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.

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

What does MicSwap Pro actually do? / New A-B Comparison

Maybe @garygary will chime in, but I am really engaged with this enhancer, but not quite sure why. More accurately I can or describe why I like to add MSPs mics and environments to my finished mix. It adds volume, but that is not very pertinent. On my last two tracks they gave a bit of a 50s “live feeling” but that does not really describe it, cause on my latest, “Zapped”, I used the same mic and the 50s effect was not present at all, tho the liveliness was more in attendance, I think. Maybe I will post a with and without to ask for your comments, but maybe you can just tell me your thoughts.

What are these qualities I cannot describe and also not find with any other effects tool? Maybe some of you can explain from your own experience. IMO every iOS producer should have this in the toolbox, and on top!

Comments

  • Glad you’re getting good use out of it. There’s so many variables. I also think that because you’re using it in the send bus you may be getting that live feel. A send bus adds a layer of the track and is sent on top of it. If you bussed everything through MicSwap Pro through a main bus you’d get a different sound. Send busses are usually for reverb and delay so you can add a touch of it and easily control it. Nevertheless, there are no rules in creating. If it sounds good it’s good.

  • Well explained, the process itself is called convolution and widely used to build virtual guitar cabinets or rooms. Here it's the character of a microphone 'printed' onto another signal.
    Such modelling software needs special (internal) adjustments according to the subject, which is different for rooms, mics, cabinets.

    The output result depends a lot on the quality of the respective 'pattern file' that's applied to the source.
    There usually is a loss and you have to weigh signal definition versus character change.
    As simple as mentioned above: if it sounds good, it is good.

    Apple's IOS onboard mics are surprisingly precise tracking devices, but lack any 'character'.
    This is a simple method to add some color, but you'll wash out a part of the signal.
    (which is often appreciated with overly crisp sounds)

  • Thanks @Telefunky. Indeed, for me both seem helpful, something lost in the signal quality ( often too crisp, as you say) and something gained character wise. How could one describe this "character" characteristic?

  • The character of a microphone results from it's alteration of momentary sound over a (very) short period of time.
    It's caused by the housing (sound is reflected inside) and the pickup membrane's reaction.
    Some spectral content is increased, some decreased, it varies with direction and distance.

    Or simplified: it's a very, very complex equation that describes a microphone's performance.
    That's why you cannot simply replace it by an equalizer - too many frequencies, too fast ;)

  • Or simplified: it's a very, very complex equation that describes a microphone's performance.
    That's why you cannot simply replace it by an equalizer - too many frequencies, too fast ;)
    @Telefunky

    This may be it!

  • @LinearLineman said:
    Or simplified: it's a very, very complex equation that describes a microphone's performance.
    That's why you cannot simply replace it by an equalizer - too many frequencies, too fast ;)
    @Telefunky

    This may be it!

    The issue isn't that it is too much too fast for an equalizer, it is that convolution makes changes over time whereas an equalizer is just a static filter. An impulse response gives a picture of how things change over time. A mic's diaphragm and housing, being physical objects, don't respond instantaneously. Molecules take time to get moving and slow down (inertia,baby). So their behavior has important non-static aspects.

  • It stands to reason that the sound character imparted to virtually every recording that influenced us by the production processes of the time, would be pleasing when added to the purely digital processes of today. It’s no surprise that we’ll done emulations of that sound pleasing to us.

    It may well be that younger listeners will feel completely differently, moreso as time goes on.

  • edited March 2019

    @wim, I have thought the very same thing. It is subjective and, as @McD would say, contextual. That’s why I love this forum. You guys are super cool! Sometimes I slog my way thru threads at PianoWorld, but no one seems to get the big picture. Just the same damn points of view by the same dozen regulars. Here you ask a question and you get real, well thought out, knowledge based, answers. Too much. Grateful!

    Here is an a-b without and with MSP. There is a real difference. So much so that @garygary posted the comparison on Twitter. What do you think?

    Without:

    With:

  • @espiegel123 said:
    The issue isn't that it is too much too fast for an equalizer, it is that convolution makes changes over time whereas an equalizer is just a static filter.

    I used that term because I know that the Lineman isn't a techie ;)
    In real world it's just a (huge) bunch of delays with their interaction producing a lot of filters.

    An impulse response gives a picture of how things change over time. A mic's diaphragm and housing, being physical objects, don't respond instantaneously. Molecules take time to get moving and slow down (inertia,baby). So their behavior has important non-static aspects.

    Yes, that's how physic works - and that's also the reason why a static impulse response (captured at 1 moment in time) only covers a part of the acoustic picture.
    I assume it can be improved by calculations that introduce some kind of controlled randomization, which also plays a significant role in the more convincing algorithmic reverbs.

  • @LinearLineman said:
    @wim, I have thought the very same thing. It is subjective and, as @McD would say, contextual. That’s why I love this forum. You guys are super cool! Sometimes I slog my way thru threads at PianoWorld, but no one seems to get the big picture. Just the same damn points of view by the same dozen regulars. Here you ask a question and you get real, well thought out, knowledge based, answers. Too much. Grateful!

    Here is an a-b without and with MSP. There is a real difference. So much so that @garygary posted the comparison on Twitter. What do you think?

    Without:

    With:

    Very interesting. Sounds great, sorta like it became RoomSwap Pro in this usage.

  • hmmmm there is a difference. Would the words rounder and more present (like hearing it performed live) mean anything or fit the change created?

  • That is exactly what @garygary said @audiblevideo... more like a live room than a recording studio, as @brice seemed to hook into as well.

  • wimwim
    edited March 2019

    @LinearLineman said:
    @wim, I have thought the very same thing. It is subjective and, as @McD would say, contextual. That’s why I love this forum. You guys are super cool! Sometimes I slog my way thru threads at PianoWorld, but no one seems to get the big picture. Just the same damn points of view by the same dozen regulars. Here you ask a question and you get real, well thought out, knowledge based, answers. Too much. Grateful!

    Here is an a-b without and with MSP. There is a real difference. So much so that @garygary posted the comparison on Twitter. What do you think?

    Without:

    With:

    Wait ... is this the exact same source material? Was there any other re-mixing done other than adding mic swap?

    The difference is huge ... and great ... but before I say anything dumb, I’d like to understand what steps you took between versions. (Then I’ll say something dumb.)

  • @LinearLineman said:
    @wim, I have thought the very same thing. It is subjective and, as @McD would say, contextual. That’s why I love this forum. You guys are super cool! Sometimes I slog my way thru threads at PianoWorld, but no one seems to get the big picture. Just the same damn points of view by the same dozen regulars. Here you ask a question and you get real, well thought out, knowledge based, answers. Too much. Grateful!

    Here is an a-b without and with MSP. There is a real difference. So much so that @garygary posted the comparison on Twitter. What do you think?

    Without:

    With:

    I’m not going to comment on the mic swap app but I feel I should on the recordings. I find the piano playing great but not exactly sure what’s going on with the rest of the band. It sounds like a bunch of very drunk cats playing different gigs. Is it some kind of generative stuff? I was expecting current AI to sound better. Sorry, I mean it in a nicest possible way. Are you sure iOS is good for you as a musician?

  • edited March 2019

    @wim, when I provided the w/o for @garygary, I just clicked off the MicSwap icon on the effect send of the with version. No remixing, no nothing. I am starting to believe my ears are not lying to me, so, please, say something dumb!

  • @LinearLineman interesting A/B. Apologies if you've already answered; which mic sim did you use from the MSP quivver?

  • @JohnnyGoodyear, I believe it is MS77.

    @supadom, it is probably the drum track that is giving you the heebiejeebies. I added it after the fact and it twists me a little as well! All the other tracks are derived from my "great" piano track, so they couldn't be more on. I respect you, and take no offense, but iOS has been pretty good for me, as well as my personal experience on the forum. I have made almost ninety tracks in the last ten months and have had nearly 9,000 hits on SoundCloud. I know that's not a lot, but considering I have sold maybe 500 CDs in my benighted career, it has been fun. I no longer seek support and praise, but it does feel good when I get it, and many here have been generous with such stuff. At 70 I don't really much care what is good for me as a musician. Just glad it happens. 😉

  • wimwim
    edited March 2019

    @LinearLineman said:
    @wim, when I provided the w/o for @garygary, I just clicked off the MicSwap icon on the effect send of the with version. No remixing, no nothing. I am starting to believe my ears are not lying to me, so, please, say something dumb!

    In that case, I’m not just impressed, I’m floored. On a superficial level, there’s a roundness imparted that kills off the somewhat brittle sound. Kind of like the difference between a recording of a live performance, and the real thing. I can chalk that up to subtle EQ and saturation in just the right amounts IMO.

    But what shocks me, and caused me to ask if there was other mixing and mastering going on is how parts of the mix, such as the acoustic bass sound are prominent in the “with” and virtually indistinguishable in the “without”. Maybe, if you mixed in the “without” version those would be better distinguished, but still, it sounds like so much more than just flipping a switch! I’m curious if you did the mixing with mic swap turned on or off.

    If I ever get past this Electronic Space Funk phase I’m in and get back to my guitars and real instruments, Mic Swap Pro is gonna be at the top of the list of what I need.

    As for me @supadom , I couldn’t disagree more. I dig everything about that tune (other than the usual jealousy over your chops. Jazz is an acquired taste. I won’t assume anything about @supadom’s exposure to and appreciation of jazz , but I do remember the faces I pulled when first trying to get used to learning and playing “grown up” jazz chords on my guitar, poly rhythms, etc.. The books kept telling me I’d get used to them, but I never thought I would. Love ‘em now. B)

  • There's not only the bass missing, but left/right channels are about 2.5 dB off in the 'without track'.
    Since the processing obviously added something, 'without' is lower in volume and the stereo error is more obvious.
    I've corrected the stereo and slightly adjusted loudness to get closer to the other version
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/s17xd69idawd0a8/Messin’ With Monk wo MSwap-corr.m4a?dl=0
    Imagine a bass and the difference starts to shrink... choose proper reverb and Eq and there will be few left
    (I assume the trashy room sound was intended for vintage feel)

  • @wim, I would say I added in the MicSwap halfway into the mix. I immediately felt better about what I was hearing. The piano part was a lot more brittle till I eqd it a bit in the RC275 app, and yeah, the MS77 mic warmed it up quite a bit.

    It's hard to wrap my mind around this stuff, especially remembering what I did! I probably pushed the bass later in the mix as I generally rough out the arrangement and then correct or improve the weak spots with volume adjustments and effects additions. If I did not have access to MicSwap I am pretty sure I would have made sure the bass was audible, but I would have felt something was wrong overall. I just wouldn't have known how to improve it.

    Thanks for the support on the music, Wim. You were one of the first to help me way back in last April. You were very kind to a total beginner and I appreciate it very. Jazz certainly ain't everyone's cup of tea and my particular herbal concoction can be pretty out to a lot of ears. The "unstructured" part may be the hardest to dig for most, tho I hear lots of structure within my stretches after the fact. Just listening several times creates a form for me cause I learn to know what's coming. I certainly felt that way about listening to Bird, who to our ears is pretty in now, and guys like Warne Marsh who sixty years after the fact is still way out there. Glad you learned to enjoy the complexity that jazz can be.

    Dom's criticism seemed a little harsh and I wonder if he has listened to much of my stuff. Genrewise I am all over the place. But hey, as I said, I respect him and he just spoke his feelings. That's what I like about this place.

    I'd like to hear some electronic space funk... have I been missing something?

  • Is there anything like Plugin Doctor on iOS? https://ddmf.eu/plugindoctor/

    It would be interesting to see what these mic emulations do to the sound.

  • edited March 2019

    Haha @telefunky, maybe my ears aren't as good as I thought! It is possible I might have corrected the volume difference if MicSwap didn't mask it, but probably not. I am not that scrupulous (yet). And, yes, I was looking for that "trashy" sound. Maybe you can hear some of Parker's recordings on Dial at YouTube. They are etched in my memory from learning to sing along with his solos. The "vintage" recordings associated me to an era. I will listen to your improvement on Dropbox with interest.

    As I said, @garygary posted these on Twitter. I hope he will weigh in with his thoughts between the two and the effects of MicSwap in general. A most interesting and fun thread!

  • wimwim
    edited March 2019

    Good Jazz, and other highly complex music, appeals to me so much because it’s so far beyond my skill level. It seems like some of the thrill goes out of a cover song once I learn to play it (which doesn’t happen all that often. 😂)

    It’s like ice hockey, the only sport I love to watch. Other sports I could imagine being marginally competent at, but I couldn’t last two minutes on the ice in a million years.

  • @Telefunky... I am guessing you corrected the without version? My poor old ears. If that is indeed the case, I still hear a difference with MSP added.... if not, well, I give up and will just accept my delusions and go with them. Nice tune btw.

  • Of course there is still a big difference - nothing wrong with your ears.
    (I adjusted the stereo balance only because it was very obvious and through the whole track)
    Just check the meters from time to time while listening: if one channel is significantly different from the other over an extended period, then something is wrong in panaorama settings.

    But you cannot compare a full processed mix to a raw one, if the perceived loudness isn't on equal level for both.
    (this loudness is not defined by the peaks of the waveform, but by an average over time)
    Because the 'without track' had less 'densitiy', I increased it by limiting top peaks and increase volume (as mentioned in the topic about Maxima).
    This operation was only applied to a degree that resulted in a similiar impression when switching between both tracks.

    While this tiny mod lifts the mix significantly, it can in no way compensate a missing bass ;)
    That's the most important difference and is not related to Mic Swap in any way.

    But I fully get your idea of using the app as a quick eq colorization tool - which is perfectly ok.

  • Erudite as always @Telefunky! Thanks.

  • edited March 2019

    @LinearLineman said:
    @JohnnyGoodyear, I believe it is MS77.

    @supadom, it is probably the drum track that is giving you the heebiejeebies. I added it after the fact and it twists me a little as well! All the other tracks are derived from my "great" piano track, so they couldn't be more on. I respect you, and take no offense, but iOS has been pretty good for me, as well as my personal experience on the forum. I have made almost ninety tracks in the last ten months and have had nearly 9,000 hits on SoundCloud. I know that's not a lot, but considering I have sold maybe 500 CDs in my benighted career, it has been fun. I no longer seek support and praise, but it does feel good when I get it, and many here have been generous with such stuff. At 70 I don't really much care what is good for me as a musician. Just glad it happens. 😉

    Cool, that explains it. I guess if bass is following what you’re playing in bass register on the piano then I guess it was lost on me when I first heard it. As in: I’ve heard the piano from mid range, upwards.

    Anyway, I thought I’d say it rather than do the ‘great, amazing’ etc while thinking otherwise. I generally find the not so positive comments quite helpful if they hit on something I can improve.

    There’s nothing wrong with playing with oneself but I think doing it with someone else is always better, especially when it comes to Jazz as well as bodily pleasures.

    @wim I’m not a jazz head but I had my jazz phase. As a musician I can just about get away with playing it on bass but generally end up calling it pseudo jazz ;). I think in terms of midi sequencing Jazz has got to be absolutely the hardest to pull off. It just has too many dimensions.

  • edited March 2019

    @supadom, I thought that was it. And in addition I am not certain SoftDrummer comes in on the one, and not sure it makes a difference with it, I listen to see that the tracks at least coincide a few times and just assume they are in sync. Couple that with the swing and jam intensity parameter shifts and it gets pretty whacked up. But I like that. And, if you listened without MicSwap, the bass was pretty low. Try listening to the "with" version. That, i think, is more with it!

    Re playing with others in jazz, I guess that is the party for most, but I am a bit of a loner cause my musical expression seems to take its own course and I just go along with it. Not great for accommodating other musicians' input, so I have avoided it usually.

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