General help please

[GuyM]

I have been looking round for something to help me with my live performances and SetList Maker may be just the thing!
So, I just wanted to ask a few things to aid my understanding of it all

My Set up
a NORD STAGE 2 and a JUPITER 50 (No physical thru MIDI socket on this)

I need to see Lyrics and chat sheets for chords etc (Terrible memory!!)

iPAD?
What is recommended for this...it is really only for use with my music so what would be the recommended spec / model?
....as this obviously impacts on initial costs but I do not want to lose out or OVER spec it either

Is iPAD the only vehicle for this...KINDLE HD?

What extra hardware (etc.) do you need to connect the MIDI keyboards up? I see the ALESIS and a couple of cheaper MIDI IN/OUT only optiosj ..any more in teh pipelien that you knowmof? The ALESIS (from Customer reviews) had some previous issues of not working with later IOS updates...has this now all been sorted?)

I do not need to play along with backing songs BUT I DO need a lot of sound changing (as the songs tend to be complex and long)
so - -  Some of these are there on the website, but wanted to make absoultely sure and ask directly (sorry)

1. You saw that you can send MIDI Program changes...
a) I assume I could send in ONE press/click a Program change command (PC) to both NORD and J50 (they can be discreet i.e. PC110 to Nord and also PC78 to J50 simultaneously) i.e. can you STACK unique PC messages on different MIDI receive channels?
Website says Ok
2. Can you do all this in real time...i.e. have a set of buttons visble to press etc as you play along? (as I said lots of sound changes to do) Website says yes but only a limit of 5 changes per song?
3. Can you also set up a default SEND out of PC messages when you load a song in? Website says yes
4. Can all this be done at the same time you have LYRICS/CHORD CHEATS on screen? pluis the MIDI PC buttons (as I need these at all times as well!)
6. It states 5 PCs only per song...any plan to expand this to allow more?
I have very long songs where 10 1-5 changes may be needed throughout..I guess I might get around it by splitting one song into 5 individual parts (ie Song X - Part1 then Song X -  Part 2) and then define each part with the needed PC messages /yrics/chords etc....but its a bit limiting
7. Backing up /. Restore - not sure from reading the site how to make a backup of the all the setlist data to my Windows PC (I do not use iTunes etc)

Now a more complex one...
I see the ALESIS has both USB and MIDI ports - does the app distinguish input channel as well as MIDI channel number? i.e. so you could us USB - Channel 1 (Keys1) and MIDI - Channel 1 (Keys 2)? or is it just b1-16 MIDI Channels to choose from?

In my example the NORD has MIDI Sockets In/Out/Thru but the J50 has only In/Out so if I also wanted to add my Roland SPS-D Sampling Pad [for perc/FX samples etc] (which also sadly has only MIDI In/Out sockets) into my live set up, then I'd have to use the USB Alesis out to connect to the J-50 and have the Nord linked In from the Alesis MIDI Out and then onwards THRU into the Sampling Pad (if you see wjhat I mean ?? Complicated!! Does the app or iPad have any MIDI Merge issues?

I am sure that I will have a few more that have not occurred to me...but any help on any of these questions greatly appreciated!!

Thank you
Guy

[arlo]

It's better to ask one question per thread than to combine all your questions into one post. I'll answer some of these here; please write a follow-up for any that you still want to discuss.

Hardware - Set List Maker only runs on iOS devices at this time. You could use any model of iPad, typically with the smallest storage size if you're not using it for anything else, but here are some factors to consider:

iPad 1 - doesn't support the latest iOS and doesn't support all Set List Maker features
iPad 2 - doesn't have a Retina display
iPad 3 - doesn't have a Lightning connector (which might be a good thing depending on what other hardware you have)

MIDI program changes - all the info you already found on the website is correct

Backups - see the second to last FAQ on this page: http://www.arlomedia.com/apps/setlistmaker/support/FAQ.html

MIDI ports - Set List Maker can address outgoing messages to specific ports. However, I don't know if the iO Dock considers the USB and MIDI jacks to be separate ports, or just two ways to access the same port, or if you can use them both at the same time. If you repost this question as a separate thread you might be able to get some info from other users.

[GuyM]

OK will do...as for the 5 Program Change limit per Song...do you have plans to be able to expand that?

I think the ipad2 looks like the best bet but what is a lightning connector? (pardon my ignorance)

Thanks
Guy

[arlo]

You can attach any number of MIDI presets (each of which can contain program changes for multiple devices) to a song, but you can only display separate buttons on the screen for five of them, or address five of them with remote control buttons or foot switches. The rest you can only access from a popup menu that appears when you do a long press on the song's MIDI icon. I could remove the limit of 5 for on-screen buttons in a future release, and then you would just be limited by screen space.

The Lightning connector is used on the iPad 4 and iPad Air and is smaller than the previous, 30-pin dock connector. The previous connectors use cheaper cables and are compatible with more current equipment, but equipment makers will eventually shift to supporting the new Lightning connector. So that's probably the way to go if you don't have any existing 30-pin compatible equipment. You can also buy adapters, but they are expensive.

[Uwe]

Hi,

I'd recommend an ipad3 as it works with any of the hardware for musicians right now and has more than enough power.

I'd stay away from alesis. It's not very reliable and has had a lot of issues with former ios releases (mainly audio). I have switched to Behringer iStudio which is fantastic. It provides a integrated mixer and works flawlessly.

Perhaps you would be better off with a specialized midi controller like the FCB 1010.

@Arlo: perhaps it would be an option to  call up the midi commands in a song sequentially by button or footswitch? Would solve a lot of problems. So I could just have markers in the lyrics, when the next midi step is due and step on the pedal?

Grüße
Uwe

[arlo]

perhaps it would be an option to  call up the midi commands in a song sequentially by button or footswitch? Would solve a lot of problems. So I could just have markers in the lyrics, when the next midi step is due and step on the pedal?

Actually, that feature was added in version 3.4. So yes, you can assign any number of presets to a song (including duplicates, like Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo) and then you can assign a foot switch to the Next MIDI Preset action.

[Uwe]

Hi,
Great!
It becomes hard to follow the features of SLM, there are so many ......

So this could solve the problem that was mentioned above.
Grüße
Uwe

[GuyM]

Thanks for the info and the heads up on the Behringer!
Need to find out about the MIDI PORTS question I raised re: the ALESIS for this unit too then

The ability to have all the Program changes visible (> 5) would be fab for me as it would make set sound changing far easier whilst playing..a simple button touch and move on - no brainer

Because the set is composed of some very long complex songs, the auto scroll would not work well as there are plenty of longish instrumentnal sections and it would take quite a while to work out how long to make the full duration to get the thing to scroll at the right rate - Plus I have too may foot pedal already under there for the keys to really want a MIDI foot controller to change pages!

Guy

[Uwe]

Arlo has implemented automation tracks recently.
This feature should give you the option to insert the pauses you need for instrumental parts.
Check it out.

[GuyM]

Hi Uwe, sound like just the job!
so in essence I could have a very long song with all the Lyrics and chord cheat sheet visible with embedded visible PAUSE buttons and Program Change buttons (more than 5) and control the whole thing....that sounds very good!!!

[arlo]

Please note the automation tracks are really only useful if you're playing to a backing track of some kind, because they will trigger events based on a timestamp and you'll need to play in sync with the automation track's timer.

[GuyM]

Ah Ok then...then that is not really an option for me here....
but can you can embed any number of program changes into a Lyrics Sheet and use the buttons then or is it only 5 buttons visible like that?

[Uwe]

U can just use an empty track of your needed length.
Generate an mp3 with xx minutes running time and use it as timer thats all.
Should do what u need?

[arlo]

If you want to use an automation track, you don't even need an empty MP3, you can just record automation independently of any audio. However, without some reference point, you probably wouldn't be able to perform your song in sync with your automated events.

For visible, on-screen buttons, you are still limited to 5. I should be able to remove that limitation in version 4.0.

[GuyM]

I think the ability to have any number of Program change buttons available per song visible (at the same time as the lyrics/chords etc or embedded into the visible lyrics sheet etc) would make this very flexible and powerful indeed from a performance POV

How you fit it neatly on to the screen to make it all look nice...I'll leave to you as designer 

these are the problems you get when you play long progressive rock songs !!
Long pieces, lots of sound changes etc!!