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 Store

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

App documentation: Who/what needs it?

So: After over a decade of more general freelance writing (education, business, etc.), I'm trying to make a lateral move into tech writing. Part of the process includes creating a portfolio and, as a result, I'm looking for good "prompts" - software, hardware, processes, etc. that are robust, but have weak documentation. Given how much time I spend on my iPad making music, it strikes me that creating a manual for a music app would be ideal. I figure I could put something together for myself and, if it gets a seal of approval from my tech writer friends, I could send it to the developer gratis.

That said, I'm having a hard time finding a program whose docs feel particularly bad/useless, so I figured I'd inquire with the hive mind. Can you think of a program you use that's robust but lacks a clear user guide? On a similar tip: if you have a program in beta and would like some free tech writing, hit me up. I'd love to try my hand at, say, writing instructions for Low Hiss's eSPi 1200.

Comments

  • miRack would be my #1 candidate by far.

  • By the way, thank you for such a great offer!

  • The other day, I could not find any info on Tardigrain, if that is in your library. DigiStix has a blob of text when you scroll to the bottom of the app. I feel like most apps don't have good info.

  • FWIW, by way of reference: Wotja is split across several user guides / manuals; the PDFs are:

    • IME (music engine) - 115 pages
    • ISE (synth engine) - 54 pages
    • WJS (script engine) - 54 pages

    Creating documentation for a complex app is a lot of work that never finishes! :smile:

    I have just checked, and the old Koan Pro user guide was 220 pages.

    Not many people seem to appreciate just how much hard work it takes to write user guides! :grimace: :smile:

    Best wishes, Pete

  • wimwim
    edited January 2020

    Look for apps that rely on videos rather than documentation. Stagelight is(was) a great example. Now it doesn't even have that since the move to Zenbeats.

    I second miRack. It's fertile ground because you have hundreds of modules with little to no documentation to choose from. Also, the fundamentals (not to be confused with the contentious "fundamental modules" fiasco), of modular are a vast field.

    For inspiration of how to do it right ... any Bram Bos documentation other than Rozeta. He has a gift for finding just the right balance between technical details, higher concepts, and the real tie-ins to music making. The Ruismaker, Troublemaker, and especially Mozaic manuals are masterpieces.

    As a hopeless old-schooler, who has no patience to wade through videos, I would love to see a re-emergence of the art of documentation. Not gonna happen though. That ship has sailed. :D

    Best of luck with your endeavor. It's extremely generous of you to offer your time and to ask for feedback!

  • @animalelder said:
    The other day, I could not find any info on Tardigrain, if that is in your library. DigiStix has a blob of text when you scroll to the bottom of the app. I feel like most apps don't have good info.

    For Tardigrain you could start here.

  • Third for MiRack. Bonus is that your work might also be useful to folks outside of iOSLandia (VCV users, hardware users...).

    +1 for @brambos manuals. Nice and clean with just enough detail.

    Other faves, mostly because they're thorough:

    Though the last two could do with more images for reference imo.

  • Echoing Wim’s post, Zenbeats desperately needs a written user guide. It has so much potential and does many great things, but it’s very frustrating not knowing how it’s actually supposed to function by design.

  • The Xequence 2 documentation is good too, though perhaps short on a few details perhaps left out to keep it from being overwhelming.

  • Groove Rider also has one of the best PDF manuals.

  • Thank you for your attempt in this lost art. I feel that in the old days we did better with writing manuals. While I read Korg Electribe ESX manual with joy, the new Electribe 2 manual killed me. I think a good manual not only shows you which button does what, but also guides you beautifully how to use the instrument. Wish you the best and look forward to reading it!

  • Thanks for all the suggestions and potential models! I think I'll start with Tardigrain and, once I have some momentum, try to tackle miRack. I've always found the latter pretty forbidding, but I think I'll just tinker with it, compile a series of questions, find an SME (Subject Matter Expert) or two to interview, and proceed from there.

  • @MarkH said:

    @animalelder said:
    The other day, I could not find any info on Tardigrain, if that is in your library. DigiStix has a blob of text when you scroll to the bottom of the app. I feel like most apps don't have good info.

    For Tardigrain you could start here.

    Thanks! I really prefer reading, but I will definitely watch this

  • you know a cool thing would be a document explaining how to create music in ios via aum / ab using a pre selected number of apps and effects.
    not that this is what you’re talking about but just a fleeting thought i had.

    but i agree with the mirack people. def would be a hard one but def one of super value.

    next to that, a synth i would like to understand better would be shockwave .
    or some groovebox docs like gadget, ns2, kew

  • @steve99 said:
    Echoing Wim’s post, Zenbeats desperately needs a written user guide. It has so much potential and does many great things, but it’s very frustrating not knowing how it’s actually supposed to function by design.

    I've been wondering. Is it worth buying Zenbeats? The UI kinda turns me off, but I am curious about where Roland will take it.

  • Can someone please point me toward some videos on how to do technical writing?

  • @Samflash3 said:

    @steve99 said:
    Echoing Wim’s post, Zenbeats desperately needs a written user guide. It has so much potential and does many great things, but it’s very frustrating not knowing how it’s actually supposed to function by design.

    I've been wondering. Is it worth buying Zenbeats? The UI kinda turns me off, but I am curious about where Roland will take it.

    i use it daily just depends what you’re looking for, i like the gui and workflow myself

  • @wim said:
    Can someone please point me toward some videos on how to do technical writing?

    I think you can learn a lot from scrutinizing existing manuals - not necessarily for their actual content but rather for the way they're presented.
    Take Bram's app manuals or find an older E-MU sampler manual (e5000, e6400), these were some of the best manuals that I remember.
    Fun to read, a clear structure and including all the details you need.

  • But I’m a visual learner. You don’t really expect me to learn about writing by reading do you? I mean, sure, I get emoticons and all, but that technical stuff is way too deep. I need videos. C’mon, it’s 2020.

  • edited January 2020

    In my experience most users don't read documentation at all. They rather go and ask on social network / forum. Or they search for Youtube video (preferably short one) covering particular topic. For example Nanostudio has very good manual, lot of information there , nicely categorised, it's available in app and also as online website so it's easy to search within it (using google search) - still just fraction of people is checking that manual. Ve live fast times, people wants to get information quickly ...

  • These days I tend to dive in to using an app and when I hit the brick wall (which doesn’t take long!) I consult the manual or, usually, YouTube. Otherwise I’d be reading manuals all day and never actually making music.

  • edited January 2020

    @wim said:
    But I’m a visual learner. You don’t really expect me to learn about writing by reading do you? I mean, sure, I get emoticons and all, but that technical stuff is way too deep. I need videos. C’mon, it’s 2020.

    Actually yes, I do.
    Like learning from other musicians and producers to write your own songs.
    I guess I'm different.
    A visual quickstart guide or a short video intro and overview to help grasp the overall concept is great. But when going deeper (in case it's a deep app anyway) then IMHO nothing beats a well-written reference manual.
    And I'm a visual learner too!
    Maybe the difficult part in creating a video manual is that you can't serve all users because some are beginners, some are experts and some bring a mix of knowledge to the table that makes them getting bored by 50% of the video content. In a written manual, you just skip to the section you want.
    (OK, admittedly, YT'er Loopop does it well with his indexing).

  • @rs2000 said:

    @wim said:
    But I’m a visual learner. You don’t really expect me to learn about writing by reading do you? I mean, sure, I get emoticons and all, but that technical stuff is way too deep. I need videos. C’mon, it’s 2020.

    Actually yes, I do.
    Like learning from other musicians and producers to write your own songs.
    I guess I'm different.
    A visual quickstart guide or a short video intro and overview to help grasp the overall concept is great. But when going deeper (in case it's a deep app anyway) then IMHO nothing beats a well-written reference manual.
    And I'm a visual learner too!
    Maybe the difficult part in creating a video manual is that you can't serve all users because some are beginners, some are experts and some bring a mix of knowledge to the table that makes them getting bored by 50% of the video content. In a written manual, you just skip to the section you want.
    (OK, admittedly, YT'er Loopop does it well with his indexing).

    I’m pullin’ your chain dude. Thot you’d get it by now. 🤣

  • @wim said:

    @rs2000 said:

    @wim said:
    But I’m a visual learner. You don’t really expect me to learn about writing by reading do you? I mean, sure, I get emoticons and all, but that technical stuff is way too deep. I need videos. C’mon, it’s 2020.

    Actually yes, I do.
    Like learning from other musicians and producers to write your own songs.
    I guess I'm different.
    A visual quickstart guide or a short video intro and overview to help grasp the overall concept is great. But when going deeper (in case it's a deep app anyway) then IMHO nothing beats a well-written reference manual.
    And I'm a visual learner too!
    Maybe the difficult part in creating a video manual is that you can't serve all users because some are beginners, some are experts and some bring a mix of knowledge to the table that makes them getting bored by 50% of the video content. In a written manual, you just skip to the section you want.
    (OK, admittedly, YT'er Loopop does it well with his indexing).

    I’m pullin’ your chain dude. Thot you’d get it by now. 🤣

    I get your point. Perfectly valid.
    I just don't get how one size fits all.

  • I read manuals even before I buy software. It's a great way to discover if the software is something I have use for.

  • @rs2000 said:

    @wim said:

    @rs2000 said:

    @wim said:
    But I’m a visual learner. You don’t really expect me to learn about writing by reading do you? I mean, sure, I get emoticons and all, but that technical stuff is way too deep. I need videos. C’mon, it’s 2020.

    Actually yes, I do.
    Like learning from other musicians and producers to write your own songs.
    I guess I'm different.
    A visual quickstart guide or a short video intro and overview to help grasp the overall concept is great. But when going deeper (in case it's a deep app anyway) then IMHO nothing beats a well-written reference manual.
    And I'm a visual learner too!
    Maybe the difficult part in creating a video manual is that you can't serve all users because some are beginners, some are experts and some bring a mix of knowledge to the table that makes them getting bored by 50% of the video content. In a written manual, you just skip to the section you want.
    (OK, admittedly, YT'er Loopop does it well with his indexing).

    I’m pullin’ your chain dude. Thot you’d get it by now. 🤣

    I get your point. Perfectly valid.
    I just don't get how one size fits all.

    I just found the idea funny that teaching something like technical writing in Youtube videos would be useful. I guess I'm just too old-school to appreciate how ingrained Youtube is in the culture. I barely have patience for music related tutorial videos, can't imagine it for something in-depth like writing or programming.

    nvm. I have a bingo game to get back to at the senior center. Where the hell did I leave that walker??

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