Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Embarrassing things you don't know (synthesis/music related!)
We can't know everything. That's a given, but there are some things we don't know that we think we should, particularly when on a forum like this. When other people talk about these mysterious things we may nod politely, hoping that they will explain what they mean without us having to ask. And on the Audiobus forum, where many people are synthesis experts, I don't know about you but some of the technical talk can go a bit over my head.
So here's the thread to lay it on the line. Tell us what you need to know about synthesis or music production - the questions you've always wondered about but have been too embarrassed to ask in case you look stupid. Hopefully another forumite will be able to answer.
The one rule of this thread is that there should be no judgement cast on the questioner. "It's only easy if you know the answer", after all!
Here's mine:
Envelopes! I know how an ADSR envelope works, but I'm really struggling when it comes to their practical effect in certain situations. Consider a standard envelope affecting filter cutoff. The Attack is the time taken for the filter to reach its maximum value, right? But does that scale with the position of the cutoff knob? If it's at 127 then obviously the attack ends at a cutoff level of 127, but if I set the cutoff knob to 64, will the Attack reach its maximum at a cutoff value of 64? And how does the position of the envelope knob (ie. how much I've opened the filter envelope) affect this?
And then I'm often not properly hearing the differences between different Decay, Sustain and Release values. Maybe I'm having problems with this because some of my sounds end too quickly for subtle changes in the later DSR elements of the filter envelope to make much of a difference.
So, what is the best way to properly explore how the filter envelope changes a sound?
Go!
Comments
No harm in asking. When I first joined the forum I had a heck of a time trying to figure out what IAA meant.
In the 70s my family was one of the first to get a microwave oven. It was huge. My mom had to go take a class to learn how to use it. There was actually a recipe in the manual for how to cook a turkey in it.
Anyway, I found this video to be very helpful in answering your ASDR question. I'd actually highly recommend taking the time to watch the whole series. It's old and cheesy, but they explain everything to do with analog synthesis very well.
I didn't know that one, thanks @Coloobar!
I recommend to you this collection too:
https://www.youtube.com/user/noisesculpture
@Michael_R_Grant, Great idea, would love to see more of this, perhaps, covering different topics, always looking to learn, or re-learn, things I think I already know.
These videos are super old school, but a lot of fun to watch. They cover the basics of synthesis from first principles of sound (including ADSR at 36 minutes into the video).
Pardon the football player analogy.
Something I've been trying to find out, here on iOS is it possible to cut/copy, then paste midi from one app to another, without resorting to 'open in'?
Not sure i dare prerss play on that vid.... guy playong keys looks like a zombie in the screen shot
Lol. he bursts into a rendition of 'She's not there'
I would use an arpeggiator.....play with the bpm aswell...
I don't know the difference between a tutorial and a demo....but seriously...modulation routing is a mystery to me beyond the basics and modular synthesis, this is probably due the abundance of presets that come with nearly every synth now
OT........... It took me about a week to figure that one out. People use it a lot on the ipad music page on Facebook. It drove me nuts trying to figure it out.
I don't get midi. I've read a lot about it, and it makes it worse. When I think I start to understand it, then I learn there is something called midi clock. Or something. I have no idea WTH that is or even how to begin to use it for my music creation.
I don't get the use of Buses/sends/folders side chaining, subgroups in regards to DAW's. I know them to be pretty darn useful, but not for me at the moment.
I do feel a bit el stupido and embarrassed. I just can't comprehend it in my feeble mind.
I must learn how to make this sick beat TM
the topic eludes me entirely
@High5denied MIDI is a subject with deeper levels of control. There's basic notes, control messages for things like controlling a pitch knob, or pitch wheel. A primary task is to get the different software and hardware to be able to communicate with each other which can involve channels and on iOS having to figure out virtual/core midi. It goes on from there.
You might be better off learning one aspect of midi and getting comfortable using it before going onto more to minimize confusion and frustration.
Not so much embarrassing as "doesn't fit" in each case. :-)
I still don't get how I can use Oscilab in any useful way for my music style (such as it is) :-) Apart from the program itself continuing being a bit of an enigma to me...
I even made one track with it as the sole sound source, but it was more an accident than planned ;-)
And although I now have Sector - got given a code for it - I'd have to say the same to some extent for Sector.
Slicers and samplers also dont' fit with what I do - so I avoid those as well generally.
@musicinclusive, try loading sector with notes instead of beats. You need to make the single wav file with all of the notes evenly spaced but things get musically interesting quickly. If you'd like to have drums with it (vs syncing another source for drums), add a few drum hits to the evenly spaced wav file. If you want polyphony, double up notes (and/or drums). 32 slices can get you two octaves of a scale (14), several chords and a set of drums. If you put it together in cubasis or beatmaker it easy to tweak later. Sector will let you import a new wav and keep everything else the same.
Oh, you may also want a slice of silence.
Back OT: I still don't really understand the way FM works. I get the basic concept of frequency modulation but not actually how it works with multiple sources/modulators ala DX7 algorithms.
I also no very very little about electricity/electronics. I can't fix my own gear and will live with a scratchy but or busted jack forever.
This could be the best new post in a long time. Ever been the one in class that asks the question that nobody dare ask? Everyone thanks you for it after class. This post and the mighty Doug does a timely demo for the the new RDM. Great day to be alive.
Thanks for the suggestions @syrupcore. I think the issue I have with stochastic music generation is that it's, well, stochastic - i.e. not repeatable - not scoreable. Can't play it at a keyboard. I guess it's not ma' thang... ;-) But - I'm open to trying it still. I'll look at what you said and see if I can make some music from something like that that I like.
It may only serve as an idea generator for your normal compositional workflow.
Certainly! @syrupcore :-)
@Paulinko, thanks for the tip! Appreciate it.
Anyone care to explain envelope generators and followers to me? I've dabbled with them in some Auria plug-ins (Fab Filter), but I don't really get it.
Envelope generators and envelope followers are completely different things.
Envelope generators are what you find on A synthesizer – it gives volume shape to an otherwise constant tone.
Envelope followers are associated with effects. They (generally) vary the intensity of the effect on audio passed into it based on how loud or soft input signal is. Say, make a filter open up more or add more resonance the louder the signal is.
@funjunkie27 here's an explanation of an envelope generator from a description of a modular synth but the same principles apply to virtual synths too:
Generator is one of the basic modules every synthesizer must have. It generates a voltage envelope in response triggered by a gate signal from a keyboard, oscillator or other source. The envelope voltage is used to control amplifiers, filters, oscillators and other modules.
The operator has complete manual control over Attack time, Decay time, Sustain level, and Release time. A manual gate button can be used to trigger the Envelope Generator at any time, and an LED gives a visual indication of the output level.
from Wikipedia envelope follower:
An envelope detector is sometimes referred to as an envelope follower in musical environments. It is still used to detect the amplitude variations of an incoming signal to produce a control signal that resembles those variations. However, in this case the input signal is made up of audible frequencies.
Envelope detectors are often a component of other circuits, such as a compressor or an auto-wah or envelope-followed filter. In these circuits, the envelope follower is part of what is known as the "side chain", a circuit which describes some characteristic of the input, in this case its volume.
Both expanders and compressors use the envelope's output voltage to control the gain of an amplifier. Auto-wah uses the voltage to control the cutoff frequency of a filter. The voltage-controlled filter of an analog synthesizer is a similar circuit.
Thanks guys. That cleared it up very well. Back to the Fab plug-ins to wreak havoc! ;-)
Anyone with Turnado can see an envelope follower in action (and how it works) by using the green mod section in the fx edit page. .First run a beat (or loop) thru Turnado. Then turn off all red and blue switches and turn on the green ones.. Up the amount dial in (green) mod section and you should now see the dials bouncing to the beat..An envelope follower needs an input signal to create an output voltage. An envelope generator don't need the input signal.
And Mr Grant you are right. If you set your cut-off to 64 the attack will open the filter to that cut-off point of 64. But, It sounds like you are getting filter envelopes and amp envelopes muddled up. To make the sound last longer you need to adjust the release on the amp env.. The sustain will make your (sustained) sound louder/quieter (amp env) or make the filter more/less open (filt env).
As old as it is, i highly recommend watching the Dean Friedman video above. Especially if your a secret analog synth spotter.
This is a good thread, as I also have some basic questions about these synthesis issues, their application and such. I'll be mining some of these nuggets myself!
I see what you mean in Turnado. Thanks @RUncELL.
Good stuff! Best thing to do on a synth is just start exploring one thing at a time, and really learn what each element does, rather than just reaching for presets on another synth. And, look in depth at a preset you really like to see how it is constructed.
The MS-20 in all it's forms is not only a great synth but a great teacher of modulation. Even without a single patch cable it has the default routing printed on the front panel letting us know what's happening and what's going to happen when we twist a knob. It really asks to be messed with and explored. In iMS-20 it's helpful to just focus on the synth section and ignore the sequencer and drum controls.
DSN-12 for Nintendo 3DS is similar and there are some people coming up with some stellar stuff with its relatively simple patch bay. There are also people new to synths asking questions on Miiverse and learning how to leverage the patch bay and modulation.