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.
Lets get specific with hardware
I am curious - Don't want to derail the $300-$500 synth thread and am really curious. Knowing we love to create music on IPAD yet I have always wondered what synth's (hardware) excel per category. (Their Strengths) Example: Novation Bass Station 2 typically Bass and Leads etc.
Question: Which synths would you buy today and why? Do you like that particular synth for Bass, PADS, LEADS or is that synth particularly a good all-rounder?
Reason for asking is I am trying to figure out different types of synths what they are best or stronger at.
Other areas could include Synths strongest in:
Arpeggiation and Sequencing
Wave Synthesis
Analog/Virtual Analog
Drums (sounds) or Drum Machines/Synths etc.
PADS
Preferably what you can purchase today or buy used online (NOt getting into Juno originals and things of that sort)
In other words..... If you could build a new full synth setup what would it look like for you in these categories to have a nice hardware setup and what is the style of music you would mainly create if you had that setup?
I am an oldie - Into ambient/new age/etc. and will still use IPAD of course with great apps.
Thanks!
Comments
Are you a preset guy or a synth tweaker who likes to take the time to customize the sounds and to learn how to program a specific synth?
Microkorg/mininova.
Jxdi.
The only keyboard I know of in that price-range that meets all the mentioned requirements is the Roland JD-Xi.
A good synth will be able to cover all the bases (and the basses!) - so leads, pads, basses, wierd stuff (for want of a better term!). I’ve had a Roland Gaia for a couple of years and am very happy with it. But to an extent it is a personal choice.
@StMichaels there's no doubt that you can have any kind of synth sound in IOS, from lofi to very high quality output.
What you will NOT get is variance in character, which is due to the fundamental software environment. It's a very common (and regular) experience whenever something is based on the same (or very similiar) building blocks.
To illustrate: in Guitar Rig (VST) you can choose from a lot of different pedals. They mimic the original hardware in a functional way quite well, but their basic character remains the same - while real pedals vary a lot.
People who own the expensive Lexicon 480 (Reverb) rarely use the unit's digital output, but prefer the analog ports - for the converters have a certain 'sound' that's appreciated.
The Ensoniq DP/4 multieffect processor is still sought today, a stunning digital unit with an almost 'analog' sound flavour. You can have it's functions (reverb, chorus, flanger, filter etc)
on IOS easily, but it will never sound exactly like that piece of hardware.
It's those differences that keep people stick to certain pieces of gear - it 'opens up' mixes greatly.
Delay may seem a simple effect, but there can be a huge spectrum of sounds, depending on the design of the unit. Some are really complex and it's a lot of work to make an emulation fake original hardware in a trustworthy way - but of course it's possible.
I've recently been working on some guitar ambience sounds - purely IOS based, but that turned out to be a more serious challenge than expected. Time and again I was about to switch to a Lexicon Vortex Delay, an experimental Ursa Major Spacestation or some Eventide classics. All out of bounds for this task of course.
If your into ambience, I wouldn't mind synths too much - have some smooth ones like the Moog/Zeeon kind and some gritty/edgy sources, but your main domain will be delays and reverbs to get the 'ambience' right. You can even melt an 8-bit Casio toy keyboard into some smooth waves this way...
To be fair the volca keys is pretty good for bass leads and even pads when you feed it into a decent reverb. So maybe a volca keys + tc electronics hall of fame reverb for a good all rounder. (It's on board reverb is pretty decent but not lush enough for my taste) Assuming of course you already have a good keyboard or sequencer to drive it like the Launchpad pro, beatstep pro or the iPad with a midi interface.
budget hardware processing units: Lexicon LXP-1 and LXP-5, Vortex, Rocktron Intellifex
more up the price scale: TC Electronic Fireworx, Ensoniq DP2, DP4, Lexicon PCM 70, 80
cheap and nice for drum sounds: Kawai XD-5. Basic Sounds are punchy samples, but since the engine is a full synth they can be turned into the most wierd sounds, very similiar to Stroke Machine on iPad.
I wouod say the opposite. If you try to cover alo grounds, you are going to be mediocre at all and likely not close to best at anything.
Alternate approach would maybe be to get a good controller for the iPad/iPhone?
If I was just getting started I'd take a serious look at the MX-Line from Yamaha as it can also act as a partial 'Audio & Midi Interface' for the iPad(ie. it's easy to record the internal sounds digitally to the iPad and also output the iPad sound thru the MX but no way to record external audio). The MODX6/7/8 is a monster but I can't motivate it for now...
Here's another thought ... if you are ok with analog modelled, the Alesis Micron is a fantastic beast. Can be had cheaply (freeing up dough for other goodies).
Also, something I've been thinking of for the "someday" list is a Moog effect unit - MoogerFooger.
I wouldn’t be without a Roland TB-3. Sounds fantastic and unbelievably cheap secondhand. If you are looking for baseline sounds you will find them here.
These are no longer being made, so availability will drop, and price will rise
Do you mean the Moog?
Yes, they announced on twitter that the mooger foogers were ending production.
Ah, krat! Thanks for the info.
Better get in there quick
, or rely on secondhand.....there will be stock lying around in various stores for a bit I would expect.
@Samu , you mentioned importing sounds from hardware into the iPad. Exactly how is this done? An interface is necessary, I am guessing. I might get a PlugKey to use with a new controller, would that work somehow? Thanks!
For the MX line, the devices shows up as an 'Audio Input' that one can record like any other audio-input, super handy for 'digital sampling/recording' and that's why I got a bit bummed that the Analog AUX input isn't routed to the USB-Port for proper 'analog' sampling.
The MODX line however has a real Analog Input too so it behaves more like a real audio-interface and can be used for 'real' sampling on the iPad. (For example it's easy to connect for two mono-synths (L & R) to the MODX and 'sample/record' them on the iPad or Computer to two separate tracks).
Earlier this year I was looking for an audio interface that suited my 'procedure' and ended up getting the Steinberg UR-242(4 inputs and 2 outputs + Midi In&Out).
While the Plug-Key is a neat solution in my opinion it falls short since it doesn't have any Audio Input and can not be used with other devices like a computer...
Besides the electribe series, circuit, and digitakt are there any other super fun to use groove boxes that offer live recording and cool stuff like chord modes, scales, etc?
Hi @Samu, this is the panel of a Kawai MP11. It has a fabulous piano sample of a Kawai EX concert grand. Could I get his into my iPad?
It doesn't say it does 'Audio over USB' and it also may require additional drivers so it could be that it's not class-compliant, says something on page 110 in the manual.
So from the looks of it you might need an audio-interface to record the output...
Have you tried hooking it up the the iPad using the CCK and see if the iPad sees it?
@LinearLineman Seems like the Kawai MP11 doesn't do audio over usb but it does record external audio to a usb-stick.
So one solution here would be the get a USB-Stick with both USB and Ligtning port (like a Sandisk iXpand Drive) and record the audio/performance on the Kawai MP11 to the USB stick(It records 44.1K 16-bit *.wav) and then import the file to an app of your choice.
Thanks @samu. I haven't bought the MP11 yet. Just want to know what is possible. Recording to the USB does sound like a solution, except no midi track can be recorded along with it.
I will take my iPad to the store and see if it will recognize it.
Most piano's record the playing to a midi-file and an audio file as well.
So you'd get the performance as a midi-file and audio as a separate file on the USB stick, or once you're 'happy' with your playing 'render/record it' to a *.wav file
(When you go to the store bring a USB stick and try it out and interrogate the sales-person for as much intel as you possibly can).
Thanks @Samu. Great advice!
I would buy a Yamaha MODX. It has a class-compliant USB audio interface supposedly IOS compatible. USB MIDI is also supported. It's also said to be light, with the smallest model weighing only 14 lbs. From the few demos I've heard, the MODX's FM-X and AWM2 synth engines sound pretty good for pads, and all-around synth duties. It's not a workstation so no workstation sequencer or arpeggiator. But it does have a "motion sequencer" which can be synced to incoming audio via the audio input jack or USB audio. It also has an envelope follower for using incoming audio as a modulation source.
I should note that the synth pad sounds I like the most tend to be FM. Another favorite pad sound is Oberheim Four Voice but I found out that the artist who used it actually multitracked it - while its a great sound, it's one that can be reasonably approximated by digital synths, unlike better-known, more in-your-face Obie tones like the "Jump" brass sound.
iPad would supply the heavy-duty sequencing, and other roles. I already have cheap analog synths for additional sound options if needed, but would be fine using IOS VA apps on the gig.
I’d just get some expensive flagship workstation that I can’t afford. Maybe one of the top Kurzweils or possibly Korg Kronos or something. Then I’d call it done and add a few things here and there. I do have a Korg Kross 2 and it’s good at some things, does a lot, and is also bad at a lot. A top notch current workstation would cover so much ground. Add another keyboard and that should be enough. I once had a tower of 5 keyboards to gig with it was a bit out of control. A few of the keyboards were single purpose. Korg CX-3 and Novation Bass Station 2. Then I needed 61 keys just to play the Bass Station because 25 isn’t enough, but at least my synth leads sounded great... Sure maybe they won’t have as much fun factor or character as expensive flagship single purpose synth, but the flexibility and hours of menu diving will make up for it.
Style of music I’d create. I’m not sure where I would put the category of music that I create. I make music for myself mostly, sometimes my focus is all over the place. One day it’s very electronic (never dance or ambient) and the next day I’m playing recorder and ukulele.
Thanks all -
It is really interesting to not just see a list of gear in this thread but understanding why the synth choice is particularly "important to you" in your music creation process and why you would choose a particular synth if you could splurge a little.
@robosardine, @GovernorSilver, @DMan, very thoughtful and understanding on what synths you look at and how you process your needs.
Now I will share a little more why I started this thread:
I play by ear and can tinker the piano a little. Have appreciation for all genres and synths. I particularly love Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield, Jean Michael Jarre, Kitaro, Enya, Enigma, Deep Forest and many other ambient and new age style groups etc.
Now I am not sure if its the way my brain is wired but I struggle and I mean struggle with a "Workstation" that includes everything in one keyboard. For some reason learning drums and sequencing and pads, leads etc. then trying to record or play does not come natural to me and I work in the field of IT:) Maybe its all perception or psychological. I feel I want to play "live" , be creative and have the tools all set up so I know if I go to this area - it is bass ( I then study bass and experiment), this one is leads, this one is drums etc so that I can interact with the instrument and learn it and play live.
I feel that I will be more successful purchasing separate components because my brain is trying to associate a separate synth with a particular purpose/sound and I am still learning believe me. The IPAD Has helped me tremendously in this area learning basics for example: Sunrizer was the first synth I learned basic synth fundamentals OSC + SUB > Mixer> Filters, Envelopes, PWM, Amplitude etc. I get it now.
Is this a strange dilemma where I cannot associate it on one workstation?
I see videos like this guy Kebu that plays many vintage synths and I feel for some reason if I can interact with each separate synth and its "live" I would have a better performance and be more innovative, (yes it would cost more) just how my brain works I guess.
Funny thing is I bought an ipad an irig keyboard for my son last Christmas and got hooked into all of this.
Please continue this thread as its very valuable to me.
Also let me know the synths you might think of that could help with these genres where Piano would be my main instrument and mixing ambient with it. Which synths good for this style with arps, bass, leads, pads, drums etc.
Thanks and sorry if this is so long -
"In other words..... If you could build a new full synth setup what would it look like for you in these categories to have a nice hardware setup and what is the style of music you would mainly create if you had that setup?"
I recently got into eurorack and also bought a dfam. I have had various types of synths and still have slimphatty ill sell to fund some more eurocrack. I do also use mpc live as the brains, but it could easily be replaced with bm3 or other app setups. I think ios handles all other synth duties except the most analog types, to which eutorack is perfect for imo. The advantage of getting some digital synths for ios does not give any significant advantage to the sound over just using ios, it just gives more knobs(and maybe keys, both which could be gained from midi controller), it does save cpu, but is more hassle to use.
For sure, presuming you have a recentish iPad, a good controller and some choice apps you can cover a lot of thatground. If you want to replicate that Kebu vibe without spending a jillion bucks on different synths my vote would be for a Novation X-Station. I've blabbered on about its praises here many times before (just search the forum) but the TLDR for your situation is you want a controller that mentally maps to the thing your controlling because muscle memory is key. Kebu doesn't turn to synth X and wonder how to adjust the decay time—he/his body just knows reaches out and does it. The X-Station is laid out like a real synth, not a generic series of sliders like most synths so you can 'learn' it and what you learn can be applied to any number of apps its controlling.
So... you could find a few different iOS apps that cover the sounds that you want to cover, set them up on different MIDI channels, host them all in AB or AUM and then use the X-Station to quickly switch between them. You can either MIDI learn the controls in each app or you can create custom templates on the X-Station.
They're no longer made but with a little patience you can get two within your budget and still have money left over (for good reason, see below). They come in 25, 49 and 61 key variations. Maybe a 61 and a 25 would have you covered? Of course, you can also split the keyboard into multiple zones (MIDI Channels) if you want to control multiple synths at once. Useless on the 25, obviously, but fine for the 49 and 61.
With the extra scratch I'd troll craigslist for an older keyboard or rackmount sampler (DIRT cheap these days) to handle the piano duties. There are certainly iOS apps with good pianos but good piano emulations are RAM hogs — might as well off-load that. Plus, you can probably find something on the cheaper side with real piano key action.
Some totally opinionated recommendations stated as if they were fact:
Arps: get StepPolyArp. Point at whatever you want and add some delay. Done.
Bass/Leads/Pads: Zeeon can cover all of it. It's brilliant. Mix and match alternatives that also cover all three: Mood, Model D, Model 15 and iSem. For non-VA: PhaseMaker and Nave. Other than Model 15, all of these apps map wonderfully to the X-Station which shows my bias.
Drums: This is a wide category. For 'acoustic' drums, get Soft Drummer. For drum machines, get Patterning 2. For drum synthesis, get Elastic Drums.
Effects: This is impossible—too many good ones on iOS for very little money. Get a bunch of them and roll around in them until you find your few. EOS2, AUFX:Space and Crystalline all jump to mind for me.
Effects 2: For sure, with ambient music, reverb is key. Indeed, maybe you should ignore all of the opinions here (including mine!) and spend the entire budget on a Strymon Big Sky unit. It's almost becoming a meme (genre?) on youtube with people humble bragging about using a single low budget synth to create ambient music in one take... Indeed, a lot of is quite beautiful but... it's often because it was played through Strymon reverb. It's cheating but who cares.
Or... Find a used Kurzweil K2000. Bitch to program but sounds amazing and covers all of the categories quite well including great piano sample sets.