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.
What is the latest on audio and midi over usb? iOS to Mac...
I just sold my iConnectAudio4+ and I am coming back around to integrating my iPad into my Mac/Ableton setup.
Do I still need an app like Studiomux or isn't audio and midi over usb now native? Any advantages/disadvantages to native vs a proprietary app?
Comments
the built in solution is called IDAM, it is easy to set up and as of a recent high sierra update it works flawlessly for me. studiomux used to be terribly unreliable, but maybe the same update has improved it as well, i have not spent much time with it.
studiomux is 8 in 2 out if you use the virtual interface, or 8 in 8 out if you use the plugins. don't ask me why the discrepancy as i have asked the devs directly and received no reply.
IDAM is 2 in 0 out.
studiomux will bridge the 2 midi environments, all ports appear on both sides.
IDAM will give you a single shared midi port.
It didn't occur to me until I started plugging things up, but Ableton is forcing me to choose either the iPad IDAM or my Focusrite Scarlett for input. I need to use the iPad alongside my main audio interface and I don't want to create an Aggregate Device.
So... does Studiomux somehow digitally stream audio from the iPad but allow me to still use my primary audio interface?
It just uses whatever audio interface you have chosen to use in the Ableton preferences. It will record audio into Ableton at whatever sample rate & bit depth you have chosen in preferences. Your iPad produces sound as normal simultaneously. Hope this helps.......
Why do you not want to create an aggregate device? I'm pretty sure that's how you do what you're trying to do. Are there disadvantages to an aggregate device? That's not a challenge, I'm curious because I haven't noticed any problems ever with it in other applications.
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071609-Using-Aggregate-Devices-and-multiple-audio-interfaces-in-Live
Studiomux solved my problem! It streams audio through a VST or AU plugin on the track, and allows me to still use my Focusrite audio interface. No Aggregate Device needed.
Never had any issues with it and never heard anyone else having any either.
Hmm, that's good to know because I never got studiomux to actually work, maybe it's because I had it set up as an aggregate device. I'll have to try it without doing that, I thought I had read it needed to be set up that way.
I've used aggregate devices for other reasons though and never noticed an issue, but not saying there can't be one.
You can just drop the VST or AU onto a Midi track, and keep your audio interface directly set up as your DAW's input/output instead of an aggregate device. Works great.
Cool, going to try that later!
Still no dice for me with studiomux, I insert as a plugin in harrison mixbus and the sound on that track goes away, unchecked "replace original" or whatever that says, sound comes back for about 2 seconds then is gone until I close the session and reload. Then studiomux crashes...oh well, it's a good idea but not working for me. If I have time to try it with reaper at some point I will but I am using mixbus for mixing now so not willing to change that.
I don't know Harrison Mixbus but it looks like it has midi tracks. Don't put the plugin on an audio track, put it on a midi track, or even better, if Mixbus has the concept of an "instrument track" (midi input, some vst instrument plugin, then audio output), put it on that.