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.

While we're all cooped up inside, here're some Loopy Pro updates

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Comments

  • MichaelMichael

    @lukesleepwalker said:
    @Michael how about randomization within a group? That is, I put the tracks in a group and Loopy randomly picks one to play back?

    Yeah I’m planning on adding that, as well as a specific sequence

  • horsetrainerhorsetrainer

    @Michael said:

    @tahiche said:

    @Michael said:
    Okay, yup, that's look-ahead recording - Loopy has that. Currently, it just captures the last bars of the current set loop length (and you have a full loop length afterwards to lock it in). In future, I'll probably consider a longer buffer and a posteriori length selection.

    Wow, terrific!.
    Question... What happens with the look-ahead when the next “Loop cycle” starts?. Say got a 4 bar loop, you’re playing along and you really like your last performance. So you hit the “look ahead to loop” button, by that time you’re already on the next loop cycle. I had a problem with that when I tried the Endless app retrospective looper, if I wanted the last performance I had to stop before the end of the loop to press the button, which in turn would screw up the loop.

    Right now it has a single-loop duration, so tapping record any time during, say, a 4-bar region will lock in the preceding 4 bars (in groups of 4 bars, for this example). Are you describing a situation where you’ve just recorded two consecutive loops you want to save? That won’t be supported here.

    If I'm understanding Loopy Pro's look-ahead feature correctly..

    The following is an example of how I'd plan to use it. (Please correct me if can't be used this way).

    I would set up a 4-bar loop, then press record with the look-ahead feature activated.

    While the loop is recording... I could experiment at creating a 4-bar loop multiple times, even if I spend 10 minutes working on the loop, the record function remains running.

    At some point I play 4-bars of something I think is really great. I now have 4-bars of time to stop the recorder so I can save my great 4-bars of music to the track. I can then save that 4-bar track as a Midi file for use in later compositions?

    If this is how it works?.... Could I do the same with an 8-bar loop, or a 16 bar loop...?
    Is there a loop length limit while using the look-ahead feature?

  • MichaelMichael
    edited February 2021

    At some point I play 4-bars of something I think is really great. I now have 4-bars of time to stop the recorder so I can save my great 4-bars of music to the track. I can then save that 4-bar track as a Midi file for use in later compositions?

    Yep, that's right. Once Loopy does MIDI recording, yep, you'll be able to export it, save it to Loopy's media library, etc. Note that Loopy Pro 1.0 will be audio-only. MIDI will come in a later update.

    If this is how it works?.... Could I do the same with an 8-bar loop, or a 16 bar loop...?
    Is there a loop length limit while using the look-ahead feature?

    Nope, no length limit.

  • lukesleepwalkerlukesleepwalker

    @Michael said:

    @lukesleepwalker said:
    @Michael how about randomization within a group? That is, I put the tracks in a group and Loopy randomly picks one to play back?

    Yeah I’m planning on adding that, as well as a specific sequence

    Excellent, thanks.

  • horsetrainerhorsetrainer

    @Michael said:

    At some point I play 4-bars of something I think is really great. I now have 4-bars of time to stop the recorder so I can save my great 4-bars of music to the track. I can then save that 4-bar track as a Midi file for use in later compositions?

    Yep, that's right. Once Loopy does MIDI recording, yep, you'll be able to export it, save it to Loopy's media library, etc. Note that Loopy Pro 1.0 will be audio-only. MIDI will come in a later update.

    If this is how it works?.... Could I do the same with an 8-bar loop, or a 16 bar loop...?
    Is there a loop length limit while using the look-ahead feature?

    Nope, no length limit.

    Wow. This sounds like it's going to be great for those of us who play improv, and have often wished we had a recorder running to capture those moments when everything came together and sounded just right.

    Looking forward to working with your new app! :)

  • MichaelMichael

    👍👍

  • SealTeamSickSealTeamSick

    Look ahead - seems to me that’s not only good for “getting it right” but also simply because in a performance you may want to play that loop many times before you “let go” and let the last recording take over. This way you wouldn’t have to stop playing to press a record button then go back to complete the recording, you just press the button after—much more seamless.

    Never even considered stuff like this. Amazing.

  • MichaelMichael

    Yeah, it’s a nice workflow

  • audiblevideoaudiblevideo

    @Michael
    Don’t feel bad about 6yrs of time passing. You’ve been raising a child and being a hall monitor of a bunch of musically inclined nare-do-wells.

    I look forward to the app and the addition of midi.

  • MichaelMichael

    @audiblevideo said:
    @Michael
    Don’t feel bad about 6yrs of time passing. You’ve been raising a child and being a hall monitor of a bunch of musically inclined nare-do-wells.

    I look forward to the app and the addition of midi.

    😄 Thank you!

  • wimwim
    edited February 2021

    @horsetrainer said:
    Wow. This sounds like it's going to be great for those of us who play improv, and have often wished we had a recorder running to capture those moments when everything came together and sounded just right.

    I had that happen once several years ago. I guess it could happen again some day. Good to know I'll be ready for it next time.

  • SvetlovskaSvetlovska
    edited February 2021

    @Michael /anyone : I may have missed this in the thread already, but will this be able to be controlled for play, record, overdub by MIDI foot switch? I was disappointed to discover that you can’t control the looper in my Akai Force that way. Seems a missed opportunity.

  • MichaelMichael
    edited February 2021

    @Svetlovska said:
    @Michael /anyone : I may have missed this in the thread already, but will this be able to be controlled for play, record, overdub by MIDI foot switch? I was disappointed to discover that you can’t control the looper in my Akai Force that way. Seems a missed opportunity.

    Good lord, yes, with bells on.

  • SvetlovskaSvetlovska

    :) Excellent! Any recommendations re the necessary/ preferred hardware? Home use only, so doesn’t need to be built like a tank. I’ll buy one specifically for use with Loopy.

  • MichaelMichael
    edited February 2021

    @Svetlovska said:
    :) Excellent! Any recommendations re the necessary/ preferred hardware? Home use only, so doesn’t need to be built like a tank. I’ll buy one specifically for use with Loopy.

    Might want to start a separate thread for that discussion (and I don't know the answer anyway, actually!)

  • ashhashh

    Am I right in thinking that the only way to get my own loops into this app is via iTunes?

  • MichaelMichael

    @ashh said:
    Am I right in thinking that the only way to get my own loops into this app is via iTunes?

    No, it's gonna support a bunch of ways, including via Files and AirDrop, and it'll have iCloud support too, and I'll probably add a little fileserver a bit later too.

  • tahichetahiche

    @Michael said:

    @tahiche said:

    @Michael said:
    Okay, yup, that's look-ahead recording - Loopy has that. Currently, it just captures the last bars of the current set loop length (and you have a full loop length afterwards to lock it in). In future, I'll probably consider a longer buffer and a posteriori length selection.

    Wow, terrific!.
    Question... What happens with the look-ahead when the next “Loop cycle” starts?. Say got a 4 bar loop, you’re playing along and you really like your last performance. So you hit the “look ahead to loop” button, by that time you’re already on the next loop cycle. I had a problem with that when I tried the Endless app retrospective looper, if I wanted the last performance I had to stop before the end of the loop to press the button, which in turn would screw up the loop.

    Right now it has a single-loop duration, so tapping record any time during, say, a 4-bar region will lock in the preceding 4 bars, so say you played something good in bars 12-16 of the global timeline. If you tap record any time during bars 16-20 it’ll lock in bars 12-16. Does that answer your question?

    It does and it sounds just right 👍🙌

  • wimwim

    Some of the questions recently asked are about features already in Loopy HD. I think it’s safe to assume existing features will not be lost in Loopy pro. B)

  • MichaelMichael
    edited February 2021

    X-Y pad control I just finished:

  • SamuSamu

    @Michael said:
    X-Y pad control I just finished:

    Hopefully the 'blur / light-glow' can be turned off?
    It might 'look cool' for some but it's blurring my eyes making it hard to focus :(
    (...not getting any younger and my eyes are slowly but surely degrading even when using glasses).

    I love the 80s sound but I'll skip the neon glow...

    Got any teasers on midi clips and editing them or maybe sneak peak at sampling / audio-editing?

    Cheers!

  • supadomsupadom
    edited February 2021

    @Samu said:

    @Michael said:
    X-Y pad control I just finished:

    Hopefully the 'blur / light-glow' can be turned off?
    It might 'look cool' for some but it's blurring my eyes making it hard to focus :(
    (...not getting any younger and my eyes are slowly but surely degrading even when using glasses).

    I love the 80s sound but I'll skip the neon glow...

    Got any teasers on midi clips and editing them or maybe sneak peak at sampling / audio-editing?

    Cheers!

    +1

  • MichaelMichael

    Hehe, for you @Samu, sure =)

    No, I haven't started on MIDI at all yet.

    maybe sneak peak at sampling / audio-editing?

    What sort of stuff did you have in mind?

  • 0tolerance4silence0tolerance4silence

    a link to beta version :)

  • MichaelMichael

    @0tolerance4silence said:
    a link to beta version :)

    :D

  • SamuSamu

    @Michael said:

    maybe sneak peak at sampling / audio-editing?

    What sort of stuff did you have in mind?

    Chop a part of a recorded loop and use it as an instrument or map sections of a loop to pads for re-triggering.
    Basic edit features, trim/crop, normalize, reverse, fade in/out.

    Not much but that's the bare bones.

    I'm totally blown away by Koala at the moment, fun fast and easy to use :)

  • MichaelMichael

    @Samu said:

    @Michael said:

    maybe sneak peak at sampling / audio-editing?

    What sort of stuff did you have in mind?

    Chop a part of a recorded loop and use it as an instrument or map sections of a loop to pads for re-triggering.
    Basic edit features, trim/crop, normalize, reverse, fade in/out.

    Not much but that's the bare bones.

    I'm totally blown away by Koala at the moment, fun fast and easy to use :)

    Ah yes, let me get back to you in a few days with that one.

  • rs2000rs2000
    edited February 2021

    As for grouping loops for quick song arrangement, the way I would love to use it is to be able to do the following:

    • Record audio & MIDI loops anywhere as inspiration strikes
    • Move or copy loops to any other position quickly
    • Launch loop columns or rows together, no matter if they're audio or MIDI

    This is basically what can be done in Ableton (except it's only rows == scenes) and Korg Gadget and I guess I'm not totally wrong in considering this a widely accepted and popular concept.

    I'm not against being able to put loops into different groups arbitrarily but I personally find the simple row and/or column approach much more straightforward, even if that results in a few duplicated loops that don't change from song secton to song section. Loop blocks can be quite small and still work well for song arrangement (See Garageband Live Loops) and I can imagine a zoom and pan view that allows for quickly zooming in and out of a large set of loops.
    Just a few ideas while I have no idea about the big picture yet.

  • SynthiSynthi

    Looking great @Michael !
    Would be possible asynchronous loops with different durations each and not tied to Tempo?

  • Tamir_Raz_MatazTamir_Raz_Mataz

    Sooo looking fwd! Hopefully there will be presets for midi settings for midi maps.
    And hopefully easy import/export of audio

This discussion has been closed.