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.

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Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Just picked up a Keith McMillen BopPad - suggestions on configuring it for iPad

Hey y'all - just got my BopPad today and the thing already rules. Since I've only had it for about 1 hour, I'm still deciding how I want to configure it. Any thoughts? Anyone using this? With what apps? How do you have it set up?

Love to hear your epxeriences!

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Comments

  • Had to look it up, but man that thing looks like fun. I was just jamming in DrumJam earlier and this looks like it would be great with that app. SeekBeats has a lot of velocity mapping options, so that would be a good one too, I suppose. That continuous pressure feature is pretty sick, too. Have fun! :)

  • The Web Editor for the BP is one of the best and easiest I've ever seen. So much easier than having to download a native client and mess with that. I've used the BP with BM3 with great results.

  • I was looking at this only yesterday. I'd be following this thread as this is most likely my next purchase since I've got a bunch of silly controllers lying around to sell.

  • .... and it is cheap compared to all the other fancy kickstarters from Namm (itar £600, the oval hang £800, djembe £750 what were they thinking)

  • @lukesleepwalker said:
    The Web Editor for the BP is one of the best and easiest I've ever seen. So much easier than having to download a native client and mess with that. I've used the BP with BM3 with great results.

    What do you generally assign the radius to?

  • edited February 2018

    @supadom said:

    @lukesleepwalker said:
    The Web Editor for the BP is one of the best and easiest I've ever seen. So much easier than having to download a native client and mess with that. I've used the BP with BM3 with great results.

    What do you generally assign the radius to?

    Turnado knobs! It's pretty slick to bang out a loop and then drag the stick along the radius to control Turnado. You can set notes for the drumming and separate CCs for dragging across the surface or pressing/holding.

    I do wish it was possible to set different note values along the radius but you can't currently do that in the software (unless I'm missing something). You can set each quadrant to play multiple notes simultaneously but you can't spread them out across the quadrant like I had hoped.

    You might also take a look at the Sensel Morph with drum overlay.

  • @lukesleepwalker - Do you have a way to trigger a program change on the BopPad from the iPad? I am setting up different profiles for different apps (one for iSpark, another for Beathawk, etc.) and I want to be able to change them from the iPad....

    any thoughts?

  • @dvlmusic said:
    @lukesleepwalker - Do you have a way to trigger a program change on the BopPad from the iPad? I am setting up different profiles for different apps (one for iSpark, another for Beathawk, etc.) and I want to be able to change them from the iPad....

    any thoughts?

    I haven't tried it yet but my first option would be the sidecar app from @SecretBaseDesign. I'll give it a whirl over the weekend.

  • Should play nicely with drum Perfect Pro

  • @lukesleepwalker said:

    @dvlmusic said:
    @lukesleepwalker - Do you have a way to trigger a program change on the BopPad from the iPad? I am setting up different profiles for different apps (one for iSpark, another for Beathawk, etc.) and I want to be able to change them from the iPad....

    any thoughts?

    I haven't tried it yet but my first option would be the sidecar app from @SecretBaseDesign. I'll give it a whirl over the weekend.

    I also bought one of these just recently :)
    I use Stompwatch for changing presets. I think they could have had a hardware switch over though like the QuNexus. Not a big fan of program change as the only option. I was also a bit disappointed you could only trigger 1 note or chord per quadrant, but I guess they want you to buy more BopPads. but you can trigger lots of CCs and then convert those to notes to make up for this.

    Lots of fun with Elastic drums. :)

  • @Telstar5 said:
    Should play nicely with drum Perfect Pro

    Lorentz would be my first destination :}

  • @lukesleepwalker said:

    @supadom said:

    @lukesleepwalker said:
    The Web Editor for the BP is one of the best and easiest I've ever seen. So much easier than having to download a native client and mess with that. I've used the BP with BM3 with great results.

    What do you generally assign the radius to?

    Turnado knobs! It's pretty slick to bang out a loop and then drag the stick along the radius to control Turnado. You can set notes for the drumming and separate CCs for dragging across the surface or pressing/holding.

    I do wish it was possible to set different note values along the radius but you can't currently do that in the software (unless I'm missing something). You can set each quadrant to play multiple notes simultaneously but you can't spread them out across the quadrant like I had hoped.

    You might also take a look at the Sensel Morph with drum overlay.

    I haven’t thought of Turnado but I can see that being right down my alley and bringing a lot of creating grooviness. Will check Sensel out. Cheers

  • @lukesleepwalker I had a look at sensel but it seems too desktop oriented. I’m after something that I can play like a djembe as I do with Impaktor. I see bop pad as a stop over until Impaktor AU comes out.

  • Can you play this on a surface or do you really need some sort of stand? And what kind of stand is good for it? Definitely thinking of buying one of these at some point!

  • @Michael_R_Grant said:
    Can you play this on a surface or do you really need some sort of stand? And what kind of stand is good for it? Definitely thinking of buying one of these at some point!

    It looks like you could lodge it between your legs. I don't understand why all of their promo videos show it with stands. Maybe because they aim it at drummers rather than percussionists.

    I have to say that after watching a few of the videos I'm rather underwhelmed. I mounted my Impaktor drum on my drumkit and tried to emulate some of the things people on YouTube do with their bop and was able to pull it off quite well. It made me want to make video to help @giku_beepstreet a little but it seems like everybody who is anybody already has the app.

    Talking of videos @lukesleepwalker would you be inclined to show off the bop/turnado combo? Doesn't have to be a full tutorial ;)

  • Boppad is something special because of the responsiveness (and impressively low latency) of the pads. If you’re a ‘hand’ percussionist this is really one of the best pads around, eg for those fine fingerrolls, fast double slaps etc. It feels like a real instrument. You don’t need the mount if using it for handdru’ming. The cc mappings are an extra feature, nice if you want to use it for more experimental setups. For the moment I use it with Stroke Machine (best drum synth app), drumjam and sampletank (with sampletank pro percussion iap and cinematic percussion iap). In my opinion, the quality of the drumjam samples allthough really good, is a step beneath the quality of the sampletank iaps.

  • @charleso said:
    Boppad is something special because of the responsiveness (and impressively low latency) of the pads. If you’re a ‘hand’ percussionist this is really one of the best pads around, eg for those fine fingerrolls, fast double slaps etc. It feels like a real instrument. You don’t need the mount if using it for handdru’ming. The cc mappings are an extra feature, nice if you want to use it for more experimental setups. For the moment I use it with Stroke Machine (best drum synth app), drumjam and sampletank (with sampletank pro percussion iap and cinematic percussion iap). In my opinion, the quality of the drumjam samples allthough really good, is a step beneath the quality of the sampletank iaps.

    Good to know. I’m sceptical about low latency claim though. Isn’t latency mostly dependant of the apps and system rather than the midi input controller? I mean, if your Audiobus session is set at 128 frames surely bop Pad ain’t gonna override that. Quite honestly I get a very decent latency from Impaktor triggered by an epad (finger rolls, stick rolls etc).

    If I was to get it I’d be equally interested in it as a melodic as much as percussive instrument. Say I’d assign one or two quadrants to a physical modelling synth or two and the other two to percussive samples with radius likely controlling an effect app like Turnado. This way it might become a hang on steroids, well versed for live use.

  • @Michael_R_Grant I bought the stand and it works well with a kit but there is no need if you don't play behind a set. I have played with sticks, setting the BP on a flat surface with no issues. I've gotten the most enjoyment setting it on my legs while sitting and using my hands. It's very light and the rubber surface on the bottom keeps the unit from sliding. It feels quite natural, much more so than the edrum pads I own (which feel bulky and kinda "dead" to me--and tend to slip on my lap).

    @supadom this one depends on your use case. I don't see the point of using the BP as a sample trigger (like zach danzinger, who is amazing overall). The pin tech triggers are cheaper and work with acoustic drums. I also don't see the point of using one sound in unison mode (like you use your current set up). The benefits of the BP are the ease of use to set up different notes and CCs per quadrant--it's way more flexible than your current setup. Even with Impaktor AU, will your pad be easy to use? As noted above the feel is also substantially better, especially when hand/finger drumming. It's tough to describe but it feels more live and natural. Is it $200 better than what you have? Really couldn't say. I'll take a video if I get the chance this weekend.

  • @Carnbot interesting idea to convert CCs to notes. But is it possible to specify multiple CCs to locations in the quadrant? Say I want five notes spread in five slices of the quadrant, is that possible?

  • @lukesleepwalker said:
    @Carnbot interesting idea to convert CCs to notes. But is it possible to specify multiple CCs to locations in the quadrant? Say I want five notes spread in five slices of the quadrant, is that possible?

    No I don't think so, it's more in the way you hit it. You can trigger up to 5 different CCs per quadrant in different ways, so if you use an app like midifire you could convert these to notes.

    Or you could map the CCs to change the pitch of the note depending on how you hit it in the target app. eg Elastic drums you can map the pitch to a CC so each time you hit it it could be a different pitch. different pressure sensitivity can be different pitch etc

  • edited February 2018

    @lukesleepwalker

    @supadom this one depends on your use case. I don't see the point of using the BP as a sample trigger (like zach danzinger, who is amazing overall). The pin tech triggers are cheaper and work with acoustic drums.

    I also don't see the point of using one sound in unison mode (like you use your current set up). The benefits of the BP are the ease of use to set up different notes and CCs per quadrant--it's way more flexible than your current setup. Even with Impaktor AU, will your pad be easy to use? As noted above the feel is also substantially better, especially when hand/finger drumming. It's tough to describe but it feels more live and natural. Is it $200 better than what you have? Really couldn't say. I'll take a video if I get the chance this weekend.

    I am not directly comparing the two at all. Impaktor AU will be dogs bullocks because if it allows for midi control over all of the parameters it will let me assign CCs to a foot or a knob controller and alter those while playing the pad. I also expect the audio engine will be pimped as I’ve heard of some new models being in the works. I’m not sure what you mean by me using Impaktor in usinson. I ave made patches that are not only melodic but play 2 notes, one going up and one down. Of course triggering melodies will always be a bit hit and miss as long as it is tied to velocity but limiting the range to 2 or 3 notes definitely helps.

    I don't see the point of using the BP as a sample trigger either. Unless it is in conjunction with effects that get manipulated via pressure or radial swipe/tap.

    As far as ease of set up is concerned I’m not sure. I’ve prioritised my rig to be as practical as possible. It doesn’t seem like it from my vids but I’ve gone through masses of midi controllers, (including quneo which while amazing in theory I never managed to work it as the super expressive controller likely due to user error). They came and went but stuff I use hasn’t changed dramatically.

    This is why I’ve suggested you produced a video or something to show the genius of BP because what I’ve seen so far didn’t quite make me reach for my debit card. No pressure huh? ;)

  • @Carnbot said:

    @lukesleepwalker said:
    @Carnbot interesting idea to convert CCs to notes. But is it possible to specify multiple CCs to locations in the quadrant? Say I want five notes spread in five slices of the quadrant, is that possible?

    No I don't think so, it's more in the way you hit it. You can trigger up to 5 different CCs per quadrant in different ways, so if you use an app like midifire you could convert these to notes.

    Or you could map the CCs to change the pitch of the note depending on how you hit it in the target app. eg Elastic drums you can map the pitch to a CC so each time you hit it it could be a different pitch. different pressure sensitivity can be different pitch etc

    Right, I use midifire but was hoping for something less labor intensive and complex. I hadn't thought of taking advantage of ED though--that sounds like fun and I'll give it a whirl.

    @supadom I meant unison mode on the BP. It allows the user to use the surface as one thing rather than four separate quadrants. I'll see what I can do for a video but to be clear, I'm not completely sold that the BP is my idea solution. I'm giving it a few more days to evaluate...

  • @supadom said:
    @lukesleepwalker

    @supadom this one depends on your use case. I don't see the point of using the BP as a sample trigger (like zach danzinger, who is amazing overall). The pin tech triggers are cheaper and work with acoustic drums.

    I also don't see the point of using one sound in unison mode (like you use your current set up). The benefits of the BP are the ease of use to set up different notes and CCs per quadrant--it's way more flexible than your current setup. Even with Impaktor AU, will your pad be easy to use? As noted above the feel is also substantially better, especially when hand/finger drumming. It's tough to describe but it feels more live and natural. Is it $200 better than what you have? Really couldn't say. I'll take a video if I get the chance this weekend.

    I am not directly comparing the two at all. Impaktor AU will be dogs bullocks because if it allows for midi control over all of the parameters it will let me assign CCs to a foot or a knob controller and alter those while playing the pad. I also expect the audio engine will be pimped as I’ve heard of some new models being in the works. I’m not sure what you mean by me using Impaktor in usinson. I ave made patches that are not only melodic but play 2 notes, one going up and one down. Of course triggering melodies will always be a bit hit and miss as long as it is tied to velocity but limiting the range to 2 or 3 notes definitely helps.

    I don't see the point of using the BP as a sample trigger either. Unless it is in conjunction with effects that get manipulated via pressure or radial swipe/tap.

    As far as ease of set up is concerned I’m not sure. I’ve prioritised my rig to be as practical as possible. It doesn’t seem like it from my vids but I’ve gone through masses of midi controllers, (including quneo which while amazing in theory I never managed to work it as the super expressive controller likely due to user error). They came and went but stuff I use hasn’t changed dramatically.

    This is why I’ve suggested you produced a video or something to show the genius of BP because what I’ve seen so far didn’t quite make me reach for my debit card. No pressure huh? ;)

    All of this stuff about Impaktor AU and new features has me very excited. B)

  • Ok, i get you now on unison thing. I think the very strength of this thing is that it had the ability to have (I'm assuming here) 4 different (melodic or not) entities controlled by one pad. If you use radius for a scale (notes) then you still have pressure for other stuff. If you don't then that's something that can be assigned elsewhere.I guess a lot will depend on the flexibility of the programming utility.

    How does the surface feel? Is it hard or more like Roland mesh v drum skins?

  • @lukesleepwalker said:
    The Web Editor for the BP is one of the best and easiest I've ever seen. So much easier than having to download a native client and mess with that. I've used the BP with BM3 with great results.

    Hey Mr. Luke. I’ve had my PopPad for a while now but to tell you the truth I haven’t figured out much. Have you had success using the web editor on the iPad? I’m getting a “browser not supported” error even when I try the recommended Chrome and Opera. Are you programming it directly on the iPad?

  • @supadom i meant the internal latency of the pad itself, indeed the software buffer will be more significant

    There is however one problem with the multitouch mode in the boppad. Multitouch means you can trigger multiple (repeated) notes on the same pad, without having to release the finger in between each triggered note, useful eg when playing finger drum rolls (or any fast drum roll) on a pad. The problem is that most sequencers register the repeated notes on the same pad as just one note until all the fingers are released from the pad (except modstep in drum mode!). In other words, sequencers only register notes when there is a corresponding note-off message, so overlapping notes get merged together... This is annoying when using the boppad in cubasis, auria pro, genome, etc. If anyone found a solution to this, I would be really glad to hear it!

  • @RJB said:

    @lukesleepwalker said:
    The Web Editor for the BP is one of the best and easiest I've ever seen. So much easier than having to download a native client and mess with that. I've used the BP with BM3 with great results.

    Hey Mr. Luke. I’ve had my PopPad for a while now but to tell you the truth I haven’t figured out much. Have you had success using the web editor on the iPad? I’m getting a “browser not supported” error even when I try the recommended Chrome and Opera. Are you programming it directly on the iPad?

    No, the web editor doesn't work in any browser I tried on the iPad. I hook the BP up to my laptop and use chrome. I find the web editor to be quite intuitive and quick, although it is slightly annoying to have to unhook the USB to laptop to plug into the iPad for testing. First world problems...

  • @charleso said:
    @supadom i meant the internal latency of the pad itself, indeed the software buffer will be more significant

    There is however one problem with the multitouch mode in the boppad. Multitouch means you can trigger multiple (repeated) notes on the same pad, without having to release the finger in between each triggered note, useful eg when playing finger drum rolls (or any fast drum roll) on a pad. The problem is that most sequencers register the repeated notes on the same pad as just one note until all the fingers are released from the pad (except modstep in drum mode!). In other words, sequencers only register notes when there is a corresponding note-off message, so overlapping notes get merged together... This is annoying when using the boppad in cubasis, auria pro, genome, etc. If anyone found a solution to this, I would be really glad to hear it!

    Is there a touch-per-channel mode? If so, give that a try.

  • @charleso said:
    @supadom i meant the internal latency of the pad itself, indeed the software buffer will be more significant

    There is however one problem with the multitouch mode in the boppad. Multitouch means you can trigger multiple (repeated) notes on the same pad, without having to release the finger in between each triggered note, useful eg when playing finger drum rolls (or any fast drum roll) on a pad. The problem is that most sequencers register the repeated notes on the same pad as just one note until all the fingers are released from the pad (except modstep in drum mode!). In other words, sequencers only register notes when there is a corresponding note-off message, so overlapping notes get merged together... This is annoying when using the boppad in cubasis, auria pro, genome, etc. If anyone found a solution to this, I would be really glad to hear it!

    I don't suppose turning off multi-touch solves the issue?

  • @lukesleepwalker No, sadly turning off means no overlapping notes at all...

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