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.
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It filters down a long way... and right into IOS (with some work).
All the EXS24 based instruments in Logic Pro X at $199 are provided in Apple's Mainstage Product for $30. You ONLY need Mainstage to use them and don't need Logic X to play them. Just to record them.
Any EXS24 instrument (like this Strings+ can be exported as an EXS24 format instrument).
The @Virsyn AudioLayer Product can import EXS24 files.
So, you can have these Strings+ sounds on IOS for $45 assuming you have a Mac. $30 for Mainstage and $15 for AudioLayer on IOS. All the Mainstage/Logic Pro X sampled instrument s can be exported/imported into this $15 IOS App to build an AUv3 Library of instruments that use disk streaming and are editable too if you want to Layer more and make hybrid instruments.
I strongly recommend you select the Local Files option with AudioLayer if you intend to use Large Sample instruments so they can be called up quickly without the Wi-Fi/INternet requirement and because my favorite AudioLayer Piano took
over 30 minutes to re-load from the iCloud Storage option.
Of course the local file option with big samples means a lot of storage is required in the iPad but so does Colussus Piano(s), iSymphonic, etc.
I do need help with String+ AL Instrument however: the EXS instrument on AudioLayer plays all the articulations in layers but the trills are layered in with the Legato. How does EXS24 on the Mac determine which Legato vs Trill etc Layer to play. Legato is the default and sounds fine in Mainstage but after the Export/Import into AudioLayer it all plays at the same time. I have have to start deleting layers to get something useable. I'm just hopeing someone might raise my level of understanding on Mainstage Layering and how AudioLayer might not do the same thing.
Any additional clues about the EXS24 format appreciated. I just finished removing AudioLayer and re-installing to start agina with Local Files which will make it more like the Korg Module for a portable Sound Module use case. No Wi-Fi needed and (hopefully) quick swapping of instruments. I'll be testing that today. To make room I have to turn on "Offload Unused Apps" and start selecting the large storage users to switch to this approach. I started with the large but essentially unused SampleTank... good bye Miroslav... I hardly used you for my $25.
I wish I could re-gift it. Can I? Only with approved another approved iPad to run it?
Ok I know black don’t crack, but that’s just some voodoo wizardry right there. Your dad is like one of the coolest looking 71 year old I’ve ever seen.
@Janosax... Can you import from a non-iOS source say for example toon track easy pianist midi files?
I just tried with a Queen midi file found on internet, downloaded directly in Files app into GarageBand File Transfer on local storage. Appears immediately in GB loop browser, and when you slide midi file onto arrangement view, GB automatically create tracks/untruments. Works flawlessly.
Moving beathawk midi over now so I can add more effects and create better song. Works create.
Got to say after a productive Garageband session tonight that it's currently top of the stack for me as far as a writing tool on iOS. Now I'm just riffing alchemy arpeggios over the grooves we produced and basking in their glorious vitality. I'll be returning, but do need to learn how to get these stems out though!!
About stems: just merge in arrangement view each track individually, this will create new rendered audio tracks, it’s faster than export track by track using solo. Then go into Files app and copy your GB project from GB folder to AudioShare. Go to AudioShare, open GB project, you will find there all project files including all freshly merged audio files aka stems
:
So you have to merge each track that you want to use as a stem? With a six-track project, that would mean they you end up with 6 duplicate files, correct?
Then, the project file that you copy to the AudioShare folder would be the project that now contains 6 “merged” tracks.
Is this correct?
Exactly, the song project with all merged tracks will have original name, others will be « copy ». Your original non merged version will be the first copy. You can delete copies and keep only original and merged versions at the end of the process. You can delete deleted files permanently from Files app or in GB song browser. Note that it’s my personal workaround, not an « official » one, but it works really well. Usual method is to solo each track then export song, repeat for each track, but it’s not as fast as my merging method. Try both. Hope this helps!
This is really useful. Thanks very much.
Yes just tried it with a multi Midi file 3 tracks fills the lot in dead quick. Works similar to Xequence which does this and populates the tracks.
They did a great job, it’s better than a standard midi file player as you can use FXS including AU on tracks, replace instruments by AU ones... I don’t use too much midi files but that can be really interesting with Gadget, Xequence, or any other apps when a DAW is needed at some stage in production process. With that new import feature and RouteMIDI app, GB becomes much more versatile.
I know if you use Multi Queen Files if that’s what they call them the Instruments used are imprinted in the midi file so if you try to change them they change back. Can you get round this in GarageBand?
You’re right, changing instrument will create a new track, I’ve just checked. But it’s still possible to copy paste tracks parts to new tracks/instrument, works great. Limitation is only with some specific instruments, you can’t copy for example a drum part to an AU track.
Ok will give that a go.
The thing I wish I could do in GB is record a track with the GB guitar fretboard touch instrument, and then copy that MIDI to a synth track with all the pitch bends and legato intact. Last time I tried, you can’t drag guitar MIDI onto a different type of track, nor replace the guitar with a different instrument on the existing track.
Speaking of GB guitars, I have always been frustrated that if you connect a real guitar, you have a wide choice and configurability of effects, but using the virtual guitars, you have a couple of chouces and that’s it. The code is clearly in there, why not just make it available to the virtual instruments! (I know you can copy the virtual guitar track as audio as a work around, but it’s not the same as actually playing with the effects is it).
+1
always wanted this too. ToneBridge will have to suffice for now but it'd be nice to just use what's under the hood already.
I'd have to agree here, some of the guitar effects can be added as insert effects on the other tracks but as you mention it's not fully the same.
Other 'stupid' limitations are when using the 'smart drums' the recorded midi-notes can not be edited or moved to another drum-track for tweaking. The 'Beat Sequencer' is way better here since the recorded notes can be edited.
Another irritation is that the 'Drum Kits' include more drums than there are performance pads (ie. they can only be accessed using the 'note editor'. Would be nice to be able to replace the drum sounds on the pads.
(For example the Crate Digger kit has 12 pads but 16 sounds).
UGH yes. It would be REALLY swell if we could load our own drum samples into beat sequencer... this thing would be a monster. I didn't fully appreciate beat sequencer until I realized it was using your drum grid to populate the sequencer time line, and that while recording you can modify it on the fly if you so choose.
The drums are my biggest gripe with GB. Drummer is cool, the included kits are good but I've got so many weird samples / one shots I want to use....
The 'Sampler' In GarageBand is actually quite handy and it's easy to import samples using the 'Files.app'
(For batch-import use the Files.app to copy the files to the iTunes Transfer folder inside GarageBand).
It's also possible to just drag any audio-event in GarageBand to the sampler track to create a sampler-instrument.
If the samples contain loop-information that will be used to set the loop for the sample.
But yeah, it would be nice to be able to use user-samples with the Beat Sequencer.
Considering what the Alchemy engine is capable of I do hope Apple will open it up at some point with sample-import etc.
@Samu Yeah, I meant more like I have this ridiculous drum library of bass drums, snares, etc etc and want to map it to notes on a keyboard or sample slots on beat sequencer. Fingers crossed!
I will say I was messing around with some single cycle waveform style stuff with the sampler instrument and it was pretty cool. I might need to explore that some more in the near future!
You’d have thought that all the changes mentioned in the last few posts could be done pretty easily and would provide good enhancements with minimal effort. Take note Apple! (I doubt they will actually read this thread, but who knows, someone may point them to it).
I was hoping for a more robust update...
A master channel? More power for alchemy? User samples/patches in alchemy? A more powerful sampler? Maybe some new types of smart instruments? GarageBand mobile is nice, but there could be improvements made to push it over the top.
Btw, if you want feedback to reach Apple, send it directly. Even if someone from Apple were taking the time to watch the forums here (which isn't likely on an active basis -- people usually have too much on their plates), the feedback sent directly to them through their feedback pages would count more since taking the time to report it is an indicator of something.
They have a page for sending in feedback:
https://www.apple.com/feedback/garageband.html