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.
Comments
Very cool, thanks. After watching videos, Live's warping looks easier compared to Sonar's Groove Clip markers. It's wild playing with it plus Loop Constructor, AudioSnap tools, along with its tempo track. Add Melodyne, and it's like instant IDM! I think I would miss those in the Force.
The force “stand-alone” stretch is better than MPC “stand alone” stretch
Imagine 4 levels of timestretch quality
MPC would be the lowest(4th), force would be the second lowest(3rd)
I believe that Akai should give us the ability to crank the timestretch up, as there is a resample feature in both machines.
This would give users more abilities, they would just have to understand it wouldn’t be good for live use per say.
But it would allow a lot of flatten pad goodness, such as building a whole instrument from a single note with a higher quality algorithm.
I understand it's better than the mpc realtime stretch but what about the offline stretch, I'm asking because the realtime stretch sounds terrible to me but the offline stretch sounds allot better on the same machine, talking about the mpc live?
Hmmm I’ve never used the offline stretch...my suspicion is that it should be better!
But I am not near my force at the moment...will be something I will investigate
thanks man I appreciate it, you have an mpc too?
I own an mpclive and a force
Cool, wondering how the mpc offline stretch compares with the force real-time stretch you were talking about
Hi!
I’ve been binge watching videos on the Force.
I was a desktop “linear DAW” guy, now I’m all for clip based work and no desktop. I’m switched to the iPad using Zenbeats or aum+LK.
Then I see the Akai Force and it’s so much like Zenbeats (which in turn is like Ableton I guess) but sexy hardware. I’m really GASing right now. I’m also looking at Roland Verselab M1 which is a lot simpler and looks less pro but promises perfect integration with Zenbeats.
I have a few questions regarding Force and iPad integration:
1- is the Force class compliant?. Would you be able to use the Force as an audio interface with the iPad?.
2- Can you do audio from iPad to Force over usb?. Like recording a synth into Force.
3- Can you do loopback fx on the Force?. I’d love to record some guitar loop, send it to the iPad to process with Nembrini amp and some good auv3 effects and back into the Force... This i believe would make it more “pro” as there are obviously more and more diverse FX on iOS.
4-I know it can export to Ableton, but what about standard stems?. Like to mix in Auria...
Thanks!
@tahiche: I have a Force, just exploring it now. This guy seems to have got it sussed out IOS wise:
The biggest drawback I’ve found so far is that because you can’t stream audio from a fitted ssd or SD, the audio clip length is relatively limited. Not a problem for conventional song structure pieces where you are dealing with bite sized verse/chorus stuff, but not so cool for epically slow evolving noises over minutes such as I deal in.
Making me think maybe I should have waited and gone for the new Roland which seems to handle long form audio better... I’m still thinking of the best way to handle this, possibly by running in audio from the iPad using the Force more or less as a sequencer with benefits rather than completely standalone.
On the plus side, it does have the auto sampler thing going on where you can hook it up to your hardware and create your own new sampled instruments:
(From the manual)
“Auto Sampler
The Sampler page also contains the Auto Sampler, which lets you capture and covert any plugin preset or external instrument preset into a keygroup sampler patch.”
Alternatively , if you use the free MPC Beats software for desktop, you can package up the autosampling of VSTs from your desktop DAW into proper ‘instrument’ packs for the Force. This vid shows you how:
That’s interesting!. He’s using Zenbeats on the iPhone.
At first I thought Zenbeats was acting as a mixer, getting multiple inputs from the Force. That had me very excited. But reading the YouTube description, it seems like Zenbeats is being used as a sequenced sound module with a stereo out into Force.
@Svetlovska I’d love to hear how you’re using the Force (man this sounds so Star Wars geeky 😬) with the iPad. Is it class compliant, can you use it an audio interface?.
@tahiche : Me too! Still figuring it out, I only just got it, and I’m spending the next few weeks getting to grips with it, while I wait for my Behringer X Touch interface and XR18 mixer to arrive, by which time I hope to hook up everything alongside Ableton. This thread from Gearslutz seems to indicate there’s a number of ways to go about it...
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1246262-akai-pro-force-83.html
I’m reading quite a lot. I found a very worrying bit of information that maybe you can help me with.
Excuse me for cross-posting. Impatience rules over best practices... 😬
I do a lot of audio recording and looping, currently Zenbeats. And I just read a very worrying comment about the audio RAM limitations in the akai Force. https://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?p=1775370
Have you had any experience with this?. They comment you can run out of ram and thus audio tracks pretty soon. I like to record long loops in Zenbeats, maybe 32 bars long, and decide on what to keep later. With this ram limitation I’m afraid it won’t work in my case.
@tahiche : yes, as I said in my first post: ‘ The biggest drawback I’ve found so far is that because you can’t stream audio from a fitted ssd or SD, the audio clip length is relatively limited.’ This is true. From a post in that MPC-forums thread you linked:
“the Force is limited right now to about 20 MINUTES OF TOTAL AUDIO PER PROJECT.”
Apparently the undo function takes up a lot of room too, and I was hitting the limit within about 7 or 8 minutes. This is why I was looking at the new Roland, as it seems better built for long continuous loops. At least, that seems to be the gist of this from Loopop:
I was checking out the Roland Verselab too. Turns out it’s got a 6 minute stereo or 12 min mono audio limit per project !. So it’s a lot worse.
I know the Deluge can stream for disk, but it’s very pricey and I’m not sure about the workflow. The Octatrakt too but also expensive and seems overly complicated.
I like the Force cos it seems very easy to get going, I can’t say about the MPc live.
I always complain about the lack of audio features in iOS apps and daws. Seems the same with hardware.
@tahiche
I've been using the Force with the ipad for quite a while now. I love it, but there's no real plug & play integration to speak of. I mainly use the iPad as a sound module, though do some midi processing on it too from time to time.
No USB audio or USB midi to or from the devices. HOWEVER, you can connect them via BT midi, which is cool but prone to some drop-outs and timing issues. I just use a USB/DIN cable and route audio from iPad to the Force inputs. Works great.
Route and host in AUM, give AUM and Force projects the same name when I save, and everything's ready to roll.
Additionally, Force supports ableton link in standalone and it "just works" with link-enabled apps (no start/stop, though, which is a bummer).
The RAM limit is real, but it's not something I've run into. It manages the RAM fairly well too (duplicating clips doesn't duplicate samples and most edits can be done non-destructively, obviating the need for creating copies; and there's a 1-click function to purge from RAM all samples that aren't currently used in the project.) I don't generally "print" my midi sequences to audio on the Force, though, but do record a lot of live instrumentation.
You can loopback audio, but it's kind of hacky.
You can quickly and easily export stems.
Thanks for this!.
So you have had no problem with the audio limit... Do you do a lot of audio in your projects?.
A decent amount - recorded bass and guitar and some pretty big multisample keygroups. I think the spec is something like 50 minutes of stereo audio (double that for mono) but, in practice, it's a bit less than that since the machine seems to reserve RAM for some operations (undo, etc.) If project gets massive, you can always bounce tracks and clips, of course.
If you figure you're producing a four-minute song consisting of nothing but unlooped audio, you could probably get away with 10 stereo tracks or 20 mono tracks. In practice, most people will have even more available since you've got onboard synths, keygroups and kits, and will probably be doing some looping. Honestly, the audio limitation is really only an issue if you're trying to do a full DJ set or the like.
Should be no problem then. That’s very helpful!. The thing with forums is that you get very contradictory info. 10 stereo tracks seems plenty, and as you say you can always bounce tracks if you’re doing the Taj Mahal of instrumentation. Seems like Rolands alternatives like the mc707 or the Verselab Mv1 are a lot more limited, 6 min stereo or 12 min mono. That’s guaranteed too little.
So do you print iPad synths and stuff to audio clips in Force?. I’m really liking it... getting past the audio limit hurdle. What’s still holding me back is the price and size, that thing is huge!. The Mpc live is a lot smaller (and cheaper) but I like the Force for the clip workflow and I don’t think that applies to the Live.
It's definitely massive and the ergonomics aren't great. I got a rolling stand for it: https://on-stage.com/products/view/12562 that makes it feel much better since I can position myself and it however I want. Definitely helps -- i didn't love using it sitting flat on my desk (and it didn't leave room for much else...) If you want Ableton workflow, then Force is definitely the way to go. I had the One for a minute, and loved the form factor and ergonomics, but the Force functionality is above and beyond and nothing in its price range comes anywhere close as far as what you get.
When composing, I generally only print ipad audio when I want to add force effects, especially if the bass is coming from the iPad and I want to sidechain it with force drums. Otherwise I do it when the rest of the track is done (which lets me bounce down all the other audio and avoid having to worry about RAM.
@legsmechanical can you use the iPad as an effect loop to resample?. Say I record a guitar loop, dry with no effects. Then you send it to the iPad, process with an amp sim, some effects, and print back to the Akai Force. Is that possible?. I guess there’s more and better effects in auv3, that would really open up some great possibilities.
@Svetlovska how are you getting along with the Force?. I’m stuck thinking about it.
@tahiche : slowly, in a word!
On paper at least it seems way more powerful than the other mid priced Akai sampler/grooveboxes, and the Ableton link options are important for me, as that is my DAW, but for someone unused to anything except AUM really, it also seems quite opaque. This is why I generally avoid hardware with lots of deep functions hidden behind menus.
The manual is huge, and fine if you want to look up a specific function, but rubbish if you want guidance on workflow, whilst most of the YouTube tutorials I’ve found are EDM orientated, which does nothing for me. I want to get into using the auto sampler with my hardware synths and using its looper more, to make my kind of noise. I expect the learning curve to take a while, but I’m ok with that. I had Ableton for over a year before I felt sufficiently in control of it to actually bend it to my will, and I’m still exploring the wonderful world of Max4Live devices in that, so...
It’s heartening at least to see how much more powerful the Force is now than on initial release, and until the recent Brexit fiasco anyway, that meant you were getting a whole lot of bang for your buck from an under appreciated gadget. I snuck in just in time, got mine new for £750. I see it’s anything up to a couple of hundred more now. That’s ‘Taking back control’ for you. Yay. 🤬
(and don’t get me started on what catastrophically stupid national self harming has done to future prospects for buying gear here in the UK. Look at the hit to prices from Thomann for example. I‘ve got orders outstanding for some Behringer gear, and I’m now getting emails from UK music stores saying they don’t know when, or if, they will be able to supply what I thought I had already purchased from them.)
And breathe... rant over.
Returning to the subject in hand, one thing I would dearly like Akai to do is to enable streaming from hard disc, which it currently can’t do. That would work so much better with the long evolving soundscapes I go in for, and was why I started casting envious glances at the Rolands’ ‘vocal track’ feature which seems to support long form audio. Though once I checked the specs, the Force is still the more capable device in other ways, so no buyers remorse yet... Who knows if the Akai updates will keep coming, or if that will ever be one of them?
Still and all, I’ve realised it takes time for complex gear to bed in with me, and what it can do already seems very impressive. It does sound great. Also want to explore more of it’s sequencing of other gear, for example, via the generous IO options. So, yeah... a work in progress.
I find the force really easy to use and I’m sure anyone would after spending some time with it. The problem for me is the ergonomics aren’t great and the siZe and function buttons being those crappy rubber ones make it really difficult to develop muscle memory. I used to use an RS7000 and could fly in that thing almost blindfolded. In the force I always feel like I’m hunting and pecking like a kid who hasn’t learned how to touch-type.
Thanks for the answers!. I do feel like the Force is the most comprehensive and complete piece of gear.
@Svetlovska if you mean the VerseLab, it’s only got 12 min mono or 6 stereo per project. I can’t make sense of that, I just don’t see how you can put out a product with such limitations.
@legsmechanical yeah, the size is what’s pulling me back. I wish the Akai Live or One would have the same clip workflow. I’m currently strictly sofa and the Force seems to big.
About Brexit, @Svetlovska i can’t imagine how I’d feel if I was British. The sad thing about it is all the lying, fear and filth involved, obviously avoiding the consequences.
Hell I even made a song called Brexit Kraut. I’m gonna link it here...
@tahiche : cool track! When I’m not scratching my head over electronic gear I’m trying to learn guitar in general, and 3 string cigar box in particular - I’m a sucker for scratchy blues slide which sounds brilliant on them.
I’m a pretty frequent Force-on-the-sofa user. For me it’s only almost too big. But it actually does work out. Sitting it on a pillow helps with the angle. And a 90 degree elbow headphone adapter also helps to change the direction of the headphone plug. With those things it’s actually pretty comfortable IMO.
Any Force users that can comment on the latest updates?. Disk streaming seems huge, it was my biggest “stopper”. @Svetlovska, @legsmechanical ?.
Also there’s now Loopy Pro to compare with the Force… Anyone using them together or are they sort of redundant?.
Last question… the Force is some years old now. Worried to buy it now and a new one comes out, it’s a big investment and second hand market is not that great.
@tahiche: I’ve been waylaid by Modular recently, only so many hours in the day etc, but I’m definitely hanging on to the Force, not least because it is very well set up to work with modular, on account of the cv outs. I bought it before disk streaming, with an eye on that coming, and it has, and I’m still of the view that the red headed stepchild of the Akai line will increasingly come to be seen as an incredible bang for buck sleeper hit. I am taking my time with it, and I am confident that time will be rewarded. There’s a reason you don’t see many second hand, I think…
A reminder of what it can do now:
Force is STILL being updated (in a BIG way) so I wouldn’t worry about a new one coming out just yet. The MPC Live 2 is much more recent and still runs the same chip, so I doubt they’re moving on from that basic platform anytime soon. Massive massive value to be had there.
(Having said that, I sold mine not long ago bc it’s just too damn big. 😄)
Bufffff. Heavily GASing right now.
When I see stuff like this I can’t help but see an iPad loaded with a great DAW app embedded onto a dedicated hardware controller. I seriously think if apple wasn’t apple we’d have stuff like this. Interchangeable hardware gadgets for specific iPad apps. You have the screen, the processing power, auv3 plugins… But of course companies are not going to risk the effort and resources it takes for apple to do some update that breaks everything, plus keeping 30%, etc, etc…