WK 3300 ipad/iphone compliant

[Pat123]

Hi guys! Is there any way that i can make my WK 3300 compatible with an Ipad or iphone? There's an error showing that my iPhone doesn't support my device. Do I have to do any hardware upgrades through any Casio store so as to make my unit compliant with my iPhone/iPad?

 

[Ted Nicoson]

Casio's endorsement of "Class Compliant" keyboards began with the CTK/WK-6XXX/7XXX and XW-P1/G1 Workstation models, the various smaller CTK portable models, and the various Privia and Celviano models released at that same time. The WK-3XXX units were some of the last of the models which were not Class Compliant, and they can not be upgraded to be Class Compliant as their hardware does not support firmware upgrades. For PC/MAC/laptop users, this just means a need to load aftermarket drivers, but for the iOS market, sadly, it means no connectivity, as there is no provision for installing aftermarket or third party drivers. I share your frustration, as I have a mint condition WK-3800 which is not compatible with my iPad.

 

[Pat123]

Yeah I've no problem using it with my laptop. Thing is i don't want to bring my laptop everytime I gig so I wanted to use some of the iPad/iPhone apps. Would you happen to know of any news about upcoming iOS upgrades regarding this? Like would they have an upgrade that can support these kinds of units in the future?

 

[Ted Nicoson]

Pat

"Fully Class Compliant" drivers have been built-in to Windows since XP Service Pack 2 and the equivalent "CORE MIDI" drivers have been built-in to the last several versions of MAC/OS and into iOS since its inception. If a device is compatible, it will work with these built-in drivers and not require the user to install aftermarket drivers. However, if the device is not compatible with the built-in drivers, the manufacturer will provide aftermarket drivers which will work side-by-side with the built-in drivers. That is to say, you can have both a compatible and a non-compatible device connected to the same computer at the same time, and each will use its own driver. The reason that some manufacturers release non-compliant devices is that the Class Compliant drivers provide only limited communications buffer support and therefore do not support the transfer of large files and large complex Sysex messages (Can limit the reliability of DAW integration.), so they opt for aftermarket drivers. The exception to all of this is the iOS operating system of the Apple devices. It does not allow for the installation of aftermarket drivers, but the expectation for compliance is the other way from what you are asking about. That is, the expectation is that the external devices will adhere to the Class Compliant standard, even if it means that some important features that have been part of the MIDI Standard since its inception are no longer supported. So I would not expect to see any such changes to the iOS format in that respect for the foreseeable future.

 

[Pat123]

Oh okay so does this mean that I can never use my WK 3300 for iphone apps? And what about for android? Thanks in advance!

 

[Ted Nicoson]

Pat

I would say that, with the current outlook, "NO" - you will most likely never be able to connect your WK-3300 to your iPad. Lack of standardization from brand to brand and model to model has hampered interest in music production apps on the part of Android app writers. There are some offerings, and they are getting better and more numerous, but they still have a long way to go to come abreast of the Apple market. More than a few of the Android tablet manufacturers even have their own sub-versions of the operating system, which further frustrates the situation. App writers don't like having to re-invent the wheel for every different brand/model on the market. It increases the design time and lowers the bottom line. When you buy a Camera Connection Kit for the older iPads or a Lightning cable for the newer units from Apple, you know that, if you connect it to a Class Compliant keyboard, it is going to work. To my knowledge, none of the Android tablet manufacturers make keyboard connection kits. All of the ones I know about are third party units. They appear to be well designed and well made, but due to the lack of hardware standardization on the part of the tablets, the connection kit you buy may not work with your tablet. I have three different Android tables, and each one has its own type of connector for interfacing to the real world. I think my big Samsung is the only one that would work with any of the third party connection kits. If you are interested in this, you should try a search on "music production apps" on the GooglePlay store to see what is available, but better yet, you would probably do better to look into one of the tablets that runs "full" Windows-8 (NOT Windows-RT). They come with standard connectors, have the class compliant USB-MIDI drivers built-in to the OS, but allow installation of aftermarket drivers for non-compliant keyboards just like a regular PC or laptop and run regular Windows software programs. You would be able to connect your WK-3300 or any of the newer units to that.