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
@espiegel123 thanks - I have summarised the suggestions in the last few posts (my own and others) and submitted them.
Great!
Everyone that has them should also write. The number of voices they hear from influences things...and we have to realize they have their own wish lists too.
With all the talk about GB, I opened it again for the first time in a few months, even though I have not updated yet. I really like the environment, even though it is missing a few things. The virtual instruments are great, and having happened upon a little virtual guitar figure I liked, it developed with a couple of hours work into this little thing. I rather like it, even though it is pretty simple - I hope you do too. It would not have been the same if I had done this in any other app.
Just an additional thought - I know GB gets some flack for not having all the “professional” features - but I would have sold my granny to have something like it when I was making music 30 or 40 years ago (sorry Gran, RIP).
I wish there was some way to import the Toon Tracks EZ pianist” MIDI packs to garage band
Good stuff Mister Phil...
Pro-Q 2 my dream EQ now works in GB...
Pro-C would take me home
WTF this is really a great app now!
I’m afraid it’s true
Not so much given the update, but lately I’ve been thinking the same thing. A comrade on the StageLight thread hooked me up again with GB. Id always dissed it and I was a dolt. At least since the loopbuilder
I hate garageband’s virtual instruments, they’re unusable – the guitar is backwards. Always, under all circumstances, backwards! GarageBand gets it totally incorrect and shows me a guitar neck that is backwards and always permanently unplayable. I absolutely hate this, and hate the whole experience for this.
Not if you play your guitar face up in your lap ... like everyone else does. Don’t you?
Apart from a few 'minor' issues like lack of automation editing of the touch instruments and not being able to edit some of the midi data (smart drums for example) and missing 'bounce to new track'(i do NOT like the merge feature as it always duplicates to project) GarageBand is pretty neat
The biggest frustration is the 'locked in' instruments. I mean Apple already ported Alchemy, EX24, UltraBeat, ES2, etc. engines to iOS and crippled the instrument editing options....
@PhilW - Really cool tune.
Midi import is pretty rockin’
No MIDI export? That’s a shame!
I’m gonna go and hug my Cubasis...
Excellent song!!
@JohnnyGoodyear @TozBourne @Janosax Thanks for the listens and the positive feedback - it is appreciated!
Nice! This really needs to be somewhere in the next James Bond film soundtrack.
Thanks @wim I hope the producers are reading this thread!
As Gadget works pretty cool now (almost no device heat!!), it’s more than ever a good app to use with GB!! Top midi clock sync, works as IAA, with MidiRoute AUV3 app for sequencing Gadget inside GB if needed, and with Files support you can import stems in a much easier way now (export Ableton project in 24 bits and copy all loops stems from Files Gadget folder to GarageBand File Transfer folder for instant files access via GB loop menu import!!).
Waaait. You mean that app by Brian Howarth RouteMIDI? So let me get this straight...
Instance of RouteMIDI in GB, set channels to whatever is needed on the AU and in Gadget, load Gadget as IAA input and then sequence in GB on AU channel whilst recording to IAA track for Gadget?
is that about right??
And set midi clock in both GB and Gadget, works flawlessly!!
Gadget as IAA is needed only if you want to do some real-time monitoring with effects IMO, if no you can use standalone mode. MidiRoute AU and IAA seems to add positive latency when recording IAA audio inside GB, and recorded timing is not precise (you can still adjust GB track position with no snap to grid with max zoom). Certainly midi time stamps common issue to lot of iOS apps (Cubasis, apeMatrix and much more...), I’ve sent a mail to dev about that and he will look how to fix it. So my recommandation is to use that setup for midi composition/monitoring and when you’re done export/import Gadget stems in GB for perfect timing and final audio arrangement in Gadget. If you don’t have to make a midi arrangement at first stage, but create some material then use Gadget sequencer synced with GB via midi clock, it’s easier setup. Multiple possibilities, depends on project and needs.
@janosax - Brilliant - kind of like if GB did the Link thing. I might have to give this a whirl because I enjoy working in Gadget, but also enjoy working in GB, and I kind of feel like maybe this would be a nice marriage between the two
Link in DAW is tricky, it seems to be needed to have timestretch for tempo changes (even if Ableton uses link even with fixed tempo audio... but this is what some devs explain). Good thing about GB versus Cubasis and midi clock is that even when GB loop on itself midi clock stays synced. Not the case with Cubasis loop locators. Also if you need midi clock in GB loop builder, it’s needed to tap general play transport button which sends midi clock: loop builder and Gadget or anything else will stay in sync!! Just make a blank track in arrangement view to help tap play in loop view
I must say i also felt again more in love with Garage Band. The workflow could be better and there are things which drives me crazy about it but for the kind of music i like to create it seems still the best offer, especially with the included instruments, sounds, presets. Alone (even hard limited here) the included Alchemy presets are fantastic to work with if you make proper use of the morph pads. The included reverb in Garage Band is limited but still one of the best inside an iOS DAW (even compared to a lot AUv3´s or IAA´s).
Reality check for me is that i can only imagine that one DAW could be quite as good (and much better in many areas) for my kind of music....NanoStudio 2 with the Obsidian hybrid synth since it might be the closest replacement to Alchemy while having access to the full synth engine instead of a player.
Another reality check might be that i could focus on just these 2 DAW´s on iOS (and Logic on mac) and could forget about all my other music tools which distract me
I find that animations speed in GB has improved since iOS12 and latest GB update. Anybody has noticed too? Also I must say that once I mastered all shortcuts and submenus, GB has had a fast workflow for me. Much faster than Audio Evolution Mobile or even StageLight beta I test since a few weeks. Only Gadget (no AUV3) and Xequence (no audio) are faster, and of course Ableton Live but it uses a mouse!! Can’t compare with Cubasis, Auria and BM3, as I use on iPhone only. Also workflow is faster in GB when I use at least two fingers, one from each hand. Not true with all apps but it’s nice to use GB that way with submenus.
I used a lot AB with Blocswave and various apps for my production, but since GB has proper AUV3 rendering I use it much much more in a more traditional DAW workflow, with audio/midi, timeline, loop mode, AUV3, midi clock, apps recording, tracks rendering all along song production for CPU management, etc...
Also, GB has loop mode audio clip fixed length feature, it’s a must have!! Even Ableton is not able to do that and it has been asked for age!!
@icsleepers
I forgot to mention a step, so follow this.
IAA can be eventually used for GB monitoring as I said, GB channel effects should be saved as channel presets and applied on Gadget stems at later stage.
It’s the best workflow for all in one app arrangement, proper timeline sync and accurate midi timing/audio rendering.
Also, Gadget can export midi and now GB can import, so it’s nice too.
Thanks for all these tips just downloaded RouteMIDI to try this.
I noticed you can you can use GB keyboard to input notes into the GB Sequencer track.
I’ve also noticed for live use you can use GB looper see below with RouteMIDI to send out midi. The only shame is RouteMIDI doesn’t count as a instrument track from what I can see, so GB new midi in green loops can be loaded on the RouteMIDI track.