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.
Any tips on best way to connect to audio interface?
I'll start by saying that I basically own every lightning/type c to 3.5mm adapter that there is, and for some reason, not one of them make a complete connection with ANY 3.5 to 1/4 trs cables, no idea why, but some I have to leave half unplugged, some are missing certain frequencies or sound garbled, all are literally brand new because I kept trying dif ones. Probably the most frustrating thing about trying to include ipad/iphone with my analog instruments. I've seriously tried like every kind of connection, and both ipad and iphone are like brand new, not an output issue.
I solved by using studiomux, which functioned great first time, now doesn't show ipad as a possible connection, just says "connect device first" and does nothing past that, no matter how many times I restart all apps on ipad im trying to connect, restart DAW on pc, try again, nothing... Ipad is connected to windows, trusts pc, transfers files, charges, but no connection with studiomux. Also noticed it has been since Audiobus 3 most recent update, and studiomux does crash now sometimes when I attempt to open with Audiobus, not sure if update related.
But yeah, pulling my hair out here, wasted so much money on cables and apps that dont work. Does anybody have newest hardware and any luck sending audio, whether through 1/4 cables or usb? I would use bluetooth, I have a nice XLR bluetooth input I can slap on my Audiofuse, but obviously bluetooth has too much latency for real time use.
Any help would be appreciated, you guys know better than me, hopefully lol.
Comments
I just use the Apple lightning to 3.5 headphone adapter and then a cable that turns the 3.5 jack into an RCA L/R that goes into my audio interface. Works perfectly from my iPhone (though I'm currently using that cable for my monosynth instead).
That’s one route I haven’t tried, I have an audiofuse, which has phono inputs, honestly haven’t used them, I’d assume they should work with 3.5 to rca left/right, I’ll try that out. Still need iPhone and iPad on 2 seperate channels at some point it’d be nice to find a 1/4 trs solution, nobody has lightning or type c to 1/4 cable, I mean without having to use an adapter in between, all of the adapters are where my connectivity issues lie so far. I mostly have Hosa brand cables, and for some reason the lightning and type c to 3.5 don’t like Hosa cables, or Rockville cables, or the other few randoms that I have.
These adapters perform real processing functions:
So, in any of these adapters there are converters:
Of course that mini-jack in the iPad/iPhone provides a noisy low cost implementation of these electronic conversions.
Spend some money and you protect the quality of the input/output and the conversions to the best available sampling data rates and frequencies.
I got frustrated with the electronic noise being added by the headphone jack to my studio monitors and I bought one of these:
It has 1/4" outs for audio to my speakers and removed all the humming and buzzing in the audio signals. It also allows my MIDI controller to drive my IOS Synths.
For my guitar input I started with the original iRig barrel connector and it was really noisy since it just routing audio to the headphone jack. I later upgraded to iRig HD and got the ADC function provided and a corresponding improvement in sound for the money invested.
I finally just cut to the chase and got an all-in-one stereo audio interface. Mine's a Presonus USB AudioBox and requires the Apple Camera Kit adapter to connect (which has no electrical parts just converts plug formats, I believe).
Learn as much as you can about quality audio (if you want great recordings) and you can select great solutions at a fair price. Assuming it's just converting plug types misses the whole picture of what you are paying for and what the benefits are.
EDIT: It's possible Apple can use an adapter that passes analog signals through the Lightning connector and that the hardware does the DAC function in the iPad/iPhone but I suspect that's not the case with the new products. Still, that $9 headphone adapter is really small. Does anyone know the facts?
EDIT: It's possible Apple can use an adapter that passes analog signals through the Lightning connector and that the hardware does the DAC function in the iPad/iPhone but I suspect that's not the case with the new products. Still, that $9 headphone adapter is really small. Does anyone know the facts?
The Apple Lightning headphone adapter has a tiny DAC in it. I saw pictures of one dissected once. Too lazy to Google it for ya’ now though.
[edit] actually, they were just speculating, so not a definitive answer: https://ifixit.org/blog/8448/apple-audio-adapter-teardown/.
I’m too lazy to Google for the rea truth.
Thanks... I found it using you're terms for a search:
There's a DAC and ADC chip in the Lightning connector end. Apple is subsidizing the real cost with the $9 price to just keep us happy about the change. Apple Care(s) but it costs extra.
https://ifixit.org/blog/8448/apple-audio-adapter-teardown/
What I really want to know is how they incorporated the dematerialization or cloaking technology in the damn things! They disappear around here faster than chocolates that I forget to hide from the wife. Lost about three of them so far.
Me: I can't find ________
Other: You lost your ________ already.
Me: It's not lost. I just don't know where it is.
Wait a few days and they will re-appear. Your explanation won't help me but it does fit the facts. "I left it right here."
These new adapters are the perfect size to fit in a a major pocket and slip out when you're fishing out your car keys. This just means keep your eyes open on highly traffic'ed public walkways
near parking.
Sure, that’s what they want you to believe.
Huh, I’ll have to try the nano key, but then I’ll still have to use a lightning to type c adapter, and I’ll need 2 of them lol.
Good info also, thank you, always something new. I have like every one of the stupid camera adapters and they work for everything which is why I’m bummed about studiomux not wanting to work all the sudden, quality was good, connection was easy. It would be nice if the mfi apple 3.5 to lightning and 3.5 to type c would just work, I don’t know if it’s my cables (which would be a lil ridiculous, I’ve tried many) or the 3.5 adapters don’t like to end in a 1/4 trs jack (which also kind of makes no sense) also have like every irig and none of those make a clean 3.5 connection either, only one that’s useful is irig midi 2, and obviously that’s not for audio.
For the record, my iPad Pro 3rd gen and IPhone XS Max are the only devices that I’ve had issues with audio connection, all my synths are fine, even ones with 3.5 jacks connect to my audiofuse, only my iOS devices are giving me problems, makes me feel retarded but I’ve tried like everything reasonable... dur. XD
can I please just have lightning and type c straight to 1/4 trs with no adapter lol, I’d do anything for one, they don’t exist.
Oh and looked up the Korg plug key, no info on whether it’ll work through a type c adapter, and in the end it’s more adapters still if I want trs 1/4 to be at the end of the cable since the plug key is L/R not trs
I love my audiofuse
There's in probably a more capable audio interface with these specs. Korg's MidiPlug has been out there for a long time so you might see USB Type C devices show up next year. Type C just became an issue with the newest Apple products so the add-on market always lags behind waiting for enough users to create a solid market for the effort.
It looks like TRS cables are often used to carry stereo over a single plug input. Is that your need? Stereo? or do you want a balanced cable which uses the 3rd wire as a ground path to help eliminate noise from electro-magnetic sources like overhead lights at 60Hz. This three wire approach is standard with XLR cables which can often have an XLR on one end and the TRS 1/4" on the other to match specific equipment needs.
TRS balanced cables are usually used when the cable run will be really long like a 25ft run to the band's PA system. These long runs make great "antennas" to pick up electro-magnetic noises so the TRS (or XLR) is often used for these outputs on audio interfaces.
Keep defining your spec requirements and you'll get better advice on products. Korg's Plug-Key is good for making 5-PIN MIDI hardware work with iPad/iPhones which is a requirement many Korg hardware users have. Not so great for making the iPad/iPhone a great multi-track DAW. I have a Korg Digital Multi-track that was a good solution for that need in the 1990's.
Software solutions combined with great platforms are making hardware specific solutions more and more irrelevant but audio interfaces are still key to building complete solutions.
I’m very happy with finally having type c honestly, so far, it works with everything I’ve plugged in, AKAI midi controllers, quneo controller, audiofuse, can even use a Logitech WiFi receiver dongle with wifi headphones (no latency like Bluetooth, so a necessity for any live audio work)
For now I’m going to just deal with swapping usb cables on my audiofuse back and forth from iPad to pc as needed. Haha, I should send you a pic of all my wires and adapters, it’s sickening, especially as many are only used for specific things, I have quite a collection. The issue with using any combination with a type c to 1/4 trs or xlr, seems to be that the apple type c to 3.5mm adapter does not make a proper connection with any 3.5mm cables or adapters I have, no matter what I do, and these same cables work with every other instrument/hardware that I have, and I even bought another apple type c to 3.5 just to make sure I didn’t have a defective one. But yeah, all of my 3.5 cables/adapters work with all other 3.5mm female outputs, just not Ipad. Seem crazy? I can literally unplug a 3.5 to 1/4 cable from apple type c to female 3.5 and plug it into an iPhone 6’s headphone jack and it works fine, makes no sense to me, so I gave up. Sorry for lame drawn out explanation, I’ve tried everything lol.
Luckily, Cubasis 2 works amazingly well, low latency live recording with effects/ live mixing. Even luckier, my audiofuse seems to record analog instruments straight into Cubasis 2 at same quality as my pc, which is impressive. Audio out from iPad via usb into audiofuse works 100% amazing, no noise in monitors, no drama.
All in all I’m super impressed with iOS at this point, I’d say it’s very close to completely replacing my pc, there are just some vst plugins and what not that I’ll miss too much at the moment... I actually saw something about Cubasis nanolouge, it says “bringing the power of vst3 to iOS” does that mean that iOS can natively run vst plugins if someone were to make a host program? Excuse my ignorance, that would be awesome though if possible.