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.
Axon 2 needs an update!
I’m incredibly frustrated with Axon 2 because it seems like the app has been ignored by Audio Damage. Desperately needs an easier way to share and import presets. The user manual is for the desktop version and is less that useful. Please AD, give it some love.
Comments
I don't think they watch this forus closely. Sending a tweet may work better.
And sending an email maybe even better.
Probably not the answer you're looking for but a utility application like iMazing is pretty essential for ultimate flexibility when it comes to managing presets across devices. Of course developers should include iCloud/Dropbox etc as standard options but things just don't work out that way.
And something like iMazing is useful for far more than the import/export of presets in music applications, so they're worth the relatively small asking price (IMO).
They’ve been responsive to other apps, but this one seems like the red headed step child. It has crazy amounts of potential.
I love Axon 2 but get the impression that it's not been as successful as Axon 1 (only available for desktop DAWs). I sent AD an email regarding Axon 2 on Monday and didn't even receive an auto-response reply, never mind one from a human being!
At a guess, I think Axon 2 is massively misunderstood. The most common misconceptions I've read is that the FM sound engine sounds thin, it's complex to program, and it's only good for noodly generative music.
Of course, none are true, although I do find I like to heavily saturate its output. But that's something I like to do with all FM sound engines. With regards to programming, I treat it like an uber-capable euclidean sequencer. As it says in the manual, the output may sound random but it's very predictable once you grok the rules. And paired with a solid back-beat, it adds lots of modulating variation to an otherwise motoric rhythm arrangement.
This is one I wish I understood better. Does a browse through the desktop version manual provide enough info on what does what and how to get things going? I'm willing to RTFM but only if it will actually help lol
@icsleepers, In this case, it will actually help. But the core of how Axon works can be described very simply.
But before that, one important bit if nomenclature. A 'pulse' is the tick of any nodes clock.
And at it's core, that covers the most important concepts to grok in Axon 2.
At its the simplest you could use the central node to send out a 16th note hi-hat pattern, the node at position one to trigger a kick drum after it has received 3 pulses (it triggers its sound on the 4th pulse), and the node at position two to trigger a snare after it has received 1 pulse from the node at position one. And there you have yourself a typical (and ever so boring) four to the floor drum pattern.
The reason I compare it to Euclidean rhythms is that you're able to set up complex polyrhythms with ease. And these polyrhythms mean that the overall pattern may only repeat every nth bar (this may be a short repeating pattern every 2 bars or it may something more complex that only repeats every 40 bars).
The important stuff in the manual details how you set up the sender/listener relationships between the nodes and how to get the most from the audio engine.
Axon_2.0_Manual.pdf
BTW if you want to increase the complexities of the resulting rhythms still further, pair Axon 2 with Replicant 2. With these two working in tandam, you'll stop any nearby androids dreaming of electric sheep.
@jonmoore Thanks! I'm gonna take a look later. Replicant 2 is my bread and butter, I can't think of anything I haven't used it on lol... love how unpredictable it can be
Actually, it is a sound source as well. But typically it is more useful to use it as just the master clock.
@icsleepers The thing about Axon is the rules are simple, but the emergent behavior can be complex. Therefore it's probably best not to try to make a specific beat, but rather follow where it takes you.
One other tip: because of all the interrelations, changing the threshold of a node can have significant effects on the overall rhythm. I really like to take a tempo-synched Rozeta LFO and control the threshold of a node as it creates a complex, shifting rhythm that provides a nice counterpoint to a more "solid" beat from a traditional rhythm machine.
Just hit him up on Twitter. Chris and AudioDamage are super active there.
They don’t answer support emails or tweets. I will not be buying anymore of their apps.
I did love Axon though
Other than sharing presets (which a lot of apps don’t have) what else is not working?
But they read the emails. This is pretty typical, unfortunately. But I think if enough people contact them about issues it may put those issues on their radar.
Personally speaking, I wouldn't say it's so much a case of things not working but there are a few simple feature enhancements that would improve it. The one comes to mind most every time I use Axon is that it's in desperate need of a swing function.
The thing that I mailed them about earlier this week was that Axon 1(desktop plugin only) enabled each FM sound to have its own output channel in your DAW. I was considering picking up Axon 2 during the sale as a desktop plugin too, but only if individual outputs was on the roadmap. I suspect that the individual outputs feature was removed from Axon 2 because iOS doesn't currently provide for that feature in AUv3's. And it appears that Audio Damage works to a 'mobile first' development strategy these days. I'm all in favour of 'mobile first' but not when the desktop version of the plugin is compromised. Of course, I didn't say any of this in my email I simply asked the question as to whether the feature would return.
To compound things, it appears the desktop plugin hasn't as yet added back another feature from Axon 1 that has found it's way to Axon 2 on iOS. When using Axon to sequence other sound generators the latest update enabled the Midi note to be based on the pitch value used by the node (it's the same 6 fixed note values in the desktop plugin). Plus the gate time is based on the release value in iOS but not on the desktop. Neither of these features has as yet found their way to the desktop plugin (this information comes from a friend that owned Axon 1 and upgraded to Axon 2 and has since gone back to using v1). I think this is the first instance I've found of the more expensive desktop plugin being a compromised version of the iOS version!
I agree it could be better, but copy / paste works. It's just text, so you can save presets as text notes that sync between devices (or AirDrop the notes)
Also, with Continuity, you can theoretically share the clipboard between Mac and iOS (rarely works for me, but that's an Apple issue)
For me everything works. My only issues:
1- The UI, as with most AD apps is not the most responsive. It can be a bit fiddly to work with. That said, the last update that fixed MIDI output also seems to have made node routing much, much better (it was almost impossible before).
2- I hate the default patch when you load up the app! Wish it was silent at first.
3- It does seem to crash more than other apps, but it's not egregious.
@jonmoore good points. A workaround could be midi out through Cality for the swing function.
I just try to use Rozeta Cells and Ruismaker Noir, and make my own Axon 2 type of setup, without all the headaches. Most people have those 2 apps already, I would assume.
If you have Senode, that works great as the sequencer component too.
I love AD apps. I have them all, except Pumphouse and Axon 2. I am staying clear of those.
I could be wrong but would suspect that Cality can only add swing to the notes it generates. If it's able to add swing to the whole stream, that's reason alone to purchase Cality.
I'd be interested to hear reports from anybody that owns both Axon 2 and Cality. I'm not looking for glitchy chaos (I have Replicant 2 for that!) but good old fashioned swing and accents in a manner that doesn't destroy the heartbeat of the rhythm - that I'd be very interested in adding to my toolbox.
EDIT.
Just seen the Cality 'What cant it do?' video.
It does exactly what I want so that's another instant purchase.
Good times 👍
They don’t read I respond to the numerous emails and tweets I’ve sent them
How do you do the copy paste on iOS ?
I'm a big fan of Audio Damage and have been for a number of years but last year Chris wrote a post on their site on the subject of procedural graphics and the move to smarter OpenGL graphics, and the way he closed the post bordered on arrogance. I'll let you read that part got my goat so you can judge for yourself (you'll probably need to read the full post to understand the context more fully).
https://www.audiodamage.com/blogs/news/procedures
Generally, I would have had sympathy for Chris as we all know the nature of post on forums. But here's the thing, ever since the move to procedurally generated graphics that use the GPU, Audio Damage plugins have a reputation for being glitchy with GPU drivers on Windows (especially Nvidia GPU's) and the complaints are much the same on iOS (complaints of slowdowns and lack of responsiveness). I'm all for the move to products that utilise the GPU but don't use your customers as guinea-pigs as you learn your chops. GLSL ain't for the faint-hearted, especially if you come from a traditional arts background.
Audio Damage used to be the people's champions, they had a great attitude with regards to interacting with customers on forums and other social channels much like the best of today's iOS developers (these days its social channels seem to be regarded as nothing more than sales channels). They sold desktop plugins that got the job done for significantly less money than the majority of other plugin developers (in truth they were never the best quality, but they performed reasonably well for the money). But now, whilst they're no Waves or Plugin Alliance, they're amongst the more expensive of the indie developers. Thank goodness their iOS products are still fantastic value.
Moving away from the mini-rant, there are now some absolute gems amongst the AD portfolio, Quanta, Discord 4, and Replicant 2 are amongst my favourite products on any platform and the MS20 filter models in Filterstation 2 elevate a middle of the road product to secret weapon status (especially when overdriven). But I really wish they'd return to their customer service ways of old and remedy things like the less than ideal performance in their new GPU powered GUI's in a more timely fashion.
What Axon does is unique on iOS. I absolutely love Senode (Cells is good, but not my favorite in the Rozeta Suite), but what Axon does is different:
Senode has networks where tokens triggers events either in a deterministic manner (single edge between nodes) or in a stochastic manner (branches with probabilities). However the tokens are independent of each other. So, you either create a fixed progression, or you introduce stochastic elements, but along set paths. Multiple tokens create complexity, but they are still traveling the same ground.
Cells is even simpler in that you only have one token and it can only move to a cell next to it.
Axon has networks where triggers happen after the count of pulses they receive reaches the threshold you set. This is entirely deterministic, there are no random actions here. However, because nodes that trigger after reaching their threshold can also be used to send a pulse to other nodes, the result is a complex, emergent rhythm that can be much more complex than something you would program manually, but is consistent and not random. The nodes can affect each other. When you add in remote control of the threshold counts as I mentioned above, you can get even more complex and unique results, that are still entirely deterministic and repeatable.
The FM sound engine in Axon is a love-it-or-hate-it thing, but since MIDI output has (finally) been fixed, you can trigger whatever you want.
I would definitely recommend checking it out if you like complex , non-random rhythms. Although, as mentioned, don't expect to lead it, let it lead you....
@jonmoore : not sure what you see as arrogant in his response. In fact, what he says is the reason that people should contact a developer (whether you will hear back or not) about things that aren't working. People talking to each other on forums generally carries a lot less weight than contacting a dev directly.
Maybe there is something in the post that is damning but what you quoted doesn't strike me as unreasonable.
Yeah, I agree with what you are saying.
I am not saying using these other apps will give you the exact same results, but definitely something similar, and they are definitely easier to deal with, for me.
I had Axon 2 when it came out. I thought the idea of how the sequencer worked sounded pretty interesting. The reality of it was pretty disappointing, to me. It was hard to work with, and the results were not that special, considering the ‘unique’ method used to create the sequences.
But hell, that is just my experience. So I suggest a different way. I figure most people have Rozeta and either Ruismaker Noir or FM. Give those a shot, and you might have a satisfying experience.
And take a close look at Senode. I am not sure, but I suspect you could set it up to do the Axon sequencer thing. You can at least arrange the nodes into a circle.
Um... so I guess you didn't read my post?!
tl;dr I love Senode, but it doesn't do the same thing (more details in the post)
No, I read it.
I just haven’t tried to set it up to do the Axon thing, so I don’t know for sure if it can or can’t.
It doesn’t have the limitations that Axon has, and can be setup in a number of different ways, so until I try it myself, I remain open to the possibility.
I just got Axon 2 and loving it so far. Is there a way to stop it from triggering at all when hitting play in AUM if I'm sequencing it with another sequencer? Sometimes I want to do something different but node 0 seems to be always on. Obviously, I can mute it, but then I lose 1 of the 7 available sounds.