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.
Solo playing/improvising with the iPad?
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Hello
I'm new to this forum. It seems to be a very supportive community.
Some years ago I used to play bass. I used to record my jam sessions with a regular tape-recorder. I was in a studio a couple of times.
I recently became again interested in music making because of 1, Roger Linn’s Linnstrument and 2, Animoog. The Linnstrument is a bit pricy so I bought a Launchpad Pro, which I exclusively use in note-mode (playing notes and chords, not as a launchpad - suk).
There is a lot of apps and information and I must say I’m a bit overwhelmed so I was hoping you guys could help me in how to achieve the following environment:
A MIDI controller (Novation Launchpad pro in note mode until I get the Linnstrument) to play/improvise on f.ex. Animoog while having a “band” consisting of rhythm, bass and harmony.
The focus is in
- playing notes rather than touching knobs. Playing/improvising over one chord, two chords or a full chord progression.
- keeping it all simple. Two or three sounds/apps at a time - think of Nils Frahm, Alva Noto + Ruychi Sakamoto or Violent Femmes first record, the 70’s punk bands…
I’d liked to avoid loop/sampling in the first place. Sequencers/arpegiators are welcomed. F.ex. I have played with Patterning (great song mode). B-step sequencer could be a tool, but then there is Xynthesizr, Ruismaker…
And then there is Audiobus, Aum… which one? (uh yeah, I'm in Aubiobus forum...)
I play music mainly for myself. Therefore, recording doesn’t have to be first class. I’d rather prefer to be able to get the “band” up and running and then improvise on it. Recording that performance in one go would be ok, without needing to concentrate too much on the production or post-editing parts. Garageband should be enough, or what?
I’d really appreciate any comment/suggestions. Thank you in advance.
Comments
TC-DATA with AUM and your choice of sound makers. Here's a screen recording of an AUM session with BeatHawk classic percussion pack, Zeeon, Poison-202. Just jamming on the snares in BH and atmosphere from the others.
For a start, get Audiobus3, Audiobus remote, AudioBus midi collection, AUM, some synths and midi apps like StepPolyArp etc
Secondly do crazy shit like this:
Then relax knowing that the world is a great place
This is Fugue Machine playing StepPolyArp playing one instance of Zeeon through and AU FX with another Zeeon playable as a one octave keyboard and access to all controls or a full screen keyboard.
Don't forget Animoog is designed to rock on its own
or Add Animoog to the Audiobus setup
One word: GeoShred!!!
Better than the Linnstrument.
Run, don’t walk. And I believe you can still grab it ON SALE.
note that geoshred is both an exquisite stringed instrument simulator but also a midi and a sorta mpe controller. geoshred is super great but no linnstrument replacement...
i would suggest starting with AUM, rozeta, geoshred, viking synth, ruismaker, and audioeffx. as you add instruments try very much to stick to audio units. if your musical tastes include electric pianos, i would add neo soul keys studio to the list. it might still be on sale.
you can record very nicely quantized clips in AUM you will then have to figure out how you want to mix and arrange the clips. you might choose auria or cubasis or garageband... i tried them and they are workable but i went on to use a daw on a pc.
Just try Garage Band for now. Once you outgrow that one, try the other stuff. Too many apps in the beginning of your iOS journey will just be confusing and frustrating. Also, you will probably waste money buying apps now if you don't know exactly what you need, but you will know with more experience. And if you already like Animoog, it has one of the best built -in keyboards already. And be sure to ask a lot of questions on here if you are getting stuck.
@Fruitbat1919, that looks very cool. But I have no idea what all you’re doing in there.
I can multi track record to my heart’s content, using a standard DAW setup, (Auria.) I can actually create midi tracks and get sound out of them. But man, some of the setups you folks use are just completely beyond me. Looks like fun, but not sure I have the time, budget or inclination to get that crazy. That being said, I love a good jam.
That’s why I want more apps to make sure they save settings within Audiobus when they release them. The more apps that save everything, the easier these setups become - just save and reload when needed
I still think running multiple iPads is my future to keep things simpler.
i forgot to mention KRFT, do have a look at it
KRFT is a very solid recommendation for this sort of thing for sure. Lots of power in one convenient location, not too complicated
Thing I meant by pushing Audiobus and AUM is not just for complex setups, but for simple setups too. I really do think both Audiobus (with the midi controller apps) and AUM with Rozeta are some of the most useful apps for anyone. If not strictly essential, they are very close to it!
I agree that is a great setup, but I would still recommend Garage Band for people who are new to iOS music. It's free, it has a super-deep menu sound choices and types, from foreign acoustic instruments to Alchemy Synth, It has AI drummers, amp sims, that cool new beatbox thingy, works as DAW or in a DJ launchpad mode, and it requires little connecting to the wider iOS environment so you can avoid all of that confusion for now and focus on making some music first. And I forgot to mention all of the cool touch instrument interfaces, as well as chord playing and auto-playing. It covers nearly everything you can do on iOS while being self contained and quite easy to figure out. It has to be the greatest free app ever.
While I agree it’s a great free app that does so much, it has limitations within the ‘communicating with others’ arena - for this reason I personally wouldn’t recommend it beyond getting it because ‘hey it’s free’
Feel free to put a set up using it on my other thread about such topics
For recording some hook lines plus then improvising over it, ROLI Noise might be a choice. The playing surface on the touchscreen is even similar to the Linnstrument. With a smaller range of just 2 octaves though,
Garageband is a solid choice. I also like KRFT in this case, to combine the sequencer and the live playing surfaces in one package.
Hi, first of all, thank you very much for the feedback. All of it. I don’t know if I can answer to everyone but I’ll try.
I should say that I’m not completely new to iOS Music. It is just that there are so many options that I got lost in the way. I’ve tried GarageBand and, yes, it is a really good app for the money. Lots of good sounds… but it is oriented to recording and I play (fool around) 95% of the time.
As @db909 says, Animoog rocks on its own. The keyboard is very expressive, the sounds… well, no comment but this is where I miss a simple backing track, a rhythm… (and piano-like hand coordination is not my strength).
I did some research after reading your answers and I begin to see how AUM and Audiobus can help me fill that gap. So today I have purchased a couple of apps, which I am going to play with. So far, I think I’m covered with Animoog, Arturia iMini, Patterning, Poly (a nice and different sequencer), Layr (amazing synth) and a little experimental one, Springsound. AUM and Audioshare to start with. Audiobus is coming as soon as I get how AUM works.
@Moderndaycompiler: TC-Data seems really interesting. I’ll add it to my list.
@Fruitbat1919: I guess some day I’ll understand what’s in those pictures
@Lady_App_titude: I’ve played with GeoShred. Yes it is a good Linnstrument-substitute, but somehow it doesn’t convince me.
@wellingtonCres: I went to AUM when I read your answer about being able to record quantised clips in it. That’s all I need for the recording part right now. We’ll see what happens after that.
Roseta has got my interest and plays well AUM.
What sequencer can you recommend? I’ve been looking at Xynthesizr, B-Step and StepPolyArp (after seeing it in fruitbat’s pictures)
@CracklePot: you’re right, I wa (am) confused by so many apps and options. That’s why I decided to register in the forum and asked. I guess I’m going to be asking a few more questions
Noise, KRFT…
Once again, thank you very much for your help
@tiantong
Maybe I should get an art package and do one of those crazy cabling diagrams they used to supply with electronic instruments in the day of yore
Oh no, please. The screenshots are great. Just give me some time
Well as long as you always try to keep your audio cables crossing at a right angle to your mains cable, that mains hum won’t bother you! - O the days of chasing down mains hum and faulty cables makes iOS midi seem like child’s play lol
sequencing is the weak spot right now... bstep is broken and seemingly abandoned, fugure machine is utterly brilliant, modstep is powerful but has a strangely terrible ui, newcomer xequence is getting a lot of praise, steppolyarp is powerful with a clean ui... i am hoping rozeta continues to grow into something that eclipses them all
@tiantong Don't forget about the Live Loops part of Garage Band. You can build BG tracks really easily and quickly.
But if you are ready to move beyond GB, maybe Blocs Wave or Loopy would fill your needs better. There really is too many options, sheesh!
This is just my two cents, but I disagree very strongly with much of what's been written here.
I don't think people listened carefully to your request. They responded with "these are the absolute best music apps on the store and the apps I love using every day. I want to give you that gift, because you will enjoy using them."
But that wasn't your question, which you laid out so clearly. What you need is absolutely AUM. Maybe nothing else.
I think if you spend ten years and buy 200 apps, I believe you will eventually come round to using AUM for live improvisation. I have a zillion apps and have been composing music on computers since the 1980s, and that's what I do. It serves this specific purpose better than anything I have ever found in iOS or the computer over all these years.
Play Animoog on one track in AUM On a second track put a backing track to solo off of.
What should be the second track you solo off of?
If you do the in app purchase you can create a several part track in Animoog. Save it in Audioshare and then loop it in AUM. Done!
If you want to create your own chord progressions, I would recommend using an algorithmic composer, like Chordbot, Odesi, Tin Pan Rhythm, or one of the many SessionBand apps. You input your chords, choose a style and you're done. Navichord and Suggester also can generate chord patterns, but not really arrangements. If you want a more minimal track, you can remove parts. Output the file to audio in Audioshare, and then play it on a loop in AUM.
If you want to experiment with the unexpected music an iPad can generate, programs like Fugue Machine, Xynthesizer, Gestrument, and YouCompose will make very interesting music on their own, based on the parameters you choose for them, or, in some cases, the way you play them. You'll be involved, but it won't fully be your music. Either let the music play live into AUM or generate a file and loop it. But again, you will fall into the crevasse of fariting around with the complexities of the programs, which will distract you from what you said you wanted to do--improvising music.
There are many things you can add to AUM after you know it better. Add effects. Use the online keyboard.
But to start out with: keep it simple.
Again, just my two cents.
I agree with the recommendation to use AUM. I'd also recommend looking at Rozetta from Brambos (it's a suite of sequencers which can be used easily in AUM in very versatile ways). If his Arp doesn't work for you StepPolyArp is great.
Alternatively you could look at loopers
Depending upon the sound you're after there are a range of other apps that might be useful. Brambos' bass and drum apps are good if you want a dance sound.
Alternately DrumJam or DrumPerfect Pro might be exactly what you're looking for if you want more acoustic drum sounds.
In terms of instruments I'd add ThumbJam which has a lovely interface for playing sampled acoustic instruments, and TC-11 which has a very innovative interface for paying synthesizer sounds. And impaktor for synthesized drum sounds is also super interesting.
I also agree with using AUM. I use it live every single week (solo musician), and so far no problems while playing. And while learning there's nothing that I've not been able to figure out with all the help available.
I'll admit I've yet to use a session with tons of things going on, but I did a show this past weekend using four synth channels and three loop channels. I have some aspects mapped to my Novation controller, which makes things so much easier, and am still learning how deep AUM can go.
Though I feel I should look at AB3, as Michael makes good software. I love Loopy, and used it and AB2 for at least two years live, running through Mimix. But after switching to AUM things just seem to flow better for what I need to do. (And I still use Loopy.)
There is no good advice here. Just buy 75% of all music apps available in the store like the rest of us, and start from there :-)
Hi
Thank you all for your suggestions.
After posting my question here I had a time when I turned back to my Mac and Logic Pro but again in the new year gave the iPad a try. The reason is AU, which is the most intuitive and easy to get going with. As Reid says, "keep it simple".
As instruments I'm using Animoog, my favourite. I enjoy also a lot Klevgrand instruments (despite my hate/love relationship with them) and recently also Photophore, which I hope will get an update soon.
For rythms I have Patterning. I think it is a great drum app but honestly, I have trouble visualizing the circular rhythm (I guess I'm more a linear person). I tried DM2 but it seemed to me it couldn't handle well polyrhythms.
Rozeta is definetly on my list. Audio Damage's Axon 2 too.
Xynthesizr is my backing band. I only wished it had a song mode like Patterning has so I could put together different sections and let it run in the background. I am very interested in generative music. Maybe the music is not "mine" but I like the idea of not getting stucked in my own head. Sometimes inspiration comes also from machines (Xynthesizr surprised me with at very nice bass line when making chord changes on a random generated sequence)
Shoom is also great and not only for drone like music. It has a great playing surface. Again, not updated for a long time, I miss a way to record gestures (in other words, loop it)
Looping is also on my to-do list (I will look at the apps you suggest) but time is limited and the ipad's DSP peaks is driving me crazy. Time to look a posible solutions.