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.

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Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

What are the various ways you can use iDevices together for music?

AB Remote got me thinking about what ways ipads and iphones can be configured to use together for music.

I know of Link and Touchable 3, studiomux iirc allows you to stream audio from say an iphone to a DAW via your iPad. I guess bluetooth can be used but could you connect a midi controller to one iPad and use that to send midi to another and record that into Live?

Cheers!

Comments

  • A good general approach to midi is to send all of the midi to a central place, like your computer, and send it out from there, rather than daisy chaining it/leapfrogging it from one device to another. Like Fed Ex flies all the packages to a central location, sorts them, and then flies them where theyre going. Could just connect everything to your computer, and use studiomux to get midi and audio to and from the ithings.

  • @Processaurus said:
    A good general approach to midi is to send all of the midi to a central place, like your computer, and send it out from there, rather than daisy chaining it/leapfrogging it from one device to another. Like Fed Ex flies all the packages to a central location, sorts them, and then flies them where theyre going. Could just connect everything to your computer, and use studiomux to get midi and audio to and from the ithings.

    this. what i do is basically use studiomux to link both my ipads to my pc. then send midi and audio between them from ableton. so 1 ipad might be used as an effect insert. while the other is doing midi processing. eg:- modstep sending sequencing data or thumbjam transposing my piano keyboard via scale lock (its a lot better than abletons inbuilt scale tool)

  • @Processaurus said:
    A good general approach to midi is to send all of the midi to a central place, like your computer, and send it out from there, rather than daisy chaining it/leapfrogging it from one device to another. Like Fed Ex flies all the packages to a central location, sorts them, and then flies them where theyre going. Could just connect everything to your computer, and use studiomux to get midi and audio to and from the ithings.

    If you mean via lightning cable that's a good point. I've bene thinking how i can use the iphone as a controller with the iPad in a mobile setup, say using the iphone SE to run apps (as it's faster) and the iPad as controller with AB remote. I've struggled with the the iPad (switching etc) when it comes to running multiple apps but i think this could circumvent that.

    I'm thinking if i was using AUM could i use the iphone as a controller while maniplulating the controls of another app, stuff like that.

    @gonekrazy3000, i will be doing that, wanted to use my Auria apps for a while with Live, will have to see how it works in practice. :smile:

    Cheers!

  • Can you have more than one BT connection?

  • edited May 2016

    I use an iConnectMIDI4+ and an iConnectMIDI2+ to hook up 3 iPads and a Mac on an almost permanent basis. I can then stream audio between any of the devices, e.g. from the Mac and two iPads to a third iPad, or any other combination. MIDI data likewise can be routed equally easily.

    I have other audio interfaces connected to the same Mac in an aggregate, with a combination of analog and VA synths and guitar I/O attached as well.

    So, one use I commonly put this to is to use the iPad as an outboard FX processor for the Mac, e.g. sending MicroBrute audio through Crystalline say, or a guitar through ToneStack, or both at the same time on different iPads :smile:

    Another use however is to offload processing from one iPad to another. E.g. if I was running Model 15 on one mini 2, and wanted to send the audio output through a reasonably complex AB FX chain, then I might run the FX chain on a 2nd iPad in the above arrangement. (Would work equally well with the iConnectAUDIO4+ as I did recently live).

    Another use I put the iCM4+ to is that I have a 4th iPad - an old iPad 1 - on which I run a couple of low-CPU-using MIDI sequencers, and that is hooked in by an iRig MIDI to one of the DIN ports on the iCM4+, so I can use it to sequence any of the iPADs, the Mac or any of the attached analog or VA synths or any combination of those together.

    Folks - rightly - make much of the capabilities of, and low cost of, the direct lightning cable connection possibilities to the Mac, Music IO, studiomux etc. Each of those is a great way to use the iPad + Mac/PC. Kudos all round, but the flexibility I get using the iC devices as I've described above, without any additional software involved, makes it far easier to work with for me and is my recommendation more generally if one is attempting more complex setups. Once you've figured out iConfig, it's drop-dead easy to use. (And the trick with iConfig IME is to start with a blank slate and work up to the connections you want. :wink: )

  • @BiancaNeve said:
    Can you have more than one BT connection?

    Yeah i was thinking of BT. Say if i had an interface connected to the ipad could i then connect a midi controller to the iphone and send midi over BT?

  • A bunch of folks here have the griffin studioconnect. It has a 1/8th in input in it where you can hook up another idevice. With linked apps you now have a secon synced sound generator.

  • I connected Gadget via Studiomix with Live and it still seems to have the issue where it plays at double speed, say it aint so! :/

    Can you send and receive sync with Gadget? I thought it would have been fixed with the update, would be great for tracking out.

  • @musikmachine said:
    I connected Gadget via Studiomix with Live and it still seems to have the issue where it plays at double speed, say it aint so! :/

    Can you send and receive sync with Gadget? I thought it would have been fixed with the update, would be great for tracking out.

    The double speed is probably happening because you are doubling the incoming clock signal somewhere in the chain.try to define just one master clock to avoid this kind of issues

  • I thought there was a bug with Gadget, i had with Gadget in AB as well when syncing two apps.

    It seems like a midi loopback issue but i can't set Gadget as the master and save Live, should i be able to? I can only sync Gadget to Live which i also seem to remember being an issues with Gadget...

  • Try disable network connection in gadgets other options, last entry in the cogwheel menu

  • @mschenkel.it said:
    Try disable network connection in gadgets other options, last entry in the cogwheel menu

    You mean network midi? Seems the likely cuplrit, will check it in a bit. Cheers!

  • @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @Processaurus said:
    A good general approach to midi is to send all of the midi to a central place, like your computer, and send it out from there, rather than daisy chaining it/leapfrogging it from one device to another. Like Fed Ex flies all the packages to a central location, sorts them, and then flies them where theyre going. Could just connect everything to your computer, and use studiomux to get midi and audio to and from the ithings.

    this. what i do is basically use studiomux to link both my ipads to my pc. then send midi and audio between them from ableton. so 1 ipad might be used as an effect insert. while the other is doing midi processing. eg:- modstep sending sequencing data or thumbjam transposing my piano keyboard via scale lock (its a lot better than abletons inbuilt scale tool)

    So one as instrument other as a studio tool.

    Very similar to my flow.

  • You can always make a hole in both pads and mount them on a hi hats stand. Not so sure about sound quality tho.
    I had a picture of it but it got lost somewhere

  • edited May 2016

    Right now I have an iPad 1 going into an Alesis Dock which is my instrument. It goes into another Alesis Dock with an iPad 2 that serves as the FX/Sampler (usually Turnado/Samplr). I have an iConnectMIDI2+ which is connected to my desktop and my iPad4. That sends MIDI from the iPad and MIDI Clock from the computer to the Docks. Audio from Dock 2 goes into the computer. I really like this because I can use 1 iPad for synthesis, another for FX and the third for MIDI while it's all synced to Ableton.

  • @mschenkel.it said:
    Try disable network connection in gadgets other options, last entry in the cogwheel menu

    Nope still doing it, both on my laptop and desktop and with iPad and iPhone. I can't use Live slaved to Gadget either, really frustrating! Been like that from the start as well iirc. :/

    @MusicInclusive I've got an iC2, i am considering an icA4/2 at some stage but for now studiomux works really well for the most part, state saving really helps as well.

    Tbh the routing with iC2 took me a bit to figure out intially as there are so many options and i couldn't get audio to work, in fact it pretty much sucks on windows with asio4all so mux is better for me for now. :smile:

    The scenario above with two iPads sounds good, i'm liking the iPhone as a midi controller, it's ideal for quick and dirty midi stuff so my next question is; which midi control apps do you recommend? I've got most of the usual suspects for iPad but i know not all are compatible hence the question.

  • @thesammiller said:
    Right now I have an iPad 1 going into an Alesis Dock which is my instrument. It goes into another Alesis Dock with an iPad 2 that serves as the FX/Sampler (usually Turnado/Samplr). I have an iConnectMIDI2+ which is connected to my desktop and my iPad4. That sends MIDI from the iPad and MIDI Clock from the computer to the Docks. Audio from Dock 2 goes into the computer. I really like this because I can use 1 iPad for synthesis, another for FX and the third for MIDI while it's all synced to Ableton.

    Thanks. I'll have to see how i can expand things eventually, likely will get one of the iConnect interfaces. On the whole it looks like something else will be involved in the connecting of multiple iPads, gotta keep in mind battery life as well.

    Btw has anyone noticed that the newer lightning cable charges faster? The one for the iPhone is thicker but it seems to charge the iPad really fast.

  • Only one person not using an actual computer here ? That's why I'm trying to learn Auria Pro as thoroughly as possible followed by AUM , gadget and possibly Sampletank. I'"ll find a way .. iPad Pro IS my computer at this point as well as a 128 gig iPhone 6s Plus. Trying to stay all iOS.

  • @Telstar5 said:
    Only one person not using an actual computer here ? That's why I'm trying to learn Auria Pro as thoroughly as possible followed by AUM , gadget and possibly Sampletank. I'"ll find a way .. iPad Pro IS my computer at this point as well as a 128 gig iPhone 6s Plus. Trying to stay all iOS.

    At least 2. I have a MacBook but never use it for audio - just iPad and iPhone. (And guitar - sometimes)

  • At least 2. I have a MacBook but never use it for audio - just iPad and iPhone. (And guitar - sometimes)

    So how do you connect iPad and iPhone, can you send audio between them or do you use as a midi controller? As i mentioned AB Remote sparked the thread, curious other ways you can use idevices together without a DAW for a mobile setup.

  • Good to hear, halftone.. That makes two.. What with Link etc. that came out in 2015 we'll Se less of a need to go outside iOS as time goes on.. Look out, 2017!

    neverComputer

  • @MusicInclusive said:
    I use an iConnectMIDI4+ and an iConnectMIDI2+ to hook up 3 iPads and a Mac on an almost permanent basis. I can then stream audio between any of the devices, e.g. from the Mac and two iPads to a third iPad, or any other combination. MIDI data likewise can be routed equally easily.

    I have other audio interfaces connected to the same Mac in an aggregate, with a combination of analog and VA synths and guitar I/O attached as well.

    So, one use I commonly put this to is to use the iPad as an outboard FX processor for the Mac, e.g. sending MicroBrute audio through Crystalline say, or a guitar through ToneStack, or both at the same time on different iPads :smile:

    Another use however is to offload processing from one iPad to another. E.g. if I was running Model 15 on one mini 2, and wanted to send the audio output through a reasonably complex AB FX chain, then I might run the FX chain on a 2nd iPad in the above arrangement. (Would work equally well with the iConnectAUDIO4+ as I did recently live).

    Another use I put the iCM4+ to is that I have a 4th iPad - an old iPad 1 - on which I run a couple of low-CPU-using MIDI sequencers, and that is hooked in by an iRig MIDI to one of the DIN ports on the iCM4+, so I can use it to sequence any of the iPADs, the Mac or any of the attached analog or VA synths or any combination of those together.

    Folks - rightly - make much of the capabilities of, and low cost of, the direct lightning cable connection possibilities to the Mac, Music IO, studiomux etc. Each of those is a great way to use the iPad + Mac/PC. Kudos all round, but the flexibility I get using the iC devices as I've described above, without any additional software involved, makes it far easier to work with for me and is my recommendation more generally if one is attempting more complex setups. Once you've figured out iConfig, it's drop-dead easy to use. (And the trick with iConfig IME is to start with a blank slate and work up to the connections you want. :wink: )

    Derek, is there a good tutorial on using config for icm4? Thanks.

  • @Telstar5 said:
    Only one person not using an actual computer here ? That's why I'm trying to learn Auria Pro as thoroughly as possible followed by AUM , gadget and possibly Sampletank. I'"ll find a way .. iPad Pro IS my computer at this point as well as a 128 gig iPhone 6s Plus. Trying to stay all iOS.

    I've tried it hard to stay only on iOS. Lately I've given it up, though. There are several points against it that hold for me (with my personal limitations and tastes, OFC):
    1. I largely prefer to automate with a mouse, also the audio and MIDI editing is, for me at least, way more precise with a mouse than with my fingertips (I own 2 Pros, so it's not a problem of touchscreen).
    2. I find it difficult to part from many OSX plugins, like the ones native to Logic (and Alchemy too!).
    3. The audio quality of the iPad/iPhone, even with good headsets is not as good as that of my compy. If I had to send audio from iPad to any external device, well, then, I find it more simple to use a desktop/laptop.
    4. That said, I think that the real utility of using a mobile device to produce is the existence of so many good touch interfaces (e.g. I find Touchable2 superior even to Push, at least in a safe studio environment).
    5. The price of many apps is also a heavy element in favour of mobile: try to get something like Gadget (wonderful app, IMHO) or FinalTouch or Oscilab or Modstep (with all its hirks) for that handful of bucks on OSX/Win!
    6. Last, not least, mobile producing is becoming a new form of art, with a worthiness all of its own. Something like has happened to the artistic photo world. Mobile and desk give their best when considered by themselves, IMHO, and each one allows different form of creativity.

  • @gonekrazy3000 said:
    this. what i do is basically use studiomux to link both my ipads to my pc. then send midi and audio between them from ableton. so 1 ipad might be used as an effect insert. while the other is doing midi processing. eg:- modstep sending sequencing data or thumbjam transposing my piano keyboard via scale lock (its a lot better than abletons inbuilt scale tool)

    With this setup is it possible to jam with two Ipads (all audio) and Live and hear it all at once through your studio monitors? Or do you have to change the audio device each time in Ableton to work between them?

  • @bounce said:

    @gonekrazy3000 said:
    this. what i do is basically use studiomux to link both my ipads to my pc. then send midi and audio between them from ableton. so 1 ipad might be used as an effect insert. while the other is doing midi processing. eg:- modstep sending sequencing data or thumbjam transposing my piano keyboard via scale lock (its a lot better than abletons inbuilt scale tool)

    With this setup is it possible to jam with two Ipads (all audio) and Live and hear it all at once through your studio monitors? Or do you have to change the audio device each time in Ableton to work between them?

    Yes. You can even basically use the iPads as vsts controlled via midi from ableton. It doesn't use the audio device settings at all. Studio mux inserts like a normal vst plugin. And it lets you pick which studiomux channel its listening to and from which ipad. So fot example you could have say 1 app on track one from iPad 1. Another on track 2. And say a heavy app like Moog model 15 on iPad 2 on track 3. All the while having an fx app from either iPad on the fx busses in ableton. Literally the only limit is your iPads CPU and your imagination.

  • @Telstar5 said:
    Good to hear, halftone.. That makes two.. What with Link etc. that came out in 2015 we'll Se less of a need to go outside iOS as time goes on.. Look out, 2017!

    neverComputer

    I have an iRig HD - for my guitar - but you can use it to connect iPhone to iPad. It works very well - but I still often, and prefer, to work natively on just the iPad at one time.

  • @gonekrazy3000 said:
    Yes. You can even basically use the iPads as vsts controlled via midi from ableton. It doesn't use the audio device settings at all. Studio mux inserts like a normal vst plugin. And it lets you pick which studiomux channel its listening to and from which ipad. So fot example you could have say 1 app on track one from iPad 1. Another on track 2. And say a heavy app like Moog model 15 on iPad 2 on track 3. All the while having an fx app from either iPad on the fx busses in ableton. Literally the only limit is your iPads CPU and your imagination.

    That's ridiculous. Really anticipating getting home to Modstep now and attempting to melt my face off. Also, those templates you have already been put to use. Cheers.

  • @Telstar5 said:
    Good to hear, halftone.. That makes two.. What with Link etc. that came out in 2015 we'll Se less of a need to go outside iOS as time goes on.. Look out, 2017!

    neverComputer

    Make that three of us.
    Using SPD's Apollo MIDI app along with Dropbox to connect my iPad and iPhone, I never have to go near my computer for music-making.
    And I love it like that.

  • Say 4. I'm still using my computer to run spectrum analyzers and a few meters

  • But by definition aren't the iPads computers? ;) Just different form factors and operating systems. Apollo midi over bluetooth could do it, gonna check it out!

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