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.
Patching Audio To Speaker and Through iPhone Simultaneously
I have a setup where I can run sound from a hardware synth (MiniNova, for the curious) then split off to a speaker as well as to my iPhone so I can track and loop audio. I thought I could pull it off successfully with just patch cords. I'm close, but the issue is that sound from the iPhone is getting looped back in because of the combiner at the end (which is really just another splitter being used in reverse). So since the splitters aren't unidirectional, the signal from the phone is circling back from the "combiner" back around through the first splitter that leads to the iPhone.
I've attached a diagram to help visualize the setup. I'm thinking that the combiner at the end should be more like a waveform multiplier or some such, so that no signal can leak backwards from the other side of the combiner (if that makes sense). Is this something that can be pulled off with just the use of a patch cord? I suspect not, but would prefer it if possible over the need to have a $70+ mixer which I've been told is what I'd need in order to do what I want to do.
I can't be the first person who's run into this problem. So how do you guys do this?if
Comments
Thanks for the headache @purefusion. Sheesh, I haven't even had my morning coffee yet. Nice chart, but it's hard for me to understand it fully (my fault, not yours) but i try to put inputs on the left and outs on the right for flowcharts. I understand you have several audio loops (both figuratively and literally) but, I really think a small mixing console would rock your world for a small amount of money and give you all the versatility you could want.
Can't you just send the signal thru the iPhone? Why do you need the first splitter out of the synth? I imagine you're getting a somewhat reduced quality audio signal when you are going in/ out of the headphone jack.
Also, you are undoubtedly getting some crosstalk within the headphone jack itself, meaning that some of your headphone out signal is mixing with the headphone in signal before it even leaves the 3.5mm port of the iPhone. This is a known issue in music production on iPhone/iPad and the only real solution is getting a recording interface that connects thru the 30-pin or lightning port.
Thanks guys.
Martygras, any ideas on what there is in the way of a "small mixing console ... for a small amount of money"?
Hmtx, yes but not all apps seem to have love monitoring. And yes, when budget allows I'll probably get something like an iRig though maybe not the iRig specifically. What else is out there for a decent price? Lightning all the way. At some point I plan to hook up multiple iDevices though, so a splitter or signal duplicator of some sort will still be needed.
Especially if you are planning to expand, go ahead and get a mixer now. If you live in a metro area, craigslist has boatloads.
I started with a small Mackie back in the day. The new Mackie's are still great quality for the money and they usually have more aux sends now which should work in your favor. Check out the Onyx stuff from Mackie.
Syrupcore is right. I've got some of my best stuff used off of C/L or pawn shops.
Are their any that run off USB though? I like to take my synth with me on the go, where AC may not be accessible. I usually run my MiniNova via USB power. I have one of those 30k mAH portable power packs. The thing lasts forever on a charge. Great for on the go use. So it would be preferable to have a mixer that runs off USB, if such a thing exists.
Not sure but there are battery powered mixers.
I missed your comment about lack of live monitoring in some apps. Just going through the iphone will be probably be easiest so which apps that you use don't support live monitoring? Something you can get around by setting up multiple AB chains maybe? An interface will be cheaper than a mixer.
The main app I like to use that has no live monitoring Apple's native audio recorder app (Voice Memos) which is usually just for recording things for future reference rather than production quality recordings, but maybe it's time for a better recording app. Are there apps that can record both sound in and audio from apps simultaneously?