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.
Need help before I make the wrong purchase
I'm a DJ who is just getting into the production side of things and am loving it so far but now I need to figure out what kind of audio interface I need for my desired setup. I run traktor with an s4 controller and two NI F1s when I'm playing live but I just recently got an iPad air 2 and already own an iPhone 6s and have been using those two for all my production work. Ideally what I want is to have my iPad and my iPhone connected and playing nice together (possibly audio from iPad into iPhone which I would use only for effects) and then be able to incorporate it into my preexisting DJ setup...oh and no Wi-Fi (old dark warehouses generally lack Wi-Fi). Suggestions? Maybe an iConnect product? It soul also be nice to have some room for expansion in the future as well. Thanks for any help, this forum has been my guide and best friend so far
Comments
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Yep. An iConnectAudio4+ would fit the bill perfectly.
Hi and welcome here !
The Iconnect is indeed nice, but it's also quite complicated for a first step into production...
As you're a DJ, you might wanna get a usb mixer instead, which is great for the fader feeling. This one is great, but there's plenty of usb mixers that could fit your needs:
http://www.soundcraft.com/en-US/products/signature-10
You also need a powered usb hub, and a CCK to connect the ipad to the mixer.
Then you'll need a midi interface. I recommend a 4 in 4 out, for these connections:
1. the S4
2.First iPad (as the host)
3. iPhone ( here you'll need an other midi interface and/or a sound card + CCK, a two channel+midi, lie a Roland or Steinberg u22)
4. Maybe a futur synth ?...
With this, you'll get everything available with faders.
You'll be able to record the main output with USB, or 2 track.
What you won't get is multitrack between the 2 idevice, but with AUM you may emulate that, then in a second time you combine all tracks recorded into Cubasis, or on your Mac, Logic, or even Garage Band , then you finalise your mix there.
To really have the control of each synth, I recommend a midi controller. The BCR2000 is great, there's a very advanced editor, very capable controller...
Or if you can, a Miditwister, very little and easy to configure, a Quneo is also great.
You may want to look at the mini launchpad, which is great, but just to use it with Launchpad app, but still very interesting.
Good thing is you may connect your S4 to the mixer also, that means a "master additional EQ" for the S4, then use the main out of the mixer to your speakers.
As it is more (but not that much comparing of the "power" you get !) expensive than just the iconnect, you may avoid the sound card for the iphone at the beginning, if you want to test just with the headphone out of the iPhone, and run the midi between the 2 Idevices using bluetooth, and Apollo app. (very stable...)
So you take it easy on the money, make your tests, see better what you really need for your next move...
I also recommend a local wifi router, just to run Link apps. Because it works really fine and open lots of interesting sync possibilities...
Wow, that's alot to process all at once, but I certainly appreciate you taking the time to.lay all that out for me...is the iconnectivity4 really more complicated then setting up the multitude of devices you just mentioned? I'm also a single dad raising two little ones so I'm on a pretty tight budget when it comes to buying things for my own enjoyment. Oh I forgot to mention that I also have a Korg nanokey studio which I really like when it decides to actually stay connected, and I just picked up a rack mounted Berringer Autocom MDX 1400 for basically free (it seems to work but honestly I have no idea what it actually does or if its useful to me in any way)
Ok, I understand.
First, great news, the NI F1 are class compliant devices ! This means you don't need any driver, so they'll work connected thru a usb hub to your ipad/iphone using a CCK (camera connexion kit, bty, take the latest one CCK3, that allow to power your i-device at the same time, and it's also more stable in most of situations...)
So first thing you should buy is a CCK3 to test all your midi controllers : NI F1 and the nanokey ! That's 30$, also need a powered usb hub, you may have one to test, if it works, then you're all good with controllers ! (also the nanokey, so with 30$ you can test to control stuffs...quite cheap...but then you'll want all apps of the world...we may discuss that if you want later...)
The Berhinger Autocom MDX 1400 is a compressor. You can use it with a mixer, who has insert or aux. Can be nice to test, never heard it. But not sure with your time/needs/money it's very interesting to absolutely integrate it...Really depends of the wires you already have, and the mixer you may choose...But amho it will introduce more whistle and bugs you...
But as I think about it, you may also end buying a Iconnect Audio 2+
It allows 2 iDevices, (even if it's not supported), you have a usb host to add a hub with your midi controllers...
The ICA4+ will allow more inputs, just keep in mind you'll have to understand how they work, but once it's setuped, all is fine...
The cheapest solution would be a Behringer U-Control UCA222, that you'll connect to your S4.
Add a mini-jack->cinch adaptor to connect your iphone to your UCA222.
Then it's done.
Still need 2 CCK, and 2 powered usb hub to add 2 midi interface allowing them to exchange midi infos.
So finally it should just a little less than an ICA2+....So...
https://www.native-instruments.com/forum/threads/implementing-an-ipad-3-into-my-existing-s4-mk1-and-f1-kontrol-using-traktorpro-setup.213312/
F1 works with iPad? Maybe are you talking about Z1?
Even Z1 isn't midi class compliant, just audio (and quite limited if I remember right).
F1 doesn't works with iOS and Z1 only works as controller with Traktor app.
S4 mk1 neither so,
What do you use actually to dj? If the answer is mac then go for musicIO instead iconnectivity; if not, check if musicIO works with windows...
About hardware and djing in iPad... well if you want to play turntables then you will need a proper soundcard. My advice will be Akai Amx for djplayer or wait to see what brings NI (but wait with patience) or go for an mk2 version of your S4 and build from there. An audio6/10 dj could will be ok too. Of course Z1 but forget about plug a turntable, the player is the iPad itself.
In the cheapo side you can use Behringer ufo200 (or uca200 202 with phono preamp) and some tweaking to cut direct audio monitoring (and avoid the timecode signal playing along with your tunes). It's a easy hack and you can buy one of these for 30$ new but remember... you only could use one audio interface with iOS (the first you plug if you plug more than once) so these behr only will work for one turntable... maybe suitable for your iPhone FX idea (I'm wondering the same time to time).
Another cheap solution could be a discontinnued vestax vci/spin or similar. These usually work well with iOS dj apps and have integrated soundcard.
https://www.mixxx.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2438&start=20
Give us more details and we'll try to point some tricks
Quickly come to the realization that instead of having a lot of ideas on setups that I could use I just need to decide on one setup and run with it, otherwise I will just end up with a mess of gadgets that don't play well together. Ok, so more specifically here is what I'm shooting for: my laptop (windows) running traktor with the s4 using two decks and two remix decks. One of the f1s used as a step sequencer in traktor and the other mapped to control effects and some other tracktor controls (this is already done and what I am currently using). I then want to use my iPad to incorporate some apps (which I already have a ton of) into my Dj set and then the iPhone setup with either touch OSC or TC-Data most likely controlling Turnado. Also I would like a pony
That simplifies it a lot. If you're not concerned with getting audio routed between the iOS devices then any MIDI+Audio interface will do. The iPhone would just be using WIFI to send control data.
That said, the iconnectAudio4 will still give you an easy way to get audio from the ipad into your laptop if you want to use Traktor's mixer. For simpler set ups, I don't think it's all that confusing. If you decide to get crazy later, you can plug all of your USB controllers into it and then use them with your laptop or you iPad (or iphone) interchangeably.
Yep, finally agreed also on an ICA4+. It's also open nice advanced configurations if needed in the futur.
You'll need a bit of time to understand their software, it's less easier than a regular sound card, but not impossible at all either...
http://musicioapp.com/
musicIO: Audio and MIDI over USB por Power Trio
https://appsto.re/es/iLaL5.i
It works also with windows so it's a cheaper approach to midi/audio connectivity and you could use the S1/F1 if you want (your pc will work as host and midi driver translator), later you could buy an iconnectivity if you need it.
Yeah that app seems sketchy at best, especially for a windows user like myself. On the other hand it could be a 10$ gamble to save hundreds....guess it's time to poll the forum again and see what's what.
@Dubbylabby wise advice indeed !
Never tested this app/soft, there's also Studiomux, don't know what's the easiest solution.
I try to be informative/constructive the most as I can. Sometimes I get a bit stuck with people due their focus trying to help them to much (when maybe is better to let them go ahead against a wall of reality lol) but I'm taking my pills to don't give a 5#17 with wrong people xD
Anyways I'm glad you find useful and yes, try/research into booth apps to find which suits better to yourself since at last the setup is very personal to oneself.
Cheers!
I will say that I have liked the other apps from Secret Base, particularly Apollo for sending midi Bluetooth from my phone to my iPad so maybe I give it a whirl...already wasted way then 10$ on apps that didn't work out anyways lol