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
I would not call it half assed. I‘d rather say they bit off more than they could possibly chew. Developing/maintaining a desktop version on Windows AND getting a Mac version out the door AND developing an Android AND an iOS version AND a Windows mobile app too is maybe a little bit challenging, isn‘t it.
I see what people can do with it on YouTube and it can do a lot but I would prefer if they made like an au if it’s self so I could use its instruments in bm3 or GarageBand.
Ufxloops is similar to live loops in garageband, but it hasnt been updated in a while. The workflow suits me, i get loads done on it and start a lot of my ideas through it.
Bandpass is very good, lots of effects and a bit of a learning curve to get used to the scrolling pages. Its taken over where ufxloops stopped.
I will have a look those 2 other apps, nice to find new stuff.
For the self proclaimed most used DAW on the planet, they don't seem to have any issues releasing never ending plugins that they don't really support, plus a web development software that they haven't updated for over two years either, challenging or a simple case of "Free lifetime updates, so we have your money already, we can't be bothered" which is very much the case with 'most' of their software (Not FLS desktop, the only software they actually care about)
This thread is hilarious. Started by someone who trashed the software without actually knowing anything about it. Others jumped on the bandwagon and gave it a kicking, again without much actual hands on experience it seems and then someone who actually has used it and really likes it chimes in and no one is interested. Most of the negative comments here seem to be pretty simple to rebuff.
For example: I've just looked at the app's page on the store, checked the Version History and it seems that the person who commented that they have given up on it is yet another one with zero knowledge of this app's reality.
3.5.0: new and updated effects. 2d ago
3.4.9 bugfixes. 2m ago
And so on. There have been 10 updates in the past year. It looks like that was a pretty standard year for this DAW and updates.
So I guess Wim's question was pertinent.
Anyway, it's £14 so I'm giving it a try. If anyone who has actually used it can give me any tips I'd greatly appreciate them.
I'm thinking of re-installing it again after it's been off my iPad for a very long time but I need to clear up some space first...
It sounds great, but no AuV3.
Those who don’t like skeuomorphic will love it.
And the main reason why nobody is interested in FLSM is because it's not an AUv3 host, something that Image Line knows since years (literal years, check the Image Line Forums). They are a multi million dollar company, the fact that they didn't add it yet is a consicous decision, not a random oversight.
I have the app, it's nice, but if you look at it from a standalone, make music on iOS point of view it's inferiour to it's competitors. It's insane, really. That app would be on the top list for mobile DAWs just by offering AUv3 support. I would really be interested in what's going on behind the scenes here that Image Line decided to ignore this.
As a developer, my best bet is: They lost the people who originally made the app, and now they have to deal with too much legacy code, so they just release small maintenance updates, but adding AUv3 support would mean they have to write the whole thing completely new. Maybe we should ask the guys from BeepStreet how much hours they had to put into the AUv3 mode of Drambo.
It sounds pretty great, actually, and there’s lots of flexibility in it, and the automation is excellent. It is an island, which is a bummer, but then again so is Groovebox.
Just to let you know the latest version is broken for a number of iPhone models
https://forum.image-line.com/viewtopic.php?f=1964&p=1588550&t=250717#p1588550
Ignore the naysayers, dive in and have fun.
Actually you can integrate Groovebox really well. Make a sketch in GB, export the loops, finalize in DAW of your choice.
Couple things: “nobody is interested” is hardly accurate.
Also: they didn’t lose any developers, it’s not legacy code, and the updates aren’t small maintenance updates. There is steady development, a beta program, active forum etc etc
For whatever reason they haven’t given a shit about AUv3 up til now. This may be because the dev doing most of the heavy lifting, Maxx Claster is also the dev on the most recent image-line synths, and probably feels pretty good about the synths he has on FLSM.
Also if one must have AUv3, use AUM or AB3 with FLSM.
Good job resurrecting an old thread without actually reading. Your reading comprehension is just about as good as @wim’s was last year when they responded. I didn’t trash it. I asked why others trashed it. Not sure why you’re taking it so personally, but it’s pretty entertaining if you ask me.
I did end up purchasing it recently to see for myself. Haven’t put much time into it and the lack of AU support is still a glaring gap from my perspective. It’s the same reason Gadget 2 gets installed for about 3 days every couple of months and gets uninstalled almost immediately.
What's missing? If it were up to me I'd add usability and move on from there. A long time FLS user here, since v1
and FLM is like a different company made it and had never heard of or seen or imagined or had the ability or inclination to make anything with a user experience remotely like FLS.
I figure the reason also has to do with it being a cross-platform app and they've said they to keep feature parity across all platforms. Since Android doesn't support AU's and neither does Windows, that would introduce more complications. That doesn't fully explain it, since they did add IAA and Audiobus support, but still could be part of their lack of enthusiasm for AU support.
The main goal of the app, as I understood it, is mainly to provide a way to work on projects on mobile platforms in such a way that they can be taken as seamlessly as possible into FL Studio on PC (And Mac), more than to provide an alternative to full iOS DAWS. I'm not sure I buy into that approach, but it does make some sense.
They are developing in JUCE, which has good AU support libraries. So they do have a good foundation if they did decide to change tactics.
Re: main goal of the app. I imagine that is pretty close to the truth as you can open the mobile app as a VST in the PC/Mac version.
I really like the pc version. After wrestling with Ableton for long enough I tried FL Studio out and it's just fun. I came here expecting to learn a thing or two about the app and was dismayed with the thread. It's top on Google for this app. I do have a bee in my bonnet about this place and the insistence by the Be Nice Mafia to only ever say positives about any app. So when I saw this thread after my super positive experience with FL Studio, well, I was puzzled. Why is it never mentioned in any conversation here about iOS DAWs?
Anyway, leaving that aside, there are so many positives to this dev, especially cracking that hoary old nugget, upgrade pricing. You pay once, you get upgrades for life.
The synths are pretty dope, huh?! I am having so much fun with them.
OK I have to revise my opinion. According to sensor tower it actually gets more downloads then Cubasis 3, Beatmaker 3 and Nanostudio 2. So based on Downloads and turnover it’s about as successful as the others.
Edit: I doubt though that a company life Image Line doesn’t have a dedicated team for iOS and Android, so it beeing cross platform isn’t an argument. And Drambo has shown that you can limit AUv3 support in different modes, so desktop support also isn’t an argument. They just decided not to care. If it’s not legacy code, then the market is too small for them to be interested.
How does a dev with as much support and who supports their app as much as FL Studio, get labelled as uncaring by you?
Bm3 gets labelled as stable... I guess we all have different expectations.
Ok. So. Ahem. Right. I have just gone to open the app and the 14.4 ios update seems to have rendered it unusable on my 2018 iPad Pro.
But apart from that...!
Well there obviously is a big difference between FL Studio and FL Studio Mobile. They care a lot for one, and not so much for the other.
Again, they know that AUv3 support is important, they acknowledged that multiple times. So they don‘t care.
If sensor tower is right (and the usually are), the turnover for FLSM isn’t even a million per year. That’s not bad for an app, but also probably low in priority for Image-Line.
There are only a few people on the FLSM team. For some it’s not even their only job.
Looks like AUv3 might be a possibility from this post
https://forum.image-line.com/viewtopic.php?f=1964&t=250619&p=1588537&hilit=Auv3#p1588537
Jfc even their forum doesn’t display correctly on mobile.
See I think that’s the thing. They don’t really care about having a mobile version. They have it so they can say they have it. And they support it because they can’t be accused of abandonware.
It’s an app catered toward FL Studio users, not those of us who actually produce on mobile. Which is fine, it makes sense and there’s nothing wrong with them making that decision. It also means it can’t compete with most of the other mobile DAWs. They’re built for the mobile market. FLSM is not.
No matter what the company’s secret agenda is, the app sounds very good, is easy to use and understand and yet still very versatile. If we forget audiounits (and there is plenty of scope for them elsewhere) FLSM is actually excellent. (Except on iphone at the moment, but a fix is promised soon for that, and their track record is good on fixes.)
I have it on android but never gelled with it
I have the akai fire controller and if they made the app with that it would be a great portable combo. Not sure why they haven’t
Definitely dope- and the rack functionality is especially dope- put Directwave or 2 stacked on top of one of the synths, w/fx...a lot of sound design possibilities... I only know of SunVox as an app that allows stacking and blending of synths-
Tons of fun...
@wim I think you’re thoughts are spot on...
There might be a couple of lesser known apps that can do this ... AUM, Ape Matrix, and Audiobus. Most people haven't heard of those though, I'm guessing.