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.
Comments
Audio Units can not send Midi messages to the host. Hence I can not send Midi CC when you use the knobs. Instead, the knobs send AU Parameter Messages, which is the way AU plugins have to communicate with their hosts.
However, Cubasis does not (yet) support AU parameter automation. So there's nothing I can do on my end. Troublemaker is fully ready for automation, but the hosts are lagging behind.
@brambos I've also found that Troublemaker isn't appearing in the app list in Audiobus. It's supposed to right?
Audiobus will refresh it's list when the device is online and you tap on the inputs icon, may take a few seconds.
+1 on scale-ization
That's fun! And it looks to be coming to the iPhone as well!
Insta-buy? Mmmmmmaybe...
@brambos any chance of scale locking coming? manual input AND random would be way better this way. and someone else mentioned before (forget who) a "holy shit this is a cool way things have mutated stop everything now" button. this app is 95% perfect for me, those 2 would make it 100%.
Is there a way to copy steps in the sequencer so you can make little pattern adjustments up to the 64?
This app is the sickness. Wow.
I would kick a puppy for the ability to run multiple instances as AU with sequencers in AUM. A girl can dream...
well done, @brambos -- thank you thank you thank you!
@Brambos, it would be nice to have some other ways to manipulate the sequencer, for example if I have a really nice 8 or 16 step sequence, then be able to copy it across 64 steps, to alter maybe just one or two notes at the end of each 8 or 16 steps.
+1
This app is so good. Three things would make it perfect:
Well, ok, copy/paste to make longer sequences would be nice too.
For #2 I am aware that I can export the MIDI file--but then I lose the cool mutation/variation feature in the app.
@brambos: There's nothing stopping an AU from having a built-in sequencer actually, just make sure it syncs to the host clock (use the HostCallbacks)
I'm aware of the technical possibility of it. The host clock is already used for synchronizing the delay
But from a user experience design standpoint it is a big no-no. The recommended/required GUI sizes for AU plugins are simply too minuscule for a pleasant sequencer interaction. Especially on a phone it would be a terrible experience.
Also, from a conceptual point of view there is a logical distinction between sound source (plugin) and sequencer (host): the host design determines the workflow, plugins just generate sound and are meant to blend in seamlessly without interfering with the host's paradigm. This makes a lot of sense: people choose their DAWs/sequencers based on their preferred way of making music (e.g. because they like the piano roll of DAW X, or because they prefer the drum pads in sequencer Y). Once you've made your choice, your AU plugins should ideally conform to this decision without imposing their own little workflows and idiosyncrasies.
As a thought experiment; say there is a host which creates music algorithmically. As soon as AU plugins start introducing their own sequencers there's a clash with this host's fundamental concept (not to mention a heap of redundant functionality and additional learning curves) which makes the plugins all but unusable within this host.
Technically, everyone is free to make exceptions to this, but for conceptual and practical reasons I prefer to leave the sequencers out of the AU plugin
So, will you consider MIDI out from the standalone app so that we can point the sequencer at the AU plugin in AUM?
Then why not simply load the standalone app into AUM or Audiobus? That's more resource efficient as it only needs to load the plugin once instead of twice.
Tabs won't make the vertical size (height) of the AU's UI space bigger. It will always be a narrow UI strip lacking in height. Especially on phones.
I've tried various designs. Panning, scrolling, tabbing; nothing will make it a fun experience. It will always be like flying a plane while looking through a letterbox.
Hmm...I was thinking also about midi out, to get the values of a patch and load them into a midi controller. (like BCR or Midi Twist)
@brambos
I'm not sure if I understood the sequencer completely but to be sure let me ask you: Is there a way where the sequencer follows (transposes) based on your input on the keyboard. I know you can press the buttons on the right to transpose by semitone or by octave but if you want to make it really flexible would be great if it would act more like a kind of arpegiator ( where the sequence of notes would follow the sequence described in Trouble maker based on the key pressed).
Am I dreaming or this can be done?
No, that can not currently be done. As it is, MIDI input is merged with the sequencer's MIDI notes.
What you're asking is something that sugarbytes Thesys does. And now that it has ableton link it works pretty damn well in regards to timing.
Doesn't step poly arp do the same?
The app is really great and this would make it much more useable Live! Think about it!!
I believe for now the options are not using the internal step sequencer from TM and use Step poly arp, Arpeggist or Thesys for the sequencing/arpeggio.
Not exactly. Step poly arp is still an arp. It plays notes from the chords or notes you feed in.
Thesys. Let's say you make a pretty long 32 step sequence of notes. It can transpose the entire sequence up and down while still remaining in the scale you set. It's not really moving the sequence according to the note you feed in, its transposing the entire sequence up and down by up to 12+ semitones up and down the scale. It's pretty awesome for what it is.
Got it. Helpful, thanks.
@brambos I don't think we can back seat drive brambos. You clearly understand apple guidelines, music generation software and user experience. We are just asking please for you to give us a multiple instance or multiple channel sequencer that works well with your excellent apps and other audio units and we will buy it.
Hi @brambos , does this still apply?
I've been recommended to get TM to drive iFretless, but currently I'm using Addictive Synth to play Arped Bass Lines depending on the chord I'm playing. I'd really like TM but don't know if this is possible?