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.
iSymphonic Update - 04 20 2020 (originally posted 9 07 18)
Comments
Very nice update, just keeps getting better🎼🎼👍🏻
Would so love to download this again. What can I delete?
For orchestral sounds it’s great , I don’t know how it compares with SampleTank and IAPs, but I am sure there was a thread somewhere in the forums ...
Edit : Don’t expect Kontakt libraries here . Only hope is for AudioLayer app to include sfz support and building custom pro libraries ...
I think it's very good. Not going to get into a comparative pissing contest about it, but I'm happy to have it on my iPad and was thrilled the day it went AU....
It‘s by the same sound designer than Gadget‘s (Module‘s, rather) Orchestral sound pack so if you don’t like that one, this is probably not for you.
I'm going to reiterate that I think it's really good. Does take up a lot of space and also costs a fair amount, pretty accurate description of my first marriage actually, but more restful....
@mAxjUlien. Just get the 9.99 app. It has a lot of good strings and a couple of brass orchestras. Then you can judge. It is unstable as hell on my iPad4. Beathawk's brass is good. iFretless brass good, too. You have heard all of them in my Synthonys which if I recall you have listened to.
I will download more ISymphonic packs just to have them, but it is definitely a search to find the right one when you need it. When I think of the old Crumar string machine I used in 1980 I am very happy with the above. When I compare the to Kontakt, or god forbid, the real thing, it is pretty disappointing. So I don't compare and enjoy them for what they are till something better comes along, which it probably will.
@mAxjUlien. It depends, my friend. If you have a good piano you won't need the keys. There are about a dozen expansions. Doug demos a bunch. The Beathawk choirs are perhaps as good and $7, you could eliminate the Canto and Tosca packs right there. The horns are spread out unfortunately, but I think Cupra has the most. I am going to check and tell you what I aim to get. They are between 11.99 and 14.99 and have large footprints and take a while downloading... I know I am getting you more and more excited by the minute. Still they are way better than Miroslav IMO.
Ok, @mAxjUlien, Pro for horns, Boato to round out strings, Aulos flutes and woodwinds, and Cupra a lot more brass.. for organ I am getting iCathedral. Choirs in Beathawk.
Piano RC 275 if you don't have a great one.
Figure under $10 for the base app and under $60 for the four iSymphonics, if you have BH the Choirs are $7 I think.
Optional RC piano $36. iCathedral, $15, tho Galileo 2 is on sale for $7 and has a cathedral organ you can work with, I believe.
Maybe that is a bunch, but IMO that is the best of what is available. Oh, yeah, BH baroque for very good harpsichordsnylon guitar and harps, $7 and Mallets for great vibes, marimbas etc. $7. add some percussion and you have got yourself a halfway decent orchestra. Let me know how you like the base app.
Good luck and others may think differently of course, but Miroslav 2 is $50 without the $20 for Sampletank and not AU. So you see there isn't much choice except free soundfonts. Ask @McDtracy for his opinion. He knows them all except Beathawk.
I find them to be great sounding in isolation but unuseable in DAW's. I don't like the DAW with AUv3/IAA create a "sample-based" MIDI track and being forced to Freeze it to continue add more.
I'm hoping @VirSyn AudioLayer adds importing SF2/SFZ samples and then I might get a lightweight MIDI instrument without a lot of extra App bloat (like iSymphonic) and be able to run more than 2 acoutic instruments in a DAW. Then I'll drive down on DAW to get the one that supports the most AU's before it fails:
Cubasis
Auria Pro
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio (which is new to the AU/IAA game)
AUM
Are all reasonable candidates. So, most of the products I have bought might be re-purposed as "inputs" into AudioLayer to make a single "solo cello" instrument etc.
If this comes together I will encourage others to share their instruments and we can just pass on spending the $200 I have spent adding MV 2 Orchestra, iSymphonic, ThumbJam, Sensual Sax, etc.
Right now importing free SF2 Orchestras into the $7 AEMS DAW is the best way to get work done with out spending too much. The default orchestra in the product is quite good. The IAP FX in AEMS are close to the best in Auria and Cubasis for $2 each. The $12 orchestra IAP is on a par with other SF2 libraries and saves some download/import effort.
Still waiting for a great "film composers" IOS workflow. Others are using Freeze and doing wonderful work with noticeable frustrations over App crashing and frozen DAW's.
Well, @McDtracy certainly knows what he is talking about. I just don't mind ( or have gotten used to) the frustrations of the discussed apps. I like the results and have yet to hear free fonts ( except maybe the Salamander piano, which has its own problems I understand) that are worth the great ( lack of) price. @Mcd is suggesting something that doesn't exist yet... I think, but will if he has anything to do with it.
I’m a little jealous here — Gforce Software did a nice virtual instrument a few years back called Virtual String Machine that had samples of the classic string synths; of course the Solina and the VP-330 get a lot of love but I really liked the Freeman String Symphonizer sounds and the Crumar Multiman sounds! Been considering sampling that plugin for iOS useage in AudioLayer, might be a fun weekend project...
Thanks for the pointers on iSymphonic too!
@mAxjUlien and @aquasloth, an article I found that gives details on iSymphonic2
http://ipadloops.com/isymphonic-orchestra-version-2/
I always try to predict where things a going. I'm right about 33% of the time but it often takes so long that everyone agrees with me before it happens. Still, I like forecasting.
The key with IOS (and most complex systems) is avoiding resource waste. Many Apps ship as a standalone (so you can use them without dependencies) and the ability to be used in AUv3 Instrument and/or AUv3 Effect (audio and/or MIDI).
Many Apps just have too much code to be a really optimized sound engine... fast and with optimal resource use.
The CrudeByte Apps are amazing standalone apps... in their AUv3 instances they seem to have the most problems of any of my AUv3's. Nothing sounds better to my ears than their Apps (iSymphonic and Colossus Piano) but they just kill DAW's deader than anything else. It was good to see the Update for iSymphonic that might address the Bank Select/Program Change and Programmatic Preset of all MIDI Channels bugs that made me stop working with it using Xequence (adding Bank Selects is still on SystemSevens Roadmap).
What if I sample my favorite moments into AudioLayer and shave off the extra nuances of very soft and very loud and all the Application extras? I just need a workflow that makes that easy to do. I'm waiting to see what @VirSyn delivers with the next update. AudioLayer can run as an FX unit that samples any AU/IAA App as input. What would be a killer App is if the AudioLayer instance generates the MIDI determining which notes to be sampled at what velocity and for how long.
That would really shake up our world. Quickly clone and optimize any synth/app to make personal libraries of instruments.
Of course, ease of use matters for the largest user base but they have the sound engine for a sampler down. It just needs an expanded capability for making instruments quickly with great results to really be an App everyone owns. Like AudioBus... a tool that improves the usability of all our other Apps: a multiplying App.
Odds: 1 of 3.
@VirSyn can read and they see the potential too. Of course, they could just add a lot of IAPs and do the work themselves or resell the usual sample houses wares.
Odds: 1 of 3.
Or they could pile so much extra functionality into AL that it's AUv3 behavior won't allow more than 3 instances.
Odds: 1 of 3.
So, far I just keep trying paths and getting sent back to manually building 1 tracks at a time with a lot of re-dos.
Looks like a update is coming.
Love their app. I’ve really high expectations on this. Bought all iap (some good, some not so good😂) but I definitely love this app. Thanks for the info @Jumpercollins 🙏🏻
Fingers fabulously crossed.
@Jumpercollins good to know 👍 Cheers! 👊
Next week? Wow... just in time.
Man I haven’t used this app is a while I admit. Been all Pure Synth Platinum and beathawk Lately
Need to revisit, spent so much on apps I hardly use. The struggle is real.
So, Christian, where is this update?
So.... nothing yet? Its Friday....
I had it this morning!
Here is the update info
Ok. It was updated by his own and didnt check well? Nope... here in spain app store it's not updated. I will have to wait a bit more....
Edit: Ok. Now its updating... 🤣
I have updated yesterday but I was a little bit disappointed. No iPad Pro screen support and no external sad implementation.