iPad Multitracks

OldGuy51

Hi Peter
I’ve been using Stagetraxx on my iPad (6th gen) for the last 3 years with my duo. It really is a great app and is perfect for what the duo has been doing. We have two live vocals, two live guitars and mp3 backing tracks for drums, bass, keys etc.

Up until now we’ve been running drums and bass panned fully left and all other instruments panned fully right in the mp3 backing files. Sound output comes from the iPad’s headphone socket into a 3.5mm TRS to XLRM Y cable. The two XLR ends of the Y cable then connect to XLR cables that plug into separate channels on our Bose T8S mixer giving us drums and bass on one channel and all other instruments on the other. This setup has given us more than enough output level from the mixer for each channel.

We now want to separate the bass from the drums in addition to running the third all other instruments channel. After watching your multitrack tutorial, I created a test multitrack song that uses drums, bass and keys on separate channels. My problem now is how do I get the 3 separate channels out of the iPad and into the mixer?

The only ‘Stereo Song Output’ audio routing options I have in Stagetraxx on the iPad are Disabled, Headphones, Headphones (left) or Headphones (right). This doesn’t change whether I am using the Headphone socket, the Lightning output or both.

I’ve tried using the earphone jack and the Lightning connector together as you suggested in the tutorial (‘Combine USB & Headphone Outputs’) however the last input connected takes precedence and mutes the first input connected. Combining the outputs also drastically cuts down the output level of the last connected input. If I just use the Headphone jack I get all channels at good level. The same if I use just the Lightning connector. Unfortunately, I’ve got no way of separating the third (all other instruments) channel from the other two channels no matter what I do in 'Configure Multitrack Playback'.

Will an Audio Interface solve the problem? I was looking at the Behringer UMC404HD which has 4 inputs and 4 outputs but I don’t want to buy it if it won’t let me do what I want to do. How do I get the Stagetraxx multitrack output from the iPad to the Behringer inputs?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

peter

A lightning to audio adapter is not a usb interface. Therefore the Combine USB option does not work for that configuration.

You really need an audio interface to make it work. If you buy an interface I would suggest to buy one that has enough output channels for your needs so that you don't need to rely on the Combine USB option.

If all you need is 4 outputs and don't care about the number of inputs, the UMC204HD is a good option that I also use. But you need an active USB hub with its own power supply to run that interface. The Apple Lightning to USB3 adapter with dedicated power port will also work to power that interface.

Stage Traxx will automatically detect the interface and show you all 4 outputs in the routing screen.

OldGuy51

Thanks for your extremely prompt reply Peter and the advice you have given. Your support for Stagetraxx users is exceptional.

I think I will go ahead with the Behringer UMC404HD as I will be using it with my desktop PC for recording as well as with the iPad on the job. As this Behringer unit has its own power supply, would I still need an active USB hub to run the interface or just a Lightning to USB adapter cable?

OldGuy51

The last five words of my post should read "Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter (without power port)"
.

peter

Not sure about that. There are mixed reports on the internet. Some say it works fine, some say they need a powered usb hub.

Also see here: https://support.stagetraxx.com/d/2199-ipad-not-seeing-audio-interface

OldGuy51

Hi Peter

I took my iPad, iPhone, necessary cables and Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter to my local music store to test out the multitrack function using one of their audio interfaces. Strangely, everything worked fine using the iPhone (all outputs on the interface were displayed) but they couldn’t be seen on the iPad.

After a bit more research on the internet, I ended up buying the Behringer UMC404HD audio interface and a powered USB hub (as you mentioned). I hooked everything up to iPad and my mixer and the multitracking function worked perfectly. The powered USB hub was the key. The Apple Camera adapter does not need to be powered in order to make things work so I possibly could have gotten away with the cheaper unpowered unit but that’s not a problem.

I’ve spent the last few days converting all my backing tracks to multitracks and I’m looking forward to using them for the first time on a job.

Thanks for your help on this and for the work you’ve done developing Stagetraxx. It’s perfect for what I need.