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.
The audio device I wish existed
Here's what I'm fortunate enough to have on hand for music recording/sequencing, etc. purposes.
Hardware:
iPad
Zoom H6
Anker USB hub
Mio MIDI interface
Instruments:
Reface DX
Circuit
Volca FM
Volca Sample
Here's my "problem" and question: my time is insanely limited these days (I'm pregnant and mother to a 2 year old). When I actually have time to record anything or connect the Volca/Reface to anything it needs to be F A S T and convenient. As a result, I've settled on having audio cables plugged into the Zoom; the Zoom plugged into the hub; the Mio connected into the hub; and the hub connected to the CCK so that I can plug THAT into the iPad when I have 20 minutes. That unholy mess of cables and devices now lives in a BlipCase. My question is this: is there really no device on the market that combines a 1/4" inputs; (a) MIDI Out port(s); and a USB hub?
I've spent the last few weeks researching whether there are better alternatives for me out there (including mixers whereI could record to a USB stick, then plug that into an iPad to get the stems), but there does not appear to be a device that meets all of my needs. In addition, one of the advantages of the current set up is that it's all battery powered.
Tell me I'm wrong, and that a better alternative exists. Or, let's have a beer (or some juice?) and bitch about gaps in the market.
Thanks in advance, y'all.
M
Comments
I think the IConnectAudio4+ does all of that.
Thanks for the tip.
I think it gets close, but I don't think I could, for example, plug the reface and the Circuit into it simultaneously like I could on the Novation AudioHub (which has three USB ports (of the "right" type) on the front).
Do you have experience with the device? Do you know if it can be used through a hub? Edit: or rather, would I plug the hub into the iConnect?
Akai EIE IO Audio Interface with USB Hub ?
No personal experience but I do know that many forum members use it and sound like they enjoy using it.
Does any of this answer you questions:
https://www.iconnectivity.com/faqs-blog/2017/7/20/using-the-iconnectivity-host-port-to-connect-2-interfaces
Starts to help a bit -- this sentence is intriguing: "Many of the iconnectivity interfaces feature a USB-MIDI Host Port which can be used to connect up to 8 or more USB-MIDI controllers / keyboards / modules." But I assume that means you need to plug in some kind of hub (which isn't fatal). I'll take a look at the documentation and see if they have anything more specific.
Would be great to hear from members that have and use one! I'll also run a search on the forum.
Thanks @Jocphone !
Edit: For the sake of posterity, here's an explanation from iConnectivity's website:
"Many iConnectivity interfaces (e.g. iConnectAUDIO 4+, iConnectMIDI4+, mio10 and mio4) feature a USB Host Port connector that enables users to plug MIDI equipment directly into the interface via USB without requiring the use of a computer's USB ports. Not only that, users can attach a standard USB hub to the iConnectivity port and via that attach up to 10 MIDI USB devices at the same time, which makes this a very useful feature in a large MIDI-based setup."
https://www.iconnectivity.com/faqs-blog/2017/6/16/devices-tested-with-iconnectivity-usb-host-port-connection
Ive been chewing over getting a Zoom R16 for a while now - doesn’t include a USB hub but possibly ticks some of your other boxes, plus inputs for future expansion.
I ran across that device in my research and it looks awesome, but a few things about it give me pause. First, it's pretty long in the tooth (released in 2014?) and doesn't seem to be supported anymore. Second, it's USB 1.1. Otherwise, it's pretty much what I'm looking for.
Sadly, the devices that have succeeded the EIE (the M-Track Quad and EIE Pro) are not class compliant, from what I can tell.
I saw that your friend got an R16 in January -- have you been able to mess with it and see how it works with your iPad?
Really curious about the capabilities of that USB Host port on the side of the device...
@papertiger, I am not sure if it works with the iPad, but this is what I found:
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC204HD-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00QHURLCW/ref=sr_1_6?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1524235664&sr=1-6&keywords=behringer+u-phoria+um2
Yep. There is actually a 4 input version of the U-Phoria that's on my list of things to consider. The U-Phoria's just don't have USB functionality. But I can't believe how cheap they are! It's insane (but that's Behringer...)
Also a few people on here ( I'm pretty sure @richardyot uses one ) have Focusrite Scarlett audio interfaces that they use with the iPad. The 214 has a MIDI interface but I think you would put the USB hub before the Scarlett.
I can confirm the iconnect audio 4+ can support multiple USB devices through the host port, via a hub.
Thanks! I just found the information on the iConnectivity website. That's pretty badass! And good news. I am now cautiously excited. lol.
Do you mind if I ask how you've found using the device in practice, @MichaelRocketship ? Any showstoppers? What's your biggest problem with it? Also, can you please confirm if it needs to be plugged in when you use it with the ipad?
The Scarletts seem to be really popular with the iOS crowd. Been hearing about them for years. That's the kind of "old school" interface I'm used to from back in the day.
Not this crazy new iConnectivity stuff... ha!
I'm curious, @Jocphone are you using an interface?
I’m using an EIE IO which is fantastic - don’t feel hampered in anyway by the USB 1. Connected to 3 USB devices, microkorg and guitar/bass/mic and I can leave it all set up for those few minutes of free time that I get, even with my kids being old enough to look after themselves.
Ah! Thanks for chiming in! It's hard to find user experiences (especially positive ones) of the EIE. When I saw it I thought, wow, this is precisely what I'm looking for, but I got nervous after reading less than stellar feedback on it on the web. Thank you for taking the time to write your post!
@papertiger, I have the U-Phoria 4 input version, and I have a hard time connecting to my iPad Pro. It says device not supported. But there was someone else on this forum, that I thought could connect it to the iPad..
The quality is amazing!
Sheesh! Thanks for the tip. That's unfortunate. I knew asking my question here would be the right thing to do. This forum is the best resource for most iOS music related questions!
@papertiger Maybe the 2-channel U-Phoria would work directly with the iPad? You could always add a small Behringer mixer to get extra inputs.
I could, but I'm really trying to simplify and consolidate how many devices/cables i have to deal with.
The iConnectAudio4+ and Akai EIE really seem like they're the best fit, but in another thread some people were having a bad time of it with iOS 11 and the iConnectAudio4+. I don't want to trade one set of issues/problems for another!
The USB host port is not what most reasonable people would think it is....it is there to enable you to connect 2 R16's together to get 32 tracks.
I don't have an all in one interface. Depending on what I need I'm either plugging in the NT-USB Mic, the Apogee JAM or my little Keyboard. Simplicity is key for me, don't want or like a big nest of wires and devices.
He hasn't used it, he's as mad as a hatter and keeps it in an (unplugged) fridge along with all the other kit he keeps buying. I'm at this very moment trying to buy it off him...
Not sure how it'd work for you...but as well as solo stuff I'm in a band, so want to record live sessions into it on separate tracks so I can fiddle with them later. Plus I'm interested in collaborations, so I can sling it in a backpack with my iPad and laptop, and take it out for jamming recording sessions with local musos. Not sure if I'd buy one new as they're fairly old now, but still a contender.
USB wise - theoretically you can use them with say, Logic, as a controller - so you can use the sliders and whatnot and control the movement on screen. You've then got the option to record directly onto SD card if you haven't got a laptop handy, or record in on separate tracks if you have.
I really like it. I partly bought it to bring iOS stuff into Ableton on my laptop, and for using iOS devices live.
As it happens, for similar reasons to yourself, I very rarely get everything connected up these days; but I don’t really mind, I basically do everything on the iPad. Iconnect audio4+ sat on a controller in the corner, plug the iPad in and it just works.
You might have read that setting it up can be difficult because of the iConfig software... and it’s not the most user friendly user interface going, but it is very powerful. That being said, I didn’t even customise the routings for months. Default settings worked fine for me. There’s also new beta software called Auracle which sets it up in a much more user friendly fashion. You’d need a PC or Mac to run that though, I don’t think it exists for iOS yet, just iConfig.
It can’t be bus powered at all, so it needs to be plugged in regardless of the device you’re using. One benefit of this is iOS devices connected to the iOS port charge.
The touchscreen front panel gives you access to various controls but you’ll probably want to do that via the app. I very rarely need to change anything now it’s set up the way I want it.
I guess it depends how hands on you like things.
I’ve had no issues with it, but I guess it depends on your use case.
Just for clarification, the Zoom R16 does NOT work on iPads ( sold it some time ago )
IF you have the scratch the Keith McMillan K-mix could be a good solution as it has plenty of inputs and outputs doubles as an interface/soundcard and a midi controller
https://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/k-mix/
BUS POWERED
@papertiger I only skimmed the thread to this point, but I'm interested to know what you end up with as a solution.
I too have small children and to say that my creative time is limited is the understatement of the century. Setup/breakdown time is the killer, so I've spent the last 6 months trying to minimize/eliminate my setup time. The other issue I have is space - I need everything I acquire to be portable as I don't have a permanent space to have things set up all the time, hence why setup/breakdown time is even a factor.
This all being said, my needs are different than yours as we don't have the same gear - you have synths, I have analog (guitars, basses, mics, etc.) gear. I ended up picking up a couple Behringer cables (Mic2USB and Line2USB) to help keep things simple (and not have to set up my Zoom H4n as an interface) and while they aren't perfect, they suffice for quick and dirty recording. I also have a number of different MIDI controllers to accomplish various things.
Anyway - would love to know what you end up with.