StudioConnect - Audio and MIDI + Charging Dock for iPad

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $99.99
Today's Bonus:

• MIDI in and out for your iPad
• Audio in and out for your iPad
• Stereo headphone jack with volume control
• Lets you use your iPad and its apps as a MIDI controller

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Really enjoy using my StudioConnect. I like how small and easy it is to use with my iPad. Being that I use my iPad for more than just recording music, I love that I can just simply unplug it from the StudioConnect and do other things. The other options on the market require me to take my iPad out of its case, dock it and it's kind of inconvenient to use it that way. The audio input quality is great on StudioConnect. I definitely recommend this for anyone that enjoys recording and playing music and wants to integrate with the power of the iPad.

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When I first tried the unit, it would only charge my iPad intermittently. I emailed Griffin's customer service who promptly replied that I needed the firmware upgrade. Once I did, the unit works fine and keeps a constant charge to the iPad. The unit works as advertised. The design is near perfect. That being said, I do feel the unit is overpriced. The parts inside are not expensive. The case is of plastic....nothing wrong with that as it feels durable, just pointing out that it's not made of some expensive material. They chose not to add an XLR input and a level control on the outputs would have been nice. It was assembled in China so labor cost had to be low. To be clear, it was assembled very well. I just feel for what it does and for the features they didn't add the price is a little high. As music apps for the iPad begin to get more robust, hardware like this will become more competitive price wise. Thankfully.

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There weren't many reviews for this so I took a risk and bought one. While not super "portable," although it is, this Griffin dock was even better than I expected. You're not going to be able to make music on the subway with it, but that would be crazy. Just plug in some headphones. It's plastic but feels sturdy and well built, and all the audio connectors are top notch. I was mainly looking for a way to get decent quality stereo out from my ipad, with midi in. And no dongle that would break, or app / interface issues like the alesis IO dock. I have a big sturdy case on my ipad as well, and this accommodates that with no issues. It also charges the ipad quickly.

Sound quality: AMAZING! I haven't used it for recording yet, as I mainly make synthesized music, but plugged into a nice pair of monitors the sound quality is crystal clear and lag free. This + the animoog app is incredible, you can hear bass and clean treble impossible to sample through headphones or the 1/8th inch miniplug.

I bought RCA -> 1/4 inch line out cables and plugged directly from the griffin into my computer. Then I plugged midi out from my soundcard into the ipad, and my keyboard worked with EVERY app that supports core midi. Instantly. No setup or tweaking required, although you do have to create your own mappings within the apps for each knob.

This thing is great for a large or small studio setup, I'd recommend it to anyone.

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Great for a studio environment, not so much for mobile work. Basic connectivity requirements are all met and integrating to almost any system is straightforward and fairly elegant.

I originally won a StudioConnect in a contest over a year ago. I was impressed with the improved audio quality on my guitar when compared to the iRig. Sadly, more often than not, the device did not work (not recognized by ipad 3). After one call to Griffin's customer support, I had a return label to send it back. The representative also gave me his direct extension and asked me to call back after I dropped the package of with UPS. When I did so, he confirmed with UPS and sent the replacement immediately. I was very happy with the level of service. The replacement device has worked without a problem and I purchased a 2nd unit for a friend.

Pros: Clean audio from Hi-Z inputs (bass/guitar)

MIDI in/out

Easy to reach knobs for gain and headphone out

Price. There isn't much in this price range that will provide you with a 1/4" Hi-z input as well as midi in/out.

Charges iPad while in use.

Cons: No mic input (Though it works well with any mic pres)

Only RCA outputs—This is close to a deal breaker for me as I use this for guitar and keyboards live on stage. The device would really benefit from a set of XLR or balanced TRS stereo outs (or better yet, a pair of Neutrik combo jacks). Few stages or audio snakes have RCA sends in my experience. I have to use adaptors (which may degrade the signal).

Build Quality. The knobs all feel very cheap, however, I should note that nothing has broken in the 15 months or so that I've used the device.

My typical set-up: Guitar plugs into the 1/4" jack (with a few stomp boxes on the way).

Midi out of keyboard controler to midi in(thru) midi foot controller

Midi out of foot controller to midi in on StudioConnect.

This set up allows me control over iOS soft synths (animoog, garage band, pocket organ, etc) as well as midi program changes on Positive Grid's JamUp guitar software.

I don't have use for the midi output on the StudioConnect at this time, but it's there for when I need it.