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 Store

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

Why You Should Check Out Audulus

I am starting a new thread where I will post some patches in Audulus 3 in order to stimulate some interest in the app. I have noticed that when I post patches I don't get a lot of responses from the Audiobus community. If you love the idea of Eurorack, modular synthesis, building your own effects, or creatively routing MIDI, this app is fantastic. It has a big learning curve if you don't know much about VCO's, VCF's, VCA's, etc., but so does any kind of ground up synthesis building. There are a lot of easily accessible tools you can use, but there is also some deeper work you can do in the program in order to better understand how synthesis really works.

Here is a patch I threw together today using some brand new modules created by Robert Syrett and stschoen, that I enjoy dropping into a track in BeatMaker 3 as a starting point, then adding percussion, AUv3 synthesizers, etc...

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Comments

  • God bless your beautiful mind and this lovely mandala, but this to me is an advertisement never to use Audulus! I can barely keep track of Ripplemaker, which compared to this is like bowling with bumpers.

    What does this sound like? What can you achieve with this setup that mortal synthesizers cannot achieve?

    It is truly mesmerizing to look at.

  • @ExAsperis99 said:
    … this to me is an advertisement never to use Audulus! …

    Bit harsh, one thing I detect is that the Audulus people are offering easy ways in by saying you don’t have to lash up your own synth constructions from scratch, there’s now enough “off the shelf” modules to put together without worrying about the details.

  • Audulus 3 is a pretty deep modular system. You can create your own tools such as synths, Fx, sequencers, etc. It is great for people who like to build their own stuff, instead of buying everything in pre-made app form. It is almost like a high level music app sandbox type of thing.

    If the black light poster images above look too daunting for you, fear not. You don’t have to know how to or actually make anything, but you can still use awesome things other wizards have created and shared with the Audulus community. It is like having access to a whole range of useful, new, free music mini-apps.

    I just got this app in the past month, and it is pretty beastly. The learning curve is unusually high for an app, but it is crazy powerful. The free creations make it very useful even if you never build anything yourself. I have to admit, the connectivity is not as robust as I had assumed, and I was a little disappointed in that regard. But the app is very much alive and in current development, with the connectivity options I had hoped for on the list of things to come.

    If you like SunVox, but are not a fan of the interface, you should take a good look at Audulus 3.

  • @u0421793 said:

    @ExAsperis99 said:
    … this to me is an advertisement never to use Audulus! …

    Bit harsh, one thing I detect is that the Audulus people are offering easy ways in by saying you don’t have to lash up your own synth constructions from scratch, there’s now enough “off the shelf” modules to put together without worrying about the details.

    I wasn't trying to be harsh. It was mostly saying that this mass of "wires" is way beyond my ken. But it must offer something sonically, yes? It's not just a complicated way of making sound that can be made more simply with other apps?

  • @CracklePot said:
    Audulus 3 is a pretty deep modular system. You can create your own tools such as synths, Fx, sequencers, etc. It is great for people who like to build their own stuff, instead of buying everything in pre-made app form. It is almost like a high level music app sandbox type of thing.

    If the black light poster images above look too daunting for you, fear not. You don’t have to know how to or actually make anything, but you can still use awesome things other wizards have created and shared with the Audulus community. It is like having access to a whole range of useful, new, free music mini-apps.

    I just got this app in the past month, and it is pretty beastly. The learning curve is unusually high for an app, but it is crazy powerful. The free creations make it very useful even if you never build anything yourself. I have to admit, the connectivity is not as robust as I had assumed, and I was a little disappointed in that regard. But the app is very much alive and in current development, with the connectivity options I had hoped for on the list of things to come.

    If you like SunVox, but are not a fan of the interface, you should take a good look at Audulus 3.

    Yup - @CracklePot is 100% right. Audulus is intimidating to be sure. I read every Audulus thread, but I have to admit a lot of it is above my pay grade. I can understand things in the conceptual sense, but in application I get lost easily.

    And yes - SunVox interface is the ultimate turn off for me since I abandoned trackers in the 90's. Sounds are good, but I couldn't deal. For what it's worth, Audulus at least looks GORGEOUS.

  • I got Audulus on my iMac and I've opened it once or twice since winning a free code in a giveaway. I suppose if I'd paid for it I might be more motivated to really learn it, but even getting started is really daunting. Fortunately the audulus community is really keen on getting people started including all kinds of tutorials. But for me, I just don't think I've got the mojo to figure this all out.

  • tjatja
    edited May 2018

    @futureaztec Thanks a bunch, I love to learn more about Audulus!

    Your text about BM3 seems to possibly explain, why I never got BM3 to run with any Synth?

    "This was tested in BeatMaker 3. You need to create a seperate track inside your DAW with one note at the beginning of a bar, looping (Right now the midi node is set to channel 16). This will provide a reset for the sequencer so that the patch will fit correctly with your other tracks. The BPM is currently set at 90."

    You need to do what? Add one single note at the beginning of a bar?!?

    And then what, "looping"?
    How to do that?

    I spare further comments about BM3...
    Such a.... :s

  • tjatja
    edited May 2018

    @futureaztec Could you possibly offer your Audulus file as zip?

    I tried multiple times with several ways, but just cannot download this file.
    It only opens I the browser as pure text.

  • @tja said:
    @futureaztec Could you possibly offer your Audulus files as zip?

    I tried multiple times with several ways, but just cannot download this file.
    It only opens I the browser als Text file

    Did you try clicking "Open in other app" button? I've run into this before and I had to tell the browser to send the detail to Audulus....

  • If you start with a conceptually simpler modular app, such as Ripplemaker or KQ Mini Synth, it may be easier to move on to to Audulus.

    It is mainly the modular workflow of designing your own tools that may be the most alien to new users. Learning what each type of node or module does is next important. Those are the two main areas you need proficiency in to get the most out this app. But again, you could just use it like MobMuPlat and its PureData patches, and use Audulus to run Audulus modules that other advanced users have created and shared.

  • @Daveypoo said:

    @tja said:
    @futureaztec Could you possibly offer your Audulus files as zip?

    I tried multiple times with several ways, but just cannot download this file.
    It only opens I the browser als Text file

    Did you try clicking "Open in other app" button? I've run into this before and I had to tell the browser to send the detail to Audulus....

    Yes, but it only saves as "text.txt" and not with the right name, also I am not sure if the content is still valid, when the browser assumes this to be a text file - something is wrong then!

    I think this only works correctly when offered as zipped files!

  • @tja said:
    @futureaztec Could you possibly offer your Audulus file as zip?

    I tried multiple times with several ways, but just cannot download this file.
    It only opens I the browser as pure text.

    There is currently an issue with saving patches from the forum in iOS. The developers recently upgraded the forum to discourse software. Here is the thread for workarounds. https://forum.audulus.com/t/problem-with-downloading-patches-from-forum-on-ios/262

    I am sure they will have this solved soon, in the meantime I have just been d/loading on my mac and then emailing myself the patch where I open it on my iPad from the email. There are other ways to do this if you don't have a mac, but I find this the easiest until the new forum software gets ironed out.

  • tjatja
    edited May 2018

    @futureaztec Going to read that, but desktop is not an alternative for me - I rarely start my PC anymore.

    I tried to save the file to "Files" and there to AudioShare, but this did not work, as somehow this only saved the URL itself:

    zip files are not possible in this forum?

  • @CracklePot is absolutely correct. I mean you could look at a Eurorack modular system and say "that's too complicated." But if you are humble and you like the idea of really unique synthesis and have been drooling over eurorack for years, this is the goto on iOS. If you have a Eurorack then things get even more interesting because people have been incorporating patches that work with the Expert Sleepers ES-8, so you can plug your iPad directly into your Eurorack.

    In the meantime I would say that if you have wanted a Eurorack, this is good way to learn modular synthesis and understand how it works. Consider the 0-Coast from Make Noise. Now look at Robert Syrett's inspired creation:

    You could buy an 0-Coast, but it doesn't mean you would understand what you are doing. When you work with something like Audulus you can humble yourself about what happens when you route control voltages to modulate parameters. Then, each little bit you learn increases your understanding of synthesis. When you turn back to Zeeon, KQ Dixie, Phosphor 2, or any of the effects like Dischord, or Kosmonaut, you go from a knob turner to some who is marveling at how something works. Part of why people are drawn to synthesis is the logical, algorithmic learning involved in the designs -- the very basic joy of knowing why something sounds the way that it does.

  • tjatja
    edited May 2018

    @futureaztec I found another, for me faster and easier workaround:

    Paste the URL into Aloha webbrowser, which directly offers to download the file - incl. the right name!

    From there, I could open the file in Audulus!

    BUT it is a major crackle fest - even as the CPU is just 50-60%

  • @tja said:
    BUT it is a major crackle fest - even as the CPU is just 50-60%

    What iPad do you have?

  • @futureaztec said:

    @tja said:
    BUT it is a major crackle fest - even as the CPU is just 50-60%

    What iPad do you have?

    iPad Pro 9.7 on iOS 11.3.1

  • edited May 2018

    @tja said
    Your text about BM3 seems to possibly explain, why I never got BM3 to run with any Synth?
    You need to do what? Add one single note at the beginning of a bar?!?

    And then what, "looping"?
    How to do that?

    In order to send a reset to a sequencer, a trigger that tells the seqencer to start at the beginning, you create an empty midi track and then go into the pattern section of your DAW (Cubasis or BM3). Then you add a note at the beginning of the bar and duplicate the bar for however long your track is. This midi note then gets sent to Audulus and the midi input module tells the sequencer to reset its sequence.

    This is a basic midi technique that gets used all the time for sequencers. Although it make take some time to learn how to do this, once you understand it, you have understood something very important about how production hardware and software interface. I understand it may be challenging for some as it was for me, but once I understood what I was doing in Cubasis, I knew exactly what to do in Beatmaker 3.

  • I never had ANY problems with MIDI files or live MIDI In Cubasis - never ever!
    And I never had to create something like you posted!
    I just load MIDI files and use whatever Synth I want.
    Totally simple for any child.

    All of this is just not possible with BM3, which is the reason why some people are just frustrated by BM3 - mostly those who want to use MIDI and not samples.

    Anyway, I still did not understand what you tried to explain, but I will read again!

    Meanwhile, I downloaded this big Audulus file from the old forum - greattttttt B)

    Anything like this for the new Audulus forum? I mean a zip with all the newer stuff? :)

  • @tja said:

    @futureaztec said:

    @tja said:
    BUT it is a major crackle fest - even as the CPU is just 50-60%

    What iPad do you have?

    iPad Pro 9.7 on iOS 11.3.1

    Well then there is something wrong happening. I am running an iPad Mini 4 with Audulus inside beatmaker 3 and several other synths and I don't have crackling. With anything this powerful you will find that the CPU can get taxed. That is normal for software synthesis. But for this patch you should not be having issues. Are you running Audulus in standalone with nothing else running?

  • @futureaztec said:

    @tja said:

    @futureaztec said:

    @tja said:
    BUT it is a major crackle fest - even as the CPU is just 50-60%

    What iPad do you have?

    iPad Pro 9.7 on iOS 11.3.1

    Well then there is something wrong happening. I am running an iPad Mini 4 with Audulus inside beatmaker 3 and several other synths and I don't have crackling. With anything this powerful you will find that the CPU can get taxed. That is normal for software synthesis. But for this patch you should not be having issues. Are you running Audulus in standalone with nothing else running?

    Strange.

    I tried again, this time with the file shared from AudioShare and had the same crackling!

    There was another patch which I tried - and this does not have any crackling!

  • @tja said:
    I never had ANY problems with MIDI files or live MIDI In Cubasis - never ever!
    And I never had to create something like you posted!
    I just load MIDI files and use whatever Synth I want.
    Totally simple for any child.

    All of this is just not possible with BM3, which is the reason why some people are just frustrated by BM3 - mostly those who want to use MIDI and not samples.

    Anyway, I still did not understand what you tried to explain, but I will read again!

    Meanwhile, I downloaded this big Audulus file from the old forum - greattttttt B)

    Anything like this for the new Audulus forum? I mean a zip with all the newer stuff? :)

    Well the new forum is only a week old. So you will have to look around for the new patches. But you will also want to read the threads where the patches/modules are posted because you can then bone up on what the creators are working on. The stuff that the composer Rudiger Meyer has been doing with Rob Hordijk work is pretty amazing. stschoen's DX7 type modules are fantastic.

    There is really more innovation going on that I can keep up with.

  • @futureaztec Thanks a bunch!

  • @futureaztec said:

    @tja said:
    I never had ANY problems with MIDI files or live MIDI In Cubasis - never ever!
    And I never had to create something like you posted!

    In BM3 and Cubasis you need to send midi to Audulus. The reason it seems more complicated it because you are doing sequcing, rather than just loading up a synth.

  • @tja said:

    @futureaztec said:

    @tja said:
    BUT it is a major crackle fest - even as the CPU is just 50-60%

    What iPad do you have?

    iPad Pro 9.7 on iOS 11.3.1

    Downloading the patch and opening it on an iPad Air 2 with nothing else but Safari on iOS 11.3.1 it only uses about 30-35% CPU with no crackling. When I purchased an iPad Pro 12.9 last fall, I noticed significant issues with crackling when there was animation on the screen (e.g. scrolling through AUM) which I didn’t experience on the iPad Air 2. Alternatively you may have other apps running you’re not aware of.

  • @InfoCheck Going to hard-reboot and try again

  • No effect.

    63% CPU and massive crackling.

    Frustrating :| :'( :/

  • I opened the biggest file from the archives that seemed to be a synthesizer:

    CPU up to 159%, needed to stop fast as it crackled immensely...

    What's wrong here?

    Anybody reading this also has Audulus, an iPad Pro 9.7 and iOS 10.3.1?

  • I posted this in the Audulus forum

  • @tja said:
    I posted this in the Audulus forum

    That’s what I was going to suggest. They will be right on it.

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