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
Great that so many of us think this app is going to be a real nice addition is all I can say. This app just works and sounds exceptionally well for the first day out of the starting blocks. Plus it works so very well and easily with launchpad and I assume Blocs as well though have only tried the former and not the latter. Given the track record of the developer we are in for a real sweet treat with this one. Did I mention Free to get started as well? Oh ya it is free to see if you like it or not. Then cheap additions for addons . A guy can not ask for more is all I am saying..( well of course there is always more)! Version 1.01, were looking at you.
I think that part of this problem can be derived from the name of the app 'Groovebox'-which appears to be 'inspired' from Roland. Roland are the makers and coined the term 'Groovebox'. For over a decade they made 'Grooveboxes' - the MC 303, MC 505, MC 307, MC 909 and MC 808- they define what Grooveboxes actually are. No other company made or laid claim to producing a Groovebox. Every single one had fully automatable / recording of every knob and parameter- this feature was/is the essence of what they actually are- without it- they would not be 'Grooveboxes'
Fast forward to last week. For a couple of days we learn that a Novation derived 'Groovebox' app is due for imminent release. Novation?- fantastic synths. Groovebox?- Fantasic instruments. Novation Groovebox? Sounds fantastic.... anticipation builds..... it hits the AppStore............ minus the defining characteristic of an actual Groovebox.
Call it whatever you like and it still sounds and works great all the same. Given the ease with which one can get a groove going with it I can easily see why it earned the groovebox label. The fact that it works and sounds this well right out of the gate is a great indicator of things to come when one considers how well launchpad and blocs have done.
It is great (in particular the sounds) and easy to get a groove going - instantly useable interface- which I always appreciate- for once I don't need a manual. It will dovetail perfectly with blocs and launchpad- and I am sure it will become one of my 'go to' apps.
I do wonder if Roland will take exception to it's name- given the recent Rebirth App Store removal scenario.
But that's up to them-
Quite right, too.
Some apps have fanatical followers who will hear no wrong, even if the intention is constructive. The smarter developer engages with customers and potential customers, as a free market research. The smart buyer - as I was reminded recently by my own mistake - makes his choice after gathering information.
Everybody is wrong except me.
If I find myself giving you the reason... it will probably mean I'm wrong too...
Ps: I love that emoji and I just try to find the way to use it amaic.
Don't take it personal, just makig fun, homies!
Everyone is right, from their perspective. No worries.
What I have found interesting and encouraging is that many have changed their opinion on this app since their initial reaction...as many did over time with blocs wave...and this is less than 24 hours after its release...
A lot of those who have played with it and delved are now less emphatic about the 'It doesn't do this' or 'It hasn't got that' ....
Launchpad has more than 7,000,000 downloads.....
Novation/blocs/Ampify obviously do not need us in order to sell a successful product....Yet they come here anyway...."Hey guys here's what we've been doing, what do you think ?"....ask for feedback on features we want....
This has to be fully commended and respected, regardless of what you think of the product itself...
We are a bunch of stubborn, opinionated, old (and young) farts sometimes...but I guess that's why most of us keep coming back
@studioamplify I think you guys have a golden opportunity to reach a whole new audience with this app. The Arranger Workstation Keyboard players.
Yesterday I had a few synths, drums and a bass modules playing together and I thought, hey, this reminds me of when I used to use my Korg i30 Interactive Arranger Keyboard. Then I thought: What if this app had midi input where you could control this app via midi-in either from another controller app such as Navichord or an external midi controller and be able to say while the different modules play, like bass and pads, be able to change the root chords on the fly.
Say I'm playing a really nic backing track in key if G, well I imagine how awesome it would be to via midi input in Realtime change key to D, C , Em, etc all in realtime! Am I just dreaming or would this be a possibility?
I know even on my iPhone SE there's enough juice to run a lot of modules at the same time but for a backing track 8!is usually enough for me. As long as I have the Bass, Drums, pads etc.
So how would this work? Would there be a specific input module that would do Chord recognition and send that to each of the active modules???
I'm not a programmer but this would truly appeal to many musicians out there who are basically a one man band. Imagine composing the bare bones of a song in one pass with Bass, Drums, pads and then once you laid that down come back and do another pass playing melody over that???
This could really be revolutionary and start a new revenue opportunity for @AmpifyxNovation .
I hope you guys consider it. I think the basic structure for this is already laid out on this app.
MM4C
I have an actual question about the app: when I add a new instrument, it lets me cycle through the patterns for various sounds. So I land on one I like and I hit the load button. And the pattern is gone. Not loaded. The instrument is there but no pattern. The only way I can get pattern presets is to go to the menu inside the synth page and hit "new pattern". So is there no purpose to cycling through patterns when loading an instrument? Bug? Pretty weird.
Also can you not have 16 bar patterns on iPhone? The option is greyed out for me. Or do you have to have all the IAP?
I said something similar in launchkey app topic and people seemed more interested in synths than arrangers... but IDK if you are aware of loopcommunity Prime app...?
Having played with it for a few hrs I gotta say the random midi it generates are sometimes surprisingly nice. And the synth engine is decent as well. Exporting into blocs via audioshare and then into launchpad is pretty painless. I can definitely see the usefulness of this for creating new launchpad sets. If it ever gets midi out i will probably even buy a ton of sound packs. I'm definitely less cold to it after using it for a while lol. Will wait to get the synth engine unlocks till it gets midi in and automation.
I like the design of this app. It's easy to pick up and get something going without any fuss at all. It's got good connectivity so I can muck with it's output in AUM/AuriaPro, or output a quick loop to mess around in with something else.
It's very intuitive and fun. It's got link, etc. What you get for free with this one is great!
I likely wouldn't pony up $15 for all the IAPs, but if there's a sale at some point, or after I see how the app evolves... I might pick up a couple.
Thanks for the excellent offering @AmpifyxNovation and I'm looking forward to seeing how this one develops.
Studio amplify had nothing to do with this FYI. It's the blocs guys changed their name to Ampify minus the L. I guess this is the moment when we ran out of cool sounding audio terms to name things.
@skiphunt @MusicMan4Christ
Erm...did you guys mean @AmpifyxNovation
Yes, oops! It autofilled in when I started the tag. Just edited it. thx for the correction.
And, I've just been obsessed with studioamplify's brilliant KRFT app lately
I think it is 8 bars on both iPad and iPhone ?
With regard to the patterns I am sure they are meant to load....sounds like a problem of some sort....does it happen every time with every instrument ?
hehehe Easy done
We're also people who are VERY enthusiastic about good apps, will spread the word, and when invited work with no financial incentive to help develop a product.
Novation/Ampify understand this, and see the value. Helping us, in turn helps them. Nobody ever complained that an app had too many features.
>
I did suggest Riddim. But they didn't seem to like that.
Settings menu: "Always load patterns"
Just want make sure I haven't missed it, there's currently no way to chain patterns together into a timeline to make a song...correct?
Yep it was the settings menu. Also, there is an option for 16 bars that is greyed out. I've been told it is there for a future update. So...16 bar patterns in the future yay!
This is a great app. One thing all Novation app have that others don't - global scale/tonality selector. A winner to me.
and Passionate
Good shout
Yeah, i tried that app but it's not setup in the way I'm accustomed to where you fire up a nice beat, backing pads, etc, and drive the entire song in real-time as you change chords.
I can definitely see this app with that ability and why not? If you go to Korg Forums or the Yamaha Arranger forums, you will find a huge group of musicians that have paid upwards of $3,000 for an Arranger Keyboard. All it is, is a built in sound system with backing tracks playable at anytime intereactively with the user. But, what i find that as a bad investment, is because not only did it cost $3k or more, but you have to haul around a super heavy arranger keyboard.
This has all changed with the power of the iPad and iPhone. We now have the power to have sonic power as good if not better than those standalone arranger keyboards.
This app, while on it's infancy has a lot of promise to so many musicians. For one, I can see @AmpifyxNovation create a whole new revenue source which although not intended perhaps in the original conception of this app, can be a reality now that users provide input.
I paid over $2k for my arranger keyboard and made many songs with it back in the days, but _I don't see myself making that type of investment anymore especially with limited amounts of rythmn styles onboard.
With Groovebox Studio however, the sky is the limit. Because these guys, can develop limitless amounts of rythmn styles to be used along with this app, and sell them as IAP packs. The same thing that Yamaha does with their flagship Tyros Arranger Keyboards, Look up how much one of those puppies costs, you'll be blown away at how expensive they are.
For now, i can only dream, but i hope there's a developer out there that is listening. I know MidiBand tried to do it, but it was no way near as advanced or updated as Groovebox studio is. So there you have it, I just provided @AmpifyxNovation a new source of income. Well, hopefully.
@AmpifyxNovation
Amazing synth/app. Really, it's like Skram done right (and I actually like Skram).
Amazing workflow and such warm sounds. A joy to create in it.
Lemme corroborate the points in @AndyPlankton wishlist that are crucial for me:
-Swing
-MIDI IN
-Automation
-Sections with independent key/scale
-Bar navigation
Amazing job, bought all IAP already.
I don't think this Groovebox needs any kind arranger or song mode. The workflow seems to me - create some patterns, export to Blocs or straight to Launchpad for development into something epic!
A bit like band names, every time I think of a good one, however obscure, it's already being used. That's why I settled for Horse Gas, it was the only one left - probably due to the many equinine flatulance results that crop up when searching on the web.