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.
New Circuit Groovebox
Looks like it might be good. 2 synths, drums, sequencer, and 32 control pads. The small size is nice too.
Comments
Just seen this. Looking at the Novation site I can't see anything about iOS integration. It looks like it can be used as a MIDI Controller, but full audio and MIDI integration via CCK would be amazing, especially if they went the whole way and integrated it with the Launchpad app.
Built in speaker, battery powered... Not having this integrated with iOS would be a crime.
Link below to the User Guide which has been uploaded to the Novation website. Digging around the price seems to be 330USD/250GBP.
http://uk.novationmusic.com/sites/default/files/novation/downloads/10690/circuit-ug-en.pdf
I found a review that says it can control softsynths via USB and that an ovation is working on new software. It has full MIDI including clock that should control most apps for the iPad.
A review:
http://www.factmag.com/2015/10/01/novation-circuit-review/
new software that will do what?
More control of the hardware. From the review:
"Novation is also working on software for Circuit that will allow for more control. “Out of the box, we’ve created 64 patches, which, with the eight macro controls gives you a lot of sonic possibility, but we know that users will want more control over the synth and to be able to make their own patches,” Burke explains of the software. As well as greater control over the sounds, it will feature a means of transferring sessions on and off the unit. Unlike Novation’s Launchpad Pro, Burke says the Circuit firmware won’t be open source, but that the company does want to maintain the “hackable” philosophy. “The Circuit engines can be controlled via MIDI externally so this will open up a lot of possibility in taking the product further.”
Sounds like a good compromise: hardware knobs for live tweaking, software for detailed editing. Thumbs up!
Live tweaking is a lot of fun. It's got two Nova synths to live tweak.
http://www.vintagesynth.com/novation/nova.php
It's actually a cut down version of the Mininova according to the manual. Still, not bad.
There seem to be plans for SW to accompany it in the near future. A thread on Gearslutz posted a Q and A with Novation. Looks like development is planned in response to user feedback, so we may well be seeing iOS integration in the future...
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/11374508-post386.html
what's the point of not making the 'additional tweaking' simply available on the hardware, why the need for companion software?
feels like living in the stone ages
Check out the review Dude. The point is that you get a lot of synth & drum power, a sequencer, and tactile controls in a small battery powered package. You can tweak 8 parameters with the knobs. Synth patch creation however would add a lot to its' size and defeat the purpose. So it's a trade off.
why would synth patch creation add anymore to it's size than the parameter tweaking that is already possible especially since the thing can go into so many modes already as done in the sonic state video?
I'm torn in this. Part of me really likes it, but it's the part of me that me that still thinks its the late 90's, where this would have been outstanding. The concept is great, but:
250 for hardware that offers less functionality than at least a dozen of the apps I own. With my iPad, USB hub, Launchpad and Launch Control I've got a portable solution, but to be fair, cables etc does make that a bit messier. The synths are following the Launch Key app model where you can't save your own patches and you can't access all the parameters. Unless I'm missing something, I can't see how you can assign patterns to the grid and launch them on the fly, they seem to need to be chained.
Looking forward to some in-depth reviews when it comes out (rather than promo reviews from retailers trying to hook in some early buyers) and some signs of where the development is going.
After watching the demo videos and reading reviews it looks like it is a very intuitive method to create music. Then you can dump the sequencer data and audio to an iPad or computer for further processing. The value to me is being able to do everything with a small handheld device that uses batteries and has a speaker. I don't see it as an iPad replacement. It looks like it is a lot of fun.
@mkell423
Agreed, I'm not seeing it as replacement but I'm hoping that it compliments the iPad. With a decent SW environment that took both the MIDI data and the audio. If I sketch out a tune I want to develop the tune and that includes the actual sound not just the sequence. An app could do it if the sound engine was replicated in the SW, then Circuit could drive the app without sending audio, but sending MIDI that drove the parallel sound engine. If the app was a light DAW type environment, maybe a parnership with Ableton, that let you build up lots of tracks and mix professionally then the potential is there for something really useful.
I'm quite interested but what holds me back right now is that in my opinion it sounds like crap, and on top of that it doesn't sample. I figure next year they will add sampling and and then I'd have to buy another one i don't know maybe that's their plan. the fx look pretty bad but the automation looks great.
as far as adding patterns to a grid it's as much of a missed opportunity as the very poor fx. I've probably asked novation about a million times by now to add follow actions to the launchpad app to no avail, and they have the nerve to come out with a hardware box that looks great like a little mini version of the push, make it a stand alone sequencing groovebox and they still don't add follow actions or any of the pattern based stuff you'd expect in a grid groovebox and it's not like they can say they didn't think of this stuff, hell they helped pioneer this stuff
at least they put the next sequence feature from the mpc in there, so you can switch between finished songs and kind of mix up patterns that way, kind of like the ikaosillator, but why not just go on and make it right it's not like they don't know what people want in this case. I read somewhere someone said it's effects aren't even as good as the launchpad apps effects.
@kobomoto
Good points. The fx is a weird one, just delay and reverb. A global lp/hp filter where you can't record the changes, it's just for performance use.
I really want this to be good. I like Novation (I've got the Drumstation, Super Bass Station Rack, Launch pad Mini, key mini and control) so I genuinely hope this develops.
I want it to be good too, seems like we are always in need of development, will be dead before we get a decent sequencer, sampler, fx, and workflow at this rate lol
I'm trying to convince myself that I'd really like to have this instead of an ableton push for $30 more bucks because it's so tiny and convenient, of course they won't open up the source code so it will probably never be as capable as a push
Looks great, I love the shift pattern jam mode. Instant madness.
Really though a beatstep pro and the new moog is where my money will go if I sell some gear in the next few months
that moog looks sic, been lusting after the sub37 as well, oh well I'll probably end up with a circuit... maybe
The Moog is going to be my next purchase followed by the Circuit. I'm going to pass on Roland only because they are not analog. There are plenty of iOS/desktop digital reproductions.
@zen I asked the Launchpad for iOS developer about this in another thread. I'll repost it.
"mkell424 said: Can Novation's new Circuit groovebox control the Launchpad iOS app?
Not as such, but Circuit's MIDI implementation is seriously good. The Guys at NovationHQ spent AGES making sure the MIDI syncing implementation was top notch. Also, much of it is controllable by External MIDI messages, and it also sends sensible MIDI stuff too. We've been having a lot of fun with it, and would also love to jam with Circuit and the LaunchpadforiOS app."
uh oh!
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:grGbb5s9DG4J:www.guitarcenter.com/Akai-Professional/MPC-Touch-Software-Controller-1440515358774.gc+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
Where did you find this?? Is that a case that an iPad slides into. Is it a controller for iMpc pro.. Is so then
A controller that the iPad slides into would be a great idea. NI Maschine devs...are you listening?
no it's rumored to be the first in a line of new mpcs, it's called the mpc touch and it looks like it has a touch screen.
I wonder what the price of the touch model will be. The current model with software is $399 on sale. Regular price $600. Might be a good time to buy.
But like @kobamoto pointed out the Ableton Push is in the same price range. In addition to clip control it has an excellent set of velocity sensitive pads that you can use for entering drum performances.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MPCStudio/?adpos=1t1&creative=88122025921&device=t&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=CM3TopLMqcgCFY-FaQodD3ILXQ