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.
Comments
Akai EIE only has a audio quality of 44khz 16 bit, iconnectaudio4+ has 96khz 24 bit.
iconnectaudio4+ can be use as an audio device for both an Ipad and a Mac at the same time by through streaming the audio between the devices. This tech seems to be owned currently by iconnectaudio4+.
@[Deleted User] you can also do feedback loops like recording audio from apps that have no IAA onto cubasis/Aum etc. So it's not just useful for multi device audio.....
The iCA4+ is awesome. I have owned both and the Akai EIE was great for what it does.
If you have a macbook pro, then the iCA4+ allows for fairly easily streaming between iPad and Macbook or 2 ipads as well. They can all share the same inputs, same midi devices, it has 5 pin din midi, can be used with a USB hub.
One thing to note. If you have a launchpad pro, it works great with ableton live with the iCA4+, since you can point ableton to the specific port. The Launchpad app on the iPad will not work with the Launchpad pro connected to the iCA4+. It can't find it since it shows up not as Launchpad but as HS1 or something like that. I have contacted both iConnect and the Launchpad app developers and each pointed me to the other as the issue. It would be great if launchpad app would just allow me to select where the Launchpad midi port is but its not a big deal.
very true :-)
Are you sure about that? According to the Akai page: Multichannel recording and playback up to 24-bit/96 kHz.
Or is this the EIE Pro a different product?
And as long as we're talking connecting iPads (and, say, a couple of midi controllers and/or a Digitakt) to laptops, what about the Novation Audiohub 2x4?
Yes the pro is a different product.
Got it. I was going to say that I don't think you can buy the regular EIE anymore, but according to Sweetwater, even the EIE Pro is no longer available.
One more thought: Do recent Apple advances with IDAM change the calculus on what an audio interface needs to do?
Definitely a valid thought Sir. For me personally I use a Windows PC with an ipad pro so the IDAM possibles are not available to me currently.
Aside frome the iCA4+'s regular 2 host connections, I slip in 2 other DAWs via the analog channels.
The iCA's outs connected permanently to the DAWs' inputs, while only one is returned to the iCA's 3/4 input pair and I just replug the cable for the other (while input 1/2 are used for guitar/mic most of the time)
As one of the DAWs is an old Pro Tools TDM system it not only can process IOS sources with PT realtime effects but also include analog gear connected to PT's 8 channel converter.
That's quite some flexibility for a near bargain price tag.
agreed on this. i actually do my desktop, ipad, and 3-4 analog synths. (i swap between my volca bass,keys and sample and my make noise 0-coast....)
What do you lose with the ICA2+? Two fewer audio inputs, but the outputs seem to be the same? $100 cheaper...
The EIE line is crap. Shitty drivers(!!!), no digital I/O, the pro isn’t compatible with idevices. I wouldn’t recommend it for any reason. All in all, if you pay peanuts you get peanuts. In my opinion there are many better interfaces in that price range such as the scarlett
The only device, though (AFAIK) that connects two ios devices AND a Mac simultaneously, is the IConnect Midi 4+, not any other ICA/ICM-thing. This is easily lost info about those interfaces... .
Actually not exactly true. You can just use bog standard audio cables for the 3rd device. The midi4+ doesn't let you do more than a couple channels between devices. Definitely not 16 channels like I do with the Ica4+
You lose the usb host port as well. That thing is hella useful coz if you connect a usb hub to it all the midi controllers plugged in there can be shared by both devices (just keep in mind it's not 7 midi controllers but 7 midi ports. So multi port devices like the launchpad pro can occupy say 3 ports. But if the midi controllers have a single port you can connect upto 7!). I use the port just for my launchpad pro most of the time so that it can control different instruments on either device just by what channels I select on it. But I also use it with a USB hub to connect various combinations of my beatstep pro, k-boards, midifighter twisters, launch control Xl, etc
Another good use of the midi host port. iOS by default seems to have issues with multiple identical midi controllers. I have 2 midifighter twisters and it's impossible to use both of them simultaneously using just a USB hub even if you set each to a different midi channel. It just ignores input from one and doesn't even list it as a midi input.
But when connected to the USB host port since they're listed as just host 1 and host 2 etc iOS readily accepts identical controllers. (All 7 input ports are listed as Hst1-7)
Well, yes sure you have the audio options with an ICA, but I was talking about the whole shebang (audiopassthrough plus versatile midirouting) between ios, ios AND Mac simultaneously... i use it for this setup, and it took me a while to figure it out, telling the ICdevices‘ possibilities apart. Just thought I‘d mention it.
Sold.
May I ask a question, I actually have the ICa4+ on order, I received confirmation that audio through will work at 96khz 24 bit for three stereo channels decently. I noticed you mentioned audio streaming between two devices of 16 channels. Would that be at 44khz 24 bit? Would you happen to know if it is possible for 16 channels to stream audio at 96khz 24bit?
The interface probably isn't the limiting factor but apps/IOS communication.
It's a huge difference if you send 8 stereo channels from Auria to Logic or if 8 instances of different synth/soundprocessors communicate at that data rate.
It's 10 channels of audio at 96khz. 20 at 44.1 khz. both are 24bit. I have it setup to do 16/4 from salve to master device. To be fair iOS is horrible at 96khz. Model 15 just murders my air2 at 96khz so I pretty much use it at 44.1. where I can use 3 instances of the Aux by hiding the interface and controlling it purely by midi from ableton. I'm pretty happy with 6 channels of model 15 tbh.
Thank you for the intel :-)
Just remember that back in the golden age of disco we didn't even have 96khz. You'll be fine with 44.1
my volca sample is just 31.2 khz which is fantastic for that lo fi crunch on the drums....
Thanks for this, I didn't know and I'll be careful !!!!
I do like crunch sometimes :-) I like to record and resample vocals and live acoustic instruments a lot on the PC and for me a higher sample rate works better in this regard.