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
Yeah, I don’t get it. What is the reasoning behind “Game Over?” What could be over? There are some great new FabFilter apps on iOS, otherwise known as “good news”. So they’re a little pricey for the platform. They deliver the quality. People, including myself, paid for them in Auria, and now must pay the full yet still relatively low price for AUv3 versions. That’s perfectly legal business, and nothing new with the App Store. Side chaining doesn’t work. Is the sky falling?
"Our developers to catch up?"
I would disagree with that.
The independent developers on iOS and those who I am friends with or know are far ahead of Fab Filter.
Why?
Because they have been involved with iOS app music making and working with users for years.
If iOS music making was supposed to be a clone of Mac or PC, then I guess many would be happy.
But, the joy I have always gotten from iOS is the fact it wasn't PC or Mac. But, wait, I complained and made comparison between the two......yes. But, I referred to features and functionality. No different than hardware knobs or wire.
I loved iOS for the fact it wasn't a computer. The true revolutionary apps that put iOS on the map are those that take advantage of the os GUI and touch service never attempted before.
IF IOS IS TO BECOME A NON KEYBOARD VERSION OR CLONE OF WHAT IS ON MAC/PC MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE IT WILL FAIL.
IOS LACKS CERTAIN TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND CORPORATE RECOGNITION TO COMPETE.
FabFilters entrance may be a sign for changes in the future. But maybe not what we expect.
Hold the applause.....lol
I THINK FAB FILTER CAN LEARN FROM THE DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE HELP MAKE IOS MUSIC MAKING WHAT IT IS TODAY IN BOTH CONTENT AND CONTEXT OF PRODUCTS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE. THOSE ARE THE HEROS IN IOS MUSIC MAKING.
I don't blow or praise big multi million dollar companies...they only kick the little guy in the nuts at one point or another. Do I hate them? NO. I love them. I love buying good shit. But praising them as they get wealthy off what people PAY them for.
NAH.
I praise social workers, nurses, and volunteers at the soup kitchen.
With all do respect.
Put me in coach.....
As a person who owns a business, I can say with a fair amount of certainty business strategies and market targeting is neither generosity nor based on the kindness of their hearts.
I also think your posture is based on your personality more than anything, so I will not criticize it. I feel challenging people, companies, and ideas are what make things better. It makes things stronger in the long run.. Feathers may ruffle, but better than getting taken advantage of or ripped off. Question everything is the way I roll.
But, that may just be the punk rock in me.
I don't believe the government or multi million dollar companies do anything for their love or concern for the buying / taxing public.
I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT ALL MEGA COMPANIES COMING INTO IOS BECAUSE THAT WILL INEVITABLY CHANGE THINGS. POLICIES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED THAT HURT OUR BELOVED INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS WHO BUILT THIS WHOLE THING WITH US AS WELL AS THE USERS.
That is solely my opinion based on my use and experience.
Well at least you came in and posted.
That's cool.
Fabfilter is on iOS Auv3 and I’m delighted. It’s a grand slam, and if progress were to stop for the next 2 years (and I know it won’t) I’d be fine with that. Everything to come is gravy to me.
I don’t disagree with your sentiment that companies should be questioned or criticised, but I think that criticism should be reserved for times when it’s necessary. And I’m glad that you agree with me when I say more big players aren’t going to make the transition to iOS out of the kindness of their heart. I could get upset that you made a passive aggressive comment about my personality, but I’m not going to rise to that. I’m too old to be drawn into such arguments.
I for one welcome the gentrifying next level AU effects of the flying saucer transdimensional nazi alien megacorp and their new desktop converts. All Hail AU! All Hail FabFilter!
I didn't mean anything about you as far as passive aggressive. NOT MY INTENT. AT ALL!
I am a fighter. I am a person who challenges the status quo. I always have. I realize my approach and perspective are not always the most common. That was my punk rock reference. Wasn't about you at all.
I think I am pretty transparent and thorough in giving my opinion and why I feel that way. That is what I thought the point of forum was.
Lastly, the thread as a whole was not intended to pass judgement on FF.
It was the point the Fab Filter app release that has sort of gave ME pause for a second to evaluate iOS music making as a whole in its evolution and where we are at now.
I wish people would read actually what is posted and not react to a title and not subsequent explanation or rationale of a poster.
Everyone keeps just making points that I don't see anyone making regarding Fab Filter and side chain...it was a thought piece.
A BIG PICTURE look at iOS at this present time PROMPTED BY THE RELEASE OF THE FF apps.
Wow.
Anyway.
I meant nothing by it about you.
Just use SPACE CRAFT GRANULAR !
Don't we already know about the many iOS deficiencies since years and yet we've jumped on the iOS train anyway because it's ... err ... different?
The main 'thing' I picked up from the video is around FF's response about being unable to offer crossgrades to existing FF Auria IAP or Desktop customers and what that actually means.
Developers are unable to control how their products are sold on iOS, or to provide proper customer support. The reason being that Apple does not allow them to through the app store model and the information it provides to developers.
One thing it would be interesting to know....FF stated that they have no way of knowing who purchased FF through Auria in order to offer upgrades/crossgrades....is that because it was an IAP ? Could WavemachineLabs have provided them with that information ? Or do they not have it either ?
Apple are able to tell who is buying the AUv3's, as they are able to manage bundles. Do FF have access to this information and could therefore offer crossgrades to desktop or Auria versions for those users who want to in the future ?
These are obvious barriers in the way of companies who want to provide a full customer support experience independent of the platform, this means they either have to
Seems a bit like a rock and a hard place....damned if they do, damned if they don't. From a companies perspective, being unable to provide comprehensive support to customers will be a major stumbling block. For companies that make lots of products, a bad customer experience can be more damaging than a single bad product.
This is a big part of what is keeping app prices down. Big name apps on iOS are so much cheaper than on desktop largely because those companies cannot provide the same level of support, particularly in the form of upgrades and crossgrades, as they can on desktop, so those products are instantly devalued as a result, which in turn means that perhaps they are not the absolute bargain that they at first appear to be. Yes you are getting the functionality for a bargain basement price, but you will not necessarily be getting the same service, and the product does not have the same monetary value after sale as it cannot be resold or used to crossgrade.
Worth remembering here that Apple never expected the App Store to become the success it has and will probably not have forward planned enough for where we are now, so it's probably not by design. They do however need to adapt and allow these companies to operate in the way they want to if they really do want to attract more big name developers to iOS. They have given the bundles mechanism which can be used for upgrades in a fashion, which shows they are aware of the issue too.
When paying small amounts for an app, accepting a lesser service is not unexpected, but when investing significant amounts (small or significant is different to each of us) this sort of thing matters far more, and I think this is the point @RUST( i )K is trying to make. I also think the lower prices on iOS demonstrates that the developers understand this too !!
For those questioning this thread and it's motives...I'm sure that it isn't levelled at FF specifically but is a general point. It is just that their response to @JakobHaq has highlighted some things.
For now we can rejoice in the fact that we have the FF's available as AUv3, meaning non Auria users who want to can now use them on iOS, and also let's hope that Apple and the developer community are working towards fixing these issues. Although, if they do manage to sort them out expect app prices to get much closer to the desktop ones for those apps with equivalent functionality. A case of be careful what you wish for ?
This is a perfectly valid conversation to be having and thanks @RUST( i )K for making me think about it !
Yeah.
LOL
You know what though.
This is the first time I can recall there is a side by side choice for a product on iOS or computer.
So, with this type of money I really took pause and said, hmmmm......is this a wise investment and will functionality equal a computer use of the same program or comparable level.
This type of choice made me compare in a more serious way as far as overall workflow that I previously haven't.
Not really, AudioDamage does the same since quite a while but because the apps are cheap enough, only few complain.
I guess it's more about the cash. If Pro-Q3 was a tenner as AUv3, people wouldn't worry too much. And it was no secret right from the beginning that purchases native to Auria were condemned to stay inside Auria.
The side-chaining deficiency is indeed with the hosts and not FF, and I don't believe FF should attempt a hack or workaround to fix it...
Perhaps they could be a little more transparent in the app store description, Instead of just saying External Side Chaining...it should include Host Dependent or similar to warn that functionality may not be usable in your particular host.
They already mentioned some devs are working on the correct solution....once those hosts are updated, more apps will be able to make use of it, other hosts will have to update or they will get left behind. Expect more side-chaining in other apps, and perhaps some more creative uses for it too. Chicken and Egg really, don't know whether FF have given us the Egg or the Chicken though
It may take some time though...as @brambos already pointed out, it isn't as simple or straight-forward a task as it may seem on the surface.
I think when a developer like FF wants to sell on the App Store, they get their app working in development on their machines, and once it's all good, they submit it to Apple for approval. When Apple accepts it, they put it on their servers to sell on the App Store. After that, for each sale, Apple takes their cut and then pays FF the rest. So, FF would have an idea of the volume of sales they do, but they wouldn't know that you personally bought their plugin or not. The Synthmaster guys have incentivized a way to get that info from you and increasing their sales along the way by letting you enter your desktop license key in their iOS app in order to receive some extra presets for doing so.
SugarBytes have an interesting approach where you get a minimal functionality plugin on iOS for free and to unlock that, you make an IAP to essentially purchase the complete app. So, you get to demo a plugin, and Apple still gets their cut. Now, I read somewhere else on the interwebs that a company can't give away an app on iOS and then require that you purchase a license key from them outside the App Store because that would cut Apple out of the loop, and they are going to have their cut, or they won't approve the app and add it to the App Store.
I like the Synthmaster approach where it makes it worth it to also buy their desktop plugin because that will allow me to unlock additional presets/functionality in their iOS app.
It took me until last month to even buy the og iOS fab filter..
I don't see myself buying any of these new ones any time soon..
I'm very happy with the other eqs I had before it for most jobs but I do like what Fab does as well..
The reason: I don't need all that on my iPad as I'm still going to finish any mix I'm serious about in ableton where I already have enough from them, waves and other companies to get the results I need.
I don't have to do everything in iOS to be happy with iOS.
I use it for what it can do, it's a tablet and even tho Hollywood promised us flying cars, daily holographic communication, tablets and other gadgets by 2020 that allow us to do everything we ever wanted, we just aren't there yet on tablets. And that's fine.
Good to see fab filter release stuff for iOS, and I'm sure they will benefit many, but "macOs" still has a lot to do before it replaces a MacBook Pro and maybe it won't ever, idc personally I'm totally fine having two great products that work great with each other and can do more than get the job done.
But in this case it's FabFilter challenging the status quo, no?
Or is this more like iOS is your formerly cool neighborhood and you're a longtime pioneer and now Starbucks is arriving and the price of real estate is going to skyrocket?
This is the world of crazy fast unpredictable change. It would not surprise me much if ios AUv3 became deprecated or obsolete within a relative blink of an eye (five / six years) and iPads are essentially gone when iPad OS and Mac merge and we just have touch screen tablet Macs running all the olde VSTs and mac AUs etc... Who knows how this is going to unfold? No one has a master plan, so sure, it makes sense to think ahead but I have given up trying to anticipate the future of my mobile music tech fetish. Which apps will even grow the way i want and fulfill my imagined destiny? Beats me. Will touch evolve or just plateau and then the mouse/keyboard paradigm swoops in on iPad OS and makes touch evolution even more stagnant and apps UIs are practically unbearable for touch? Beats me. Too many factors/questions.
Yah I am going to buy stuff that I don't use forever or worse yet, regret buying. Things will change and be lost and I will pine for them. I never got into hardware much so don't have that mindset of vintage synths as investments etc and just have a twenty five year old Nord Lead in the closet I barely used... eh. To me these apps are like techno consumables with a usefulness expiry date. No different than TVs, VHS tapes, DVDs etc. Can't take it with you and I will probably donate it to Goodwill soon enough. Will I get my monies worth out of Fabs over the next three years or so? Probably. More than that Star Wars Special Edition Box Set on VHS.
Princess Leia ... in that outfit ... while in your teens ... Are you sure ?
i said fabs not faps
[shakes head sadly]
The nerds always out themselves....
The information the App Store provides is like the stats you get from website tracking - numbers and rough geographic location - I'm sure it's error prone too since I've got apps flagged as "desktop sales" - like eh? up until this point I've only sold iOs Auv3's (unless it's someone in Apple testing AUv3 iOS apps on the desktop of course..... ;-) )
the big boys (Amazon , Spotify etc) are all fighting Apple and largely getting nowhere, us little developers don't stand a chance - I'd suggest the consumer is more likely to make progress demanding chances than developers (after all everyone knows developers are a bunch of moaners....). Fab Filter might actually be the right size to change the market a bit - also good timing - Apple have clearly decided that their semi-pro market does have value to them so perhaps they will be listening a little right now.
Future wise - the AUv3 mechanism is supported by some hosts on the desktop - I've not explored much but it could well be plugins will run right across Apple platforms without changes eventually - which would be nice.
One problem is that. music is a 'halo effect' industry for Apple - we provide lots of 'cool' - you see musicians using their products, you see Apple laptops on stage and in studios. however we don't provide a great income. We don't spend huge amounts on hardware any more (unlike video people who are still hungry for more CPU and ram) because by and large most of us are not maxing out our machines any more. Our 30%'s in the app store are likely just noise in the stats
Do you mean nerfs ?
( And if you understand this one, you are clearly a member of said nerd club
)
Well... this will sell some WoodPressor for side-chaining, pumping, rumping and sonic dumping.
(Personally, I think WoodPressor is a little expensive but you get what you pay for feature wise).
I bought 4Pockets Compressor and it implements internal bussing for side-chaining too. And more than just 2 as I recall now.
Something like 4-8. It seems to require allocating shared memory to transfer audio buffers and some kind of clocking service to insure sample-accurate timing between DAW channels. It's a coder's "worm-hole" in the fabric of a DAW's time continuum.
I don't know the size of the Fab Filter team but I'm sure it's bigger than @Virsyn (he won't write manuals due to low revenue) and AudioDamage. I wonder how many coders work 4Pockets? WoodPressor comes from a solo dev I think. For the little guy this type of innovation can make an app. For a larger company it would be a one off and a potential for endless re-work.
I asked @brambos (in the Mosaic thread) if he'd consider a Mac port of Mosaic and he thinks the support would be too much.
But Apple's tease about IOS Apps on Mac OS got his attention as a lower cost opportunity. Just test the app as is and decide then.
@McD 4pockets is just one guy too.
Well, I gone done it - got them all now 🙂. These are far and away the best mastering tools on iOS, and a great thing they are.