Support for the Fairlight iOS App

Some customers are reporting stuck notes and missed notes when using an external MIDI keyboard through the Alesis IO Dock. Now that we have an IO Dock for testing, we also see this problem, not just in the Fairlight App but in other MIDI Apps as well. It seems that this is both an IO Dock problem and a problem with the Fairlight App.

Note that the problem is very bad in IO Dock firmware version 1.0, somewhat improved in 1.05 and (if you have Fairlight App 1.1.9) fixed in 1.07. You can find the latest Alesis firmware at http://www.alesis.com/iodock under Docs and Downloads.

In Fairlight App version 1.1.8 the problem will still occur occasionally, but is completely fixed in 1.1.9 with the latest IO Dock firmware.

Unfortunately, the Synthstation API software is incompatible with iOS 5. Akai have just released a new version compatible with iOS 5, but too late to be included in Fairlight App 1.1.7. It is fixed in 1.1.8, which was submitted to the App Store on 13th of November.

If you launch the App and then select an instrument, it will quit.
The workaround is to select a song first, then select an instrument.

This can happen if you have Apps in the background using all the memory. 3D games are particularly memory-hungry. Try quitting other Apps:

Double-tap home, tap and hold an App in the bottom row, tap the (-) button for those you want to quit.

If that doesn’t work, please send your crash logs:

http://aplus.rs/apple/how-to-find-crash-logs-for-iphone-applications-on-mac-vista-and-xp/

Welcome to 1980. See the info/settings screen for solutions.

There are so many things we would like to have done for the early releases, but our customers and beta testers kept on asking for power features like MIDI input and sampling. In version 1.1 we gave you octave slide and more keys on the iPad keyboard, and the ability to hide the music keyboard, but we had to draw the line somewhere and release 1.1.5.

We hope that in a future version we’ll have a better on-screen music keyboard, including finger swipe. But it’s not there in 1.1.5.

Yes, live MIDI input is included. Unfortunately, a mistake in the in-App feature matrix in version 1.0 says (incorrectly) that it is a Pro feature. But you don’t need the Pro upgrade to be able to use the Fairlight App as a MIDI-controlled sample module, playing genuine Fairlight voices. This includes Core MIDI devices as well as MIDI input from the Line6 MIDI Mobilizer and the Akai SynthStation.

Just to be clear, you can use a MIDI keyboard to play CMI voices in the $9.99 basic Fairlight Player App.

The Fairlight Apps do not yet have any MIDI-out capability, despite the in-App table saying so in version 1.0. That is a mistake.

With the Pro upgrade, you gain the ability to import and export MIDI files.

If you know that you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight Pro App INSTEAD OF the Fairlight App. The Fairlight Pro App behaves just like the Fairlight app with the Pro upgrade, but has the word “Pro” on its icon. The cost of the Fairlight Pro App is the same as the Fairlight App plus the in-App Pro upgrade.

If you are not sure whether you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight App and upgrade later. This was your only option if you bought version 1.0. The only disadvantage of this approach is that your App will not show “Pro” on its icon even after you upgraded to the Pro features.

Although it is possible to buy BOTH Apps, there is no benefit in doing that– unless you want to show off to your friends that you have two Fairlight Apps, or you want two independent workspaces (each App has its own database and files). Or maybe you are having so much fun with your Fairlight App that you want to pay us twice!

In version 1.0.1 and later, there are two versions of the Fairlight App: the upgradeable Fairlight App and the pre-upgraded Fairlight Pro App.

The Fairlight (non-Pro) App can be upgraded to the Pro features. You can tap the upgrade button on many pages. This will allow you to use your iTunes account for an in-App purchase of the Pro upgrade.

If you know that you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight Pro App INSTEAD OF the non-Pro Fairlight App. The Fairlight Pro App behaves just like the Fairlight App with the Pro upgrade, but has the word “Pro” on its icon. The cost of the Pro App is the same as the non-Pro App plus the in-App Pro upgrade.

If you are not sure whether you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight App and upgrade later. The only disadvantage of this approach is that your App will not show “Pro” on its icon even after you upgraded to the Pro features.

Yes, your Pro upgrade is valid for all of your devices. As long as your device is logged in to your iTunes account, and you have already paid for the upgrade, you will not be charged for an in-App upgrade on that device.

The “Check for Upgrades” button in the App’s upgrade screen will check your upgrade status with your iTunes account and will performa an in-App upgrade on that device without charge. But even if you tapped the in-App ‘upgrade’ button, you would not be charged a second time.

This applies to all your devices: for new devices as well as devices where you have deleted the App, you will only ever have to pay for one upgrade as long as you use the in-App upgrade button and you are logged in to the same iTunes account.

NOTE: the upgrade process will only work if your device is connected to the internet. You can test this by loading any web page in Safari.

Do you perhaps have the in-app purchases restricted? When you have restricted in-app purchases the error message “In-app purchases are not allowed” pops up.

To disable this restriction, tap on the Settings icon of your device (not the Fairlight App) -> General -> Restrictions.

This section will prompt for you to enter a passcode or create one if you already haven’t. Once you have entered your passcode, scroll down to “Allowed Content.”

Next to In-App Purchases, if the button says ON, it means in-app purchases are allowed. If it’s off it means it’s restricted.

Yes, live MIDI input is included. Unfortunately, a mistake in the in-App feature matrix in version 1.0 says (incorrectly) that it is a Pro feature. But you don’t need the Pro upgrade to be able to use the Fairlight App as a MIDI-controlled sample module, playing genuine Fairlight voices. This includes Core MIDI devices as well as MIDI input from the Line6 MIDI Mobilizer and the Akai SynthStation.

Just to be clear, you can use a MIDI keyboard to play CMI voices in the $9.99 basic Fairlight Player App.

The Fairlight Apps do not yet have any MIDI-out capability, despite the in-App table saying so in version 1.0. That is a mistake.

With the Pro upgrade, you gain the ability to import and export MIDI files.

In the top right of Page 2, in the Voices column, is a button “All Voices.” Tap that and you can see all the CMI IIX floppy disks and all their voices. Selecting a voice lets you play it with the on-screen keyboard or from a MIDI keyboard.

This may be because your Midi Mobilizer firmware is older than the version used by the Fairlight App. You can upgrade your firmware by plugging in your Midi Mobilizer and running the Line 6 Midi Memo Recorder App, which will check your firmware version and upgrade it if necessary.

Have a look in your device’s Settings > iPod > Sound Check. This may be suddenly changing the volume when you start playing. Turn it off for working with the Fairlight App, but don’t forget to turn to back on again to protect your ears from loud music.

The short answer is: yes, but…

If you have selected an AirPlay destination in any other App (e.g. iPod or Movies), that audio destination applies to all Apps, including Fairlight. If the AirPlay destination has become unavailable (e.g. being used by some other device), not only will the Fairlight App audio not be heard anywhere, but it may stop altogether until you select an available destination, such as the device itself.

Airplay also has a long delay (can be many seconds) between the audio being transmitted and being played on the destination. This may be confusing, with audio feedback and Page R audio sounding seconds after the action or pattern is displayed.

Finally, it seems that the “old” Airport Express (firmware version 6.3) does not work as an AirPlay destination for iOS devices, despite being available for selection. The Fairlight App will stop while it is selected.

The price for the basic App in the USA is $9.99. The in-app upgrade to the Pro version (see the feature comparison) is $39.99. The prices in other countries are somewhat comparable, but in all cases the Pro upgrade costs around four times the initial App price.

Yes, your Pro upgrade is valid for all of your devices. As long as your device is logged in to your iTunes account, and you have already paid for the upgrade, you will not be charged for an in-App upgrade on that device.

The “Check for Upgrades” button in the App’s upgrade screen will check your upgrade status with your iTunes account and will performa an in-App upgrade on that device without charge. But even if you tapped the in-App ‘upgrade’ button, you would not be charged a second time.

This applies to all your devices: for new devices as well as devices where you have deleted the App, you will only ever have to pay for one upgrade as long as you use the in-App upgrade button and you are logged in to the same iTunes account.

NOTE: the upgrade process will only work if your device is connected to the internet. You can test this by loading any web page in Safari.

The basic Fairlight App supports Core MIDI, so it can receive MIDI events via WiFi or (for the iPad) many MIDI USB devices via the Apple Camera Connection Kit. See the Live MIDI Help for details.

Some devices that we have tested with the Camera Connection Kit, and we know work, are:

• AKAI LPK25 keyboard
• ESI Midimate II
• M-Audio Oxygen 8
• Cakewalk UM-1G

Note that due to WiFi latency on a busy network, we recommended that for real-time performance or recording you should use a dedicated WiFi network with just your iOS device(s) and the Mac.

The basic Fairlight App also supports MIDI input from the Line 6 Midi Mobilizer and the Akai SynthStation. It also

Yes, it is. In our recording studio, we had to build a separate soundproof area to isolate the CMI from the performers. But, fortunately for you, in the App you can adjust the floppy disk volume in the info/settings screen.

If the Fairlight App is missing something you would like, please let us know via the feedback form. We have a list, but your input will help us prioritise it.

Sorry, this didn’t happen in the iOS 5 betas. We are investigating and will release a fix ASAP. In the meantime, if you have an iPad, you might want to consider not upgrading to iOS 5 yet…

Sorry, this didn’t happen in the iOS 5 betas. We are investigating and will release a fix ASAP.

When you select a pattern (not a step) in the pattern/step selection screen, Page R goes into pattern-repeat mode as expected. However, tapping the repeat mode button to continue playing does not work.

The workaround for now is to keep tapping the repeat mode button to cycle through pattern repeat mode again. Page R will now proceed to the next step.

Unfortunately, a last-minute bug addition got past our testing process, and so version 1.1.6 crashes in any version of iOS before 5.0.

This is fixed in version 1.1.7, which should be out in a week or so, but in the meantime there are two possible solutions to this problem if you are running iOS 4.x:

• Don’t update to 1.1.6. Wait for 1.1.7 to be released
• Update to iOS 5. Apple are strongly encouraging all customers to update to iOS 5.

Version 1.1, in some circumstances, can lose track of the audio data for sampled voices. A workaround for this: after you have set the trim and loop points for a voice you just sampled, export it (button on bottom right of the voice page). Then re-import it in Page 2. After checking that the imported voice is as you expect it, delete the original voice in Page 2.
If you already have a sampled voice with misplaced data (unfortunately the symptom of this is a crash when you try to view it), please use the support form and we will help you fix it.

There is one other case in 1.1.1 that can be worse: if you cancel from the sampler page after sampling a voice, all of your voice data will be deleted and cannot be recovered. So please don’t cancel if you have tapped the record button, and always export your voices.

• Page 2 new song does not display the new song
• Oscilloscope / waterfall breaks up on loud sounds
• Page 3 instrument voice adjustments sometimes slow
• Voice waveform display is incorrect at low amplitude in the Retina display

If you have a sampled voice with misplaced audio data (see the FAQ about exporting sampled voices), it will crash when you try to view it. Either delete the voice (losing the sample), or if you want to recover it, please use the support form and we will help you fix it.

It seems that for 0.1% of customers, the song database gets corrupted for some reason. If you have some problem, please try the following remedies, only going as far as is necessary to fix the problem:

- quit and restart your App (tap home, double-tap home, tap and hold Fairlight in the bottom row, tap the (-) button)

- export your song, then delete it, then re-import it from the export file

- export all your songs, instruments and voices, copy the export files from iTunes to somewhere safe, then delete the app from your device and reinstall from iTunes, then re-import your files.

If all that fails, please submit a bug report in the feedback page, and include your crash logs (see instructions here).

Some customers have reported this problem, and have fixed it like this:

"It was the new OS’s change of the side switch being a landscape lock or mute. Changed it BACK to a mute, changed it to full volume (even though it was working with every other app) and then set it back to landscape lock and it brought the sound back."

Another possible cause is AirPlay. If you have selected AirPlay as a destination in another App (e.g. iPod or Movies), that audio destination applies to all Apps. If the AirPlay destination has become unavailable (e.g. being used by some other device), not only will the Fairlight App audio not be heard anywhere, but it may stop altogether until you select an available destination, such as the device itself.

If you change the song in Page 2, then tap the [Page R] button below the list of songs, your selected song does not load.

Workaround: after selecting a song, use the [Page R] button at the top of the screen.

This is fixed in 1.0.1, which is not yet released.

This intermittent bug has appeared for a couple of customers, and we are tracking down the cause. It seems to be caused by memory contention with other Apps.

If it does happen to you, a workaround is to quit the App: First tap the home button to show the apps, then double-tap the home button. Tap and hold the Fairlight icon in the bottom bar, then tap the red (-) button. Then relaunch the app and it will run.

If it keeps happening, quit other Apps, especially those that use a lot of memory, like 3D games.

We would really appreciate some help in tracking down this elusive bug. If it happens, please use the support form to tell us:

• What are the exact steps needed to make it happen?
• If it happened when tapping a navigation button at the top, which button was it? Page 1? Page 2? Page 3? etc…
• Does it happen often or rarely?
• Do you have a lot of other apps running? If so try quitting all the apps you don’t need and see if that helps