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.
Is there a reason there are no good Multi-Samplers for iOS yet?
Obvious answer: because they haven't been developed yet.
In all seriousness though. I bought my first iPad about 4 years ago, primarily to use wavetable and other digital synthesis methods along side a hardware setup. Slowly I got pulled in, and began discovering all kinds unique fx processors, sequencers, and midi utilities. From the outset I was hopeful for a true multi sampler with synthesis functionality, ala Ensoniq, Emu, etc. I thought it would just be a matter of time.. but that was 4 years ago. I know there are some multisamplers built into other apps such as Beatmaker, SunVox, and Thumbjam.. but they are all rather cumbersome to use, and have severe gui compromises due to the nature of their integration into a different app-package.
This made me wonder if there was actually some technical limitation of the iPad which is why no one has tackled a proper standalone multi-sampler? I mean, I can think of a host of incredible apps which focus on almost any number of synthesis methods, sequencing methods, or fx - and they have been developed..but still no multi-sampler.. it's funny because there is a parallel to this in the hardware realm of electronic instruments. I have a hard time swallowing 'because the desktop does it better' - clearly their is demand and a market gap on iOS, and hardware.
Anyway.. really just wondering 'why?'
PS. Love the samplers iOS has now: mitosynth, synthscaper, samplr, samplewiz etc.. but obviously very different beasts in application/workflow than a multi-sampler.
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Comments
Just curious to if you consider the gui of Ensoniq, Emu etc samplers to be better than say BM3? My admittedly blurred memory of my Emu sampler was one of doing brain surgery working through a key hole!
I think Ensoniq keyboards like the EPS were pretty easy to get around. They had enough options to mangle and loop your samples to get a great sounding multi-instrument out if it. They sounded great too. I only ever had (of the later generation Emu's) the E4x rack..and I didn't have a very good time editing or programming on that.. however, the synthesis on those E4's was unrivaled - even by today's standards.
So, in short, you could say I'm bothered by the poor GUI on both iOS and old hardware. I've never used BM3, so I can't righty comment there. I'm a firm believer that a standalone instrument, purpose designed, will be better than a counterpart tethered into a prebuilt production environment. I suppose you can see this with BM3, SunVox, and the new MPC live/X. Imagine how great the sampler portion could have been, had the same resources been singularly focused on its development (rather than advanced sequencer settings, different synthesizers and fx, etc).
What options exist on desktop? Kontakt? Halion?
Cynical answer: because nobody is going develop something as complex as Kontakt and then sell it at an iOS price level
That is true, the 'problem' here is that people want 'everything in one app'.
During the BM3 beta I focused mainly on sampling and that's still my main focus with the app.
Of all the hundreds of feature suggestions and ideas to make it a great sampler many remain waiting for implementation largely due to the not being able to shout loud enough to over-voice the the 'We want Ableton Live for iOS' crowd. Features are starting to drop in slowly now but it's still got a long way to go...
What is that you can't achieve with the current apps? I have kontakt on the Mac but have only used it briefly and haven't seen anything that couldn't be achieved with BM3, SnuoVx and apps inbetween. Or maybe it is some aspect of workflow that you miss?
I use the Ableton Sampler. Was thinking something along the same lines as this for iOS.
It's not cynical. It's reality. And I frankly think BM3 is a miracle at the current price point.
And then there’s also the possibility that the developer has his own vision where he wants to go with the app...
Yeah, but lets just say I do have a very constructive dialogue with Mathieu regarding the sampler
The Agile development model that is used is very 'customer driven' so the loudest voices get served first...
From the description you point I understand Kontakt will be the better exponent?
Some features are high cpu dependent and hardware counterpart were expensive or limited editions like vc-2 card on Vsynth/VariOS line... at the end some of these “marvels” were spread(ed) across different softwares and hardware from original Vp9000 to Acid/Ableton, kontakt...
In iOS there are some of these from Sampletank, SampleWiz, ReSlice, Samplr... LoopyHd, BlocsWave, Launchpad... and obviously Beathawk and BeatMaker3.
I still miss some of these features from desktop/hardware solutions (mainly because I didn’t buy some apps like Auria or SampleWiz) but I think the point is different workflow due touchscreen. Also the mentioned hardware limitation made hard to match desktop/hardware solutions until recently chip improvement. But even iPad1 could have carry the old djplayer with dvs and Samplr worked in iPad2.
LOL
But seriously: Cubasis is quite complex, sells for 50 bucks, if not on sale.
So I guess a sampler of similar complexity level as Cubasis could be done for that kind of price range.
Cubasis has it's 'Mini Sampler' that is actually quite useful
It could do with an overhaul (think 'Sampler Track') from it's bigger brother...
Ableton's 'Simpler' is another one that could do well as an AUv3 and not forgetting Serato Sample.
I was quite shocked I got a reply a few months back that NO ONE had asked Serato for an iOS version of Serato Sample. If you like what you see bombard them with request
@aleyas hey, cheers to another ex E4X (exexexex) user! I had that one with all options (16 outs + FX board). What an amazing all-rounder, did several productions on it without ANY other synth. The UI was well thought out, if a bit slow at times.
When I decided to sell all my hardware and only use iOS I was hoping I'd find an app equivalent to the SP404 (after all Chordion replaced my Omnichord etc so why not). But then I realised that I was going at it the wrong way (at least for what I was trying to do). The beauty of this platform is that it's modular and adaptable. So instead of chasing the ultimate do-it-all sampler I use a few small sampling apps that are each supergood at one or two things and make them work together with Audiobus, Ableton Link etc. Kind of building my own bigger sampler from app parts; but one that fits my workflow instead of making my workflow fit how an off-the-shelf sampler works.
Words of wisdom right here.
Maybe, but it’s a risk as it will take massive resource investments to build. Contrary to popular perception it’s not much easier or faster to develop for iOS than for desktop, but the economic equations are quite different.
I think Intua did a monumental job with BM3 and are ‘underselling’ the real value of the package, and Steinberg are likely leveraging their famous brand to make up for the lower price (my assumption).
Either way, that recent thread about what you all expected from an iOS sampler probably did a good job scaring away any potentially interested developer
I wonder who yelled to remove dotted line note movement?
Or should I say...
I WONDER WHO YELLED TO REMOVE DOTTED LINE NOTE MOVEMENT!!?!?!!
As others have already written, the iOS ecosystem is broken. Or rather, currently not suited for this kind of stuff.
I’d gladly pay a couple of hundred bucks for an E-MU Ultra/Kontakt inspired sampler with an interface optimized for touch screens. But I gave up waiting years ago, accepting there’s no market for professional and „expensive“ software.
Additionally (that’s just a guess), I suspect many sampler users are using them as glorified ROMplers and not as sound design tools. That means you need a LOT of cheap hdd space, and we’re still not there yet.
No clue really, I want back some features from BM2
I am fine that Cloud City is not in Return of the Jedi. But it is like watching Jedi and half way through, when the Rebels are riding Speeder Bikes on Endor, Uncle George walks on screen and says 'Uhh, about that part you just saw where Jabba's Sail Barge blew up? Never happened.'
Dosn't have to be expensive to be professional...........
For many a sampler is a tool to make them sound like someone else and use 'pre cooked content' from loop/sound-stores and things like that. I mean if we look at BeatHawk it's main purpose is NOT to inspire the user to create their own samples but rather steer them towards purchasing sounds from UVI and for some that might be just what they look for but for those wanting to cook their own samples & instruments it's not a suitable tool...
I do get that the developers need to have income and running a 'content store' is one way to do it.
Not sure, i think there are some decent samplers for iOS. Everything more complex would be terrible to use anyway on iOS devices. Or we got a 21“ iPad.
I know already NanoStudio 2 will fit my bill there.
So is there a hard/fast, clearly defined difference between a sampler and a multisampler?
What would a bare minimum multisampler look like in terms of features?
Agree. But: 500 € for a really good sampler would be cheap imo, and no one would buy it (on iOS).
Sure...and developers living from air and love.
But there is dramatically smaller piracy on iOS than on desktop.. NI maybe sells Kontakt for 399,00 - but i guess if they sell it on iOS for 39,90 , they will earn maybe more $ because on desktop at least 9 from 10 users who is using Kontakt uses warezed version ...
Don't know .. hard to say .. Till yet iOS music app market is still very small, but 3-4 years from now, when iPads will have basically same cpu (and maybe also memory) power as desktop, i think it will be LOT more interesting, lot more customers but still very low piracy ratio - i'm sure 5-6 year from now iOS developers will have a LOT bigger revenue than desktop developers even through lower prices ..