# New staffpad rig recommendations?



## DennyB (Sep 16, 2021)

I am interested in trying this. I have a full rig on my Mac, but only barely understand how staffpad as a daw even works, though (I used it before briefly just for input). But I have an iPad and pencil. Recs on sound libraries for orchestral writing, particularly while the discount is still on? Thanks!


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## Jett Hitt (Sep 16, 2021)

Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, and Berlin. They should be your core. Additionally you can add CineBrass, CinePerc, and CinePiano as need be for a broader palette. Spitfire Symphonic Strings has its uses as well. Tina Guo is also an attractive addition.


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## jonathanparham (Sep 16, 2021)

I like Berlin and have gotten Cinesamples and Spitfire when on sale


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## DennyB (Sep 16, 2021)

Jett Hitt said:


> Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, and Berlin.


So… Berlin?


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## Jackdnp121 (Sep 16, 2021)

DennyB said:


> So… Berlin?


I’ve got afew but yes Berlin Berlin Berlin especially strings …. And iPad Pro


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## MadLad (Sep 16, 2021)

Berlin Strings are hands down the best on Staffpad. However, depending on how sophisticated you want your music to be you'll need to complement the woodwinds and brass section with CineSamples. 

For example: Berlin Brass has amazingly good solo trumpets but the trumpet ensemble is a bit weak. CineSamples on the other hand has kind of a harsh and bad sounding solo trumpet but a great trumpet ensemble. The Berlin Brass Tuba sounds really good with legato but if you want staccato or good sounding accents you definitely need the CineSamples Tuba. The Berlin Woodwinds Flute 1 has a very tender but amazing sound. However, if you want a flute that is actually audible you need CineSamples.

I'd start with Berlin Strings, CineWinds and Berlin Brass, as a personal recommendation. Percussion-wise CinePerc has a much wider variety of instruments but some have a really awful machine-gun effect. Berlin Percussion might be the better choice for more natural human-sounding percussion.


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## Jett Hitt (Sep 16, 2021)

I agree with most of what @MadLad said, though I never find use for Cinewinds. I usually just turn up the volume on the Berlin woodwinds. The Kontakt version has this problem too. I’m hoping this gets resolved in the Sine version.


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## DennyB (Sep 16, 2021)

I only have an iPad mini, which might be good for starting out. But assuming I move up to an iPad Pro, I would be pulled toward the smaller one (11”) just because the form factor is easier to handle (which is why I bought the mini). From people’s experience, does the increased size really help a lot or is it just a little bigger and it’s a matter of taste?

And what about size/memory? Is 512 sufficient? It gets pretty expensive above that. But I guess the 128-512’s have 8GB and the 1-2TB have 16B. I read someone here say that apps are Ram-limited anyway, so maybe having more doesn’t ally buy you as much…?


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## MadLad (Sep 16, 2021)

Jett Hitt said:


> I agree with most of what @MadLad said, though I never find use for Cinewinds. I usually just turn up the volume on the Berlin woodwinds. The Kontakt version has this problem too. I’m hoping this gets resolved in the Sine version.


It's basically just the CineWinds Flute that I think is better for presence and aggressiveness. The other woodwinds are not near as good as Berlin Woodwinds. Especially the Oboe and English Horn is way ahead of CineSamples


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## Jett Hitt (Sep 16, 2021)

DennyB said:


> I only have an iPad mini, which might be good for starting out. But assuming I move up to an iPad Pro, I would be pulled toward the smaller one (11”) just because the form factor is easier to handle (which is why I bought the mini). From people’s experience, does the increased size really help a lot or is it just a little bigger and it’s a matter of taste?
> 
> And what about size/memory? Is 512 sufficient? It gets pretty expensive above that. But I guess the 128-512’s have 8GB and the 1-2TB have 16B. I read someone here say that apps are Ram-limited anyway, so maybe having more doesn’t ally buy you as much…?


Apps are no longer RAM-limited in theory. There was news about this back in the summer, but I have kind of forgotten the specifics. I think that the 11" would be just fine. I have the 12.9, but sometimes it is cumbersome to hold. I would hold off until the next update before I jumped on a new one. Let's see just what that extra power of the iPad Pro brings to StaffPad once we have the update.


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## PaulieDC (Sep 17, 2021)

DennyB said:


> I only have an iPad mini, which might be good for starting out. But assuming I move up to an iPad Pro, I would be pulled toward the smaller one (11”) just because the form factor is easier to handle (which is why I bought the mini). From people’s experience, does the increased size really help a lot or is it just a little bigger and it’s a matter of taste?
> 
> And what about size/memory? Is 512 sufficient? It gets pretty expensive above that. But I guess the 128-512’s have 8GB and the 1-2TB have 16B. I read someone here say that apps are Ram-limited anyway, so maybe having more doesn’t ally buy you as much…?


I got the 512GB iPad Pro M1 which has 8GB ram which is plenty. StaffPad runs SO nice on it compared to my 2018 iPad Pro. The 1TB iPad Pro sports 16gb ram, but $400 more plus tax, yikes. I used to nearly max out ram on the 2018 iPad which had 4gb, but 8 is great, I slam it and always have 1-2gb available, seems like 6gb should be the minimum. Anyway, performance vs dollar, the 8GB/512GB seems to make the most sense. Mines the 12.9 btw.


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## thesteelydane (Sep 17, 2021)

PaulieDC said:


> I got the 512GB iPad Pro M1 which has 8GB ram which is plenty. StaffPad runs SO nice on it compared to my 2018 iPad Pro. The 1TB iPad Pro sports 16gb ram, but $400 more plus tax, yikes. I used to nearly max out ram on the 2018 iPad which had 4gb, but 8 is great, I slam it and always have 1-2gb available, seems like 6gb should be the minimum. Anyway, performance vs dollar, the 8GB/512GB seems to make the most sense. Mines the 12.9 btw.


Damn, I didn’t want to take any chances so I splurged on the 12.9 1TB M1. Should get here in 6-8 weeks. Mind you, my current setup is a 1st gen iPad Pro from 2016, so I’m expecting a massive performance boost and a better pencil experience. What case do you all use?


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## DennyB (Sep 17, 2021)

Yeah, this might be a Xmas purchase, so I can wait. If iPads were on sale or sample libraries were on sale that would be different, but 50% off the app itself isn’t enough to make me jump just yet.


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## Martin S (Sep 17, 2021)

thesteelydane said:


> Damn, I didn’t want to take any chances so I splurged on the 12.9 1TB M1. Should get here in 6-8 weeks. Mind you, my current setup is a 1st gen iPad Pro from 2016, so I’m expecting a massive performance boost and a better pencil experience. What case do you all use?


I’m using this, and quite happy with it 

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...ite-case-for-ipad-pro-129-inch-5th-generation


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## PaulieDC (Sep 17, 2021)

thesteelydane said:


> Damn, I didn’t want to take any chances so I splurged on the 12.9 1TB M1. Should get here in 6-8 weeks. Mind you, my current setup is a 1st gen iPad Pro from 2016, so I’m expecting a massive performance boost and a better pencil experience. What case do you all use?


Oh! Well my whole wordy dissertation was only about saving $400, but it looks like that's doable being you ordered it, don't regret it! You'll have 16GB ram and a TON of storage, way more future-proof than my suggestion. Believe me I would have WANTED the next step but my thing is that if you are budget limited like I was, the 512GB is a great choice. Only for the savings though.


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## PaulieDC (Sep 17, 2021)

thesteelydane said:


> What case do you all use?


I bought this one for now. It's very protective and functional, but it's thick and heavy:



There's a company called Luvvitt on Amazon that makes a 12.9 case that is nice and thin and just looks and feels great, they just don't have the 2021 5th gen model out yet. iPad didn't fit in the 2018 case because this iPad is a mm thicker and has a bigger camera section.

Oh, wait, did you get the 11" Pro?


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## thesteelydane (Sep 18, 2021)

PaulieDC said:


> I bought this one for now. It's very protective and functional, but it's thick and heavy:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No I got the 12.9. Unfortunately ordering stuff from Amazon is tricky where I live as it has to go through a 3rd party shipping company to reliably get here and it takes awhile. On the upside I have a lot time before my iPad gets here to order a case. Thanks for the tip on Luvvitt, I’ll keep an eye on that!


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## PaulieDC (Sep 18, 2021)

thesteelydane said:


> No I got the 12.9. Unfortunately ordering stuff from Amazon is tricky where I live as it has to go through a 3rd party shipping company to reliably get here and it takes awhile. On the upside I have a lot time before my iPad gets here to order a case. Thanks for the tip on Luvvitt, I’ll keep an eye on that!


It's funny, when I bought that case for my 3rd Gen 12.9 in 2018, I had a surprisng amount of people going "Nice case!", lol... the canvas feel and the thinness and LIGHT weight yet protective just works. One guy bought his 12.9 a few months later and actually texted me for the link! FYI, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KFXPWG8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (here's the 2018 version).

I contacted the company asking when the 2021 5th Gen case would be out and they replied that there isn't a plan at he moment for that, but they have a case for every 12.9 model, and these things show up to the distributor straight out of China, so I'm willing to wait. The case I posted above is great, it's just thick and heavy, but very protective. I'll let you know when the new one shows up.


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## DennyB (Sep 18, 2021)

Is there a strong reason to get an iPad over a surface? Or vice versa?


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## Jett Hitt (Sep 18, 2021)

DennyB said:


> Is there a strong reason to get an iPad over a surface? Or vice versa?


At this point, I think yes. The new iPad Pro is like nothing before, and the Apple Pencil 2 is fantastic.


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## PaulieDC (Sep 18, 2021)

Jett Hitt said:


> At this point, I think yes. The new iPad Pro is like nothing before, and the Apple Pencil 2 is fantastic.


Agreed. The tech in the Apple pencil is unmatched in accuracy and speed. BUT--I've not used the latest Surface and whatever the stylus is. But the M1 iPad with Pencil is superb. For that price it _should_ be.


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## Montisquirrel (Sep 19, 2021)

DennyB said:


> Is there a strong reason to get an iPad over a surface? Or vice versa?


I would say it depends on what you use on your other devices. If you use Apple anyway, go with an iPad, if you use Windows (like I do), go with an Surface Pro. This way it is much easier to use other software too and don't have to buy twice.


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## thesteelydane (Sep 24, 2021)

PaulieDC said:


> It's funny, when I bought that case for my 3rd Gen 12.9 in 2018, I had a surprisng amount of people going "Nice case!", lol... the canvas feel and the thinness and LIGHT weight yet protective just works. One guy bought his 12.9 a few months later and actually texted me for the link! FYI, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KFXPWG8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (here's the 2018 version).
> 
> I contacted the company asking when the 2021 5th Gen case would be out and they replied that there isn't a plan at he moment for that, but they have a case for every 12.9 model, and these things show up to the distributor straight out of China, so I'm willing to wait. The case I posted above is great, it's just thick and heavy, but very protective. I'll let you know when the new one shows up.


Well, look what arrived 6 weeks earlier than expected! Also got the new pencil (obviously) and the hyperdrive thingy for plugging in wired headphones and midi keyboard. I have to say this is a big upgrade over my 5 year old gen. 1 iPad Pro. The pencil 2 is a lot better to write with and never losing it or having to charge it is a major improvement as well. They had https://www.tomtoc.com/collections/best-selling-products/products/smart-tri-case-for-129-inch-ipad-pro-4th-gen-black (this) case in the store and I’m very happy with it - not too heavy, but good protection and reasonably stable in writing mode. I might still get a magic keyboard down the road for office work, but for now it’s mainly for StaffPad.


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## PaulieDC (Sep 24, 2021)

thesteelydane said:


> Well, look what arrived 6 weeks earlier than expected! Also got the new pencil (obviously) and the hyperdrive thingy for plugging in wired headphones and midi keyboard. I have to say this is a big upgrade over my 5 year old gen. 1 iPad Pro. The pencil 2 is a lot better to write with and never losing it or having to charge it is a major improvement as well. They had https://www.tomtoc.com/collections/best-selling-products/products/smart-tri-case-for-129-inch-ipad-pro-4th-gen-black (this) case in the store and I’m very happy with it - not too heavy, but good protection and reasonably stable in writing mode. I might still get a magic keyboard down the road for office work, but for now it’s mainly for StaffPad.


Yay!


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