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.
New to iOS audio apps (long post)
Hi, got my first iPad in 2017. Fixed a screen of an iPad air2 for a couple hundred. Figured it get me started. Anyways.
I’m not new to audio production, have a nice set up. 8 core Mac Pro (trashcan) Metric Halo ULN8, a bunch of nice Pres, hardware synths and samplers. Using Live mostly and logic for tracking. Treated room etc..
My goal is to use the iPad to aid me with my current set up, either using IOS synths, or apps like touchable to intergrate.
I’d like to get audio into my iPad mainly for sampling purposes. Say RCA outs of a VCR in my living room so I don’t have to lug all that stuff into my studio. Field recording seemed cool at first but seems rather exspenaive to take on.
Was thinking a zoom u24 or Steinberg UR22 w/ a battery pack. But I would also need a CCK and a bunch of cables, would get sloppy. I think a dedicated hand held mic like a zoom iq6 would be more practical. I’m thinking maybe a cheapo converter to start like an Behringer U-CONTROL UCA222 or something just for line in. Would I need midi to intergrate with my currently system ? Just to use the iPad like an external synth and have it synced up to the tempo. Can’t I just send audio/midi via the lighting cable to my Mac pro? Using audiobus, audio share, etc? Midi only nessisary if going remote ?
Comments
For field recordings a dedicated audio recorder is the easiest imo. Zoom and Tascam have the best ones imo, bearing in mind that the cheaper Zooms like the H1 are great but subject to handling noise.
Then you can transfer the sounds via Dropbox and use Audioshare if you want to work with them on the iPad, and/or use the UCA222 to record the audio into it or your computer or simply copy the SD card. Actually probably in the inverse order hehe.
Doesn't look like you need MIDI, you can use studiomux to connect the iPad to the computer via the lightning cable or the UCA222 for audio in, in both cases through your USB port.
For tempo sync you can use Ableton Link if Live is your main DAW.
CCK not needed in your case I don't think, unless you use the UCA222 with the iPad directly.
Thanks, yeah it gets confusing with all the options. I just want a little line lvl interface that I can pick up with my iPad and record audio. Without a bunch of cables and adapters. If I need a mic I’d use a dedicated unit, way less mess. I’m not really into sample libs rather sample my own stuff.
Tl;dr
(Sorry, had to. It really wasn’t a long post at all. Welcome.)
One more thing, what apps would be good to start with ? Obvisoully studiomux,Audishare. Maybe Korg Gadget and some type of sampler ?
Studiomux, Audioshare + Audiobus and/or AUM for sure. For the rest it depends what you're looking for to do. Gadget is a good start indeed if you don't mind the price, but it's quite self-contained. Can't input live sounds into it from Audiobus for instance. But you can import samples, export to Ableton Live etc.
Brusfri for noise reduction.
What's your thing man? As Dennis Hopper must have asked in a movie at some point? What sort of noise do you like/want to make? This will help others make suggestions to some degree (beyond suggesting our personal favorites, which we'll likely do anyway
).
Welcome etc.
Ummmm...
More old school stuff (stuck in the 90’s) , prefuse 73, broads of Canada, dan the Automator, etc..
Don’t like ... dub step, house, trap.
Don’t need subtractive synths - already own a prophet 6, and some other hardware stuff. S950, Akai Mpc 60, Oberheim dpx 1, asr 10.
*Sample mangling is a plus. I still dig for records and stuff.
Just looking for creative fun synths. Wave table, fm, granular.
Just figured investing in an interface would be crazy considering mine cost more over 3k.
Bloc wave seems cool but just seems like a sample looper and that’s boring. Want to get deeper than using premade loops.
Man that’s a total Dennis Hopper line. Now I’m tryin to think of the Denis Leary equivalent. ‘What the fuck, man?!?’ ?
Based on your tastes would recommend: Samplr, egoist, Layr, Photophore, Zeeon, Mood, Moonbeam, Borderlands and iDensity
Thanks I’ll checkem out. Field scraper looks cool, got gadget just because it’s on sale, looks like I need to just dive in and figure it out.
Based on your tastes and @RedSkyLullaby 's evident understanding I would suggest that list should see you through 2018. Experience suggests that you would now do best to put your fingers in your ears and delete your account here, lest like many of us you end up sending The Note home soon enough....
Hahah, gadget seems ok, feels like I just entered a rave
, but those were just the demos I checked out sure I could dig something out I like. *edit Ok never mind it’s actual pretty neat.
Ok one last question, so.. what’s the cheapest reliable interface I could get away with ? It seems most need a CCK. RCA I/O is fine.
I want to able to pickup my iPad and interface and record from any line out device without having to use power cable. Is this even possible ? Without powered hubs and what not ?
Probably about the fifth one that you buy.
I would go for the Behringer UCA202/222 + CCK. Works nicely unpowered and very cheap.
Check out Jakob Haq on the 202
Get the behringer Uca 202 or 222 ( same). It's as clean as any interface out there.
Also don't be put off thinking that Blocs wave is some kind of sample rompler toy, it's not.
Import your own stuff in and you've got an amazing tool.
I've just done my entire new album using Blocs as my only sampler , my sampling goes back to fairlight and Akai S900s .
People don't realise just how powerful and serious the iOS gear is.
All the best.
Yeah just tried out link in live with gadget. Pretty sweet.
Set up an aggregate device with my iPad and Metric Halo ULN8 layed over some parts with my prophet 6 and it worked great, besides not getting audio during play back of what I recorded (sure it’s a setting I missed) anyways.. looks like I got some catching up to do