How can you quantise, change the tempo and time signature on iPadOS?

[unknown.crewman]

Hi,

on iPadOS I have extensive experience with Cubasis, MTS Studio, Auria Pro and more recently Logic Pro. This means I’m familiar with a studio in a box and I’m also aware of the limitations of a studio in a box on iPadOS compared to desktop computers.

I’ve just started testing the free, non-subscription version of n-Track 10.0.101 and encountered significant problems after just a few minutes.

For testing N-Track on an iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (3rd generation) MTFR2FD/A A1876, iPadOS 17.1.2, I used 2 MIDI tracks each with an instance of Ravenscroft 275 Piano 1.1.12.

I have already watched video tutorials and read parts of the manual. None of this has helped me in any way.

Is it a limitation of the free version that I have to restart the app every few minutes because there is no more audio signal?

I don’t get a grid to move or quantise notes except on the beat. I can select eighth notes or eighth note triplets etc., but the notes are only quantised to quarter notes. How can I quantise to quaver triplets or 16th notes?

Is it possible to change the tempo and/or time signature during a song?

is there even a basic function that can be tested with the free version?

I’m not going to buy a pig in a poke for €36.90.

Select, copy and paste parts?
Doesn’t seem to work.
Aux effects?
Subgroups and Aux groups can be added, but it seems that Aux cannot be used with an effect afterwards.
Playing a two bar loop of two MIDI tracks over several minutes without having to close and open the app?

Regards,
Ralf

[FlavioA]

Does the issue with the audio signal stopping occur if you use a different plugin instead of the Ravenscroft Piano? There might be a compatibility issue with the plugin, otherwise I haven’t seen a similar issue. Audio signal stopping is not a limitation of the free version.

Note position quantisation is governed by the grid setting in the center of the piano roll toolbar. Note that the note length is not related to the grid, it remembers the length of the last note that was edited. Triplet is an option in the grid size popup menu.

See this video tutorial on how to change tempo during the song.

I believe copy and paste work correctly, if you have a specific issue please post the details and possibly a short video showing the issue(s). Likewise I don’t see problems with Aux channels, make sure you’ve set the send on the track and the return on the master high enough.

Flavio.

[unknown.crewman]

Does the issue with the audio signal stopping occur if you use a different plugin instead of the Ravenscroft Piano?

It seems to be ok when using another AU.

Note position quantisation is governed by the grid setting in the center of the piano roll toolbar.

Ok, it works.

See this video tutorial on how to change tempo during the song.

I tested changing the time signature and it works.

I believe copy and paste work correctly, if you have a specific issue please post the details and possibly a short video showing the issue(s).

Let’s say, you have

Bar     1       2       3       4       5
Track 1 [Part 1][Part 2]
Track 2 [Part 3][Part 4]

And you want to get this

Bar     1       2       3       4       5
Track 1 [Part 1][Part 2]                [Copy 2]
Track 2 [Part 3][Part 4]        [Copy 3]

IOW you want to select Part 2 on Track 1 and Part 3 on Track 2 and copy an paste those parts at the same time.

In this example you could copy each part on its own, one after another, but imagine you have got 50 tracks with hundreds of parts over tens of bars and you want to mark some parts, not all of them, for coping and pasting.

I even don’t understand how to select all 4 parts. With the selection tool I can only select on or more parts on a single track, not on both tracks at the same time.

Likewise I don’t see problems with Aux channels, make sure you’ve set the send on the track and the return on the master high enough.

To add an effect it requires to subscribe. I don’t want to subscribe, even not for free as in beer. If I like the app, I would buy the one time purchase version. If I like or dislike the app, I don’t want to be forced to unsubscribe within 7 days.

[FlavioA]

@unknown.crewman

IOW you want to select Part 2 on Track 1 and Part 3 on Track 2 and copy an paste those parts at the same time.

In this example you could copy each part on its own, one after another, but imagine you have got 50 tracks with hundreds of parts over tens of bars and you want to mark some parts, not all of them, for coping and pasting.

I even don’t understand how to select all 4 parts. With the selection tool I can only select on or more parts on a single track, not on both tracks at the same time.

You can select (and then copy) across multiple tracks by starting the selection from an empty point (i.e. not covered by a part) when in the ‘move clips’ editing mode.

@unknown.crewman

To add an effect it requires to subscribe. I don’t want to subscribe, even not for free as in beer. If I like the app, I would buy the one time purchase version. If I like or dislike the app, I don’t want to be forced to unsubscribe within 7 days.

The Free edition allows adding most of the n-Track builtin effects. It’s adding AUv3 effects that requires the purchased app.

Flavio.

[unknown.crewman]

@FlavioA

You can select (and then copy) across multiple tracks by starting the selection from an empty point (i.e. not covered by a part) when in the ‘move clips’ editing mode.

In the “move clips” mode I can select, but copy and paste doesn’t work at all. This should work?

In the “selection mode” I need to start in an area without a track, not just without a part. If I want to copy Track 1 and 3, without Track 2, I can do that only by changing the position of Track 2, before selecting the content of the other tracks? It’s not possible to copy time signature changes in addition to the selected parts?

@FlavioA

The Free edition allows adding most of the n-Track builtin effects. It’s adding AUv3 effects that requires the purchased app.

Ok, adding n-Tracks’s Reverb works.

[FlavioA]

@unknown.crewman

In the “move clips” mode I can select, but copy and paste doesn’t work at all. This should work?

It should, I did a quick test and it worked correctly. Note that when you paste parts are placed at the current time cursor so make sure that when you paste the cursor is visible. Also currently the tools sidebar opens when you long-press only in ‘pan’ edit mode, so if you’re in another edit mode you may need to open the sidebar with the wrench icon in the top right.

@unknown.crewman

In the “selection mode” I need to start in an area without a track, not just without a part. If I want to copy Track 1 and 3, without Track 2, I can do that only by changing the position of Track 2, before selecting the content of the other tracks?

If you have an external typing keyboard you can select multiple parts by tapping on the parts while holding the Shift key pressed.

@unknown.crewman

It’s not possible to copy time signature changes in addition to the selected parts?

That’s not currently possible.

Flavio.

[unknown.crewman]

Hi,

firstly, I will most likely buy n-Track for iPadOS as iPadOS lacks full-featured DAWs, there are few choices and you have to choose one of the few DAWs depending on the project you are planning.

I still have to finish another project with a different DAW and will probably take a closer look at n-Track next year.

So far I haven’t had time to test audio tracks.

The fact that I’ll likely add n-Track to my other iPadOS DAWs doesn’t mean I’m completely satisfied with n-Track. Here are some of my criticisms.

After connecting a class compliant audio interface, I realised that the outputs are grouped into stereo pairs and each of the pairs is equipped with aux returns. Depending on what you have in mind, it may be desirable that the outputs are not grouped into stereo pairs and that you can assign aux groups to a group channel instead of being tied to hardware outputs.

I realised that when you start a new project, you close the “Start your song…” window without using one of the options such as “Instrument”, this project is not saved, even if you have added an instrument track afterwards, for example.

After typing on the bottom panel, I forgot to tap on “Copy selection” in the side panel. In other words, copying works, but the user interface is not to my liking. From the apps I like, I’m used to them being a bit more in the direction of a glass cockpit, in other words, for me, a GUI should still be able to be operated without errors when injured, under oxygen deprivation, in a panic, even if you last used the app a long time ago and can no longer remember the peculiarities.

I wear reading glasses, instead of icons spread over 2 panels, with tiny lettering, to get to a function, I would prefer a single drop-down menu without icons, with a font in a size that you can still read well in middle age, with reading glasses.

I found another pitfall in how project folders and files, especially their snapshots, are handled. For example, how it behaves if you close the app without first closing the project via the little house-with-the-arrow icon and you later open a useless snapshot, or if you rename projects with the iPadOS file manager, for example, but this is not reflected by the n-Track File Manager.

You wouldn’t want to imagine what would happen if the headphone cable were to accidentally touch the delete track crosses of temporarily muted tracks. You were probably surprised not to find them again later.

Regards,

Ralf

[Piervincenzo]

Ralf, thank you for you precious feedback. A couple of points below:

@unknown.crewman

I realised that when you start a new project, you close the “Start your song…” window without using one of the options such as “Instrument”, this project is not saved, even if you have added an instrument track afterwards, for example.

I couldn’t reproduce this. I do the following:

• New Song
• Close the Quick Start (“Start your song…”) screen
• Tap on the add track button
• Choose instrument
• Tap on the Song Browser button (the house-with-arrow button)

The Song Browser shows the newly created and saved song with the instrument track.
Please let me know if I’m missing your point.

What I usually do (and suggest to do) is something like: create a new project from the Song Browser, start working on it, after the first few changes (maybe after creating the first track or two) open the Song Browser. You will notice that a new project has been saved with a name similar to something like “My New Song [n]”. Rename it by tapping on its name and keep working from there.

@unknown.crewman

I found another pitfall in how project folders and files, especially their snapshots, are handled. For example, how it behaves if you close the app without first closing the project via the little house-with-the-arrow icon and you later open a useless snapshot, or if you rename projects with the iPadOS file manager, for example, but this is not reflected by the n-Track File Manager.

When you close the app, the song is always automatically saved. But if you do some manipulation in the iOS Files browser to the currently open song files or its folder, this may cause issues.
If you change the filename of an sng (song project file) from the iOS Files browser, this may also cause a disalignment with the saved thumbnails. I suggest you rename the song directly from the Song Browser by tapping on its name, so that the app will take care of aligning all the necessary files as needed.
Please also notice that when you change the name of a song folder, this change will not be reflected in the Song Browser.

We tried to unload the user from the burden to manually have to handle project files and folders, which especially on mobile can sometimes be a bit of an issue. If there’s a particular use case, please let us know, I’m sure we can suggest the best way of doing it in-app or at least a way to keep things consistent.

@unknown.crewman

You wouldn’t want to imagine what would happen if the headphone cable were to accidentally touch the delete track crosses of temporarily muted tracks. You were probably surprised not to find them again later.

You have a few ways to recover from unwanted changes. The first and most obvious one is with the classic Undo. The undo history is also saved in the project, so you can always go back even after switching from song to song.
Another way is from the Song Browser: if you longpress on a song, you have the option to restore a song from a snapshot, which will open a list of possible versions to restore with date and time.

Hope that helps!