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.
NOT typical Interface question
I want to use ipad as a sound module to record it to Ableton - so, Keyboard -> Ipad -> Ableton
Does Interface should have usb IN for ipad and usb OUT for computer?
There is no other option like mini jack from ipad to interface?
Any interface recommendations?
Comments
Do you have Mac or PC? If Mac you don’t need interface but to connect with lightning connector to usb in the computer.
PC
Two options as far as I know, iOS app studiomux or buy hardware audio device iconnectaudio4+ or iconnectmidi4+
iOS studiomux lets you plug the iPad into your PC and all your apps can show up as ableton VST plug ins. The app is a bit complex and tricksey to set up but works.
The iconnect audio devices allow through audio streaming.
Ok, I'm looking for a hardware solution for now. So should I look for interfaces with multiple usb ports, or buy standard with only one usb for my PC?
Take a look at the iconnectaudio4+ it allows both your iPad and the PC to be connected to it at the same time.
Have you used it? I’ve heard nothing but the worst experiences from some people that have tried it on Windows. I’ve never tested it as I have no reason to use such a setup and it sounded like folks spent hours only to have severe latency. I’ve used it with 2 iPads before and it’s great though.
Interesting about the bad latency! I have been using studiomux no problem in the past. I don’t have a iconnectaudio4+ yet but I am planning to buy one shortly. I contacted the company about running it at 96khz. They told me no issue with streaming 3 stereo channels at the same time so that sounded good to me.
You have me worried now about Latency issues though. Latency is a killer for Music!
Yeah, latency is no good. I can handle a little if it’s some slow pad sounds or something. One of these days I’ll hook mine up to my laptop just to see, but nearly 2 years having the iCA4+ and I still haven’t even tried yet. I just don’t use my laptop much aside from moving some files around, or an occasional game, but definitly never for music. I’ve definitly read some bad reports that were more than the usual “I plugged it in and it didn’t work” kind of thing.
The Novation Audiohub 2x4 might be useful for you.
It has 3 usb inputs, stereo RCA input, 2 RCA stereo outputs with independent volume, and a headphone jack with independent volume.
It must be AC powered to work with an iPad, but a laptop or desktop port might be able to power it.
The output is significantly louder than any other interfaces i’v used too, which is nice.
You could send MIDI data both ways between the iPad and computer while sending the iPad audio into the computer (or computer audio into the iPad, depending where you put the Audiohub in this setup).
If iconnect causes latency on windows due to microsoft being lazy NOT making any sort of drivers and 3rd party drivers not working and win not caring. Then you have 2 options, either you get a mac or 2 audio interfaces, one for ipad and one for pc and output ipads interfaces output to pc interfaces input.
However you could just use just an audio interface on your computer. Run sound out of ipad headphone jack to interfaces inputs on computer. Send midi to ipad wirelessly, via usb dongle or via usb dongle with usb-midi dongle on it
Thanks. So better to look for routing signal from ipad to computer by usb cable, not headphone jack - right?
afaik the iConnectAudio is the only interface capable of routing audio between 2 different devices via USB (PC and iPad).
really? What about Novation Audiohub or Presonus itwo?
Neither of those will route audio between 2 devices via USB.
If you do this using hardware with anything other than iConnectAudio you will need 2 interfaces, one for the iPad and one for the PC, and then connect the audio out from one to the audio in on the other using audio cables, You could get away with a single interface/soundcard for the PC and use the Mic/Headphone out on the ipad but you won't get the best audio quality.
If you use iConnectAudio you connect the iPad and the PC to it using USB and do not need to use audio cables.
With regard the Audiohub specifically, the multiple USB ports are there as it also acts as a USB hub allowing you to connect multiple USB devices to it, keyboards/controllers that type of thing.
Exactly
Getting an interface running on 2 hosts with live channel communication between 2 DAWs is an extreme challenge. Just consider OS energy management on the 'other side' while tweakig a certain part takes much longer than expected... (ok, you normally switch the energy rubbish off anyway, but the system design can't ignore it)
My iCA4+ is set to low/medium values with the Windoze Asio host reporting a 128 buffer.
Keep in mind that you always can route any input of the iCA directly to the analog output bus for monitoring almost latency free.
Tracks WILL have some offset, which may need to be compensated in the DAW (depending on the kind of track you record), but that's the case with any multitrack system.
Afaik not even hardware DSP based solutions don't do this automatically in a perfect way on their own.
A sample accurate setup may matter, but in most cases it's more or less an academic question. Trust your ears and akk will be good.
The main point is simply to KNOW that a few samples offset CAN matter, but in most cases it's ok to not bother about this too much. (you can spend hours on respective tweaks).
So it's a bad news
I only want to have ability to play synths on my ipad and route them to my PC DAW
Here is a link to the website of the app i have been using for the last two years to send audio directly from my iPad/iPhone to Ableton via lightening-USB on a Win 10 pc. It works for me.
http://zerodebug.com/studiomux.php
If you mean playing live (and not sequencing them from your PC DAW) then assuming you already have a soundcard/interface on your PC then just try connected the heaphone out of the iPad to the audio in on your soundcard/interface....see how that goes quality wise.
If the quality is not good enough, then look at either using Studiomux or getting an interface for the iPad, remember that if you get a USB one (Prices range from £20 to £2000) you will also need a CCK (Camera Connection kit).
I regularly use a Behringer UCA202 for my ipad and that has good enough quality for me most of the time. Although if I have spare cash I would invest in a better one.
Exactly
> @MAtrixplan said:
this 'only' usually comes with a '... but also hear the PC fx on the synth track live'
In that case you have the IOS latency (which may be high on recent iDevices (due to Apple's special processing as some users reported here) PLUS the PC roundtrip latency (iPad signal converted, processed and played out with the mix).
If this is not the case (as Andy mentioned) then in fact it doesn't matter, but even a simple thing like the Behringer makes the process more streamlined - you can be sure that your plain synth output is transmitted without any interference.
Thanks - Studiomux - works fine for me
I also found iconnectMIDI2+ with audio through feature which allows to record/play from ipad to DAW