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
@Zen210507 I've made a Youtube video where I reconstruct the beginning of a popular pop (popopopopop) song here:
It's 18 minutes and you can get a good overview on how to do basic things with the app. There's also the manual, which covers many important concepts. But you're right, a generic "Overview" or "First steps" section should be added there.
Apart from that, it is very similar in concept and UI to the more traditional desktop sequencers like Cubase or Logic. If that helps...
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Splendid. I will watch with interest on the morrow.
I have a weird problem since the last update by the way. xequence is not capable of piloting Auria through midi unless auria is set in audiobus now. I don't understand why suddenly it doesn't work anymore.
I've just tried loading an empty project in Auria, adding a Lyra track, then adding an instrument in Xequence with Auria Pro as the MIDI destination on Channel 1, and it works as expected... are you sure "App Background Audio Mode" is turned on in Auria's settings?
Actually I reinstalled Xequence completely and it seems to work fine now. The app was having some weird behavior lately, like each time I was swapping to it, it was like restarting or something.
OK, that sounds like it crashed while in the background. I'm not sure why this would happen, the only reason I can think of is some weird / broken MIDI input. Glad you got it sorted now...
Check out the generative functions, coming soon
Hi Alex,
For sure AU are crazy cpu intensive, we’re still far from desktop efficiency and its VST format. I’ve found than only AUM is truly stable with AU and can allow for a good amount of AU fxs, but even with AUM Zeeon kills cpu. Gadget is much more optimized, so this make sense for developers to go all in one route. Add to this AU capabilities and it will have what Gadget and GarageBand lacks, and become an opened all in one app.
About audio engine, will it have daw capabilities too, with audio tracks? Cubasis doesn’t even have Link. We still need an universal daw too.
I could live without AU audio plugins (I'm very happy using AUM to host/mix), but AU midi plugins would be the bomb in xequence.
Sometimes I'm not sure why these performance issues exist. It's either: 1) developer lazyness (non-optimized coding, using pre-existing frameworks, etc.) 2) the modern synths sound just SO good that it's impossible to create that sound without using a supercomputer (but then again, one would have to start thinking if SUCH a GOOD sound is even detectable by any listener!, or 3) the hardware performance isn't there. That's obviously not the case, because even in 2003 with my P4 3GHz, I could run a kazillion synths that sounded like a spaceship and they wouldn't bog the computer down.
Yeah yeah I know, I think in much too simple terms... It's my trademark though
@Janosax and regarding audio tracks, that would be on the roadmap, but only later on... first, the audio engine would concentrate on the internal modular synth, mixer, and effects. But the modular synth would include a "Sample player" node anyway, so that's something.
I’m not in the fold yet, but definetly would be persuaded by the internal synth idea
I get you now about the internal synth. It sure does seem like good stuff should be able to be accomplished with less overhead, and that would be cool if there was something versatile built in.
My comments were about building in internal AU and IAA hosting. That is the black hole that has seemed to suck up so much developer resources and bring innovation to its knees. I look at the momentum shift (as far as innovation goes) in ModStep, Cubasis, Auria (ModStep being the most profound), and the source of the most bugs in BM3, attributable to IAA and AU support and it seems painfully obvious what an unrewarding path that must be.
Easy for me to say with no skin in the game! I'll shut up now.
@wim no need to shut up
Call me old-fashioned, but yeah, I still think having a well-designed, tightly integrated all-in-one package is the most stable and desirable way to go... at least as long as iOS support for AUv3 is not completely rock-solid and well-documented, and AU synths suck resources like crazy. (yes yes I get it it sounds great!!)
@SevenSystems
I’ve had the chance to really dive into Xequence the past 3 days and wanted to say what a great job you’ve done. This is the best midi editor since NanoStudio. Much is familiar to the piano roll of NanoStudio, all of the good stuff that made it fun and easy to use.
I’m aware that importing multiple midi clips into a single project is coming soon, which will be welcome.
One, (maybe simple) thing I would like to request is that the midi clips list has the option to be displayed in date order. As currently, needing to import multiple clips from Gadget, they all have different names and require searching for. A date order option would make them all top of the list and easy to find. Especially with so many clips already imported.
Super happy with the app. Cheers!
Or even better, allow us to create folders? Tags?
@SevenSystems i’m really interested in the xequence app. But I was wondering if the app has a socalled drum or percussion mode whereby double hits are recorded in the sequencer even when overlapping (eg when tapping a single drumpad with a second finger without having released the first finger first). Beatmaker3 eg doesn’t record those double hits (typical when doing drum rolls also). The reason is that a note is only recorded when the note off message is received on that same note, so a second hit on the same pad is ignored if the note off of the first hit hasn’t been received. I was hoping, as there is a new implementation of drumpads, that your app would register this well.
Do you mean via hardware ?
Just tested and it works fine via the pads on the touchscreen.
@SpookyZoo thanks and glad you're happy with Xequence's approach to editing!
Yes, I'm planning to add a simple "Import MIDI file at song position" option into the "+" menu soon, just missing a general concept on how to deal with the imported data in that context.
You're right, an option to sort the filebrowser by date would be most welcome. It's technically quite easy to do, but the main question is where to fit the user interface elements for it on the 4" iPhone screen
(this is now probably the biggest question for ANY new feature). I'm putting it on the shortlist though!
Folder support for the filebrowser is already on the roadmap, and should be implemented in one of the next updates.
That's an interesting request, I'll put it on the roadmap... currently, Xequence works the same as Beatmaker and only records notes on NoteOff, but I see how what you described could be useful (even in "normal" keyboard mode). If the same note is touched again with a second finger while the first is still touching it, there should probably be a NoteOff, immediately followed by another NoteOn (i.e., the note gets "sliced" in the pianoroll editor).
Good stuff. Thanks!
Indeed, a note off should be send each time a new note on message is sent. In fact this is standard sequencing behaviour for drumpads. When doing finger triggering of beats, notes are always overlapping when doing drumrolls, or double taps, etc. So for pad oriented apps it’s kind of a design flaw, eg BM3 (you can hear those triggered notes well in BM3, but they are just not recorded). I know modstep allows for this in its drum mode. On the desktop eg Ableton Live allows for this In its standard mode. On IOS, if you like a more linear midi sequencing workflow then Modstep (like your app) this is sadly missing at the moment. I have a keith mcmillen Boppad at the moment, and this simply can’t be recorded in any of the standard (linear) sequencers on IOS. If this could make it to your app, I would be happy to buy it straight away and, I imagine a lot of drumpad players (external as well as on-screen pads) will follow. Just kindly bumping this request however
@charleso yes I hear ya. I'm trying to squeeze this into the next update if it's technically feasible.
@SevenSystems Thanks a lot! I love the audiobus forum for these kind of open interactions with appmakers like you. Great times for musicians on iOS (if it wasn’t for Apple’s somewhat incessant update/new feature policy).
@charleso yes good times. If I remember my analog 48-CH console from 2002 which filled an entire room, together with racks of outboard stuff and synths, and a mile of cables, and I can now do MORE on a battery-powered device the size of a matchbox... technology has really come a long way
I remember sequencing on an Amiga 500, and indeed hundreds of cables beneith the desk, changing the studio setup would cost about a day reconnecting everything. And synths as expensive as cars. Nowadays you grab the phone on the subway and all’s there on a wink. Oh nostalgia
(mind the Behringer stuff -- I was still young!
)
We’ve all been behringered someday
but I’m looking forward to there new Neutron synth!
I guess you do mean via hardware then lol, thanks for replying hahaha.
I’m sorry, missed your first comment. But I meant by hardware as well as the pads on the touchscreen. I just tried it again in BM3 and it doesn’t record a second hit on the same pad when the first hit hasn’t been released yet (eg when using two fingers one after the other). This is recorded as one long note, starting from the beginning of the first hit ‘till the end of the second hit. This has been mentioned on the BM forum as well. Can you try to replicate this for certainty?
@charleso: Just as a heads up, I can confirm that retriggering the same pad / key with multiple fingers will work correctly in the next update, due in the next few weeks.
Great news! Really looking forward to this.