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.
Is blocswave worth it? If so, please tell me why
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I'm seeing it mentioned a lot, especially now gadget had audio in...
I'm not a Scrooge but I've purchased so many apps that I rarely use more than for a few minutes. The last app I bought was KRFT and I didn't purchase any others for at least a year. I mostly use gadget as a standalone but GarageBand seems to be growing up too.
So..why do you like blocswave? What's unique about it? What can it truly bring to the table..
Comments
Fast, clean and productive. Limited too but to me this is one of their strenght against more complete solutions (gadget, modstep, etc)
The launchpad app export (in addition to Ableton export for those who use It) make it the perfect companion apps for my novation launch hardware (atm launchkeys but considering buying launchcontrol xl) and all for less than 3€ (in "sale" time)
Some iap are nice packs and shared also with Launchpad which made me buy some iaps in Launchpad too.
To me represents iOS music producing as its best.
As said above, it's fast and simple. A great idea generator.
It is not overbearing in the feature department. Just enough to mess with some ideas and then export them to use in other apps.
Feed it with lots and lots of material. Then try random loops and sounds together until ideas form. That's why I love it. I throw as much material into it as possible. Even the loops and sounds themselves can be chopped up and made into something fresh. It's interface is also so simple to use
Just to add: if you don't have lots of loops and sounds fed in, it can seem a little bit boring and stale. It needs lots of material to work best.
I think Blocs is central to IOS music production...
KRFT and Blocs is magic (Linked).
Cleaning out unused apps to expand my Blocs pack collection....... For KRFT..
I've not found any deep, meaningful or life changing use for Blocs Wave, but it nonetheless sees regular use.. even if just as an idea generator. Sometimes I just get some grooves going with original sounds and added presets while on the metro, then revisit later. Sometimes I get an interesting rhythm going then recreate it in Patterning, sometimes I chop up a melody and transfer it to a different instrument. Tempo and key changing allows it to quickly adapt to the context. Simple but useful things.
I'd be interested to hear about other peoples deeper uses of this app!
It's one of those apps that rewards the user with their investment of time. The more you use it and build up your own loops, the more you'll get out of it.
I've got app overload at the moment - Auria, AUM, Gadget, Blocs, KRFT etc. all of them fantastic idea generators, so don't get to spend as much time with it as I should, but it's up there with the best.
Have you seen the YouTube videos?
Sounds interesting, how are you using Blocs with KRFT?
Linked, finding the right sample to import into KRFT.. the scale option make it so tight..
Can even get deep by chopping up samples in Blocs... so many possibilities..
It's crazy..
I am currently recording Shoom into Blocs as an accompaniment to KRFT. Once KRFT gets it's 'seperate instrument record' feature i will then record the KRFT jams and mix them with the Blocs overdubs in DAW later.
Coll will try using it with KRFT.
Curious about the workflow. i've abrely used blocs beyond building up basic jams like others and have thought about integrating it. Are you guys AUM? Curious about workflows.
I do sometimes use AUM to wire up FX for things I am recording into Blocs. Typicaly there is a BIG DAW phase at the end to make it all work. Blocs for me has been more about long wandering jams. Structure for me tends to come later in the editing and re-arranging.
There are different approaches for me.
1- Sitting on the couch with headphones and slicing, making scenes...
2- Recording things (iMini, iPolysix, sensual sax, Korg Module...) into it with AB or AUM in the studio.
3- Playing it alongside other apps in AUM... but now I use Launchpad directly. Studio/Live remixing.
4- Recording the output into GTL (by IAA) as alternative player instead Launchpad (for midi remote control with footpedal). Preparation for Live looping set.
I'll echo the above, I do a lot of traveling and love to knock out ideas on the fly. The combination of Blocs + Launchpad + Launchkey Mini controller is great.
I've got most of the IAP in Launchpad because it's so tightly integrated and "just works".
Combine with other Live-enabled apps and it's a case of "What train trip?".
As regards workflow I'm very loose. Might start with Patterning to get a beat going then work something with Blocs/Launchpad or might record something into Blocs, chop it up (the slice thing is great, like a bit of randomisation) then build around it.
I very much like that Blocs started as a humble thing (which I didn't see the point of at first) and has matured into this tightly integrated thing. It shows the devs have more than a clue what musicians want, hence the IAP.
I'm not travelling with the iPad but i've been leaning towards some hardware like an LP to jam out ideas as i can't really get into the DAW paradigm although i do use Gadget a lot as it's integrated.
Just wondering about hosting and routing but it occured to me tonight to use Studiomux which can handle link and routing then i can just hook it up to Live when i want to record. Waiting for AB3 anyway speaking of AUM but didn;t realize KRFT wasn't compatible.
@RajahP that's a great tip with Blocs, was able to get a jam going from a basic loop in KRFT so this could well be the way forward.
Well i have used blocs a lot to record audio loops(and sometimes play with them with the trigger cuts from recording thing). Also because i like to finish my work in ableton, i record from other apps to it as well(like if i make drums in imaschine, i record them to blocs), just for easy export to ableton.
One downside of blocs is that you cant control it via midi, thats why i have been trying to move to loopy instead(i have a midi controller that fits it perfectly).
I'm a limited musician, perfect fit.
I love toys. I made more music the last three months with Blocs than the last ten years with Live/Logic.
I record guitar loops into it via ToneStack, and chop them up with the slicer.
What do you think are its limitations? I cant think much more than that you cant control it with midi, like you can loopy hd. Oh yea and ofc more than 8 tracks per page would be nice, but 8 seems to be a bit of a standard(or almost at least).
Indeed, I don't usually have the time to dedicate to long sessions so jamming around in something more immediate works well for me.
I have Auria Pro but hardly use it despite it's stellar plug-ins. Maybe this will change in the future but for now having options is great. As long as nothing dies due to OS upgrades I'm good.
Thanks for the feedback..I may just bite to see if it is as good as you guys say for live stuff!
Bing.
I just thought I should give blocs wave another go and found it repeatedly crashing on launch, iPad mini 4, latest iOS.
EDIT: restart fixed it
Lol..just bought it but
WHERE ARE THE BUILT IN FX...
In Launchpad atm.
Sig!
Ditto!
Why do these devs produce so many cool apps? Can’t they stop for a moment, to let us spend enough time in each?
Sometimes, this forum feels like a meeting of Appaholics Anonymous, but with everyone acting as an enabler instead of helping you keep your app-buying habits in check.
Definitely the fastest from start to workable groove app there is.
Thanks to this thread I took a closer look at Blocs and it's indeed inspirational. I have also looked at Launchpad and the synergy between the two. I have a question:
Is it possible to export/import a project file for Blocs and/or Launchpad? In case I'm working on something on my iPad and I want to continue working on my iPhone?
I think Blocs is loads of fun. There may be better apps for chopping up loops, but that's not really my thing, so I haven't researched it much. I like to just get a groove going and jam to it. Blocs makes that super easy, and it's great for coming up with ideas. LaunchPad is also a nice complement to BW. If you do make a lot of music with chopped up loops, then I think Blocs Wave would really be your cup o' tea.