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.
Brass players using iOS apps
I’m exploring recording my trumpet live into the iPad and applying effects etc. Anyone else doing similar? I’ve looked at the Blueboard as a controller and feeding a mic straight in to iPad via itrack dock but I’m open to any other ideas. Also, app wise I’m thinking Spacecraft, Gestrument Pro but haven’t got my head round using them live as yet.
Oh, and the missus is nudging me about a Christmas present!!!
Comments
I would love to hear the results when you do, however you decide to record it
Thanks. I’ve seen a few players on YT who obviously are using foot pedals of some description to either effect the horn or sample loops of the instrument and play over the top. I’m early stages as yet but keen to explore.
I like wind instruments of all kinds, but sadly have never learnt to play one. The closest I get is using Sensual Sax and the Heavy Brass apps
You can’t beat the real thing though and as you can hear my app attempts are drowned in fx to make their synthetic nature a part of the sound instead of trying to hide the fact they aren’t the real thing.
So yeah, share some results when you get to recording!
From a basic standpoint, out side of the types of effects used there’s no real difference between recording and processing guitar or voice....
Are you thinking along the lines of capturing live jams, or working towards finished songs?
Do you have any experience using DAWs?
Neither of the apps you mention are recording apps per se, so it’s a little unclear as to what direction you are wanting to go.....
Hello @ajmiller
I also play Trumpet and use IOS apps very often. Sometimes both.
It's nice to experiment stuff with IOS Fx apps and IOS daws, really.
Generative music apps also from the likes of Rob Jackson's (Moodscaper, Piano Scaper, etc...)
will take your improvisations in a context closer to electronic music.
If you want to stick to jazz, then I would recommand you getting Ireal Pro.
The develloper is a professional bassist and it's the best app out there on IOS
for practicing scales on standards and jam on your own.
Combining trumpet with IOS world, you will need a good mic in the end,
...and a calm environment. The which makes composing music less "portable" and nomad.
But nevertheless, Ipad are great tools for any musician and even brass players!
I've started recording bits and pieces of trumpet within Korg Gadget songs lately also
and like many of my tracks they are now sleeping in Audioshare. I need time to finalize and mix those.
Here's something really old I recorded/mixed on the fly 4 years ago while playing outside during summertime.
It was cooked with Ipad mini 1st gen, Cubasis, Crystalline, TC-11, Drummer Pro... and the Grand Ciccada orchestra from south of France !
I would love to see also what other brass players use regarding IOS apps, pedals and such.
@johnba this is a lovely piece. Nicely done, very inspiring.
@ajmiller the possibilities are endless. An iTunes gift card for Christmas would give you flexibility to research what type of apps you want to use.
For the sake of others here, what type of music are you going for? one-man-band style looping? jazz pieces to solo over? Do you need apps just for trumpet fx? or apps for accompaniment also?
Some good ideas - you should learn Sax - a lot easier than trumpet
I think Sensual Sax isn’t too bad sample wise - not too sure about the ‘sexy’ interface though! Cheers.
Yeah the interface is a bit cheesy lol. Not sure my neighbors or my wife would ever swallow me getting a sax!
Hi @wigglelights
Plenty of experience on desktop DAWs ( since Cubase came on a floppy disk actually - shows my age ! )
As I said above I’ve been seeing horn players using foot pedals for sampling - probably into laptops? - and improvising over their own playing and adding effects. I’m early stages in wondering what the iPad can do (and also using one tbh) I enjoy improvising and the best description would be live jam in a studio environment. Sort of on the fly playing and recording. Hope that makes some sense?
Thanks
Hi @Johnba - thanks for the music - very nice indeed.
I know iReal Pro but the Rob Jackson apps look interesting.
I’m not sure if you know of John Raymond but this looked as near to what I’m thinking as I’ve recently seen though utilising iOS!
Thanks again.
"sample loops and play over" - all you need is Audiobus and Loopy HD to get started with looping. These two apps can be the basis for a simple ipad + headphones setup recording with the built-in iPad mic. And it will expand on up to a full rig with audio interface, a nice mic, and controlled by a MIDI foot pedal.
@Hmtx - sounds like a good start. I have Audiobus but never considered LoopyHD but I can see where that might take me. I need to start simple and build.
Good suggestions thanks.
Could be a midi foot pedal then for Xmas? Cheers
@Hmtx said:
@ajmiller
The recording in tools used are vast, so just make sure they work well with an iPad and have connections that will be fine with whatever iPad you want to use.
If you want to mainly jam in long sessions, an iOS DAW is an option, so that would probably depend most on what DAWs you use already on your computer, what you are used to and your recording process.
Another option is a guitar fx app that has a ‘tape recorder’ like recorder built in. Some have the ability to add further fx apps into the app, which would help for more specific fx you might desire. Also check compatibility for any pedal boards you may use to trigger it.
Loopers are an option and again that’s a minefield and not really something I’m that used to, so I won’t recommend any lol.
To be honest the whole range of gear and apps you could choose is vast and you will probably need to spend a while doing some research to make sure you don’t waste loads of the green stuff (money in case it’s not known as that where you are).
Ok not much help from me, just a few thoughts. Whatever you do, come back and share some with us here
Cool, just wanted to be respectful - I’m in the same boat, I too recall the the major expense of buying a box of 10 3 1/2 floppies......
I agree with @Hmtx based on your posts, as AudioBus and Loopy are well integrated (being both built by the humble host of this forum). AB could be set up with several FX chains which can feed into any of the 12 Loopy slots, as well as hosting other inspirational apps like Gestrument.
And Loopy has really amazing MIDI (i.e foot pedal) implementation for real time control (record control, over dubbing, loop start/stop etc etc). Plus each loop can be exported as a stem into your favorite DAW...
There are definitely other ways to skin this cat on iOS, but presuming you’re looking for improving and capturing that, the AB/Loopy path would be a direct way to go...
@ajmiller thanks for sharing that clip of John Raymond. Very Nice sound and interesting approach of looping layers. I’ll check him out.
@Fruitbat1919 @wigglelights - thanks. I have an itrack Dock which I don’t use because my class compliant midi controller doesn’t work with it!, (go figure!) Though for audio input it should be ok. App wise I’ve looked at quantiloop as an option and now loopy. More practise needed but I can see the potential.
@Johnba I agree and he is worth checking out.
Thanks all for the help.