# Best iPad wirelss control of Cubase in PC



## bcarwell (Jun 7, 2020)

I've spent the last day or two looking at iPad solutions for wireless control of Cubase on my PC and am very frustrated.

I am not trying to do very sophisticated things- just transport controls, multichannel faders, some controls of individual
track and VSTi things- inserts, sends, reverb, EQ, automation, a little Cubase interface stuff (bringing up mixer, etc.).

Here is my take so far with the main show stoppers I ran across in my limited search.

Cubase iC Pro App- Reasonable $17, already Cubase-specific, from Steinberg, BUT reports its squirrely

V Control Pro- Was REALLY excited from their fantastic video promos, peeled the onion and found its now annual $50 subscription,
no support, App reviews 1.9 out of 5, essentially abandoned by developer

Lemur- Very attractive customisability and price (~$25 ?), but apparently very steep time consuming learning curve

TouchOSC- Great price, customisable, but no Windows 7 editor ? AFAIK "OSCulator" is Mac only; I'm on a PC.

Bunches of fun little limited apps- most recently getting Ribn fader app playing wirelessly via rtpMIDI on iPhone, but
these do not seem to provide as much functionality as I want.

And I've considered hardware controller solutions like the Komplete Kontrol keyboards integrated with Cubase, but want to 
focus on iPad/software solutions for now.

So... anything I'm missing ? Any corrections to the foregoing (e.g. Lemur learning curve is NOT that steep, maybe there
are pre-canned modules you can plug in, etc., etc.) ?

I am leaning towards TouchOSC IF there is a reasonable Windows editor or design toolkit substitute for OSCulator which I gather is very good.

Recommendations ?

Bob


----------



## method1 (Jun 7, 2020)

Steinberg app should do the job, but it hasn't been updated for quite some time.
There are a number of free and paid cubase templates for touchosc & lemur which can save the hassle of setting up your own especially if your requirements are minimal.
eg:








Remote Control Cubase with Touch OSC - Phil Pendlebury


Do you have an iPad / iPhone or Android device and do you want to use it as a wireless remote controller for Cubase / Nuendo? If the answer is “Yes!”… Here’s how. First of all I should mention a few things: This is not really anything new to the tech-heads out there and is […]




www.pendlebury.biz









User Library – Liine







liine.net


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 7, 2020)

Thanks ! Great website you pointed me to- perfect for newbs like me.

Yes, another thing that bothered me about the Steinberg was no updates. I think I even bought it 5 years ago, ran into snags, and got refunded. And its not editable.

So... I think I'll take the TouchOSC plunge. Subsequent to original post I ran across a TouchOSC Editor (https://hexler.net/products/touchosc) for Windows which I assume would substitute for the "OSCulator" editor that is just for the Mac platforms ?

Thanks again for the help !

Bob


----------



## method1 (Jun 7, 2020)

Touchosc has a cross platform editor, osculator is it's own app entirely and isn't directly related to touchosc.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 7, 2020)

Always a catch 22 !

iC Pro requires a "Ski Remote" extension.

At the location to download Ski, there is Ski Remote 1.08 for iC PRO. But it is only for Windows 8.1 and 10.

There is also a download for Ski 1.04 for Windows 7. But it is apparently not for iC Pro but for the earlier iC 1.2

Apparently only iC Pro is for sale now and no earlier version.

So my question is will iC Pro work on Windows 7 ? If so, which version of Ski should I download ?


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 7, 2020)

Turns out I indeed did purchase iC Pro from Steinberg. Couldn't get it to play on my iPad Air 2
and 12.2 iOS, and NO responses from Steinberg forum (though oddly 1500 views).

Looking more like its TouchOSC for me ! Too bad because iC Pro really looked nice, especially for $17
and Steinberg has apparently abandoned it.

Bob


----------



## aria250m (Jun 7, 2020)

Check out Metagrid and Composer Tools Pro (requires Lemur) if you haven’t already.


----------



## NYC Composer (Jun 8, 2020)

I am able to use simple transport control, recording audio in another room with IC Pro, but I’m on Mac. Play, markers, record, undo, punch-that’s all I need.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 8, 2020)

Per my prior post re the necessity for "Ski Remote" extension, does anyone know if iC Pro works on Windows 7 ?

Looked at Metagrid and it appears to have a similar steep learning curve to Lemur.

And unless I'm mistaken Composer Tools Pro comes in at around $90 plus $25 for the needed Lemur for a total of over $100 which is fairly steep for what I need.

So its still looking more like TouchOSC (or iC Pro if I can ever get confirmed it works on Windows 7).

Bob


----------



## aria250m (Jun 8, 2020)

Metagrid is not a steep learning curve IMO and no where near Lemur in terms of what is required. It is pretty easy to use has a very intuitive design. It recently was updated and the programming and UI looks even better (I haven't gotten a chance to try to it though). 

If it doesn't have what you need or it doesn't seem like a fit I completely understand but it definitely does not have a learning curve like lemur.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 8, 2020)

Thanks for the clarification ! I'll give Metagrid another looksee.

How does it connect to the PC- wireless, bluetooth, or only wired ?

If wireless is there a server or other software that must be installed on the PC ?

And would you know if it works with Windows 7 ?

Bob


----------



## aria250m (Jun 8, 2020)

It connects wireless. You download Metaserver on your PC and then create ports for it your Ipad App will connect to (althought you can use wired connection if you want). I think it took me about 5 minutes to do pretty easily following along with the written and video directions.

I checked the website and the newest version of Metaserver says Windows 7 or later so you should be good!


----------



## brek (Jun 8, 2020)

bcarwell said:


> Thanks for the clarification ! I'll give Metagrid another looksee.
> 
> How does it connect to the PC- wireless, bluetooth, or only wired ?
> 
> ...



Just FYI: Metagrid is kind of a different beast from Lemur and TouchOSC. Mainly, it is only buttons - no faders.


----------



## aria250m (Jun 8, 2020)

Yes no faders, at least not yet, which stinks a bit so if that is a deal breaker you may have to look else where. 

Composer Tools Pro has fader configurations galore but it definitely more pricey.


----------



## Manaberry (Jun 8, 2020)

@bcarwell Give a shot to O-S-C https://vi-control.net/community/th...l-an-alternative-to-lemur-and-touchosc.72643/

You create the server. You can access it through your domestic network from any device. Even an old cash register with a touchscreen.


----------



## quickbrownf0x (Jun 8, 2020)

Composer Tools Pro is cool, but I personally just wanted to have more control over the UI, so I ended up with just using Lemur. I'm actually still working on my darn template. Debugging and programming that thing is.... well.., it's just a major pain in the *ss. Good thing I found some friends here to help me out, otherwise I'd be lost.

I wish I could just use Metagrid, but unfortunately I've got an Android device, so yeah. Plus no faders, etc.
I'm hearing some good things about OpenStage, though. Does require you to install a bunch of things, like Electron or Node.


----------



## method1 (Jun 8, 2020)

bcarwell said:


> Per my prior post re the necessity for "Ski Remote" extension, does anyone know if iC Pro works on Windows 7 ?
> 
> Looked at Metagrid and it appears to have a similar steep learning curve to Lemur.
> 
> ...



Since you already have ic pro, just install the SKI from Steinberg and see if it works on windows 7, chances are that it will be fine. 

If not you can uninstall it and get touchosc which I think is the closest match for you in terms of the basic functionality you want, and you can expand the functions later if you get the urge.


----------



## PaulieDC (Jun 8, 2020)

The latest update to MetaGrid has fixed some serious past issues. I've started using it to control Cubase and it's pretty powerful, but initially it's like opening a new boxed puzzle. Once you start getting it set up and leveraging Macros it's quite nice. BUT, as you stated, no faders. I use a FaderPort 8 so it's not an issue but if you need Faders on screen, I don't think they exist.

One of our members @jononotbono (Luke Johnson) did a YouTube vid on his MetaGrid setup. It's seriously involved, moreso than I can grasp, BUT, you'll get to see how far MetaGrid can go with Cubase.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 9, 2020)

Think I'll go with TouchOSC or Metagrid for the time being. Really don't want to dive deep into Lemur...yet.

Really confusing that there is a Metagrid with Lemur and then the metasystems.io Metagrid 1.5 without Lemur. Only downside I've heard from foregoing is No Faders. Not essential, but I was looking at the Promo for new version 1.5 and could swear I saw a fader icon in the pages of icons available. I saw a postin V.I. saying faders were coming but that was a few years ago and may have been referring to the Lemur flavor.

Really a complex subject I am finding with lots of options. Open Stage looks amazing but too complex for me at the moment. And as noted, Quadro, though attractive, has that annual subscription model or one time fee risky if it doesn't pan out.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 9, 2020)

Opted to start with baby steps and TouchOSC. Was completely wrong about my perception that it was too complex like Lemur for me to diddle with at the moment. After swimming in the shallows though, I'll probably graduate to Lemur and the deep end. By then though this stuff will no doubt be obsolete like my 12 bit floppy disk-loaded keyboard.


----------



## quickbrownf0x (Jun 9, 2020)

As soon as I'm happy with my Lemur template I'll upload it here for you guys to use, check out, add your own stuff. I'm adding an instrument/track database for track selection that's really easy to customize, among other things. Maybe it'll save others some time, not to mention avoid a few broken windows.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 9, 2020)

QBF- I assume your Lemur template is for Android based upon your prior post, no ? And is it for Cubase, or ... ? If on Android, how easily are their templates ported to iOS devices ? 

Good luck finishing it up. I think you are the poster child for why I opted to not tackle Lemur yet until I get some experience with the more user friendly TouchOSC and Meta.-

Bob


----------



## quickbrownf0x (Jun 9, 2020)

bcarwell said:


> QBF- I assume your Lemur template is for Android based upon your prior post, no ? And is it for Cubase, or ... ? If on Android, how easily are their templates ported to iOS devices ?
> 
> Good luck finishing it up. I think you are the poster child for why I opted to not tackle Lemur yet until I get some experience with the more user friendly TouchOSC and Meta.-
> 
> Bob


Yeah, sorry. I should've mentioned I've got an Android tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab A). Cheers, appreciate that.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 9, 2020)

Could somebody tell me what I am doing wrong with TouchOSC ? I am trying to import a demo simple Layout Panel. It is the one provided via download by Pendlebury in his article on getting it running with Cubase. It is called PAPiPad1.xml

Everything is working, e.g. the TouchOSC iPad Layout Panels that come with TouchOSC all work and change things in Cubase. So I know the MIDI bridge is working and the Generic Remotes in Cubase- at least for those Layouts.

I just don't know what to do with the additional Layout, PAPiPad1. I Import it in Generic Remote, then hit Apply. But I never see it in the list of Layouts in TouchOSC. TouchOSC shows my PC as a Found Host.

I noticed the PAPiPad1.xml wasn't in the folder on my PC where the rest of the Panels are (touch-editor-1.8.7-win64 file) so I copied it in there. But it has a jpeg when it was unzipped and I don't see any such jpegs for the other Layouts that came with TouchOSC.

And I also think I read somewhere that the Layout file is supposed to be on the iPAD (I guess after being automatically transferred from the Editor to the iPad over WIFI like I've seen in the documentation.) I have unzipped the PAPiPad1 file on my iPad but don't know where to stick it.

I'd be happy to provide any requested screen shots if that would help, and take this offline if you could help me. 

I was so encouraged to see the iPad actions show up in Cubase. But am mystified how to get an additional Layout installed and playing.

Any help would be much appreciated !

Bob


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 9, 2020)

On such a roll getting two remotes to work with Cubase 8 - Ribn working with rtpMIDI, and TouchOSC,- that I thought I'd give Steinberg's iC Pro a shot again- had a few encouraging words that the wireless extension Ski Remote for Win 8 just might work under Win 7. 

Turns out it works fine and I have experienced (so far) none of the bugs reported with iC Pro.

On the contrary, a great bargain at $16. Took only about 1/2 hour to get it up and running wirelessly with PC and Win 7 running Cubase 8. Has a lot more function than I thought too for controlling Cubase- faders, transport controls, a huge assignable Key Command set to buttons, etc. A very good 6 minute summary video on the features from Steinberg:

All in all, not as frustrating as I thought and worth the time. Still hesitant to get into Lemur though, anticipating a real time sink. Thanks to all for the input.

Bob


----------



## NYC Composer (Jun 9, 2020)

As I said, basic functionality is just fine with IC Pro. If you record yourself, markers are a great help and easy to save. Easy changes of menu on the bottom left.

You will occasionally lose connection if you’re far enough away from your computer, but this happens with all of them.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 10, 2020)

Forget my plea for help in getting a Layout transferred from the TouchOSC Editor on my PC to my iPAD.
It was not completely intuitive and certainly not clear from some of the website materials. But as a last resort I bothered to RTFM and pieced it together and actually its very simple and succeeded in about 10 minutes.
I now have an author's example Cubase Layout uploaded to my iPad from my PC. And the next step of course is to design my own layouts with the Editor. I certainly expect a learning curve with roll your own Layouts but not as bad as Lemur. But at least when you finalize a Layout design in the Editor, it is no longer a mystery how to get it from the PC to the iPad and TouchOSC.
If you are having trouble with this, just PM me.

Bob


----------



## stevebarden (Jun 10, 2020)

I use Custom Keypad for iOS to communicate with Cubase. It uses a VNC WiFi connection to communicate with your DAW. Very easy to setup and customize. It’s not capable of sending any midi data, only keystrokes that you might ordinarily send with your QWERTY keyboard. Use in conjunction with macros in your DAW and it’s a great tool. 

Here are a couple of screenshots of the pages I created.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 11, 2020)

Wow Steve, missed that one ! For the curious, its only $5 in the app store. Accordingly, I will also give it a try. IF it works for PC and Windows 7 ? Can you confirm ?

The VNC WiFi connection (apparently the extra thing you need to download for wireless communication is "TightVPN") just resurrected a question I had about these virtual ports.

After my experimenting with rtpMIDI for Ribn app, SKI Remote for Steinberg's iC Pro, and TouchOSC Bridge for TouchOSC, and now VNC WiFi for Custom Keypad, I am wondering can all these multiple MIDI bridges run simultaneously on the PC without screwing anything up ? Or must you pick one and only one and thus only one iPad app at a time ?

BTW I think the ability you pointed out with Custom Keypad to trigger Cubase macros makes it very powerful. Not sure I even miss apps that don't provide faders as I need the tactile feedback of real ones.

Thanks again for adding to the list. Haven't checked them out yet, but looks like there are several other such roll-your-own generic wireless control pads in the App Store, like Custom Control Pad ($9) and Panels-Custom UI Builder ($4)...

Bob


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 11, 2020)

Further on Custom Keypad from App Store info:

Its been around for 8 years +, so no problem of wasted $ on a flakey app developer. Support appears excellent and website looks solid.http://keypad.iosproapps.com/

Long wish list in the user reviews. But biggest complaint was that docs/instructions are somewhat poor, and necessity to add Wifi and VPN functionality to get it talking to PC. All in all though looks like one to consider. Several users using it with Sibelius, etc. so appears it would work fine on my Cubase and Win 7.

Thanks again, Steve !


----------



## LudovicVDP (Jun 11, 2020)

Wow, 5 eur and not requiring IOS 10 or above (I still have an Ipad 3).
I'll try this one. 
Thanks for pointing it to us


----------



## stevebarden (Jun 11, 2020)

bcarwell said:


> Wow Steve, missed that one ! For the curious, its only $5 in the app store. Accordingly, I will also give it a try. IF it works for PC and Windows 7 ? Can you confirm ?
> 
> The VNC WiFi connection (apparently the extra thing you need to download for wireless communication is "TightVPN") just resurrected a question I had about these virtual ports.
> 
> ...



I’ve used this app for a long time. Originally used it for Cakewalk Sonar. Can’t remember if it was ever used with Win7 but definitely Win8.

TightVNC works easily and not too difficult to figure out, especially for this application. VNC was originally designed to be used as a way to remotely control a computer over the internet.

I got the idea of using it with Cubase’s visibility agent and macros from watching a JunkieXL video. Being able to isolate groups of tracks from my 3500+ track template has improved my workflow immensely.

I tried to setup TouchOSC but ended up going back to this app.


----------



## bcarwell (Jun 11, 2020)

Thanks again, this time for pointing me to Cubase Channel Visibility. Had forgotten how many great features it provides. For those not familiar with it, here is a great, short synopsis:

Just ordered your book and am excited to pour through it.

Bob


----------



## stevebarden (Jun 11, 2020)

bcarwell said:


> Just ordered your book and am excited to pour through it.
> 
> Bob



Thanks, Bob!


----------

