Grow Your Knowledge
Audio, MIDI, Music Production, Live Performance general knowledge and tip & tricks
Grow Your Knowledge
- A Beginner's Guide To How Digital Audio Works
- What do VST, AU, AAX, and AUv3 stand for?
- What does USB Class Compliant mean?
- What is a DAW and what is a host? Is there a difference between the two?
- What is a plug-in in music production?
- What is audio latency? How do I fix latency issues while recording?
- What is Core Audio? What is ASIO?
- What is MIDI? What is CC?
- What is VST? What's the difference between VST, VST2, and VST3?
What does USB Class Compliant mean?
If your device - such as your MIDI controller or audio interface - is USB Class Compliant, it means you can plug it into your computer and it will work without the need for any other special software (which we call drivers).
Both Mac and Windows computers come with pre-installed generic drivers. These drivers allow us to use external devices, like a soundcard or a camera, with our computers.
Since there are many types of devices that can be connected through USB, there are different types of drivers. These types are grouped into different classes, such as the USB MIDI device class, the USB Mass Storage class, the USB Video class, and so on.
An external device that is USB Class Compliant will work out-of-the-box both on Mac and Windows by using these pre-installed generic drivers.
If your device is not class compliant, it simply means you’ll have to install additional proprietary drivers on your computer. These drivers are generally provided by your device’s manufacturer when you buy their product.
Important: iOS devices are slightly different
If you want to use a MIDI controller with an iOS device, you’ll have to make sure the controller is USB Class Compliant. If a driver installation is required, it won’t work on iOS devices. So do your research carefully before buying a MIDI controller you intend to use with your iPad or iPhone. Manufacturers that make devices compatible with iOS will usually state that fact very clearly when advertising their products.
Here are some examples of MIDI keyboards compatible with iPad and iPhone:
- CME XKEY AIR 37
- Novation Launchkey 25 MK2
- Novation Launchkey 61 MK2
- IK Multimedia iRig Keys Pro
- AKAI mpk mini
Here are some examples of Workstations compatible with iPad and iPhone:
- Yamaha Montage, CP73/88, YC, MODX
- Roland JUNO DS, FA, Fantom, JUPITER X / Xm (be sure that USB driver is set to "Generic" - requires device rebooting)
- Studiologic Numacompact 2/2x, Numa X Piano
Note: some workstations, like Roland FA and Fantom, are USB MIDI Class Compliant but they are not USB Audio Class Compliant. It means that they work as MIDI controllers/sound generators, but not as Audio devices.
Here are some examples of Audio devices compatible with iPad and iPhone:
- Zoom U series
- Steinberg UR series
- Roland Rubix series