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.
If you are looking at Gadget for MacOS as a DAW, you are probably wrong.
After seeing the conversation on SonicTalk today, and that on the main thread here, I found myself disagreeing over what Gadget on Mac is ultimately all about.
From my point of view, I believe Korg see Gadget as THE mobile sketchpad for Ableton Live.
We know that a feature of the coming iOS version update is the ability to send both Audio AND Midi to Ableton Live.
Then, logically, the final piece to being able to fully utilize the gadget file in Ableton is the ability to have the VST/AU version of all the gadgets in that file be able to be opened and automated in Ableton.
This would make the audio output option worth less if you have gadget for MacOS, but still leave an option for those who don't have it.
The actual Gadget app for MacOS will not be there to be a standard DAW, but as a basic compatibility app for the ios version. In other words, it might make sense to make changes to a file you intend to open in your ipad later from the Mac you are currently on.
It would also help with simple file management, because once you put a gadget file into ableton, it can't go back to gadget, as ableton has vastly greater capabilities.
So, I guess my point is, Korg see the value in gadget as its synergy with ableton Live, and they will never develop anything into it from this point forward which wouldn't be compatible with ableton live. If anything, they are taking their compatibility to the furthest degree possible.
They are also not going to further develop Gadget for Mac into a full blown DAW that competes directly with Ableton.
I'm actually more into this than I thought I would be once I started to grasp the ramifications of this approach.
Of course, if you don't like Ableton live, it may not be up your alley, but then you probably wouldn't like Gadget either.
Gadget = less powerful Mobile version of ableton Live with a lot of neat little VSTs/AUs.
I would be very shocked if they made their ios gadgets AUv3.
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If so then all you would really need is a gadget "license" to get the gadgets as vst's in ableton.
Nothing about that sounds appealing really. The macOS version sounds kinda pointless, like a luxury or something, an expensive nice but unnecessary thing...(maybe I'm not getting what you're saying)
I'm not getting the macOS version simply cause the iOS version and my iPad 12.9 are awesome and work well for me. I also use gadget standalone, don't have ableton myself.
If I were to but the macOS version I would use it on its own.
The point is you can go much deeper with ableton's capabilities with a gadget file. The Gadget app for Mac is basically just a vehicle to do Gadget-ty stuff until you get ableton Live, and then you can develop a one-way workflow between the 2.
That's my impression of things. Also why Korg see it as being worth $200. They see it as part of Ableton Live's ecosystem.
I'd say Gadget for Mac is competitive with other vst programs like Keyscape, which sells for $379. It just happens to come with a complimentary sequencer. But the gold is the beautiful AU's for use in any DAW.
You're getting digital versions of ARP Odyssey, Triton, Wavestation, Ivory pianos, M1, Premier Vintage Organs, Mellow Tape and some pretty darn good synths and drums. A great collection of Korg instruments!
And honestly, the DAW side of it is way more approachable for musicians who just want to make music quickly than Ableton or Logic.
I think (and hope) you're right, but they made a huge misstep with price in this case. $299 sets expectations for a full, continuously improved DAW.
My theory is that they are aiming for the often overlooked audience of people who just want to mess around and make tunes for their own enjoyment, who may be going into it with no prior knowledge but a whole lot of curiosity. If you visit other electronic music production forums, everyday there is some person coming in and asking for software recommendations that are easy to use for a beginner or someone who isn't aiming for a career and they get recommended all the big name players. Then these same people come back a week later and want to be pointed in the directions of daw tutorials. It's a completely unnecessary problem brought about by the EXTREME BLOAT of most desktop daws. I suspect Gadget for mac will quickly corner this audience.
Korg are savvy with the $ aspect... it's for anyone with an iPad or Mac, tags into Live sure, but rest of Hosts can host AU/VST... broadest user base - Daw-ish yes, but trying to be Equal to or better than the others, would be constricting the user base, and more development costs, support etc. seems comparable to other $3-400 plugins, unless you have iOS, then more like 600 (don't know sum of iOS Gadgets). Or, maybe the just buy Ableton and make it anGadget, who knows!
People only seem to see the daw aspect but overlook that you also get 30 new Toys to use as AU in other hosts.
Keyscape is another league. You can't compare Gadget to it really.
But you also get synths like Falcon, Avenger etc. for the same money (more or less).
I also wouldn't be interested in Gadget for mac if there would be no AU to use in Logic Pro.
This will just open up the Gadgets (for me) much more with automations, midi FX, high quality FX, creating and saving large layered multi as performence instrument etc.
But i also think that Gadget as self contained DAW fits better on iOS.
I would prefer if they would let me buy the full iWavestation (the desktop version looks crap and lacks the great randomizer) and ArpOdyssei.
Beside this 2, no Gadget synth could give me things other plug-ins can't.
Undecided yet.
I love the idea of Gadget on desktop in that it potentialy creates a seperate path of growth that can find its way back onto iOS. I imagine the desktop audience is less interested in retro rereleases and may demand more cool new ideas from future gadgets.
That audience already has another Mac-only product - GarageBand which is much, much cheaper and offers a good upgrade path to Logic.
Woah! Triton? I must have missed that one somehow. Pinch me and sign me up. I'm heading to the store now!
I think he means the sound pack for Module.
Yes they are promoting it as part of a workflow, not just a standalone but a sketchpad, its the way I've always seen it as its main strength, from their spiel:
"Also ideal as a second DAW KORG Gadget is an ideal second DAW for creative artists who are already taking advantage of their main DAW. With KORG Gadget, you can move rapidly through sound design and song production without being distracted by extraneous tasks, letting you access your creativity directly. Since projects can be synchronized in real time via iCloud, you can use the iOS version when you're mobile and the Mac version in your home studio. Demos created using KORG Gadget can be exported to your main DAW. Powerful interoperability with Ableton Live is also a feature. KORG Gadget is destined to become an important key to expressing your ideas within your music production workflow."
I do use Live so it appeals to me to be as compatible as possible; But if Modstep gets proper audio tracks and Live export then that could be a better choice for me. I wouldn't get the desktop version but this version could appeal to people who don't use ipads for music and who are just starting out, remember that there are a lot of them out there
Yea its not a daw, its basically a groovebox sorta like maschine, but without the dedicated physical controller.
Yeah, why don’t people just read what Korg is saying and how they’re marketing Gadget for Mac?
"Produce music anytime and anywhere
An ideal choice as a second DAW
KORG Gadget for Mac demonstrates new value as a DAW. Even if you're a creative artist who already owns a DAW, you can use KORG Gadget as a DAW that can unleash another side to your creativity. And rather than switching between DAWs, you can use KORG Gadget as a supplement to the DAW that you're already using. Distinctive sounds and an interface that's simple and easy to use are sure to stimulate new creative feelings within you. Since the project you're working on can be synchronized via iCloud, you can stay engaged in music production wherever you are, whether you're at home or away. With a wide range of export functions as well as Rewire support, KORG Gadget provides stress-free support for using your main DAW to add the finishing touches."
I don’t know how successful it’ll be, but Korg isn’t blindly offering up Gadget simply as a DAW to compete with other desktop DAWs. They’re not stupid. Korg obviously figures that, if someone uses mobile Gadget, and they like it, then they’ll want to incorporate it more tightly into their entire workflow. It’s irrelevant how it compares to other DAWs when someone is using it in that capacity. My main DAW is Logic. Gadget is another animal entirely. Then you have some newer musicians who may be attracted to Gadget for what it is, a sketchpad that looks and sounds cool. Not everyone is even interested in a big, pro DAW. Korg is looking to another newer market, which may be their genius, or maybe a misread on their part. In any case, there is no indication that they’re trying to supplant established DAWs.
I don't know how anyone could see this as a DAW, at least in the traditional sense.
This is a good way to look at it.
I'm not a power user by any means, but that's exactly why I'm fine with iOS DAW's in the first place. Whatever additional capabilities one would get from working on a desktop DAW as opposed to iOS are wasted on me. (Coincidentally, this is probably why I've gelled better with MTDAW and Cubasis than Auria Pro).
In my book, you become a DAW once you have some combination of audio tracks, editing/arranging capabilities, a passable level of effects and mastering capability, and the ability record a wide variety of sounds within the program. It's true that a desktop DAW (or even some iOS ones with AU/AB/IAA) have a wider variety of instrument and effects options than Gadget. But the proprietary content supplied by Korg alone is so deep now, I think it qualifies.
All that it really lacked before was the ability to conveniently record raw audio, which basically locked out guitars, vocals, and external hardware of any kind (without a screwy workaround). If this update to the iPad version is as it looks, I'm probably going to spend most of my time in Gadget.
(Come to think of it, the one gadget still lacking is some type of guitar-playing app like JamMaestro or Guitarism within the app for sketch purposes. I think Madrid basically covers electric bass and Gladstone (and others) cover drums, but guitar is still a little hack-y other with the PCM stuff, etc.)
Wow, Gadget is no Keyscapes. Not in the same league. Keyscapes is Pro stuff. Not many pro studios will be frothing at the mouth for Gadget as they did for Keyscapes. Sorry.
Gadget for Live users? Sorry. Just speculative I suppose so we may as well say Gadget is for Pro Tools users.
Pricing - so I spend $150 for iOS Gadget and then another $200 or $300 for Mac Gadget making a grand total of about $400 to $500. What are they smoking at Korg? Pass the babangida please.
Solution - record directly or export SAME sounds from Gadget into Logic. No problem. Prudent. Money in my pocket. Corporate greed mashed up. I get to make the same sounds flow into Logic as I do now.
I'm not a power user either and it doesn't matter to me whether something can be defined as a DAW or not. What matters to me is I can make all kinds of genres of music, using a easy to understand workflow and a vast variety of cool gadgets that, to my ears, sounds pretty good. GarageBand for the Mac provided this to some extent, and is very cheap, but having used Gadget on my iPad now for quite a while I think Gadget for the Mac will far surpass that for the "GarageBand audience such as myself" that is willing to pay for it. And as a plus this will make GarageBand for the Mac better as well because of all the cool Audio Units that will suddenly be available to me.
I'm certainly not suggesting this could compete with the likes of Logic but whereas I have hesitated to spend $200 on Logic for quite some time now because of "feature bloat", as one commentor above put it, I don't feel nearly as hesitant with Gadget for the Mac. It's not for everybody for sure but right now it definitely seems like it's more for me than anything else on the Mac should I choose to invest in it.
My only real dilemma is whether I should just keep reserving all my extra cash for iOS based software and hardware or take $200 out of the cookie jar to add Gadget Mac to the mix as well.
They specifically give a copy of Live Lite to you within Gadget, and the file is designed to work with the scenes/workflow of Live.
That aspect isn't at all speculative.
@lovadamusic Right there with ya.
As capable as it is, it's boutique software. Whole 'nother category from the other DAWs and priced as such. Nothing will match it for for ease of entry and pure Shiny Me Wanty™. I won't be getting it, since I've already become accustomed to Live and DP when I want more power, but I think they'll do just fine. Music makers are a lustful lot, so I'm sure even current DAW owners will be tempted by a passel of 30 plugs at a tenner each.
I hope for Ableton's sake that enough of the new Gadget MacOS users will still want or need to upgrade to Live Standard or Suite to make their relationship mutually beneficial. If it works, this and Link will go a long way to keeping competitors off their tails for a while.
Jajaja. I wish... triton it's just a soundpack for module. It's not even a new gadget, all the sounds appear in Glasgow.
Should be in the desktop version though, as they will have the same number of gadgets. And it's not complete triton, it's a best of, and there's lots of great sounds in it.
Yeah. As part of Glasgow.
If everyone was a clone of you, Korg would be in big trouble.
One thing Korg has in their favor here is that many of us are already invested in the Gadget system, both in time and money. The app is now a familiar instrument we know how to play, and it's hard to put a price on that. I already export tracks into Logic; the Mac version of Gadget could be a workflow advantage. If I was starting today, would I spend $400-500 on it all? Maybe not. Big reason I got an iPad was to take advantage of inexpensive music apps. So now I'm sucked in and willing to spend more to strengthen the bridge between iOS and Mac. Everyone has their own story, and I think Korg probably has a pretty good feel for what a segment of the music-making market might be wanting. One person's trash is another person's treasure.