[Glyn Costello]

Hey… looks like this link could provide a little boost to this idea!!

http://www.ithinkdiff.com/ipad-camera-connection-kit-to-support-usb-audio-interfaces_455012/

If the iPad supports class-compliant audio interfaces, then I could plug my eKit into my iPad via MIDI and have “SD2-express” running to generate high-quality drum audio into an amp!!!

[Glyn Costello]

The Macbook Pro has a digital audio output (via fibre optic). Could I run a fibre optic cable into my AV receiver and decode the audio there? Would I still get latency issues? I’m just trying to save money since it looks like I’d have to spend at least £200 on a USB or Firewire device.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1596

I cannot find any detail on where in the conversion process the fibre-optic transceiver sits… in other words, I’m assuming that the processor sends the digital audio signals straight to the fibre optic transceiver (as opposed to the sound card converting to analogue, and then the transceiver encoding it back into digital again).

Thanks

[Glyn Costello]

Hi,

So when EZdrummer’s triggered to create a sound that it’s stored in RAM, it sends the digital audio data to the external device instead of the internal sound card and the external device handles the digital-to-analogue conversion process?

In other words… it’s an external sound-card that can convert digital data to analogue data much quicker than my internal sound card but can also handle the voltage levels required for driving monitors and receiving microphone/guitar signals?

Many thanks

[Glyn Costello]

Also, are there alternatives to the Alesis trigger IO?

[Glyn Costello]

Hi Rogue,

Thanks for that clarification, I figured that might be the case after searching for a Mac version and not being able to find one.

So in terms of a suitable Mac device, are these external audio interfaces essentially external sound cards? Does ALL the audio processing go through this device?

I have an ExpressCard/34 slot, 2x USB2.0 slots and a Firewire 800 slot on my MacBook Pro… I can only find one ExpressCard audio device and doesn’t look like it supports Mac OSX. The rest are either USB or Firewire. There appears to be a few devices on the market, at drastically varying costs.

Does the device need to handle the MIDI or can I just get an external sound card, plus a separate MIDI-to-USB cable?

Looking at the devices that have MIDI built-in, what’s the difference between, say, an E-MU 0404 at £85 and a Presonus FireBox at £250? On paper they look the same, if anything the E-MU looks better with ‘proper’ MIDI connectors (as opposed to the un-jack-posted d-sub connector on the Presonus). Is it really worth the extra to get a Firewire over USB2.0 device?

Are there any devices available that are bus-powered?

Many thanks,

[Glyn Costello]

Hi grandaddy,

I’ve spoken to a drum-shop owner near by and he’s going to get some pricing for me. He says he can get the Yamaha and Alesis kits at the moment, so I’ve asked him to price-up a Yamaha DTXpress IV Special without the brain.

I have a very tight budget and want the best for my money and can’t justify spending money on a brain that I simply won’t be using.

What would be the benefits of SD2 over EZdrummer for playing along live to a pre-recorded guitar/click etc. in garageband?

Thanks

[Glyn Costello]

Hi,

I think, after doing some further research that the following set-up may be good:

Alesis USB Pro + Alesis Trigger IO – £700
Superior Drummer 2.0 – £190
ASIO 4 All
Garageband.

Has anyone used these Alesis pads? What’s their sensitivity like? Ambient noise?

Am I likely to get any latency issues with the ASIO4ALL driver and the Alesis plugged into USB?

Thanks,

[Author]

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