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.

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Why does Gadget sound terrible to me?

edited August 2017 in General App Discussion

I fired up NanoStudio for the first time in a while since I dismissed it in the early days for probably stupid reasons that no longer exist in my brain and was immediately blown away by the quality of the sounds. They sound very organic and inspiring whereas Gadget, to me, sounds lifeless and plastic. And it's always been this way, I just didn't want to admit it because I spent a lot of money on Gadget and it and Korg have a good pedigree and all the hype. I figured it was "user error". But I must admit to myself I don't like the sound at all. Probably why I have never finished a single track in Gadget. What could be the cause of this? Is there some under the hood process, that can make one digital sound inspiring and another dull? It would be nice to nail down the exact quality of sounds I prefer with specifics as I'm sure it would for most.

Furthermore, I wonder how often all of us may have become frustrated with an app, believing we didn't know how to use it properly, when the truth was that some elusive quality of the sound just didn't gel with our senses at all.

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Comments

  • This is very subjective, to the point where I’m not sure if it’s worth talking about it in depth as everyone will just state their opinion.
    But here it goes:

    I love gadget, the way it sounds and specially the way it works.

    Checking my iPad I have 250 complete gadget projects and 10 nanostudio projects (7 of those are incomplete)

  • @Lacm1993 said:
    This is very subjective, to the point where I’m not sure if it’s worth talking about it in depth as everyone will just state their opinion.
    But here it goes:

    I love gadget, the way it sounds and specially the way it works.

    Checking my iPad I have 250 complete gadget projects and 10 nanostudio projects (7 of those are incomplete)

    Yeah it's definitely subjective I'll admit. I'm sure the answer lies in the specifics of each sound engines algorithms or whatever, stuff most of us probably wouldn't understand.

  • You are not alone...

    I deleted Gadget yesterday...for the second time in my gadget career...last time was pre v2.0
    I haven't used Gadget in a couple of months and since Groovebox I haven't opened another iOS synth.....
    I think the full versions of the Korg synths (iM1, Odyssei and iWavestation) sound better than the Gadget versions...maybe just my perception though, or perhaps the Gadget mixer is the 'tamer'....
    However, I will miss Gladstone and Madrid, I wish they were available as stand alones too.

  • The characteristics of sounds can indeed get you to finish a project. I don't have a dog in this fight, as I do not have Gadget or Nanostudio. I have amassed an embarrassing amount of synths in the short time that I've been using IOS music apps. Part of why I haven't gotten Gadget is that it's a closed / semi closed system (as is Garage Band). Rational or not, i want to have access to the entire toybox.

  • @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

  • @db909 said:

    @Lacm1993 said:
    This is very subjective, to the point where I’m not sure if it’s worth talking about it in depth as everyone will just state their opinion.
    But here it goes:

    I love gadget, the way it sounds and specially the way it works.

    Checking my iPad I have 250 complete gadget projects and 10 nanostudio projects (7 of those are incomplete)

    Yeah it's definitely subjective I'll admit. I'm sure the answer lies in the specifics of each sound engines algorithms or whatever, stuff most of us probably wouldn't understand.

    There are certain apps that some people swear by that I just don't like the sound of. Animoog and Alchemy come to mind. So yes - definitely subjective and maybe that's why I never use Gadget. And of course my ears ain't what they used to be... :D

  • Here's another wish for Madrid as a standalone.
    It may be heresy, but I really hate the workflow and don't care for most of the sound of Gadget.

  • @db909 said:
    @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

    Does it have midi in yet?

  • edited August 2017

    @oat_phipps said:

    @db909 said:
    @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

    Yeah, I think that apart from sounding awesome it is because they concentrate on the important things and are not bloated with unnecessary and seldom used fluff.

    Does it have midi in yet?

    Not yet but its coming :)

  • @AndyPlankton said:
    You are not alone...

    I deleted Gadget yesterday...for the second time in my gadget career...last time was pre v2.0
    I haven't used Gadget in a couple of months and since Groovebox I haven't opened another iOS synth.....
    I think the full versions of the Korg synths (iM1, Odyssei and iWavestation) sound better than the Gadget versions...maybe just my perception though, or perhaps the Gadget mixer is the 'tamer'....
    However, I will miss Gladstone and Madrid, I wish they were available as stand alones too.

    So interesting! You definitely know your own tastes. But Gladstone and Madrid I find to sound so heavily Adult Contemporary — and therefore completely unusable. I do like Groovebox a lot, but it lacks the ability to build up a track easily.

  • @AndyPlankton said:

    @oat_phipps said:

    @db909 said:
    @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

    Yeah, I think that apart from sounding awesome it is because they concentrate on the important things and are not bloated with unnecessary and seldom used fluff.

    Does it have midi in yet?

    Not yet but its coming :)

    Do we expect the midi in to be velocity sensitive? The velocity in the piano roll has me worried

  • @AndyPlankton said:

    @oat_phipps said:

    @db909 said:
    @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

    Yeah, I think that apart from sounding awesome it is because they concentrate on the important things and are not bloated with unnecessary and seldom used fluff.

    Does it have midi in yet?

    Not yet but its coming :)

    Can't wait.
    MIDI in will be great.

  • So is NanoStudio going to be updated for iOS 11or the sequel released before then?

  • @db909 said:

    @AndyPlankton said:

    @oat_phipps said:

    @db909 said:
    @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

    Yeah, I think that apart from sounding awesome it is because they concentrate on the important things and are not bloated with unnecessary and seldom used fluff.

    Does it have midi in yet?

    Not yet but its coming :)

    Do we expect the midi in to be velocity sensitive? The velocity in the piano roll has me worried

    I am wondering the same thing, I guess we will have to wait and see. Novation have a large line of controllers available and it would be 'interesting' if velocity sensitivity was not part of the equation.

  • @db909 said:
    So is NanoStudio going to be updated for iOS 11or the sequel released before then?

    I am also wondering, but have not seen an official statement.
    That transition period would also be a fantastic time to release Eden as a standalone (hint! hint!)

  • As someone who has not used synths much before, I find that the overwhelming number of choices I now have for sounds, between everything that is in Auria, Animoog, Model 15, Beathawk and Sampletank, boggles my mind when I'm choosing. I'm finding that sounds I like don't necessarily blend with the rest of the piece I'm working on, or my style of writing/composition just doesn't suit certain styles. Plus, just flipping through banks of presets trying to find something that approximates what I'm looking for, my ear goes numb after a while. A lot of this is sheer inexperience with synth sounds. But it certainly points how how subjective the experience is; when you have a million choices, choosing one tone is often harder and more annoying than writing the piece in the first place. :D

  • @rickwaugh said:
    As someone who has not used synths much before, I find that the overwhelming number of choices I now have for sounds, between everything that is in Auria, Animoog, Model 15, Beathawk and Sampletank, boggles my mind when I'm choosing. I'm finding that sounds I like don't necessarily blend with the rest of the piece I'm working on, or my style of writing/composition just doesn't suit certain styles. Plus, just flipping through banks of presets trying to find something that approximates what I'm looking for, my ear goes numb after a while. A lot of this is sheer inexperience with synth sounds. But it certainly points how how subjective the experience is; when you have a million choices, choosing one tone is often harder and more annoying than writing the piece in the first place. :D

    Nails it.

  • @AndyPlankton said:
    You are not alone...

    I deleted Gadget yesterday...for the second time in my gadget career...last time was pre v2.0
    I haven't used Gadget in a couple of months and since Groovebox I haven't opened another iOS synth.....

    However, I will miss Gladstone and Madrid, I wish they were available as stand alones too.

    Oddly enough, I'm seriously considering the same deletion, and for much the same reasons. Gadget is very clever and versatile within its limits. But everything ever made with it sounds like Gadget, and I've come to the conclusion that it's not a sound I want or like.

    Gladstone and Madrid aside.

    If it stays on my iPad it will be for those modules, but even then I'd have to get into a workflow of using those only, and exporting to apps I enjoy using more and have been far more productive with, such as Blocs Wave.

    If Groovebox got Midi out, maybe I could use that to control Gladstone and Madrid?

  • @ExAsperis99 said:

    @AndyPlankton said:
    You are not alone...

    I deleted Gadget yesterday...for the second time in my gadget career...last time was pre v2.0
    I haven't used Gadget in a couple of months and since Groovebox I haven't opened another iOS synth.....
    I think the full versions of the Korg synths (iM1, Odyssei and iWavestation) sound better than the Gadget versions...maybe just my perception though, or perhaps the Gadget mixer is the 'tamer'....
    However, I will miss Gladstone and Madrid, I wish they were available as stand alones too.

    So interesting! You definitely know your own tastes. But Gladstone and Madrid I find to sound so heavily Adult Contemporary — and therefore completely unusable. I do like Groovebox a lot, but it lacks the ability to build up a track easily.

    I guess the gladstone/madrid thing comes from being a lover of rock, reggae, punk and ska....although that being said I am conflicted, with hip (and trip) hop, dubstep, and a bit of grime drifting into my musical hemisphere.

    Groovebox is in it's infancy, it will get there in terms of features, just like blocs wave did.

  • @ExAsperis99 said:
    I do like Groovebox a lot, but it lacks the ability to build up a track easily.

    So far. I believe that will come along.

  • edited August 2017

    @AndyPlankton said:

    @oat_phipps said:

    @db909 said:
    @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

    Yeah, I think that apart from sounding awesome it is because they concentrate on the important things and are not bloated with unnecessary and seldom used fluff.

    Does it have midi in yet?

    Not yet but its coming :)

    If the Groovebox update adds cc mapping to all the synth parameters I will be gobsmacked and not regret getting the synth iaps but something tells me it may just be note input.

    (Oh and as for the sound of Gadget, yah I am not a fan of the Korg sound unless creative external fx are driving.)

  • @Zen210507 said:

    @AndyPlankton said:
    You are not alone...

    I deleted Gadget yesterday...for the second time in my gadget career...last time was pre v2.0
    I haven't used Gadget in a couple of months and since Groovebox I haven't opened another iOS synth.....

    However, I will miss Gladstone and Madrid, I wish they were available as stand alones too.

    Oddly enough, I'm seriously considering the same deletion, and for much the same reasons. Gadget is very clever and versatile within its limits. But everything ever made with it sounds like Gadget, and I've come to the conclusion that it's not a sound I want or like.

    Gladstone and Madrid aside.

    If it stays on my iPad it will be for those modules, but even then I'd have to get into a workflow of using those only, and exporting to apps I enjoy using more and have been far more productive with, such as Blocs Wave.

    If Groovebox got Midi out, maybe I could use that to control Gladstone and Madrid?

    The acoustic drum kit in Groovebox isn't a bad replacement for Gladstone, and of course there is DPP/Funk Drummer/Rock Drum Machine etc...nothing yet to compare with Madrid though....guess I'll have to break open the bass guitar case.

  • I'm gonna dive into NanoStudio. I can't even fathom why I dismissed it earlier. Probably had no idea what I wanted or needed and was confused. That TRG sampler tho. Filled with groovebox loops.

  • @Zen210507 said:

    @ExAsperis99 said:
    I do like Groovebox a lot, but it lacks the ability to build up a track easily.

    So far. I believe that will come along.

    Hope so, although I could see Ampify leaving the sequencing to apps like Blocs or Launchpad. Wait — is Blocs Wave still Blocs Wave? Or did it get a new name too?

  • @db909 said:
    So is NanoStudio going to be updated for iOS 11or the sequel released before then?

    I think I'm right in saying NS1 will no longer be updated. I hope Matt will get NS2 to us before iOS 11 drops. NS1 was the first app I finished anything in. BM3 didn't suit me at all, but I'm very excited to see what's in store for us with NS2.

  • edited August 2017

    Been a really long time since I had the Gadge on the device. For various reasons I prefer Caustic and now Groovebox. The Korg standalone synths I dig too.

  • Gadget still sounds great to me! And for finishing tracks on iOS, there's nothing else like it- i woulda bailed on iOS a long time ago if not for gadget. To each their own!

  • @AudioGus said:

    @AndyPlankton said:

    @oat_phipps said:

    @db909 said:
    @AndyPlankton yeah Groovebox definitely has whatever X factor with sound I prefer. I mostly just enjoy programming it's synths.

    Yeah, I think that apart from sounding awesome it is because they concentrate on the important things and are not bloated with unnecessary and seldom used fluff.

    Does it have midi in yet?

    Not yet but its coming :)

    If the update adds cc mapping to all the synth parameters I will be gobsmacked and not regret getting the synth iaps but something tells me it may just be note, modwheel and pitchbend.

    Reading between the lines I suspect the same.
    CC's = automation...the two are closely interlinked and there is currently no automation, they have said MIDI In, but not said Automation.

    BUT...... as Novation have such a large line of controllers, coupled with the fact that the synth's were designed with Novation synth engineers, whose synths are renowned for their controller support, it is hard to imagine that CC's/Automation are not on the to-do list somewhere.

  • @Zen210507 said:

    @AndyPlankton said:
    You are not alone...

    Gadget is very clever and versatile within its limits. But everything ever made with it sounds like Gadget...

    I'm a Gadget fan, but this is a real problem. I think there's a sweet spot where a quick, innovative sketch in Gadget suddenly turns and becomes A Gadget Track™.

    I'm trying to train myself to extract the idea and get it into Cubasis or alongside Modstep for further development.

  • edited August 2017

    I have thought this for a while as well- I often think that Chicago sounds like a duck beatboxing. Though I do use many parts of Gadget for building my audio clips to mix. I have also suspected for a while that Korg are holding back with the updates and improvements- until the competition show that they are catching up- as some sort off marketing/ stay ahead of the game ploy.
    I will now be checking out NanoStudio as an option- having never had I'd before.

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