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.
Mac version of Apollo MIDI over Bluetooth -- available now in the Mac app store
Folks -- the Mac version of Apollo is available in the Mac app store. It's free, but it's not much use if you don't have the iOS version. Let me know if you have trouble getting things running. And before anyone asks again, yes, I'm working on Windows and Linux versions.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apollo-midi-over-bluetooth/id733258803?ls=1&mt=12
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apollo-midi-over-bluetooth/id720942905?ls=1&mt=8
Comments
Congrats!
Nice work... Now I'm just waiting for the 1 host multiple receiver feature now
I figured my MacBook Pro was too old to have BT LE and just confirmed it when trying to run Apollo. Does anyone know a good BT LE adaptor for MBP?
I like the IOGEAR GBU521. It's not officially supported (well, none of them are -- Apple wants you to buy a new Mac), but it's worked for me. There are only a few companies that actually make the Bluetooth chips (the USB vendors just grab the stock parts, and stick them into USB packages). The GBU has a Broadcom chip, so if you can't get the GBU, then try for something with that inside.
Thanks @SecretBaseDesign. I'll look at that.
My money was wasted. My 2011 early Macbook Pro doesn't support Bluetooth LE. I should've checked first (suddenly realized my Macbook Pro is two years old).
@logictree -- the Mac version of Apollo is free, so hopefully, it didn't set you back too far!
I've tried to make the Bluetooth LE constraints clear in the app descriptions, and in the videos. For the Mac, you can get a Bluetooth LE USB adapter; I wish Apple had made it clearer which Macs have it, and which don't.
Less than $12 for the adaptor that @SecretBaseDesign referred to earlier. Cheaper than a new MBP!
Actually it is not that easy to find out if a Macbook model supports Bluetooth LE. I checked About This Mac, there was not information about it. I checked on wiki, still no.
BTW Don't worry my case too much, I may buy a adapter and give a try. (I already bought iPad version because I didn't consider my Macbook an old model).
How to check the version of Bluetooth on your Mac: while pressing on the Option key, click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar. The top line shows Version. If it says 6.xxxxx then you have Bluetooth LE. If it shows 4.xxxxx, you have Bluetooth 2.1.
If you can't see the Bluetooth icon in your menubar go to System Preferences >Bluetooth and select "Show Bluetooth in menu bar".
I have mid and late 2011 Macs and they all have Bluetooth 2.1. I tried using an IOGear GBU521. It shows up in System Report > USB devices, but Apollo does not detect it.
@SecretBaseDesign: when you say you used a USB adapter, was this on an older Mac that had no Bluetooth at all? If the Mac you used had Bluetooth 2.1, did you have to disable the built-in Bluetooth adapter?
@Bob_Bobaluba -- yes, I've got a couple of older Macs, and have tried a few different adapters (there's one from Cirago that works with Apollo, but my Bluetooth Magic Mouse acts jittery with it -- so something funky happening there).
You might need to reboot the system to get the Bluetooth to switch over to the new adapter; there's an OSX setting that determines if it starts using a newly inserted Bluetooth adapter, or maintains connections on old ones. My understanding is that OSX will only support one Bluetooth interface at any time.
A more annoying fix may require using a console, and setting the OSX configuration to switch to the new adapter for sure:
% sudo nvram bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior="always"
Depending on the OSX machine, it might be the case that it won't switch to use the Bluetooth adapter, even though it's been inserted.
Thanks much for the tip on the option key -- I'll add it to the description for the apps, and onto the web page.
I picked up a Bluetooth 4 adapter of ebay for the princely sum of £4.55 including free P&P. Works a treat with my 2010 Macbook Pro and Mac Desktop both running Mavericks. Apollo has given me a really cheap way to use my hardware midi keyboard (connected via standard midi cables to audio interface) with my iPad 4 via Bluetooth with very little latency. Works great the other way too, super tight latency from iPad to Mac. Well done, and big thanks to the Dev for this!
P.S. I can post a link to the Bluetooth dongle if anyone is interested (UK ebay link)
P.P.S Works on my friends Hackintosh running Mavericks as well..
Yes...I'm interested in the link @stug111.
Here you go..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-Bluetooth-V-4-0-Dongle-Dual-Mode-Adapter-for-Windows-7-8-Vista-A2DP-PC-/221325417596?pt=UK_Computing_USB_Bluetooth_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item338805dc7c
If you need any help getting things working, let me know and I'll do my best
I got Apollo OS X to work on a Mid-2011 iMac with OSX 10.9, built-in Bluetooth 2.1 and IOGear GBU521 adapter, but it required hoop-jumping:
Enter the NVRAM terminal command listed above. Mine was set to “default” which probably means “never”. Reboot.
To switch BT controllers I then needed to run Bluetooth Explorer, connect a USB mouse, turn off Bluetooth, use Bluetooth Explorer’s HCI Controller Selector to select and activate the GBU521 and then re-enable Bluetooth. Then Apollo works with my iOS devices, but I lose my Magic Mouse and Trackpad. The controller switch will not persist between reboots.
Certainly not “grandma-friendly” unless grandma is Grace Hopper.
It appears the Mac has a strong affinity for it’s built-in controller if present, at least in 10.9.
From my limited research it looks like BT LE is prevalent after 2011, so anyone with a 2012 or later Mac should be fine.
Thanks guys. Sounds like I need to find an adaptor that plays well, jump through hoops, get a new MBP, or resign myself to using Apollo just within the iOS realm. Option three is out the window, so I'll need to look at the other three.
I've got a late 2009 iMac with 10.9/Mavericks -- that's actually the machine that has the GBU521 in it. For me, it's kept the configuration, and only uses the GBU, even after reboots. If you reboot, and don't plug in the mouse, the machine will sit for a while, figure out that no mouse is connected, and then search with Bluetooth -- rebooting and waiting may get things to the configuration you need.
I wish this was easier -- but it's out of my control, and I'm doing what I can to get the app working on pre-Bluetooth-LE Macs.
No worries from me. Even if I can't get it to work iOS to Mac, I'm happy with the app across multiple iOS devices. Getting my MBP in the mix would just be icing on the cake.
Guys, the Bluetooth dongle I linked above just worked straight from the off. I dont even need to turn off the built-in Bluetooth 2.1, it just auto configures when I put it in. No need to 'pair' the 2 devices first, Apollo does that itself when you run the app on Mac and iOS.
The dongle is still there after re-boot. I'm using a 2010 Macbook Pro with 10.9 Mavericks. I dont use any other Bluetooth devices so I cant comment on those, but works fine with my wireless Logitech Marathon mouse in tandem.