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.
Egoist, someone talk me out of it please.
I am very new to all of this. Saying that, I have spent a lot on apps in a short time. I am also reliving a lot of stress doing this, kind of a therapy of sorts. I have had Egoist in my wish list for some time now and have been on the fence because most of the more costly apps (over $20) have really impressed me. I have also seen that according to its history it could be dropping in price soon. ( fingers crossed but not coming soon enough ) So my question, is it that impressive? I don't see a lot of chatter around here about it like I do Gadget or the like. So I leave it to the experts, to talk me into or out of it. What's your true feelings about this app? Do you use it or is it a novelty?
Thank you for any thoughts.
Dave
Comments
I have used it a lot. I will again use it a lot. It is my kind of thing, but not for everyone.
What music are you into?
Love it. Unique. Don't use it every ten minutes, but appreciate it much when I do...
Unique is the word, deep and fun are a couple other words. Welcome to the candy store @JudgeDredd
It's....different. You have the loop/slicer section, which is fairly extensive in terms of how you can sequence the slices. You have a basic drum machine and a monophonic synth. You got 6-7 effects in the fx section with its own sequencer (ala Effectrix and similar). There's really nothing else quite like it, which, if you get along with it, should lead to both inspiration and happy accidents. To me it's one of those apps that is just...fun. It's basically a box of funnies and you should totally buy it. Buy it.
It's insane. I don't use it all the time but when I do it amazing.
Can't really add much that hasn't been well said previously. But here's one thing: if I have a track that's a bit flat, I can throw it into Egoist and it's guaranteed to liven things up. Essential for me.
There's nothing else quite like it on iOS. It's fun to use, sounds great and if you dig into the pattern arrangement features and hook up a midi keyboard it can be a very powerful performance tool. I really like the sound of the bass synth and the effects are a joy to use.
I often find myself just using the bass synth or the drum machine, love how you can nudge notes around in the sequencer and with swing midi mapped it's a nice little groovebox.
Ok quick question. Do you have Beatmaker 3? I only ask because, if I only had $20.00 bucks to spend me i would buy BM3 over Egoist...which I truly love and think is totally brilliant...and surprises and delights me like no other app...
I see the power of all my sugarbytes app but Im still to be able to tame any of them. I was going to try and get into Turnado and got distracted, cyclop absolutely nowhere despite loads of youtube tutes and not even thinking about going back. Egoist is probably the most accessible, still deep but for me requires a little less time to get to understand it.
Like previously mentioned the midi out options for the cool bass sequencer, famous slicer and effectrix style fx sequencer make it a dream to create with. The tracks, sections and song selectors help you become organised. Pop in your 8 bars of lead and it will help you make a whole tune. It has made the most actioned packed tunes Ive made due to the effects sequencer.
@JudgeDredd I waited for a sale, loved having the patients to get it cheap. Have you watched all the yt vids and read the manual while your wait for the price to drop? Its worth the money and sugarbytes recently added link so no reason to think they will abandon on us anytime soon
And once you get hooked on it on iOS the VST version is even awesomer as you can run multiple instances of it!
Oh man, hadn't even thought of this.
I do have BM3 and Thor, Mood, Phosphor, Magellan, Animoog, Sunrizer, Addictive Pro, SynthScaper, LayR, Kasper, Cubasis, Auria Pro, Remixlive, BeatHawk, and so on and so on...
I really like creating crazy Dubstep stuff. So you guys have sucked at talking me out of it.
But I thank you for all your comments.
I love it. Very fun. But everything I do with it ends up sounding like an ode to Egoist. Worth it, but you may get more actual song writing mileage out of something like ReSlice.
On a good PC Daw (I use Samplitude) it absolutely explodes out of the confines of sounding 'Egoisty' and becomes a super wicked highly flexible tool. Several versions spread across a few monitors, automated and sequenced by the daw, yum!
Yup, I got that too. LOL and Samplr, SampleWiz, Gadget, Looper, DM2, Patterning, Elastic Drums, your getting the idea now right, ya my wife is really starting to wonder.... When is enough, enough?
My name is Dave and I am addicted to Music Apps. /hi Dave (from the un-excited crowd that has heard this 1000 times)/
@JudgeDredd Cyclop is kinda purpose built for dubstep. Just sayin.
Egoist is a multi-level work of greatness: The slicer is endless fun and adventure. The ultra-simple yet ultra-awesome Drum section plus Bass sequencer are (to me) an app within the app and there's the FX section applicable to all of the above in sequencer-grid form. Egoist is a must.
Pretty awesome with KRFT too...
Second this... BeatMaker 3 is king!
This post is funny because I've had Egoist in my wish list for awhile...until today. Got some iTunes cards from work and I took the plunge, and now have all the SugarBytes apps. I highly recommend Thesys and Turnado too! And I also agree that BM3 is just as good a purchase if you don't have it.
Do it man, you won't be disappointed. I just jammed out for like 2 hours with it. My mind is sliced open...
@AudioGus - curious about that.. How are you using it in KRFT? I tried to control Egoist with KRFT, but am having no luck.
I used KRFT to switch patterns, trigger slices as well as modulate fx parameters. Worked well with the Turnado dictator hooked up to. I think I may still have a public KRFT surface posted. You will need to do the midi learn in Egoist yourself of course. Lately I have just been full on Bm3 though.
Thanks - hadn't about it from a Midilearn perspective.
Egoist reminds me sooo much of Steven Duda's Molar, a max msp patch for monome. I love it, especially since i sold my monome years ago. Definitely with some sort of controller to reap the bennies.
I only wish the the effectix section of it was excactly like effectrix. All it's missing is the decay section, but that's what would make it much more flexible and sound a little less egoisty.
I love Egoist - as lots of others have said - don't use it much but love and appreciate it when I do. Turnado and Cyclop are another two very good SB apps.
If I had to choose between Egoist and BM3? Has to be BM3, as it just does so much. If you can afford both though I'd say go for it.
Egoist has transient detection and randomize buttons galore. BM3 is deeper and wider in many ways but lacks these two features that make a quick, easy sliced-up rhythm track. Reslice also fits the bill here...
U know you want it. Give in and buy it.
Agree with this 100%. It's like telecaster through an octave pedal. SO cool to mess around with. Never actually makes it into a song.
YET.
One thing I wish Egoist had was three audio outs instead of just one. Otherwise, great for making songs.
Using Egoist with Blocs Wave is the most basic and productive workflow I've come across on this platform; the two complement each other brilliantly. Great for noodling around and jamming. And, when something happens that's too good to just discard, drop the lot into Cubasis.
On its own, I find Egoist the most versatile app on iOS. I can have 5 minutes of fun dropping in a loop, hitting every randomise button and seeing what comes out, or it can create a full track and everything in between. I would say it's one of my top 3 favourite apps.