Apple Pencil With iPad Pro

Key editor improvements are on our list.

Best,
Lars

Lars, that is great news! :smiley:

After purchasing the new 10.5in iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil for Cubasis 2.0 I have some thoughts and questions.

First off, I’m mainly using Cubasis for programming midi drums for my band’s recording tracks. I figure the pencil is a no-brainer for this.

After a few days working on a song I have to say I’m having a lot of trouble with the pencil in the drum editor. Whenever I tap to draw/erase a note it either goes away and comes back super quick or it moves the note to the square next to it. Sometimes moving it 2-3 times before I finally can erase or get it where I want.

Does anyone else have these issues with the Apple Pencil on a new 10.5in iPad Pro?

I know that the refresh rate is a faster 120hz (from the lower rate of original iPad Pro). Could this be the issue?

Maybe Cubasis 2 isn’t optimized for the faster screen? Maybe it’s my pencil?

On my iPadPro 2017 12.9 (same refresh rate) I have no problems with drum edits.

The only thing that definitely doesn’t work as smooth as before on the new iPad here, is editing velocity with the pencil: it’s hard to hit the thin velocity lines on the new iPad. In this case, the Steinberg team should define a broader area for pencil velocity input (or have the lines become fatter by horizontal zooming) anyways, for all iPad versions, because even with the old one, adjusting velocities was easier to do with fingers than with the pecil in your hand. This should NOT happen, for better workflow.

Ooooo had you ever considered the 10.5in? I was intrigued by the larger size but thought that since it’s my first iPad I’d get the standard size but I gotta say, the larger screen is probably awesome for drum edits!

No, I have not considered the 10.2, because I already use the original iPadPro 9.5 for (non-musical) professional tasks.

For music making, I prefer the big iPad for reasons like:

  • some apps with complex scalable UI (like the Moog Sytem 15 app) are much easier to use on the big iPad (in this example you can use the whole UI width in portrait format and still have easy knob access)
  • score sheet apps like forScore and SongBook allow you to view full pages with ease
  • some advanced iPad controller apps like Metagrid (for controlling Cubase 9 from your iPad) are easier to use on the big iPad
  • some editing tasks are easier to do, and working with the pencil can be easier/more precise as well