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.
Do I Need AB3?
AB2 is the first app I open whenever I intend to do anything music related. Has been from the beginning.
After literally months of buying AUM I finally got around to tooling with it and it was a revelation.
Now I open AUM in the input slot of AB, add all my instruments there to several channels as well as AU effects, send everything to the same mix bus and create a master volume on the last channel with the same mix bus as the input and a DAW in audio output which is also in the output slot of AB2.
I use this method to mix down tracks as well that I record mostly in Loopy and Group the Loop.
So, after that windy description my question to you friends is: do I need (or can I use) AB3?
If it will improve on the workflow I use now or offer more options, I'm all over it.
I'll also take any advice on how to further utilize AUM with this workflow. I'm a novice there.
Thanks in advance for any input.
Comments
If you have AUM and AB2 with not specific midi needs and focused in mixing busses, no.
AUM audio route is superior to AB3 meanwhile midi seems better in AB3 (for the compaible apps). Also if you need to improve midi in both scenarios take a look into midiflow standalone (for AUM) and dedicated plugs (for AB3).
Many apps need to get caught up with midi for AB3 I'm told. If you have AB2 you can continue to use it unless you feel compelled to get AB3. At least you'll get a mixer:) AB3 is a lot more complicated than AB2, that's a pro for some and a con for others.
@Dubbylabby. So specifically how would having midi benefit me. How do you use it?
FWIW, I bought AB3 in support of this forum, but haven’t used it much. The AUM AB2 and other apps route works best for me, as being a midiot, my use of that is sparing.
I try to do the following:
Start AUM and IAA Apps in AB3, start any AU in AUM.
I noticed, that AB3 MIDI is too restrictive in many cases, but you can still do everything yourself with MIDI, when just adding most stuff to the AB Audio Land.
Best of both worlds and state saving too
I am not sure in how far AB2 is different to AB3.
@Zen210507 and@tja. MIDI in the iOS world has been a mystery to me.
When AB3 launched I remember a midi keyboard splitter companion app that sounded intriguing. That I would use.
And state saving. Does AB2 do that? Are the parameters of each app and the arp settings being saved in the file? Most important the arp settings.
Audiobus 3 is an excellent way to use the MIDI effects and routing and have them saved as a preset. You can get the best of both worlds by hosting MIDI in Audiobus 3 and doing your more complex audio routings and mixing in AUM. You route your MIDI from Audiobus 3 directly into AUM you then connect the IAA ports in AUM wherever you want them to go. Save this as a preset in Audiobus 3 and when you load it up again it will automatically load the setup for all of the apps as long as they're AU or IAA with Audiobus 3 state savings hosted in Audiobus 3.
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Yes, providing the individual app supports this.
That’s midiflow plugs for AB3
Midiflow for Audiobus 3 – Powerful MIDI sender and effect apps de Johannes Doerr
https://itunes.apple.com/es/app-bundle/midiflow-for-audiobus-3-powerful-midi-sender-effect/id1220601072?mt=8
I have AUM, AB3 and midiflow standalone but not those. ATM I don’t need them but I was trying to point that these improve the midi experience if you need certain functions. If not, just go for AUM AB2 (but AB3 worth the money just for this amazing forum)
Audiobus 2 has no AU support nor any internal MIDI routing that can be saved with state savings. Audiobus 3 also has a built in audio mixer.
@Dubbylabby. I agree, worth the money for the tech support alone we get here. @InfoCheck. So it sounds like I could keep the workflow I'm using now with AB3 with the added benefit of true state saving and midi control.
Yes, plus be able to incorporate AU apps too. I do like the MIDI effect apps available in Audiobus 3 and the ability to recall the MIDI setup. I find having AUM do the audio hosting works out better than Audiobus unless there's some Audiobus remote function I need. If you have a sufficiently powerful iOS device you can even host multiple IAA apps which are in turn hosting their own apps and it all gets recalled via the Audiobus 3 state saving in the preset. With an app like Fugue Machine or the Ruismakers, you can have them start sending MIDI out with the Audiobus 3 start button which is very handy whereas this isn't always so straightforward in AUM.
That's what I was looking for. I have an Air2 so it should be able to handle most everything. Thanks for everyone's help. Side note: where has @sebastion been?