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.
zMors Modular vs ?
Thinking of picking this up on sale... but so far I've failed miserably to get beyond the basics of modular using Model 15, Ops, and Audulus 3. I know more than I did a year ago for sure, but haven't quite had that "eureka" moment where it all starts to make since.
That being said, if I'm not getting over the initial hump on the road to modular synthesis mastery with the 3 modulars I already have, will it likely be a waste of time with a similar learning curve with zMors Modular? Or, have some of you found the zMors Modular interface easier to click with?
Comments
I’ve definitely found it easier to click with. I have the others, and reflexively buy any modulars that appear, but zMors is the easiest space for me to work in.
I now Audulus 3 is powerful. I've also got the desktop version, and I've heard some stunning and complicated work created with it, but I haven't been able to cross the threshold from beginner to even solid novice yet. zMors looks to be a real bargain at $5 and doesn't take up too much space. So, I'll likely take the plunge.
What I'm hoping for, is one modular app that somehow breaks the initial learning hurdle and makes the others easier to go deeper into as well.
Is Ripplemaker a good one to try for learning the fundamentals? Because I just got it, and Model-15 was giving me a headache. I was hoping to learn Ripplemaker first to ease into the crazy Model-15 level of modulars.
The S-Modular currently on sale for $1.99 is a good beginner's modular. Everything is on one page. No scrolling, no menus (also no midi and no keyboard input--nothing but a four step sequencer). It's like a very simple rack modular. I love this thing for its simplicity.
My guess would be yes. I was on the beta for that one, but only on the tail end. It's the only Brambos I didn't own yet, so I nabbed it on sale. And, I think there's just enough there that might be helpful getting over the hump because there aren't that many combinations and you can get positive/negative feedback quickly to hear what's working and what isn't. Good idea!
I was going to ask about that one. Wondered if it was just too basic to bother with. I think ultimately I'd like to go down the rabbit hole with modular hardware, but I want to use the iOS modular apps as sort of a training platform before investing any money in hardware. I've read that can get extremely expensive quickly, and I'd like to at least have a clue what I'm doing first with just beyond the basic concepts. It's also possible I'm making this more complicated than it really is. I do that sometimes I've found.
@skiphunt I got Phasemaker to help me figure out FM synths better as well. I read that it was a good one for that, and it seems to make sense so far. Trying Scythe for learning Wavetable synths, too. Hope my brain doesn't melt!
it looked cool except for its lack of interconnectivity. (no core midi...)
the king-high bargain in this realm is KQ Minisynth, which is IAA, and AUx, and is rack style with tons of nice presets to reverse engineer. Its not as extensive as Audulus or zMors but it’ll get you quite a ways. $6.
for me the reverse engineering method has been the most helpful, and there’s something about the gui, and the presets that are included that make zMors the best way in for me. The presets that ship with zMors, and the ones that are available for download from his site, are the most interesting and intriguing of the modulars out there. (to me) i’m setting aside Model 15 - it’s a must have in my view even if you never program.
Ripplemaker is another must-have. it’s so easy to play in, and innocently make cool stuff happen. I think the dev wanted to make Buchla style synthesis available to ios (“West Coast” synthesis) in which patches play themselves (burble and bleep along on their own), but that’s not at all the only thing it does. Any one of these including Ripplemaker could occupy your programming soul for years....
One of the reviews mentioned being able to host other modulars within this modular... which intrigues me. The interface doesn't look terribly intimidating, and I think I too would like to toss a few shekels to encourage this developer. I think I'm going for it, but I might wait until after "black friday" is officially over, since I also wanted to take part in this:
http://abillionpeople.org
Ok, so I also have KQ and a couple others I didn't mention... but since you've bought almost all of them, you think zMors Modular is "the best way in"?
KQ Minisynth is currently on sale for $3.99, too, so what ur y'all waitin' fer?
holy crap - $6 is already a steal...
I found the zmors interface lacked room to manoeuvre in.
And I go and buy all this other stuff and then find myself drawn back to Su_Vo_ it's dirt cheap, free on desktop, runs everywhere, is really light on CPU and sounds even better with the latest update.
No doubt regarding SunVox. And, I don't really find it very intimidating at all at this point. It's just not a "fun" interface. But, if I remember to use Pixitracker for the sequencing... then export out and open in SunVox, it can be pretty sweet.
Ok, this looks cool, complex, and interesting... but to be honest... it also gives me pause because the first impression is as intimidating as Audulus 3 for me. But, I like the visual representation of other apps within the network. Still intrigued, even though having to take half a step back to re-evaluate whether or not it's out of my league.
Wow, we think alike. I just picked up Pixitracker for pretty much the same export to SunVox feature. Well, it's actually a ton of fun on it's own too.
Who am I kidding? I already drank all the already opened wine leftover from thanksgiving... am somewhat loaded... and irresponsible app buying of apps that I may or may not ever completely master is irrelevant. It looks cool, potentially powerful, and cheap. I think I'm in. lol
I LOVE everything Zolotov does. No question. All his stuff is on-sale now. The ONLY one I didn't already own is the Nature Oscillator, so I grabbed that one. And such a sweet, weird, and useful app that is! I think that comrade is an absolute, bona fide genius.
I didn't polish up the leftover vino because I "needed" it.. but, because what the guests brought over was better than the boxed stuff I usually drink
and I didn't want it to go to waste. lol
The interface to zMors Modular looks a bit more intuitive to me for some reason. Just from a design perspective only. I'm going to nab it for sure. I regretted not buying it the last time. So, it'll be fun to see if this is "the one" that makes the modular logic click with me. Thanks for the the nudge!
I have been playing around with Nature Oscillator on my phone for a while now. It seemed kinda one-trick at first, but if you take the time to explore a lot of different combinations of settings, you should find it is pretty versatile. I have thought of using its sound in Sparkle or as a carrier in a vocoder type setup, but haven't gotten to it yet. It also could be used for pads or Borderlands or even trying it in Scythe as an imported wavetable. I'm sure you will find it fun and useful.
Wow, that looks pretty sick! Is it hosting AU inside, or can it do any IAA instruments? It's crazy seeing other synth apps sitting in there like modules. I had no idea that was an available option.
Thanks for speaking up, this is an excellent run down. (didn’t know the cut/copy trick for modules).
there are times when i feel like zMors would be sufficient for the desert island all by itself, that if i learned enough, zMors could do it all.
@skiphunt if you're willing to look past iOS only, Go grab the excellent VCVrack. It's opensource and at the excellent price of FREE.
People are converting tons of actual hardware modules and the current count is at 140+...
A demo of what it can do:-
It actually stopped me from buying more synths during Black Friday. Was surprised myself
There's hundreds of videos out at this point with songs people are creating using only it. Myself I've actually routed it into ableton to basically turn it in a modular monster. I'm having a blast
Oh cool. I do want to have something on the iPad, and zMors Mod at $5 looks worth the gamble... But I’m going to dive into this VCV rack stuff too. For the desktop, this definitely looks like what I’m after. I like that the modules look similar to hardware modules, so I’m guessing the learning will transfer. Thanks!!!