Using two blueboards and BlueTurn all together on IOS

[christianmccormick]

I received a private message with the following question:

Hi Christian,

I just saw your post about you mentioning using I/O Duo and 2 Blueboards for using Amplitube and Vocal Live. I'm curious to see how you have this set up. I have 2 Blueboards and have not been able to get them to play nice with each other. I would love to be able to play my guitar out of one channel with Amplitube and Play Keys/Vocals on the other.

Can you point me in the right direction.

Thank you.

Marcelo

I figured I would answer with a new topic for the benefit of others who may be interested in getting this to work.

YES, it is possible to use two blueboard to control Amplitube alone, or even Amplitube and Vocalive while at the same time using a BlueTurn to control Iklip Stage. With this setup, using an I/O duo with two input channels, it is possible to send a Mic to Vocalive and another instrument to Amplitube. The I/O Duo also has a midi input/output and I have successfully run a midi keyboard through synth apps on the IOS device combined with this setup. (This has worked on an Iphone 6+ and above and various Ipads including the Ipad Pro which is the best configuration because of the larger screen and split screen capability...)

The blueboards can control one app each and any one Blueboard can even share the controls between two apps. This works with Ik Mutlimedia apps. I have not tried to control other apps simply because Amplitube and Vocalive do just about everything I need.

HOW: Ik Multimedia have designed two ways to get control signals from the Blueboard into the Apps. Both can work together on the same IOS device.

The first is the separate App Blueboard. This was the first iteration of the Blueboard's interface with the IK Multimedia apps. To use this app just launch it and pair it with any one of your blueboards. (I recommend naming your Blueboards with different names or numbers so you recognise them...). The Blueboard connected to the Blueboard app will control any of the controllable functions within Amplitube or Vocalive. This includes the looper which I control using two external footswitches (I use the dual Boss FS-6 standard footswitches) connected to the external inputs of the Blueboard.

The second is within Amplitube and Vocalive themselves. IK Multimedia have built into their apps the Blueboard App without deactivating the ability to control the apps through the original Blueboard app. So you can actually use both! You access the built in Blueboard section of each app by going into the Setting menu, bottom of the page, External Control. Choose Irig Blueboard and pair your IOS device with any one of your Blueboards (as long as it is the one that is not already connected to the Blueboard app). Amplitube or Vocalive will then respond to that Blueboard as well.

You will notice that the buttons controlled by the Blueboard App are yellowed, while the ones controlled by the built-in Blueboard app are blued.

Note that I also control any wah, or whammy pedal or even an amps volume or some other amp settings, by connecting an expression pedal to the Blueboard's ext control input. I have noticed that it is not possible to use the two external inputs of the Blueboard connected through the internal app at the same time. I have written to IK Multimedia about this and they did not have an explanation.

With this setup I set some of one of the Blueboard's switches to control some Vocalive effects and the rest to control Amplitube while the other Blueboard controls other Amplitube functions. You could choose to let one Blueboard control Vocalive and the other Amplitube. I find Vocalive does not need more then two controls as I rarely use more effects in Vocalive...

The BlueTurn can also be added using IKlip Stage to control page turning in that app in addition to the two Blueboards connected to Vocalive and Amplitube.

I have actually setup a pedal board with this setup and powered the Blueboards through the micro USB ports and a standard USB wall mart to avoid having to swith the power of the Blueboards on and off each time to save battery power.

Happy to answer more questions if needed.

Christian

[marcelo1962]

Awesome information. Can't wait to give it a shot.

Thanks.

Marcelo

[JlnMyr]

Hi Christian, you mentioned that you use a BOSS FS-6 as an external footswitch. From what little I know about it, the FS-6 is a dual footswitch but it can be connected with either 1 cable or 2. Do you connect it with two cables or just one? What I’m trying to figure out is whether the Blueboard can be connected to 4 external footswitches (2 switches per output) or just 2 (1 switch per output). I’ve looked through the literature, and wasn’t able to determine this. In fact, until I saw your post, the only thing i could gather on those 2 footswitch outputs, was that they only accepted expression pedal inputs.
So thanks for that info. And sorry this question was outside the scope of this thread.

[christianmccormick]

Hello Jinmyr


Sorry for the late reply. I wanted to double check my setup before answering to be sure.

The FS-6 is connected with two mono cables to the external control outputs of one blueboard. The FS-6 switches are set to latch mode and the polarity is just set so that the lights on the FS-6 switches follow the on or off setting of the controlled effect.

In amplitube IOS you have to go to the settings menu to external controls settings (way down at the bottom fo the page). Choose Irig Blueboard. Then Setup (upper right hand corner). This takes you to the setup of your Blueboard. Choose External Controls and set the options to Type: Switch and Mode : Mom. Range from 0-100...

This is what worked...

If you use a stereo cable then the external controller is treated as a expression pedal. I was not able to connect two switches to the same external output to get a total of four external controllers on one Blueboard. But as I have two Blueboards, I have a total of two expression pedals and 10 switched to control stuff in Amplitube (and Vocalive at the same time...).

Very cool!

Christian

[JlnMyr]

Thanks Christian, much appreciated.

[Mr.Bluesman]

Hi,

Wondering if you could do a walkthrough of getting one blueboard to change presets in vocalive and amplitube .

As you mentioned above you say it's possible, I just want to change between 2 guitar presets and a couple of vocal presets.

'With this setup I set some of one of the Blueboard's switches to control some Vocalive effects and the rest to control Amplitube while the other Blueboard controls other Amplitube functions. You could choose to let one Blueboard control Vocalive and the other Amplitube. I find Vocalive does not need more then two controls as I rarely use more effects in Vocalive.'

Thanks as I just can't get it working

[tdwimsatt]

I am interested in the addition of a second BlueBoard for AmpliTube. If I understand Christian, AmpliTube supports more than one BlueBoard, correct? It would be cool to be able to have one board control the live selections and one to use for the pedals themselves.

Thanks for any details!
Tom

[christianmccormick]

Tom

Whatever is controllable in Amplitube can be controlled by up to two blueboards. So if the live section you want to control is controllable according to the manual then you should be fine. I have not tried to control the live section and I am not are what this is?

Christian

[tdwimsatt]

The live section is the preset mode. The support folks tell me two Blueboards is not possible. Rather, there is a way to step through presets four at a time. I also just got an external switch to assign to one of the pedals in my presets.

[d.fatali]

Hi guys, i got a blueboard and i ve always tought 4 switches are not enough to chance presets in my amplitube or guitar plugins, so i was hoping if there s a way to use two blueboards at the same time in the same app.
I would like to use 1 blueboard to change the 4 presets and the secondo blueboard to change the 4 stomps, so a sort of a-b-c-d and 1-2-3-4..
Do you think it would be possibile to use one in preset mode and the other in stomp
Mode in the same app to the same device?
Do i need Bluetooth 5.0 or i m just fine with iPad 2018 4.2
Id like to be sure it works before buying a second blueboard..
Thanks!