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.
LINK to MIDI (Beta now open) *now with virtual ports*
Hey all,
I think I've finished implementing LINK to MIDI — a utility app that connects to an Ableton Link session and sends out MIDI Clock — and I'd love your help in testing it with as many hardware devices as possible :]
Here's a short demo video of LINK to MIDI synching a Roland TR8: 
One important thing to note
LINK to MIDI currently only connects to hardware MIDI ports, so the virtual MIDI ports of other apps are not available.
This was a tough decision, but ultimately I feel the right one. LINK to MIDI's intent is to bring hardware devices to the Link session. Hardware devices handle MIDI clock extremely well compared to software, and, most importantly, can't be retrofitted with Link!
Also, Link really is a huge step forward for synchronization technology, and I'm afraid allowing connections from the new to the old in software (which is ridden with many problems as I'm sure you know) will cause confusion and frustration. Anyway, if you have any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear it :]
Nevermind! Thanks to some compelling feedback, I've decided to allow Virtual MIDI Ports and display a warning instead of just blocking them.
If you're interested in the beta, please sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bLM885.
All the best,
Alexander
Comments
Also, check out the clock stability improvements from version 1.0.1 to 1.0.2
@Alexandernaut, I have somehow downloaded Link to MIDI a little while ago. It is still 1.0.1 and it does not appear to be up-datable.
My setup includes a Mac (latest update) with Digital Performer 7.24 and Ableton Live 8.2.6. I have a hardware MIDI interface (MOTU midi express XT USB): which is connected to my Griffin StudioConnect for my iPad which accepts a 5-pin MIDI connector. Does all this qualify for external hardware MIDI?
Using Link to MIDI, could I use one of the above DAWs as a master MIDI Clock to run a number of iPad apps running Link with AudioBus? I have been using iPad only for music production for quite a while now; however, would it be beneficial to try to sync the above hardware to Link to MIDI to record some iPad Link apps to my Mac DAWs? Would this qualify as a beta tester?
Dude you amazing, Im really exited!
@Alexandernaut while I can appreciate your purest approach and the problems with iOS virtual MIDI, it is nice to have choices. Sometimes having a choice is better than no choice at all. Perhaps you could still offer a virtual MIDI connection option with the caveat:
The app was designed and is supported for use with external MIDI hardware only. The performance of virtual MIDI in iOS can vary significantly and a particular app's virtual MIDI implementation in conjunction with another app may not meet your performance expectations or needs. If you wish to get the best sync from apps you use, let the developer know you would like LINK support added to their app. At and only at the urging of app users, virtual MIDI access has been granted as a courtesy (insert link to online petition here), nevertheless, iOS virtual MIDI users BEWARE use the app at your own risk. If you are using the app with another LINK app, do NOT establish a MIDI connection between the two apps, simply turn LINK on in both apps. If you experience sync problems with LINK, be sure to turn off the virtual MIDI option in LINK to MIDI.
Alternatively, add an option for virtual MIDI via IAP called "virtual MIDI use at your own risk" or create LINK to MIDI app and publish Maybe Sync? app with virtual MIDI only functionality.
What @Paul said.
Wait so this needs abelton 9 and link? OR am i tripping?
@oceansinspace the MIDI to LINK app uses the Ableton LINK SDK but doesn't require Ableton to work. It will sync to MIDI hardware connected to your iOS device and other LINK enabled apps which also don't require Ableton Live to sync to each other either on the same iOS device or networked iOS devices.
Will it work with a hardware MIDI connection between two iDevices ?
@DeVlaeminck The app controls the clock on the hardware devices so I would think that it should also work for two iOS devices connected with MIDI hardware. If my thinking is correct then this would be a way for old iOS devices which can't support LINK implementation directly to sync up with iOS devices that can.
@Paul Yes. Very interesting.
Thanks paul, this is now the dopest product of the year!
@oceansinspace you're welcome, although Alexandernaut and Ableton deserve all of the credit for making the app possible.
that looks promising.....i am in.....
@Alexandernaut - thanks for the update. I have the 1.01 release installed and had used it to send midi clock internally on the iPad (which seemed to work but it was just a cursory check). Are you saying that virtual midi was available in .01 but is being removed for .02 (or was it never in .01 and I was not testing it very well!?)
Thanks
This.
For me the old version is working with syncing the apps I want to sync and I don't own any hardware to sync. Now I don't dare installing the beta as that, for me, can only remove functionality I currently (albeit recently) have gained.
yeah, dont know exact why just ext. Hardware, will try it, but this castrated the Big Man to a boy.....
please alex lets the boy grow again ;-)
Not that it matters but I'm pro the 'removing apps from the equation' decision. He's right: it's a mess. Apps should just implement LINK! Considering that the current state of iOS apps' abilities to sync to MIDI clock is a total crap shoot, were this app to include the ability to (try to) sync MIDI only apps to LINK is going to expose problems and those will create user questions/support requests for Alex. And/or bad reviews. Seeing as this is a free app, that's probably a losing proposition, money and time wise. I know my wish list for how he spends his development hours has very very little to do with LINK to MIDI.
I'm now in the beta, thanks @Alexandernaut. Will run some tests as soon as I can.
My first ever +1
Might as well make it a +2 then.
I signed but I realized I don't have that kind of MIDI hardware to test it with. So I guess I'll just keep the old Link to MIDI for the time being.
I just signed up. Definitely looking forward to using Gadget with my Roland SP-404SX. Between the Link to MIDI and the audio running into the SP's effects, it's gonna be a lot of fun.
+3 it is
Happy about the the +1s but damn, seeing that working-until-3:30am grammar repeated over and over is painful. It's like hitting the absolute wrong note when you have the delay time set long and feedback up high. ouch.......ouch.......ouch.......ouc.......ouc.......ou......o....
@syrupcore it matters! Thanks for your support on this decision. And how I spend my time! Haha. I'm honestly excited about the LINK to MIDI app to use in my own setup, so I believe this is time well spent :] And thanks to @AudioGus, @lukesleepwalker, and @supadom for your +1s :]
@bsantoro Update is coming :] Your hardware should work well, perhaps you can try the beta?
And about syncing Link as a slave to MIDI Clock, you won't be able to do this with LINK to MIDI. Another conscious choice because it's really not a great idea. I haven't tried it yet, but if my understanding is correct (and I'm 99% on this), you'll lose phase over time. This is because you'd have to determine tempo from MIDI Clock (which changes slightly every tick (24 times a quarter note!)), then update Link's tempo. Link takes that tempo and provides the necessary musical timing for the Link-enabled apps. If you're updating Link's tempo 24 times a quarter note, the Link system will eventually become out of phase with the MIDI Clock system.
@Paul Thanks for your input on this. You have a compelling pro-virtual midi argument for sure... I may go back on this decision in the future, but hopefully by then all the apps we want to sync will have Link :]. / I know there will be another option available (probably before LINK to MIDI officially comes out) where you can make those kind of connections, so at least the option is out there.
Nevermind. Virtual ports enabled.
Thanks for the input everybody, and please test!
Haha! I did the very same thing at work today (though my same thing was far less interesting and I didn't use an alert). Spent a bunch of time considering a feature last week and ultimately told the team that it wasn't a good idea and detailed the why. Guess that was the alert.
Today I was somewhere near it in the code, had 48 more pressing things to do, but somehow wound up implementing that feature anyway. Once I started dicking with it a bit, you know, just to see, I couldn't stop until it was finished. Tomorrow, I'll deal with the bugs I missed and the feature ideas everyone has after seeing it in the wild. And I still have those other 48 things to do!
Good luck Alex!
@syrupcore ha! Yeah... decisions are the worst :] My latest rationale is... my whole hunch that it shouldn't connect to virtual ports is because I feel it may cause problems. However, the only way to know that for sure is, similar to your situation, by releasing it into the wild :]
And! About the alert, I got annoyed of it super fast so have iterated a bit. It now just shows it once, but also has the message underneath the MIDI ports. Like so...
+1 for this. Very nicely done.
+10 for hacking around the awful smileys. :]
Maybe the text should read, "When enabling this function, you are attempting to attach a rocket engine to a bicycle... good luck with that."