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.
Fun sample slicer and pad performance app?
eek!.... for my 16y old son who has just discovered jungle, dirty bass and raving. (it’s a nightmare)
Suggest an app, or app combo.. (i have aum/audiobus etc.)
To cut up samples. And perform/preview them on midi pads.
Something that is immediate, not geeky, fun and could be performed live, something to practice finger drumming with.. lol
Comments
We need the synthjacker developer @coniferprod to add transient slicing to his audio dicing app. Right now it slices per time interval in 1 second increments.
ReSlice is the closest standalone and it's on sale now through BF. Check out the videos.
Samplr too but it's abandoned-ware I think and not AUv3(?).
The Samplr in BeatMaker 3 is very well regarded. See @TheAudioDabbler's Video.
Korg Gadget can run Propellerhead's "Stockholm" Gadget and load/play Rex files. Can't make them tho'. Reason Rack is have a sale and for $99 you can run rack products in Logic or any AU/VST DAW. Dr Octo-Rex is it?
For really cheap Koala can do pad playing even on iPhones. Might go on sale too.
BeatHawk is on sale and most of the IAP's.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiUwp_e1P3lAhWjqHEKHXl8A_UQ0jAwAHoECAkQAg&url=https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/koala-sampler/id1449584007&usg=AOvVaw0pjgCiXg5KlVSX6rSt4PFE
Which sampler has external audio input?
Probably groove rider gr 16. Samples plus synths in a groovebox which is for performance.
Someone said its probably like a digitakt. No point just using other samplers when you can use a groovebox.
There might be similar apps to gr16 but its what I would recommened to anyone wanting to make ios music. Then they can choose to go modular. It has everything so you would understand what to buy, when going modular.
GR16 is very faithful to the hardware groove box paradigm which if you like hardware groove boxes is awesome.
If you don't like or have never used hardware grooveboxes or prefer apps that don't pretend to be hardware with the intrinsic limitations of fixed knobs and buttons it can be more frustrating than awesome.
For fun you can't really beat Koala. It's all manual but is loads of fun, especially the pocket operator style fx section.
For finger drumming, cutting up samples, etc. Beatmaker 3 is great. It can slice to pads at transients which is perfect for chopping up samples. But it's not the easiest app to use and doesn't have the gentlest learning curve.
Reslice seems to be the only auv3 sampler that can slice by transients and allow easy playback and performance based on those slices. It has an arpeggiator built in to play back the slices at different pitches, etc. Use standalone or later on as a plug-in in your host of choice.
Or there's iMPC pro which is an AKAI MPC style app for iPad.
https://www.akaipro.com/impc-pro-2
gr16 is great for performance, but not looking to sequence one hit samples to make a song.
more thinking how to quickly experiment chopping up Amen Break / 90’s jungle samples, and then testing the slices by hitting some mpd or launchpad pads.
Ok then. Maybe its because he will keep your ipad.
Maybe Launchpad and Blocks Wave from novation. An odd but good mangle looper is Sector from Kymatica. Spacecraft for background noise. Don't forget Sugar Bytes' Egoist, Effectrix, Turnado.
ReSlice with a pad controller
iMPC Pro 2 of there is no controller
If midi refers to external controller (more than GUI representation) then Samplr is out of equation.
My suggestion will be Koala as sp404 replica or ReSlice if you want pitching samples (it has pitch bending by part and works with midi. I recommend using a midi controller with fx pad or softpot like nanopad, vestax pad one, pad kontrol... or even the new launchkey mini)
Also the Blocs/Launchpad apps combo with Launchpad controller could be an option for the raver due you can chop things in Blocs as slices to later set them as one shot in Launchpad app could do the trick. I use 4 channels for loops and 4 for chops/drums so you can launch loops as background instrumental and finger drumming over them. Add an LaunchControl for fx and you have an amazing miniAbleton in your fingertips.
For me this is the funnier, easier and cheapest if you have a Launch controller or want to buy one for use with Ableton desktop... I plugged my launchkey 49 mk2 the other day to Live and it was an amazing (and surprisingly confortable) experience.
I think Werkbench would be the most appropriate for live usage, or improv
Not exactly for slicing, but samples live and is fun
Yellofier is probably the most appropriate...
But if he's up to be a bit more involved, Egoist would be awesome. No in-app sampling, but you can easily import.
It has a slicer, bass synth, drum machine and effects sequencer. 16 patterns which you can organize to parts and parts into song
ReSlice is great fun for slicing and it's arpeggiator is magic.
BeatMaker 3 has amazing sampling/slicing and can be used to prepare AppleLoops that can be used in GarageBand's Live Loops
Groove Rider and AudioShare is a perfect combo for that. Your son will thank you
Tough one. Koala? ... GR-16? Kind of depends on how into figuring things out he is. GR-16 is deeper, Koala is more immediate.
Both.
But after more thought I'd say Blocs Wave / Launchpad combo is the best. My experience with kids is remixing is really what they're into and good at. Blocs has access to tons of sounds and those can be remixed and mangled in great ways. If he's like my son, by Christmas he'll drop you some tracks that'll make your jaw drop.
Lots of good options with different workflows.
I think Koala would be almost perfect for this.
Prolly not necessarily for the OP or those seeking a “rhythmic” pad sampler...
but SampleWiz is loads of fun, especially the granular mode. It seems to be more of a “melodic” sampler, being able to assign single-velocity samples across the keyboard. You can have “chipmunk mode” or not. (Sample plays faster at higher pitches). One thing it does much better than Samplr is the XY mode of having the sample be the X axis and pitch be the Y axis.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/samplewiz/id431031166
Just get BM3.
Start him off right.
It is simple enough to get it going, doing this workflow you want.
Then it can do much more when he is ready.
He can focus on one app, instead of a bunch of apps and iOS on top of that.
BM3 is deep enough that it will stay useful, and he will not need to move on to more powerful apps because he outgrew BM3.
I'd recommend Blocs Wave with the $10 upgrade (but you can use the free versions of GrooveBox and Launchpad). The sampler is decent but the apps shine by allowing you to manage a lot of samples and using then to form complete songs.
Thanks for all your comments, such a cool community here..
my review of these apps.. caveat.. i’m inexperienced and so if i am wrong about any assessment i welcome some good old clarification. :-p
Koala: love it. so immediate with an amazing effective design. 30sec after picking this up, i’m bashing out an amen break on mpd midi controller pads, like a happy hardcore raver. Wishing it had choking, and the choice for tempo snap to grid divisions, and/or a transient grid detection. Without this, prep tech work on loops doesn’t feel worth doing/saving.
Bloc Waves: I’m a bit torn over this one. hate in-app purchases that i can’t refund. Feels a bit toy’ish (yes i’m a design snob). Really good mash up tool, provides lucky creative accidents by design that i really liked and the combination of launchpad allowed easy song structuring, quickly achieving more than just a loop. This is a rare thing! Also launchpad is’t a pad basher, more of a looplauncher. So not what i needing. Also everything is locked to the grid, key, no chokes etc.. but that’s point about waves/launchpad combo. That delicate balance of complexity and convenience, so skill and practice is not required, (but it helps!). My son loved this one.
Reslice: what a slicer, wow! Integration with audiolayer would be nice. Didn’t use any of the arp features. i’ve got little wrong to say about this so here is some blue sky dreaming... Load rex files, map the midi pads in app so the kick/snare/hats are where my fingers like them
Stockholm: i love rex files, the internet is littered with so many lovingly cut up rex files of old vinyl. But this product is so neutered and as an in-app purchase i’ve lost that money now. grrr.. WHY can’t i remove slices, and then open that up in Bilbao or AbuDabi?!! This makes this wonderful app useless. The synth/fx mangler is by far the best in any of these apps. So sad, this was nearly perfect for my needs. In a perfect world it could slice up wave like reslice as well.
All of these solutions imo would be great if...
What else should i try? i’m staying away from non-universal apps, as phones are more portable... .. but i could be tempted... bm3, mpc pro2? lol
impc pro 2 has a cyber monday deal (ipad & iphone version). So it's not so expensive this week
The best and most complete slicer / sampler for ipad only is BM3 !! I love this one & use it all the time
If you can test it
Koala would be my choice ! Samplr can do that thing too i guess
I used Gadget, BM3, Beathawk ..... everybody talk really good of this apps. I never get them really.
Koala is the most straighfoward (?) to do it. You can sample directly from AUM putting in the FX slot
( Maybe in a Master is cool so u can Sample any channel u want )