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.
TUTORIAL SAXLOOPS #1: how to jam with iPhone and iPad apps like with Ableton Live
Hi all!!
Here is my very first video tutorial on my new Saxloops Youtube channel.
Since I started music on iOS, I've searched a way to replicate Ableton Live's session mode. It's even more difficult on iPhone, as lot of apps are not universal.
I like to create realtime arrangement and always felt constricted by traditionnal DAW timeline. Most of the time, I prefer live creations processes.
There are already Garageband loops mode, Launchpad or a few other apps to play live, but when you want also to play with levels, mutes and solos, audio units effects FXS, there are always something that miss.
I've thinked hard to find a solution and think this one is interesting: using Audiobus modular system with AUM and Midiflow for AB suite, TouchOSC and various audio units effects.
This allow to reproduce clips and scenes system, with levels mute/solo control and all audio units FXS parameters you want. Only limitation: it's all about finger timing, as this "mute" system has no clip sync. Think it as an instrument!
I hope you'll enjoy this first tutorial (french spoken with english subtitles). I work also on a saxophone version of this track, I will share it ASAP.
Here are Audiobus, TouchOSC, AUM presets, additional instructions and screenshots on my blog saxloops.fr:
AUM preset https://www.dropbox.com/s/7jqybyv109vwjlm/Saxloops Touchjam.aumproj?dl=0
@Michael and @j_liljedahl thanks for your apps, I think you could also find this interesting.
Comments
I forgot to mention, you will need TouchOSC editor to sync your idevice with a PC/MAC and load my template. You can find it here: https://hexler.net/software/touchosc
Also, if you want to try to play with those presets, just find some loops with similar tempo, load them in AUM sample players and have fun
I’m bit surprised by lack of comment. As I really put some work on that video, I’d really like to have some opinion. Is there something wrong with it, or the subject? Not interesting or too complex?
I appreciate the ability to play live with your setup using the very small screen space of an iPhone. Congratulations on coming up with such a useful setup.
It’s definitely a complex setup with a lot of different apps. Can you please post a link to the AUM preset you used as well? It doesn’t get automatically created when you load in the Audiobus preset. It might be good to add instructions in the note section of AUM for the preset as well.
I’ll attempt to reconstruct your setup on my device once I have a copy of the AUM preset. For people who use iPhones, this setup is especially useful and impressive.
I couldn’t follow all of what you had going on and have very limited experience with Ableton. It might be helpful to have an illustrated pdf file with your instructions.
Thanks for your comment!!
In fact I’m so used to my iPhone than I even hesitate to get an iPad!
Here is a Dropbox link to AUM preset:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7jqybyv109vwjlm/Saxloops Touchjam.aumproj?dl=0
I will update links later in the day as I’m not at home.
Let me know how it works concerning iPhone/iPad preset compatibility.
All you have to do is:
1-
Load Audiobus preset and open all preset apps
Load AUM preset
Load touchOSC and use pc/mac touchOSC editor app to load preset on idevice via wifi.
2-
-Set latency in Audiobus to 256 buffers minimum, increase if need, works perfectly here at this rate.
-Check midi connections in AUM in midi routing page. « AUM destination » and « MF Adapter out 1 » need to be routed to « midi control ». Should be made automatically at Audiobus preset load.
-In touchOSC, in « coremidi » menu setup page, set enabled and « ON » all midiflow inputs and outputs and AUM output.
-Check that midiflow tools are well loaded/saved by checking the video. I will do screenshots.
3-
Load loops of similar tempo in AUM players, set AUM’s tempo at same tempo.
4- tap AUM play transport via AUM or touchOSC transport page and go to mixer/trigger page and test faders/mutes/scenes.
There are 6 groups of 4 sample players each and two bonus players. Refer to AUM’s bookmarks to get some orientation lol!!
5-
When you quit session, clear Audiobus and swipe all apps. It’s important that all apps have been opened at least one time at beginning for proper exit and next time proper preset load.
Once configured it should works flawlessly, you really just need to load loops in players.
I will do a PDF ASAP with perhaps some additional instructions and diagrams.
Hope it will works on your side, let me know
@Janosax thanks for the additional info., I’ll let you know how it goes. The AUM preset you linked to doesn’t include the FX apps or their settings. It might be good to share a link to an AUM preset that does include those.
You’re welcome. I will also do a touchOSC preset adapted to iPad screen ratio.
This song preset with fx’s will not be adapted to your own samples, as everything is leveled in a specific way.
I think it will be easier and much more interesting for you to just load effects on some groups, and make some affectation between AUM and touchOSC. I’m sure you will quickly get some amazing results!
It also makes much more sense to have a blank/neutral AUM preset that each one will fill with samples and FX’s of his/her choice.
The TouchOSC file you’ve linked to in your video isn’t the same as the one shown in your video. The first page in the TouchOSC control surface has only two sections at the top of the page rather than about 11-12. The four controls at the bottom don’t work correctly either.
The setup seemed to work in both the iPhone and iPad for me although I’m not sure what all of the middle controls in the TouchOSC control surface do. I’ll have to watch the video again.
The glitchiest part of the whole setup is getting all of the Midiflow apps to load correctly in Audiobus 3, but once they do, it seems to work well.
It might be better to have both the generic template preset for AUM for the reasons you discussed and one that has specific effect apps loaded so the user can see exactly how it all works. This will enable them to compare to make sure they understand and have their settings correct.
Thanks for the video. Very impressive. This is what I want to acheive but I would like a less complex approach, maybe an app that would make it easier. I have to watch this again as I got lost after a while.
Very glad to read this!!! Great feedback.
For sure sometimes it’s needed to wait a little bit for midiflow loading.
Here is a TouchOSC template map:
@Janosax bravo, très impressionnant travail. A very good roundtrip of the technologies in ios. This modular approach is exactly what I like with my ipad
I've tested presets at home after dowloading all of them and everything works as intended.
Can you please check your midi setup, proper scene control (4 bottom orange buttons) needs:
AUM midi setup Aum destination and MF adapter out 1 need to be routed to midi control. When laoding Audiobus preset open Midiflow apps before AUM, this helps for proper routing from beginning:
Midiflow apps should be set that way, hope AB state saving has worked correctly here:
TouchOSC needs that midi setting in core midi page:
OK great idea I will do a preset with a free Audio Unit like Audio Damage like Fuzzplus3.
I agree 100% with you, unfortunately there is not a such app on iOS at this time. This is why I thinked about that modular solution. My tutorial explain also how it works, but you don't need to understand everything to use it. Just load various presets I provide, check midi setup as above, load your samples and assign your Audio Units FX's and that should work flawlessly.
Merci beaucoup!! Yes this modular iOS thing is very powerful, despite being quite complex sometimes!
I've udpated my blog page with all presets, instructions and screenshots:
https://www.saxloops.fr/en/2018/05/02/tutorial-saxloops-1-how-to-jam-with-iphone-and-ipad-apps-like-with-ableton-live/
When you save presets in AUM or Audiobus, you need to be sure that you’ve just opened TouchOSC so all of the controls in TouchOSC are in their default state so all three apps will be in sync with their settings.
Having the three Midiflow apps opened before you load the preset in Audiobus 3 can make loading them smoother too as will as clearing your sessions. Depending upon your device, apps, and samples, you may need to increase your latency for this to work.
Making sure all of the levels for all four of the samples in each group are compatible or your group fader settings will be useless as will the overall mix.
In many ways this reminds me of Launchpad except you can choose your own effects.
This is a pretty strange issue, as only B group is affected. I've just imported all files I've shared on my blog on an iPhone SE and everything works well and was pretty straight forward, all scenes works as they should. I dont' think it's iPad related.
Perhaps something went wrong on your side, in one of the preset and has been saved? It could be some Midiflow apps that miss ( they must be 6 of each), or In touchOSC* or even AUM preset...
I suggest you load again all Audiobus/AUM/TouchOSC presets and see if issue is fixed while starting from new. (BTW on iPhone SE Audiobus preset loaded properly AUM preset, no need to download separate AUM preset. I've made it however to troubleshoot your issue but there was no issue here).
*In touchOSC editor/SAXLOOPS TOUCHJAM preset: Group B RED multitoggle buttons when selected should show those settings in midi page:
It turned out to be a corrupted Audiobus preset that was causing the B group to not respond appropriately. It now works as expected.
You can also create an Audiobus preset that is MIDI only and use Link to sync it with AUM. The AUM files will still be the same except they will not have the IAA port one MIDI port. You’ll be able to use the same TouchOSC and Audiobus 3 preset for any number of different AUM setups. You’ll need to MIDI learn any unique parameters and set their ranges in each channel so the mix works as @Janosax advised.
Wow - that's a lot to take in =D I better hurry up and finish Loopy Pro eh?
Great idea!! Also I’m glad that everything works now on your setup.
So have you fun to play with? Should it be interesting for your creations? Have you done AU FX affectations?
I’ve used effects experimented with using combinations of the AUM file player looped, not looped, and enabled/disabled.