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 Store

Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Need help: AUM or mobile DAW?

Hey all,

I bought iPad Air about a year ago and fell in love with Sampler, Patterning, Borderlands, and Gadget. But used them more like toys and did not integrate them into Ableton. Recently I found a way to synhronize Samplr with other apps using MidiLink + Ableton Link (yeah, I'm late on party) and trying to improve workflow. And there's black friday is coming so I can buy more cool stuff like Rozeta, Tardigrain, and Phasemaker and... everything)

And that's where help is needed. I want the main app to control all these apps, synchronize and record audio. What I basically want.
1. Get all apps in sync without third-party stuff like MidiLink
2. Save all apps information lfrom MIDI apps, synths, and FX in one place. Like VST in DAW.
3. Record synths/samplr jams in audio with loop synchronization.
4. Bonus addition: to have opportunity record all apps in audio and export them in zip/als file to dropbox/google drive. I'm pretty lazy and don't like to touch my soundcard and record one track per time in Ableton)

AUM looks promising (and it meets 1-3 requirements, right?) but maybe it's better to get some iPad DAW like Modestep/Auria/Cubasis/Beatmaker3? Can they export projects to Ableton like Korg Gadget? And which one gives faster workflow - AUM or DAW?

Thanks for help!

Comments

  • edited November 2018

    With AUM you cannot record audio and have it play back instantly, also it does not record midi. Saying that I prefer it for my iOS Host as I use Ableton as my DAW.

  • @[Deleted User] said:
    With AUM you cannot record audio and have it play back instantly, also it does not record midi. Saying that I prefer it for my iOS Host as I use Ableton as my DAW.

    But their appstore page says. "Record mixes, individual tracks, or both, straight into the storage space of AudioShare (no copying of files needed), with synchronized start and end for perfect loops. Play back recordings, soundfiles and loops as channel sources in the mixer for backing tracks, further processing or mixing."

    How it actually works?

  • edited November 2018

    Several apps have Ableton Live set export though some may only be audio. In addition to the Korg apps, Groove Rider, Groovebox, Blocs Wave, BeatHawk, TriTraq, and Patterning 2. There are probably other apps too. Some of these will only offer audio versus audio and midi.

    Patterning 2 can export both audio and midi tracks as an Ableton Live set.

    I’m not aware of any DAW that offers Ableton Live set export although there may be some.

    AUM has no built in way to record to a time line though you can record audio for each track in your setup plus it will only remember the state of AUv3 apps not IAA apps. You could use a MIDI sequencer app to trigger the other apps in your setup (e.g. AUM hosting Patterning 2 with its MIDI out).

  • @lazyass said:

    @[Deleted User] said:
    With AUM you cannot record audio and have it play back instantly, also it does not record midi. Saying that I prefer it for my iOS Host as I use Ableton as my DAW.

    But their appstore page says. "Record mixes, individual tracks, or both, straight into the storage space of AudioShare (no copying of files needed), with synchronized start and end for perfect loops. Play back recordings, soundfiles and loops as channel sources in the mixer for backing tracks, further processing or mixing."

    How it actually works?

    it records all the audio into audioshare so yes everything can be recorded (mixes, individual tracks, or both) but you need to import the audio back from audioshare into AUM for playback.

  • @InfoCheck said:
    Several apps have Ableton Live set export though some may only be audio. In addition to the Korg apps, Groove Rider, Groovebox, Blocs Wave, TriTraq, and Patterning 2. There are probably other apps too. Some of these will only offer audio versus audio and midi.
    I’m not aware of any DAW that offers Ableton Live set export although there may be some.

    Export in separate wav per track will be good too.

    @[Deleted User] said:
    it records all the audio into audioshare so yes everything can be recorded (mixes, individual tracks, or both) but you need to import the audio back from audioshare into AUM for playback.

    So is there some kind of built in loop player or I need Loopy for that?

  • Think of AUM like a mixer that can also record audio. It’s not a multi-tracker, it’s not a looper (you can loop but good luck getting that loop in time via only AUM). It’s just a mixer and you can record each channel easily. It’s just that if you want to get that recording back in you’ll have to load it into the built in file player on a channel of the mixer.

  • edited November 2018

    @[Deleted User] said:
    it records all the audio into audioshare so yes everything can be recorded (mixes, individual tracks, or both) but you need to import the audio back from audioshare into AUM for playback.

    So is there some kind of built in loop player or I need Loopy for that?

    Unfortunately there is no built in looper in AUM, something which would really elevate the app and I really love to see it happen. It was talked about in the past but no update.

    So indeed you need to look and some type of looper app. I haven’t use such an app myself as I never heard of others really discussing it so I assume there are pros and cons to it.

    Regarding midi record there is a new app called photon coming out soon which is a midi looper, very excited about that because it is AUv3 so it will state save with your AUM project.

  • Xequence plus AUM is a DAW equivalent. But not AUM on its own.

  • edited November 2018

    @lazyass said:

    @InfoCheck said:
    Several apps have Ableton Live set export though some may only be audio. In addition to the Korg apps, Groove Rider, Groovebox, Blocs Wave, TriTraq, and Patterning 2. There are probably other apps too. Some of these will only offer audio versus audio and midi.
    I’m not aware of any DAW that offers Ableton Live set export although there may be some.

    Export in separate wav per track will be good too.

    @[Deleted User] said:
    it records all the audio into audioshare so yes everything can be recorded (mixes, individual tracks, or both) but you need to import the audio back from audioshare into AUM for playback.

    So is there some kind of built in loop player or I need Loopy for that?

    AUM has a built-in file player that you can load audio files you’ve recorded directly from AUM and loop them. AUM doesn’t have time stretch but the file player can adjust the speed of playback so if you change the tempo you can adjust the number of beats for the sample you’re playing back in AUM’s file player provided you do your math right (e.g. even division of the tempo 240, 120, 60, 30).

    Pretty much all of the DAWs offer some sort of stem track export.

  • edited November 2018

    @InfoCheck said:

    @lazyass said:

    @InfoCheck said:
    Several apps have Ableton Live set export though some may only be audio. In addition to the Korg apps, Groove Rider, Groovebox, Blocs Wave, TriTraq, and Patterning 2. There are probably other apps too. Some of these will only offer audio versus audio and midi.
    I’m not aware of any DAW that offers Ableton Live set export although there may be some.

    Export in separate wav per track will be good too.

    @[Deleted User] said:
    it records all the audio into audioshare so yes everything can be recorded (mixes, individual tracks, or both) but you need to import the audio back from audioshare into AUM for playback.

    So is there some kind of built in loop player or I need Loopy for that?

    AUM has a built-in file player that you can load audio files you’ve recorded directly from AUM and loop them. AUM doesn’t have time stretch but the file player can adjust the speed of playback so if you change the tempo you can adjust the number of beats for the sample you’re playing back in AUM’s file player provided you do your math right (e.g. even division of the tempo 240, 120, 60, 30).

    Yep but you can’t instantly playback audio in AUM. File player works well.

  • @[Deleted User] said:

    @InfoCheck said:

    @lazyass said:

    @InfoCheck said:
    Several apps have Ableton Live set export though some may only be audio. In addition to the Korg apps, Groove Rider, Groovebox, Blocs Wave, TriTraq, and Patterning 2. There are probably other apps too. Some of these will only offer audio versus audio and midi.
    I’m not aware of any DAW that offers Ableton Live set export although there may be some.

    Export in separate wav per track will be good too.

    @[Deleted User] said:
    it records all the audio into audioshare so yes everything can be recorded (mixes, individual tracks, or both) but you need to import the audio back from audioshare into AUM for playback.

    So is there some kind of built in loop player or I need Loopy for that?

    AUM has a built-in file player that you can load audio files you’ve recorded directly from AUM and loop them. AUM doesn’t have time stretch but the file player can adjust the speed of playback so if you change the tempo you can adjust the number of beats for the sample you’re playing back in AUM’s file player provided you do your math right (e.g. even division of the tempo 240, 120, 60, 30).

    Yep but you can’t instantly playback audio in AUM. File player works well.

    Very true, you’d have to
    1. record
    2. manually load the files into the File Player(s)
    3. set the playback settings

    There’s definitely a need for a DAW on iOS that ticks all of the boxes. It will be interesting to see if StageLight adds full Ableton Live set export functionality.

  • @InfoCheck said:

    @[Deleted User] said:

    @InfoCheck said:

    @lazyass said:

    @InfoCheck said:
    Several apps have Ableton Live set export though some may only be audio. In addition to the Korg apps, Groove Rider, Groovebox, Blocs Wave, TriTraq, and Patterning 2. There are probably other apps too. Some of these will only offer audio versus audio and midi.
    I’m not aware of any DAW that offers Ableton Live set export although there may be some.

    Export in separate wav per track will be good too.

    @[Deleted User] said:
    it records all the audio into audioshare so yes everything can be recorded (mixes, individual tracks, or both) but you need to import the audio back from audioshare into AUM for playback.

    So is there some kind of built in loop player or I need Loopy for that?

    AUM has a built-in file player that you can load audio files you’ve recorded directly from AUM and loop them. AUM doesn’t have time stretch but the file player can adjust the speed of playback so if you change the tempo you can adjust the number of beats for the sample you’re playing back in AUM’s file player provided you do your math right (e.g. even division of the tempo 240, 120, 60, 30).

    Yep but you can’t instantly playback audio in AUM. File player works well.

    Very true, you’d have to
    1. record
    2. manually load the files into the File Player(s)
    3. set the playback settings

    There’s definitely a need for a DAW on iOS that ticks all of the boxes. It will be interesting to see if StageLight adds full Ableton Live set export functionality.

    That would be interesting if they did.

  • @InfoCheck said:
    There’s definitely a need for a DAW on iOS that ticks all of the boxes.

    The tricky thing is that every user out there has a different set of boxes. It’s hard to tick all of them ;)

  • edited November 2018

    @brambos said:

    @InfoCheck said:
    There’s definitely a need for a DAW on iOS that ticks all of the boxes.

    The tricky thing is that every user out there has a different set of boxes. It’s hard to tick all of them ;)

    I think a DAW or DAW-like app that has a looping pattern component to it would be a natural for adding Ableton Live set export and stand out from the herd in a positive way.

    BeatHawk does have Ableton live export as well.

    Adding all of the iOS and other protocols people want is I’m sure a lot of work.

    It might be worthwhile for users to support initiatives like AudioKit which are diligently attempting to provide an easier way for developers to add all of the bells and whistles they want. Despite their valiant efforts, they still haven’t conquered the AUv3 mountain yet so users who perceive being able to just convert or make all apps AUv3 is easy peasy are either mistaken or should be making their own apps ASAP.

    Plus extracting some sort of database of the various functions users frequently request from the App Store seems like a thankless task especially since Apple has eliminated their affiliate program which could have helped to fund such projects.

  • edited November 2018

    Thanks for responses, guys!
    I think to get AUM + some DAW (I'm not sure which one) and try what workflow is suited best for my needs

  • @brambos said:

    @InfoCheck said:
    There’s definitely a need for a DAW on iOS that ticks all of the boxes.

    The tricky thing is that every user out there has a different set of boxes. It’s hard to tick all of them ;)

    +++++++1

    Also: if every app ticked off all the boxes, they would end up bloated and impossible to learn.

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @brambos said:

    @InfoCheck said:
    There’s definitely a need for a DAW on iOS that ticks all of the boxes.

    The tricky thing is that every user out there has a different set of boxes. It’s hard to tick all of them ;)

    +++++++1

    Also: if every app ticked off all the boxes, they would end up bloated and impossible to learn.

    I believe the reference was more towards the basic functions of a DAW or similar app.

  • Hey, @lazyass (ha! just wanted to say that).

    But seriously, would you say that your main workflow generally involves just playing and syncing audio from different apps, record each as stems, and putting them into Live on the desktop?

  • Remember, Toys are fun. Don't let the idea that making music must be serious get in the way of having a good time. AUM is unlimited fun.

  • @ph8aerror said:
    Hey, @lazyass (ha! just wanted to say that).

    But seriously, would you say that your main workflow generally involves just playing and syncing audio from different apps, record each as stems, and putting them into Live on the desktop?

    Hey! Glad you like it)
    I'm pretty shure it is. As Sysexual mentioned above, withs apps there is no thought about eqing, compressions, sidechaining and etc. Just pure fun. So I set timer to 10-15 mins and get lost in it. Later if sketch looks promising you can make it more complex in Ableton. It's like "write drunk, edit sober" kind of thing.
    Now I want to see can Cubasis make it more simple or not

  • @lazyass said:
    Hey! Glad you like it)
    I'm pretty shure it is. As Sysexual mentioned above, withs apps there is no thought about eqing, compressions, sidechaining and etc. Just pure fun. So I set timer to 10-15 mins and get lost in it. Later if sketch looks promising you can make it more complex in Ableton. It's like "write drunk, edit sober" kind of thing.
    Now I want to see can Cubasis make it more simple or not

    So it seems you are possibly almost exactly like me. Jam on iOS, and if it sounds great, record and send to ALive for propper sonic editing.
    IMO, do get AUM and there you have the opportunity to record per track and do side-bus-FX etc. I'd also recommend AB3 if you don't have it already (for universal transport and general convenience when saving multi-app projects).
    Last but not least, unless you are on a macOS after El Capitan, do get Studiomux. It's sometimes a pain in the ass to get working but once you do it makes iPad to ALive sooooooooooo much sexier. Whenever I have a slow weekend to relax, my iPad turns into an external synth device for my mac. This Saturday was one of those days.

    Anyway, I personally don't like Cubasis. It's not my kinda workflow. I'm more an improvisational kinda guy so things like BM3 and AUM work for me, but nothing on iPad matches the power of ALive on a laptop/desktop. You have waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more headroom there.

    Hope this helps.

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