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.
How to record midi data in Audiobus 3?
Hello,
I am new to iOS music production and I cannot seem to find an answer to this question anywhere.
Essentially, what I am looking for is a way to record midi data in Audiobus.
I would like to set up my workflow in Audiobus as follows...
Midiflow keyboard >>> midiflow scales >>> isymphonic orchestra >>> record app.
I would then like to be able to export this midi data that I record and bring in into Auria Pro for iPad or Reaper for Mac.
A few other consideration... i’ve Been researching all the looper apps but I cannot seem to find solid information about recording midi data. I would prefer to loop record midi. Can looperverse or Modstep do this?
If any of you can sort this out for me or direct me to the app(s) that would best serve my needs I would be very grateful.
Thanks
Comments
You would record the midi in Auria Pro. Audiobus has no midi recording function. You could probably output the midi directly to Auria by loading it in the Audiobus midi out slot, if not get Midiflow Adapter, which will open up Audiobus midi to most apps that don’t support Audiobus midi directly.
For a midi loop recorder, I recommend Infinite Looper. It can record loops continuously and you can go back through these after recording and load just the loops that you like.
I can’t think of any other apps that do this as well as Inifnite Looper, but someone else may know of one.
Oh yes, and Welcome Aboard!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/midiflow-adapter-audiobus/id1225817367?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/infinite-looper/id1054808350?mt=8
Like CraclePot said, you cant record midi ( or audio ) inside of AB3. For what it seems like youre trying to do, I think Cubasis would be a good option too. For instance, set up midiflow keyboard and midiflow scales, then output the midi into Cubasis, then in Cubasis you can set up a midi channel and use ISymphonic as an audio unit, record your midi, then mixdown the midi and share it, via email or ICloud and import it to your Mac, or Auria.
Wow. Thank you both for the information. I am a guitarist and singer and although I have some experience using drum loops and Reaper, I am finding the amount of synth related apps for iOS music production overwhelming. I’ve already purchased quite a few this week haha.
@crackle pot I am researching infinite looper and am very close to pulling the trigger on this app for my looper. I just want to make sure it will function in my workflow.
@strizbiz that is pretty much exactly want I was looking for. I just bought Auria Pro though
I should have purchased cubasis as my DAW instead I guess? I was disappointed that I could not record midi tracks in Auria via Audiobus. Do you know of any other apps that can do this? For example, can I do this in a sequencer like Modstep? And then export from Modstep into Auria Pro?
I apologize if this question sounds noobish haha.
Thanks again for the help.
You should check out that other app, Midiflow Adapter. It costs $2 but is super useful if you want to use Audiobus Midi. It is another of the Midiflow plugins like you ar3 already using. It goes in the input and/or the output slots of Audiobus Midi, and creates 10 midi ports to hook up to most midi capable apps. So if the app has midi ports in a list that you can select from, you can pick the Midiflow Adapter ports to hook into Audiobus Midi.
Here are a couple of vids to show you how it works
I think, you need Midiflow Adapter to get the MIDI from AudiosBus and Midiflow Keyboard into Auria Pro.
Such things are more easy with Cubasis, but i think it should be possible to get this running with Auria Pro!
In general something like this:
Audiobus preset 'MIDIflowAuriaPro': http://preset.audiob.us/5RMJpm2E2x1aL00
Should work, but it did not configure something in Auria Pro
Yep, did work:
Thanks @CracklePot I did not realize midiflow adapter could do this. Great recommendation. I purchased MF adapter.
@tja thank you for the preset and upload of the process. I tried this and it worked. Excellent !
One last question about Infinite Looper, I actually corresponded with the developer about this app but he stated it didn’t support Audiobus 3? Would I be able to use the midiflow adapter to connect to this app to the workflow above?
Ideally, I’d like to record midi into a looper using an Audiobus workflow with midiflow scales and then process the data in Auria Pro for arrangement, mixing, etc. Also, ideally this looper would have a few features like a metronome count in, support for AU, Export midi data, and overdub.
Right now, i’m Trying to decide between infinite looper and Modstep. Modstep looks great because it has a lot of options and looks to be a good sequencer as well and I think it supports AU. I like the UI as well. Infinite looper looks to be a simpler app and great at what it does but it doesn’t support Audiobus 3 or AU instruments as far as I know.
@baron_88 Ok, hold off on Inifinite Looper for a minute. It doesn’t work with Midiflow Adapter. Infinite Looper does not present a list of Midi ports for the user to choose the midi input port. I went back and checked, and I used AUM to send Midi to Infinite Looper.
AUM is a very essential part of the iOS music production toolbox, maybe THE MOST essential in reality. If you don’t have it yet, consider acquiring it. But it is like $19, so I can understand if you don’t want to just get it (yet). Believe me though, AUM will make your life easier if you are doing iOS music.
Take a closer look at AUM, read some stuff on the forum or check YouTube for a better understanding of what it does. It seems like it does the same thing as Audiobus, by really AUM and Audiobus are like two sides of the same coin. Many tasks could be covered by either, but many will require one over the other, or in some cases you will need both.
In the meantime, while you investigate AUM, I will try to find another midi recorder that loops to recommend.
Sorry about the Infinite Looper mixup.
@baron_88 I am in a similar situation.
I wanted to use Xequencer, but i am not yet sure that it can replace my Cubasis / modstep setup, yet.
But then again, nanostudio 2 and modstep 2 are on the horizont ....
So, interesting times :-)
Hey baron, I wanted to ask you if you actually need the midi recorder to have loop recording functionality, or are you wanting to play a different loop file back while recording your midi, using the loop to guide you and for timing, etc. ?
If you just need a loop to play to listen to as you record, then you could just record straight across a DAW’s timeline without looping the recording. Then after, you listen back to your recording and select/copy the sections that you want to keep to a second midi track, and use loop paste (just pasting the loop over and over head to tail if you have to do it manually).
If this is what you are actually wanting to do, then I think you probably have all the stuff you need. Feel free to post more questions if you need help setting something like this up.
Hey,
@tja I am researching Xequence and if it is compatoble it looks to be just what I need. It even has built in scale lock so I may just be able to use that.
@CracklePot I am researching AUM as well. I hear it is very suitable for AU instrument setup. I’m just researching these apps as you are right.... priced in Canada they are each 20-30 dollars and that add up fast. Very interesting though so far.
About the looper, basically I tested the demo version on cubasis and it has the ability to loop record. I am hoping to find a less intensive cpu-wise app that does this as well as one with a few more features.
Basically, with regard to looping, I would like to specify a measure or amount of time and have it loop round and round while I record midi data into it. (As I said, I play guitar so my piano skills are a little sub par haha). If I were recording drums for example, I’d like to play the kick on one go around. Then the snare, and finally the hi hats and cymbals. Then I would, for example, add another track for something g like piano. Again, I would like to play the chords or bass notes first. Then add a melody while the measure is looping. Essentially, I intend to use if]t to build riff compositions.
In Auria Pro, there is no loop record, only playback. Something like Xequence looks to be what I need actually, I am just researching it to make sure. Xequence has a scale lock so I am research if it can lock the scale to a midi keyboard, then I could just use that, AUM, and Auria Pro.
Thanks again for the help, you’ve already given me some recommendations I can work with definitely. I’m just hoping I can get this loop midi record thing figured out to make it less tedious to keep restarting the measure manually.
YOU KNOW GENOME RECORDS ALL MIDI SO DOES MODSTEP?
@RUST( i )K I did not know that. I can record midi now to Auria Pro using Midiflow Adapter. Does genome or Modstep offer functional loop recording capability? I will look into genome, thanks.
YES
MODSTEP AND GENOME are like Ableton as far as midi clips and launching.
2 amazing apps.
ALL cc data is recorded an automated back as well.
You should check this out. It has all that you mention: loop record, build up loop in passes, scale locked KB, export song as midi file, small resource footprint, supports AU instruments, can load AU midi (the app Rozeta, AU midi support is new and rare in apps right now), if you have AUM you can route other midi sequencer apps to it and record, has a built in chord track and chord helper system, and best of all it is FREE. The app is fairly new, but the developer is awesome, and he has improved and expanded it a bunch since it launched.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sequencism/id1240952241?mt=8
The devs website
http://www.rodrigoroman.com/rrc2soft/sequencism/
It’s even been updated for Link stop/start sync
Yes, i nearly forgot Sequencism.
These days, I spend more time with trying out apps and making experiments than actually being a bit productive.
The same selection stress for Notes applications, text editors, painting apps, vector graphics apps and so on (beside selecting piano roll editors, step sequencers, chord helper apps, synths of the different colours, and so on...)
Nice preset bro
Senquencism is a nice app and it’s great for being free.
I actually went ahead and purchased both AUM and Xequence though and this does the trick quite nicely. Xequence is really intuitive for me and has a great UI. The loop record works very well, it has scale lock, undo/redo. and can export to midi which I can later edit in Auria. I haven’t tested it out with Reaper yet but it should work.
Thanks everyone!!
Excellent choices.