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
Interesting requests. Out of curiosity, why all the randomness playback features? That kind of stuff is fun of course, but not really that suitable for serious composition, production or performance. Isn’t it more suitable to feed Modstep with MIDI in from random stuff and record it, forming a concrete composition in Modsteps more serious environment? For randomisation in playback, Modstep could take control one of the many randomisation apps available in iOS remotely.
So, if you cannot safely use this as a host and are using ModStep for the midi functionality, what advantage might this have over Genome? Just curious ... always curious.
I can't use Genome because it has no tempo changes per part. I come from a rock n roll background and songs rarely stay the same tempo throughout.
I think there’s a lot of advantages over Genome. The step sequencer and drum pattern sequencer is really good. Nothing like that in Genome, which is mainly a piano roll. So It’s a lot deeper overall. I just preferred the Modstep workflow and the midi was very reliable for me. Audiobus midi support as well. Chords, pads, active step mode.
Once I learnt Modstep, I didn’t touch Genome afterwards. But that’s just my experience and Genome has some nice things about it for sure.
Serious composition ha! You best have a talk with Brian Eno then to straighten him out 🤪
But seriously. I use these parameters in Live all the time to add subtle variety and movement and would like them in modstep, therefore the ask.
Well...excited as I see feature lists...but...
In case gods are hearing...😏
1.undo/redo...
2.more user friendly notes editing ( Xequence is super ergonomic...far more than any other sequencer...)
3.pc’s are great, but msb/lsb, bank select are needed as ergonomic as actual pc
4.fix Nave (other IAA also) ? midi clock connection not saved into Modstep. Note that in my case Nave is just connected to midi, and loaded into AUM, so it just does not "remember" the midi connection to the clock...no clue why...
5.native timestrech into sampler on tempo change (like BM3)
6. Advanced manual with short videos to understand the workflow better AND support...
7. I still don’t understand the step sequencer...for instance. Probability functions would be great.
8. Advanced randomisation/next patterns directly on patterns to increase variations into a song (not very clear but I can elaborate)
9. Program change to load songs
10. Midi start /stop using MMC (I managed something thanks to AUM and Streambyter, but could be optimized)
11. full export/import for songs (with samples)
12. add pre-roll metronome
13. Better refreshment of number of loops on a scene, for instance 8 loops of a pattern of 6 bars result in 7x6 , but "7" does not come back to 7 while stop, it needs a new loop to reinitialize to the right number
14. while tapping the length on top (below title of the song) convert into time (minutes, seconds)
15. allow different time signature on each pattern
That’s it for now 😅
Lol seriously?
Thinking about it, it could possibly fit well into the step sequencer workflow.
In my perspective though, a sequencer/mixer mind of app is not where you want to the randomness to take place. Feels to me like that task would be better suited to MIDI generation on input or MIDI filtering on output (both of which can be done by various MIDI AU apps).
When you bounce a track (regardless of whether it as composed with randomisation or not) you would want the output to be the same 100% of the time, surely? That can be achieved with deterministic 'pseudo-randomness' of course, but then we're already half way down a deeply technical rabbit hole.
Randomness is always fun of course, but the above is an elaboration on my first reaction to the idea.
We each work differently. I just think access to randomness and probability natively in modstep would be a great workflow enhancement.
I love Brambos suite, but i want something more akin to Abletons native Random and the Octatracks per step probability directly accessible in the Step sequencer and note sequencer views of modstep.
Imagine something like this directly available in Modstep:
And this
BOOM🤯
Good list. I would add that you should be able to export songs 'sessions,' sampler presets, etc. My duo has to use iMazing to copy songs and samples over.
Yeah I agree and I also hope that @cblomert is considering adding AU midi fx support to Modstep. This will also enable some nice per track possibilties in the app using apps like streambyter.
statesaving in Audiobus is something I've always hoped might show up as well.
Maybe someone can help me: how do i rename Recording?
Can you explain more? I dont understand the question.
Thank you for asking, sorry for beeing unclear 😁
If you record audio (for example I want to record DM1 drums into the sampler ) the files are named DATE%TIME%BPM.wav but I want to rename them for example to BAseDrum.wav.
Is that possible?
😁While trying I encountered another question: can you coose sampling rate and bitdepth for recordings?
BTW: Modstep is great! I am coming from Ableton and was always looking for an alternative on iOS. Was never aware of modstep until I read about the upcomming update. So I bought it 😄👍 and I regret that it took me so long to find it.
I’ve always thought it was a fantastic app, but have just had troubles getting into it. I really think undo would help a lot. I think it would solve the majority of my problems really.
As for hosting I do remember serious crashes after I got the app 1-1.5 years ago, but the next update had fixes to address AU crashing. So, some people complaining about the stability may be people that used the app in it’s early stages.
Since you seem to be successfully doing various time signatures with it, I have a question. When you use it for various time signatures are you ever playing live into it? Also, is the only way to do time signatures with the step length? I had Modstep back out a few weeks ago and I can’t remember what time signature I was trying (Probably 7/8 or 9/8) but it ended up being really frustrating and I quit. I was trying to play live into it and tried quantize only to realize I didn’t want it. Since there is no undo, I had to delete the whole pattern, redo all the step lengths, and then start and stop everything because the other patterns were consequently out of sync after redoing the step lengths. I hope there is some way to get around all that, because for live sequencing it’s a no go for time signatures otherwise.
You have to have all the loops setup with the right step length set first, just empty. And then if you have to undo, delete via the piano roll not the whole pattern. Yes, undo would make that much faster.
As far as I know, you can't do either of those in Modstep.
For the sample rename, you have to export to Audioshare, rename, and import back.
For bit depth or sample rate, export to whatever app you like for that, put in Audioshare and import back.
I find that all too cumbersome myself so I mainly make samples in other apps. Mostly on desktop/laptop really because I have such a larger array of tools there and much easier and faster editing. But when I've been mobile I've used Cubasis to make samples, then import them into Modstep.
Also I'd note, for a large amount of samples, from the laptop, I've used iMazing because you can drag as many as you want into Modstep Sampler 'Import' folder. Further tip, make a folder on the laptop first because I don't see a way to organize them after the fact.
Wow, I guess that means for me odd time signatures are pretty much unusable for live playing, unless I can make zero mistakes even when just fiddling about. I get a bit too busy with notes sometimes and chasing them down even if it’s only a 4 octave keyboard will take longer than deleting and remaking most the time. I couldn’t find a clear piano roll function either. That would at least keep the patterns in sync still,
I’ve never really liked piano rolls, but the one in Modstep is actually pretty decent to use, maybe I’ll just tell myself that it is not for live playing/jamming and just use it to program so I get better at the workflow. Playing live in 4\4 wasn’t so bad, but even that still had issues.
Just to make sure I'm clear...this is what I mean.
You can delete the notes thus and it doesn't change the time sig.
You could also delete individual notes.
But yes, very much needs an undo. Should be one click not a couple.
@Multicellular Do you have any issues with IAPs or AU instruments or effects in ModStep? Too soon for me to say but I'm interested in knowing what to avoid, if at all possible.
IAAs you mean? Yes, I did have issues with them though in hindsight, it might have just been that I was exceeding CPU levels, but switching screens was too annoying so, for workflow reasons, I switched to all AUs and I've had great stability in Modstep.
I've had a few effects seem to get stuck on the master bus in Modstep. Like I delete them and they come back...that's weird, but it ultimately didn't matter for me because I went to running the post effects in Audiobus anyway since I wasn't switching them between songs (just a master EQ and compressor).
Okay that makes a big difference. I can use that. I thought you meant find all the notes individually. Worse case I have 16 bars and have to tap 16 times if I need to undo. I’ll make a setup later today and give it a test. I have an old 2nd gen iPad and 3 Korg Volcas that don’t get used and I’m working on a solution that will get me using them. I have been using Groove Rider to sequence and it’s great but you cannot pattern chain odd time signatures. So, I’ve been stuck with 8 bars at whatever step length I have.
Thanks!!
Thanks, yes I meant IAAs. Good info.
You could zoom in on the 16 bars (two finger slide), highlight them all and delete them all at once. Still, 3 steps when it should be one, but 3 instead of 17. I do that a lot actually because, what I'll do is have like the kick and snare already set up and I'm only improvin the other bits. Easy with the right zoom x and y to select all but the lowest, highest parts.
OK, just looked through the manual. Can't find the answer to this ...
How do I set a pre-roll or count off for the metronome? 1 bar, 2 bar, etc?
Make a blank pattern/scene and make it 1 or 2 bars (long press on scene). Arm track.
That will advance to the next pattern down and record in it by default
@Multicellular added your 2 points on my wishlist...
ok thanks again.
Many thanks for your feedbacks @Samu , @OscarSouth , @AudioGus , @echoopera , @syrupcore , @tja , @crony , @gonekrazy3000 ! I appreciate your replies! 🙏
You all recommend to give Modstep a try using it as a sequencer only. Because I was afraid it can be very unstable.
Modstep is on sale now with 50% off. So I just purchased the app. I’m curious... 😎
It’s a great app. One of my favorite sequencers on iOS.