Alesis iO Dock - Getting the best performance and signal possible 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 4.00 (6 Votes) In this video and article, we share some tips on getting the best performance and signal possible while recording with the Alesis iO Dock.
Alesis was one of the first manufacturers to turn its hand to making a dedicated pro audio docking station for the iPad and the first iO Dock was well received. Time and technology move on of course, and now the company has come up with a second revision, designed to account for changes like the new Lightning connector format amongst other things.
A quick recap
Since the release of the original iO Dock, much has changed in iOS world. Most importantly, an increasing number of audio and MIDI interfaces are becoming “universal” by which I mean that they work with your Mac or PC and also with your iOS device, thanks to class compliance, meaning they don’t need any special drivers. So the iPad dock as a concept is no longer the only game in town when it comes to pro recording on the platform, though it does arguably still have some advantages. Not least, the ability to physically hold and charge your iPad during use, and the fact that you don’t need Apple’s Camera Connection kit which you mostly still do to connect USB interfaces.
The iO Dock II is physically quite chunky and feels like a serious piece of kit, though it’s not too heavy. It has an external PSU which provides all the power you need as well as rubber feet to stop it sliding around. All models of iPad from the original through to the iPad 4 are compatible with the slider tray system and will be held securely in place thanks to the removable insert which adapts for the different thicknesses of the different models. A protruding connector cable has swappable 30-pin and Lightning connectors to cope with the 30-pin of iPads 1-3 or the Lightning of the 4. This is handy, though you’ll want to be careful not to lose the removable attachments.
Lack of air…
You’ll notice a significant omission from that description: the iPad Air and iPad Mini. Although you can physically connect these models via Lightning, they won’t be held securely in place because they are too thin (and too small in the case of the Mini) for the adaptor. This is quite an issue, and unless Alesis offers an adaptor for the iPad Air at the very least, it’s going to render the iO Dock II a bit pointless for owners of the newest iPad models. You operate an iPad by touch and if it’s loose, it moves when you touch it. Focusrite’s iTrack Dock takes the opposite approach, with no support for 30-pin iPads at all, but a movable connector for any Lightning iPad, and a casing that allows both large and Mini models.
If you do happen to have an earlier model of iPad—and a large number of people do, given that iOS 7 runs on the iPad 2 or later—you’ll find that it fits snugly into the slider tray and is powered by the dock. The audio and MIDI ins and outs on the unit are all routed to the iPad and thanks to the widely supported CoreAudio and CoreMIDI frameworks, there’s virtually no setup, with the device appearing in your app of choice.
Ins and outs
On the rear panel is the majority of the connectivity and you’ll find two combo XLR / jack inputs with phantom power and gain controls, one of which is switchable for guitar and mic / line operation. There are stereo jack outputs for connecting speakers, a direct monitoring button which is great for eliminating latency during recording, and a footswitch input with function assignable by whatever compatible app you might be using. Inside, the unit uses professional 24-bit converters which sound great. There’s no longer a video output as there was on the first generation model, but Airplay mirroring is now easy to use if you want to output video, though you will need an Apple TV to receive the signal. It does also make the iO Dock II slightly less of an all-rounder in live situations, as you used to be able to connect it to a video projector.
On one side of the casing is a master output volume knob and a headphone out with dedicated volume control. On the other side you’ll find conventional MIDI 1x1 in and out and a USB MIDI port. IO Dock II also now fully supports Sysex, something more advanced users will be happy to hear. You can connect MIDI hardware using the traditional ports, to trigger external kit using iPad-based sequencers, and trigger instruments and DAWs running on the iPad from MIDI hardware or using a USB-based MIDI controller to fire data in. USB MIDI devices are very common and they’re a better way to record beats, melodies and other parts than tapping on a screen. Slightly bafflingly, the USB port doesn’t provide power to your MIDI controller so you’ll need to plug it in to the mains separately.
As far as audio recording goes, everything ran smoothly when I connected a guitar and a condenser mic and put down some tracks in Cubasis, Auria and GarageBand for iPad. There are only two simultaneous inputs but this is often enough for many iPad musicians and Alesis also makes the iO Mix, with four inputs, if you need more. The direct monitoring option is very helpful when tracking as it feeds your input straight back to your headphones, eliminating latency. Additionally, IO Dock II has improved guitar circuitry over it's predecessor which allows for a higher input gain and gives recordings a little more warmth.
Final thoughts
The iO Dock II is a great way to record audio and MIDI on your iPad but it faces increasing competition, and has some limitations. The current lack of physical case adaptors for the iPad Air or Mini limits its appeal to owners of previous iPad models, though there are still many of these around of course. Although you can plug your Lightning Air or Mini in, and it'll work perfectly, it won’t be held securely. It might also have made sense when considering video out to have replaced the old connector with HDMI, instead of nothing. And USB power to a MIDI controller would have made it a better all-round solution.
With increasing numbers of USB interfaces now offering iPad as well as desktop support, iPad docks are becoming a bit more of a niche proposition. They do have particular strengths: they hold your (compatible) iPad securely, power it and provide a very integrated way to work, as opposed to the trailing cables of a connected USB interface. But without direct physical support for the Air and Mini, Alesis is missing a trick and keeping its otherwise very solid iO Dock II looking backwards rather than forwards.
Price: £135 GBP / $199 USD Pros: Good selection of audio and MIDI I/O. Very portable. Direct monitoring. Lightning and 30-pin support. Cons: Lacks special adaptor for Air or mini models. No longer has a video out port. No power to USB devices. Web:www.alesis.com |
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus isan award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you useyour other music apps together. Chain effects on your favouritesynth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app likeGarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface outputfor each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive asynth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDIkeyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear.And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App Store![Dock Dock](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126446955/251246271.jpg)
Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Ipad Garageband Alesis Io Dock Video Out Tv
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Alesis Io Dock Ii
I have had the worst experience with the IO Dock from Alesis. It worked on the dudes ipad i bout it from perfectly. I didnt check his specs. I get home and nothing. We both have iPad 2's so i figured what the hell it should work fine. I did my youtubing on the unit and everything people said was great things. As a youtuber and content creator I took my peoples at there word. The forum for Alesis might be the worst forum I have ever been apart of. Every time the question gets beat around until the forum guy just says write ticket with tech support. I noticed through many different post that the sum of all evils is the forum guys doesn't know shit about the product and or just knows its shit and beats around the bush for his paycheck. Since having these ridiculous issues I mean its made just for ipads and it doesnt work plug and play. Now there talking about firmware updates and thats not easy and they say that wont even fix the issue. SO WHATS THE POINT. Please dont waste your money on there products. It works for some and the ones it doesnt work for others. For those that have no voice and dont get heard and get told take a ticket go to the end of the line, FU IO-Dock in the circuits go screw your mother board.
Comments
Alesis Io Dock
- I have a dock 2 and really like it, sorry you aren't
- IT doesn't do anything its a paper weight cant get my ipad to recognize it at all and Alesis sucks ass at helping
- I have it and works great. Did you do the firmware update?
- Got it to update restarted ipad and same thing thats crap
- One thing the update did, I dont hear anything audio coming out of the ipad anymore. When I turn the IO Dock off it plays though the ipad speakers. So Im getting closer
- maybe it got broken? Why dont simply replace it for a new unit and try? Honestly, I have 2 and I bought one for my brother and it works very well. I had some problems with the midi at the beginning but it was corrected after the update to firmware 1.7
Try again, you will be a happy user once it works! - Thank you Hacked but that didnt really help me just kinda told me im shit out of luck. It worked on he dudes before me my IOS version should matter they suck bad product
- I bought an io dock with my first iPad2, it worked flawlessly and the firmware updates easily with no problems. I still use it with my air2. It has been a solid product and has served me well.
- @Shazam. I had the same problem once upon a time. It's really annoying but you can bypass it by putting certain (not just any) dock extenders in between the dock and iPad. I used a cablejive cord.You can probably find them cheaper on eBay. But just a warning I tried a cheapo extender from China and it didn't work but the cablejive did!Good luck
- @TGiG said:
@Shazam. I had the same problem once upon a time. It's really annoying but you can bypass it by putting certain (not just any) dock extenders in between the dock and iPad. I used a cablejive cord.You can probably find them cheaper on eBay. But just a warning I tried a cheapo extender from China and it didn't work but the cablejive did!Good luckdamn you had to do all that ill just get another dock and I will burn Alesis on my youtube channel for this. - Mine has served me for 4 years without an issue.
Sry for your troubles. - When the Alesis iodock first came out I was really tempted, but I saw so many reviews saying how shit it was, so I didn't get it, and now I'm relieved.i'm so very sorry you never saw those reviews I saw, and got burnt so badly. Now I'm wondering where they got to. (or who got at them) Hmm. I did hear good things about the special connector trick, but I agree with you, it'd be like getting a tiny 50-gram pocket phone and then fixing a flaw on it with a giant 5-kilo cross-body phone case.I hate that disappointment crash I sometimes get after an excited anticipation euphoria gets unfulfilled. I know my condolences and good wishes can't do much for you, but I offer mine to you anyway. Just in case.I hope you roast Alesis's ass real good, and feel better soon.
- Weird, I have 2 of them and never had problems with either. (Except for having to buy new inserts as iPads got thinner)
- edited July 2016it is correct, that the distance for the dock connector is really small to snap properly
the only feature that does suck indeed is that it doesn't support midi sysex - no way
it's a design flaw due to lack of memory of a certain chip used
they've changed this with the ioDock Two - support isn't the greatest, indeed
a common flaw seems to be that the charging circuit may fail, but that can easily be solved (with a soldering iron, though
the circuit design of the thing is really good, considering it's price tagif the iPad does't snap you may have better results with just a cardboard under it
glue some edges to it to fix vertical position and it's finecheers, Tom - edited July 2016@Shazamm said:
...It worked on the dudes ipad i bout it from perfectly....Get your money back from the guy. Maybe he knew something about his oarticular unit that he didn't disclose. Caveat emptor, I guess. Sympathies for your misfortune but is Alesis really to blame here? Hope you eventually find a solution. - good point - you never know when you buy a unit 2nd hand, but for $50-80 it's a cool deviceAlesis spoilt the Midi sysex thing and used an obscure charging design - that for shure
but on the other hand I had no problems to insert a 30pin-to-lightning adapter and continue to use the dock with a Mini-2 (with a 'custom' cardboard bottom as mentioned)
in my case it worked flawlessly with every version of IOS, so the design must be quite solidthere is a mysterious 'distorted sound problem' that may show up once in a while, like it's loosing digital sync
but that has been reported on about any interface aroundcheers, Tom - From the op's descriptions, I suspect his issue is only in small part about the seller and device quality, and 90% about Alesis' pretence of product support with complete unresponsiveness in the same breath.Aside from the obvious hypocrisy, rudeness and unnecessary pointless timewasting, anybody with even the smallest emotional baggage load is likely to be triggered by these unpleasantly familiar behaviours with varying degrees of intense horrible flashbacked feelings like overwhelming rage and terror.I've been there and seen it many times, hard to manage even when self-recognised in the moment, which in itself is even harder still.Personally, with behaviours such as these, I hope Alesis will be reaping what they sow.Sorry for the armchair psychosis-I-mean-psychology. I'm done now.
- Can't really blame the manufacturer if most of people here report no issues. Burn it on YouTube if it makes you feel better early doubt it will, it will only smoke your house (if you do at least do it outdoors.IMO You're better off taking it back to the seller.
- @supadom said:Can't really blame the manufacturer if most of people here report no issues. Burn it on YouTube if it makes you feel better early doubt it will, it will only smoke your house (if you do at least do it outdoors.IMO You're better off taking it back to the seller.When i say burn i mean do a video on my experience lol my bad
- Its most definitively the manufacture as i have been on there forums wondering why they never answers peoples questions on this matter. They tell me its the firmware then say downgrade IOS ( I laughed out loud) they just tell us create a ticket with tech support. Tech supports way to busy to even get to me yet. Trust me I am not the only one but its all good I just will spend my money elsewhere
- @Shazamm said:@supadom said:Can't really blame the manufacturer if most of people here report no issues. Burn it on YouTube if it makes you feel better early doubt it will, it will only smoke your house (if you do at least do it outdoors.IMO You're better off taking it back to the seller.When i say burn i mean do a video on my experience lol my badThe dangers of metaphoric language....
- @Shazamm said:
Its most definitively the manufacture as i have been on there forums wondering why they never answers peoples questions on this matter. They tell me its the firmware then say downgrade IOS ( I laughed out loud) they just tell us create a ticket with tech support. Tech supports way to busy to even get to me yet. Trust me I am not the only one but its all good I just will spend my money elsewhereyou didn't spend any money on Alesis at all, as it was a 2nd hand deal...cheers, Tom - @ExAsperis99 said:@Shazamm said:@supadom said:Can't really blame the manufacturer if most of people here report no issues. Burn it on YouTube if it makes you feel better early doubt it will, it will only smoke your house (if you do at least do it outdoors.IMO You're better off taking it back to the seller.When i say burn i mean do a video on my experience lol my badThe dangers of metaphoric language....Literally burning it would definitely attract more attention, especially if you burned a printout of the brand logo etc.My response was tongue in cheek anyway.Good luck whatever you decide to do with it. I'd go for some kind of explosion personally.
- @Telefunky said:@Shazamm said:
Its most definitively the manufacture as i have been on there forums wondering why they never answers peoples questions on this matter. They tell me its the firmware then say downgrade IOS ( I laughed out loud) they just tell us create a ticket with tech support. Tech supports way to busy to even get to me yet. Trust me I am not the only one but its all good I just will spend my money elsewhereyou didn't spend any money on Alesis at all, as it was a 2nd hand deal...cheers, TomJust because i dont give them my money directly on this actual purchase, doesnt mean i didnt add value to its product buy re purchasing it second hand. I have spent money with them on other products like alesis vi49 and DM10 studio lol. I was saying from my experience with there customer support and build quality I will be spending my money elsewhere as a whole. - sorry, didn't have my crystal ball at hand...cheers, Tom
- @Telefunky said:
sorry, didn't have my crystal ball at hand...cheers, TomGuys like you make me like this forum over others - I actually have quite a good amount of stuff from Akai, belonging to same group as Alesis ( In music).From Alesis particularly only own a couple of io dock stations and I have to agree the service to the customer is lousy but their products in general are good value for the money. Probably they could do better on customer service but all in all I find them ok for what they offer.