies the device's maximum operating current.

The industry standard for low power USB devices is MaxPower = 100mA.

But with the iPad + Camera Connection adapter, the highest supported MaxPower is 20mA. Even if the USB device reports MaxPower=100mA and does not actually use more than 20mA, the iPad will not recognize it. My test results suggest the iPad does not measure the actual output current, and it can supply significantly more than 20mA before the USB +5VDC starts to collapse.

So, a MIDI interface plugged into the iPad via the camera connection kit will be recognized if and only if:
1. It is a class-compliant USB MIDI interface (i.e. no host driver required)
2. The reported MaxPower is <= 20mA
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom