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
We’re gonna need a montage:
It really does look pretty good for the price and it’s meant to work well with iOS devices.
First time in many years I have a very childish “I want one” emotion going on at the moment!
1GB of user sample flash mem plus >5GB wave ROM and a respectable FM engine do sound like a deal.
The Montage always seemed like unobtainium. This looks more affordable for sure. For those who wanted an upgraded SY series.
I always have to find pricing...
61 Key $1299 US
76 Key $1499 US
88 Key $1899 US
Software is driving down HW price points it seems. More choices means more competition for the $'s available.
@Fruitbat1919 :Where do you see that it’s ios friendly?
I’ve watched a load of videos on it. If I come across the info again, I will repost for you
With all the "crazy" prices of iOS devices, macs and even a lot windows devices it´s looking more and more attractive to go the hardware route
I’m seriously thinking of buying the MODX even though I am a proud owner of two DX7s, a Korg Kronos with MOD7 and a TG77. Another thing is it’s cheaper than the iPhone XS Max.
It has a built-in audio interface which works over the USB connection, which it says is IOS compatible. So audio and midi over the same connection into the Camera Connection Kit. Very cool (although I posted a thread on this yesterday and nobody noticed!).
This is a definite possibility.
No sampler or sequencer though . And check out the first comment under the Video re Midi channels
@Fruitbat1919 : You’re right, I found it on the Yamaha website. Works w iOS w camera connection kit .
Too bad Yamaha doesn't include their 'other' synthesis engines in their 'stuff' and only focuses on sampling (AWM2) and FM. I mean the AN synthesis is still good, and there's nothing that competes with VL (Physical Modeling Woodwind/Pipe instruments) and VP for 'other' physical modelling methods and the FS1R (Formant Shaping Synthesis etc).
All those are pure DSP and should with current CPU advancements not be too taxing
But It has a flashing super knob!
There's the glass half-empty vs glass-half full analogy but they miss that special category:
A $1299 Yamaha that sounds like this one is a glass 3/4 full of Perrier for me. I have a budget for expenditures and that's below my threshold of what makes sense for a fuck-around music guy.
If only it was a sound module below $1000.
OK, here's my angle. The Hammered Keys are creating Carpal Tunnel Issues and I can't play. I really need a keyboard with light keys that is NOT a toy. It's a medical condition of working all my life (to put the kids through college) and now I deserve a little "me time" with my music without the extra damage to my hands.
There is of course, some truth to this. Which is why I should really be learning to use sequencers but it still feels like cheating.
Time marches on and we all have a context for music. Making money in Bars is probably not possible anymore for a single keyboard player that doesn't sing.
I think I want this:
What other romplers have this feature?
Fully agreed. Having been an owner of a VL-70m (sold a couple of years ago) and two SY-77s a few years apart, I’m very much a fan of Yamaha’s synthesis capabilities (but not their complexities). I nearly nearly bought an FS1R, and kept nearly buying it for about a year. I should have, for investment purposes, but I was starting to try to get away from complexity about then.
Cool, I still have fond memories of the PLG-150AN daughterboard I have for the SW1000XG.
It's like 50% of an AN1X and the editor for it could access every single parameter and made it easy to detail edit the three 256 step long 'modulation curves' that could be routed to just about any parameter of the synth and the step-sequencer/arpeggiator that could trigger both single notes and chords.
Considering Yamaha partial ported the AN engine to iOS in the 'Yamaha Synth Book' it feels like waste of development resource not to bring it up to modern standards as an AUv3. Same could go for the partial crippled FM Essentials app where all the instances share the same preset...
Yamaha can do it if there is a will or crazy enough product planner at the company to embrace iOS for other stuff that patch/program editors (they have made the Apr & Keys app and Music Mobile Sequencer though).
Secondhand Yamaha Refaces are getting cheaper nowadays.
@McDtracy : My Korg Kross 2 has the audio/Midi single corfd usb feature
The ReFace DX & CS are quite interesting as is the MX line and that somehow makes me wish Yamaha would make a 'ReFace MX' and I would be all over it
Everytime I drool on a Yamaha and I pass and end up looking at Korgs and the Kross 2 is $750 vs $1200 for Yamaha's low end 61-note. The only time I passed on the Korgs was in the 1970's when I passed on the thin sounding Korg Poly-6 for a Phat Roland JX-3P. The Yamaha DX-7 was out of reach for my budget
(i.e. credit card limit).
Kross2 is a capable keyboard, but it's just a rompler, while MODX has a full-blown FM-X synth engine to go with its rompler side. Also, I don't see Kross2's USB capability matching the MODX's 4-in/10-out USB audio interface.
OTOH, Kross2 does have a multitrack sequencer, making it a legit workstation, albeit at the budget level, and the specs are kind of miserly (eg. 64 steps, when the M3 workstation had 200,000 max notes).
I don't mind missing out on a workstation sequencer in favor of FM-X and a more up to date USB audio interface advertised to work with IOS, but hey everyone has their own needs/desires.
Unless Yamaha really screws up the USB MIDI implementation, one should be able to use the MODX as a controller for IOS apps, while also using IOS sequencing apps to sequence the MODX if desired.
You're making good sense looking at the tradeoffs beyond price.
@GovernorSilver :The Kross 2 sequencer has 240,000 maximum notes .. the Kross 2 unlike the K1 does have a single usb/audio/midi two way interface.. I really need a sampler as part of the package as well as a sequencer.. I don’t like to work only with synths alone ... plus battery operation. Only 128 meg though vs 5gig on the Yamaha.. I’m in no way comparing the two.
.
I can buy this but I only have an iPad Pro ...Portability is crucial to me, I’m nomadic by nature .. It’s between this and the new upcoming MacBook AIR w Logic Pro .. As sweet as this looks, as Samu said, MacOS Mojave should bring a sixeable Logic Pro update.. I don’t wanna be kicking myself so I’ll wait it out.
Ah, right, I missed the fact that Kross 2 has both a step sequencer (64 step) and DAW sequencer (210,000 event max).
As I said, we all have our own needs/desires. I'd prefer the keyboard controller with onboard FM-X engine and 4-in/10-out USB audio interface over the Kross 2, although I'll investigate where those 2 other audio inputs are, as I only see 2 input jacks. As far as samplers go, I work more with iDensity, Egoist - those type of sampling apps - on IOS, so I'm satisfied with having iPad handle my sampling needs and using a keyboard like MODX to control it. I'm also fine with using apps like SunVox for my sequencing needs - heck it can do sampling too.
BTW, MODX has "1 GB of non-volatile user flash memory with high speed reading/writing for your own custom samples or synth libraries".