Yup. You also lose all the midi control options in class compliant mode, so it’ll do EQ etc but you have to control them through the totalmix app.
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I think this is the way to go. The Behringer X32 Rack has been very capable, but just soooo fiddly to navigate and way overkill for my needs.
Also, if the iPad ends up having the juice and the latency ends up not being too bad, you can use software eq instead of hardware DSP, and you don’t have to decide now.
I’ve found myself a fantastic setup that allows me to compose my songs “live” while also easily integrating my rig into the studio.
I have the Digi-Trinity and a Micromonsta2 all feeding audio into a MOTU Ultralite MK5. That’s hooked up to my iPad Air 4 running AUM, with each synth having it’s own channel with necessary FX, as well as having a pattern change controller to get around the PC bug with the boxes. The Elektron boxes are hooked up to the iPad, as well, via USB to send and receive MIDI, and the DN sequences the MM2 directly via MIDI DIN due to groundloop issues with the MM2 and USB. I also have a Faderfox EC4 and UC4 hooked up via USB. The EC4 is used to control various synth parameters across all 4 machines, and the UC4 is for controlling various parameters on the iPad.
As I am currently building a box to house this entire rig, the biggest benefit of the Ultralite, in this case, is the ADAT IO. It has 8 analog inputs, 10 analog outputs, SPDIF IO, and then another 8 IO via ADAT. That means that I can take the entire rig into my studio, plug the ADAT into my Focusrite 18i20, and record all the individual tracks into my DAW, while also integrating the DAW sequencing and automation when I’m finalizing songs.
if I want to completely ignore the computer, the iPad has an insanely robust set of recording and editing tools available, along with FX and synths, to basically fill in any gaps you may have.
I did an entire live set with that rig last summer, and I’ve recorded a few releases using it, as well. It’s really a pretty cool and compact setup that is pretty flexible.
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that is absolutely badass! 
Great way of balancing so many aspects of hardware music production and performance.
Thank you for sharing!
Something I’ve been meaning to figure out, but had a hard time finding anything like solid data on — how many channels can a modern ipad handle reasonably? Let’s say dynamics and EQ on all the channels, plus reverbs or other effects on maybe half of them? Like, you’ve got 18 channels in — could you process+record all of them at once reliably?
I’m only ever recording 4 stereo pair at a time max. If I’m using it as a mixer, the newer iPads are insanely powerful and I have no concerns of issues.
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A producer, performer friend of mine with over 300 releases credited on discogs, house, minimal techno, has dj-ed and played live all over the world, Boiler Room live, in short a pretty successful artist, has never used a compressor for live shows with numerous bits of hardware. Says it’s all about getting the levels right.
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