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.
Can I get the iGrand Piano track as a MIDI-track in Auria Pro, using Audiobus?
I have an ipad air, iGrand Piano and audiobus. Can I get the iGrand Piano track as a MIDI-track in Auria Pro?
I want to record a track using sounds from the app igrand piano.
I use igrand piano as input in Audiobus and Auria as output.
After recording I want to be able to edit the recording in Auria's "piano roll editor".
This is how it works with other programs as output:
iGrand - Audiobus - Cubasis: works for midi and Audio in combination (there is quite complicated routing needed for this to work, but still)
iGrand - Audiobus - Garageband: works only for audio
iGrand - Audiobus - Auria Pro: ?
If this is NOT possible - what is the source of failure: IGrand, Audiobus or Auria Pro? (and why?)
If this IS possible - Are there any particular setting I need to take into account for it to work?
Regards
Max
Comments
What you want is a midi track in Auria Pro sending midi data to iGrand, which then routes the sound back via Audiobus to AP. You have set up the latter, but not the former from the sound of it. You don't say what you are using to play notes but let's say you have an external keyboard hooked up to your iPad. In AP you need a midi track with the input as the external keyboard and the output as iGrand. You then have an audio track for the incoming audio via Audiobus. I hope that makes sense.
Another possibility (without Audiobus) to setup IGrand in Auria Pro is using iGrand as IAA generator on a midi track.
° On Midi track, open channel strip and add IGrand into the first FX insert
° In Midi-Control tab
. . ° Set Instrument to 'Off'
. . ° Set input channel to 'Off'
. . ° Set output channel to 'iGrand Piano'
Notes from the piano roll are send to iGrand and the audio output of iGrand is feed into the output of track 1 (via three other possible insert FX)
If you want to enter notes via external midi keyboard, you need to setup the midi control input channel to your keyboard and enable record mode for the midi channel.
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I think the audiobus setup that @PhilW described is more stable since IAA can sometimes get 'stuck in memory' when their host app closes.
Hi and big thanks for very detailed and constructive replies, @PhilW and @_ki !
Some notes/followup-questions after following your instructions:
I have Alesis IO Dock II (external soundcard) which in turn is connected to Yamaha MM6 keyboard.
I tried both of your solutions. It works fine when using only one external app that I route in to Auria, eg iGrand. However, when I want to use several external apps, eg one track with iGrand and one track with iLectric, I get problems. It seems that either both instruments are played simoulanteosly when I hit a note on my keyboard or I have to mute one of the tracks.
When using Audiobus I need to mute one of the audio-tracks in order to play only one instrument.
When using IAA I need to mute one MIDI-track to play one instrument (when using IAA-solution it does not seem necessary/possible to do the audio routing which is suggested for Audiobus-solution)
It creates trouble to mute a track since I can not hear it when recording the other track.
Is there a way to scale your solutions so that they work for several external instruments?
Hope you understand how I mean,
Regards
Max
Hello Max,
your screenshots helped a lot to circle the problem.
I can see that the midi input is set to 'Off' in both of the instruments midi channels. But since you mentioned that both of them are playing, these apps seem to get their midi input directly from the keyboard.
The solution is to configure the apps in such a way, that they only read from Auria Pros midi and not directly from the keyboard. Normally, one would use the midi device selector of an app to switch off all other midi input devices and only enable Aurias midi device.
But --- i just checked IKs iGrand and this app only allows to select the midi channel and does not list the input devices. For IKs iLectric i assume it's the same.
Therefore you need to use the midi channel and not the input device to sort out the midi routing problem:
I assume that the keyboard is sending notes on channel 1, which is kind of default.
To stop the apps listening to the keyboard, go to their settings and set the iGrand midi channel to 2 and the iLectric midi channel to 3.
In Auria Pro change the midi channel of the tracks tracks from 'All' to either 2 (for iGrand) or 3 (for iLectric).
To play one of the instruments via the keyboard, set the input midi device of that track from 'Off' to the external midi keyboard device and enable record mode. This should translate the channel 1 notes from the keyboard to the midi channel used in the instrument.
I will verify this approach with my external keyboard in about 10 hours when i get back home.
I have just tested the midi channel approch with Auria Pro, IK iGrand and IK SampleTank using the setup described above:
To my suprise, it did not work as expected
The midi was read directly by the apps, independand of the settings for midi input device and record enable in Auria Pro.
I will try around a little more, perhaps i find a better working solution.
@_ki - Huge thanks again to your efforts! Extra plus for well written instructions,
Please let me know if you find another solution. I can not find any functionality on neither my alesis io dock nor my keyboard Yamaha MM6 where I can choose channel. Therefore I can not use that solution,
If you happen to have the MidiFlow app then you could route the midi on channel 1 from the keyboard to a new virtual device with notes transformed to either channel 2 or 3 to play iGrand or iLectric. To record the notes in AP you probably would also need to route this modified output to Auria Pro, since i just found out that a midi track with a set midi channel only records notes send on that channel.
I was tempted to buy MidiFlow, but 5,99€... Perhaps there is another app that allows to modify the midi channel of incoming notes and resending this modified information to other midi devices.
Another candidate could be MidiBridge that mentions a 'channel remap' feature on the app stores description, but this even cost 8.99€ and had no update since 2014.
Then i found Gorges Midi Router Pro for 1.99€ which also offers midi channel modification - it looks a bit old-fashioned compared to the modern gui of MidiFlow though.
I'll sleep on it
Perhaps there is even another solution than buying 'the next app' (which could lead to new problems with extra setup and changes of workflow).
Alright, big thanks. I'll sleep on it as well
I bought MidiFlow, the good website and the extensive manual convinced me. In their tutorial video they show how to setup iGrand and Nave with a keyboard split. For iGrand they had to use a channel translation, because one can't select midi devices - sounds familiar
"Gorges Midi Router Pro" does not even have a working support homepage, but it probably would have done the job too.
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To get everything running, i defined a simple routing in MidiFlow from keyboard to Auria Pro. In the routing modifiers, one can specify to remap either to channel 2 or 3. Simple, probably uses only 1% of MidiFlows capabilites
In AuriaPro, i selected 'All' as midi input device for the iGrand and SampleTank (in your case iLectric) midi track and record enabled both tracks. I also enabled Edit/MIDI Record Overdub Mode in the menu.
Now, if i loop a selection with notes on both midi tracks playing, i can choose in MidiFlow for which instrument i play additional notes manually. If Auria Pro is switched to recording, the new notes are added to the correct track (even though both tracks are recording)
Only drawback of this solution is that one has to switch apps from AP to MidiFlow and back to AP via doubletab on the home button to toggle the midi channel translation.
Impressive effort.
@JohnnyGoodyear
MidiFlow was on my 'maybe buy' list since it was published, i always was undecided.
Even if i maybe don't need it, i enjoyed to support the developer who as put a lot of work into the app and does update it with new features
@_ki - excellent work! I purchased Midiflow and followed your instructions. I think you are right - it is working!
I find it amazing that you have gone so far to find a solution. I will test further tomorrow. If it still works you have solved my biggest music production problem at the moment.
Hopefully this will be of help to others as well,
Once again - huge thanks to you!
@rappmax@gmail.com
I received your email from yesterday. However, you all seem to have found the solution already.
Well, have fun with Midiflow (and rate it in the App Store
)