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.
Feature suggestion for Loopy
Hi! I don't know if here would be the best place to suggest this, but, since the developers are around, and most, if not all, of the iOS musicians are here too, I thought it would be a good place, please let me know if I should take this elsewhere.
What if loopy could start recording when it receives an audio / midi input? Only for the first track of the session, which sets the bpm.
For example, I set an audio threshold for the input, tap a loopy track to start recording, but it stays paused until it receives a sound above the threshold, then, it immediately (after a few tiny milisseconds) starts recording. Or I could set it to listen to the same controller that is controlling another synth, and, as soon as it receives a midi note, it starts recording.
What do you guys think about this? Is it possible to implement?
Tks!
Comments
I really like this idea!
Also, given that Loopy was originally designed for older devices, I would love an increase in the maximum loop count. I'm surprised that Michael hasn't released a sequel, tbh! Guess he's been pretty busy with Audiobus 1 and 2 development.
You can already do arbitrary midi bindings in Loopy for record and every other function. Just go to its settings, under MIDI, and press the disclosure arrow next to a specific Control Input start adding bindings.
The audio threshold recording is a good idea that I thought it already had as well, but upon investigation, I can't find it.
@sonosaurus said:
Yes, but I don't think that the midi bindings won't work as I am thinking, because what I would like, is not a permanent record button, is for the app to listen to midi notes, after I pressed the record button. Only for the first track of the project, the one that sets the tempo, I press the record button, and it stays paused, waiting for a midi note (any note) so it would start recording at the same time that I'm playing a note on another app (most likely a synth
)
So it would be easier to get that first track right without the need of the metronome
Sorry, I did a double negative up there, the correct would be, I don't think the midi bindings would work a I'm thinking
I'm trying out a set up where I loop on the impaktor (no background audio option) and want to have a parallel set up (on the same device) where sunrizer (or similar) is plugged into loopy via audiobus to record bass lines etc. I have mpk mini keyboard controller hooked up via cck (controlling sunrizer) and epad plugged into the Irig (controlling impaktor) simultaneously.
There is a bug when swiping between impaktor and audiobus pages that causes a hiccup that knocks impaktors looper out of sync with loopy (they otherwise tick very well in parallel). As a remedy to this I set bindings on loopy from a bluetooth keyboard so I don't have to leave impaktors page when jamming live. Unfortunately I've noticed that loopy won't listen to bindings unless it is in the foreground. Is this an apple limitation or can it be sorted?
@sonosaurus does TJ accept bindings and would I be able to pull off this trick with TJ instead of loopy? As you know I am a big fan of. TJs looper.
@supadom, the BT keyboard issue is iOS system wide. Keystrokes(USB or Bluetooth) always go to the foreground app and are ignored by other apps running in the background.
You could set up a second iOS device to send MIDI signals wirelessly to Loopy (in the background) on your main iOS device... but that requires a spare iPhone or iPod touch, or extra iPad.
@Hmtx said:
Cool, I have an iPod touch lying around. How do I do that?
nice! download MIDI Designer Lite. (or any MIDI controller app). But MIDI Designer proved to be the easiest for me to figure out, having zero prior experience with MIDI.
Set MIDI Designer to send MIDI to "Network Session" and set Loopy to receive MIDI from Network. Both devices have to be connected to wifi.
After that it is just a matter of getting your bindings how you want, and creating your buttons and faders in MIDI Designer.
@Hmtx said:
Bummer, this is a busking set up I have no wifi access, it would need to be via bluetooth.
If you can't get it to work with BT, this device will create an adhoc wifi. I've used it before with midi and it worked well...
http://www.hypershop.com/HyperDrive/iUSBport2/
@funjunkie27 said:
Cheers, I'll check it out
I think that probably implementation of background audio feature in impaktor would be by far the easiest solution to my trouble
The problem is that the developer has gone dark lately for personal reasons so it may take a while.
@supadom, TJ doesn't have flexible midi bindings yet. If you have a controller capable of sending midi MMC Record, then you could do it, but your mpk mini won't do that. However, couldn't you use a pad on that with a midi binding in Loopy for record start/stop?
What is the workflow you are going for exactly?
Cheers @sonosaurus to put it simple at the moment I'm using impaktor standalone triggered by an epad layering tracks on the built in sequencer.
I wanted to be able to add at least one extra melodic instrument to the mix. For this I envisaged using sunrizer going into loopy within AB. Even though impaktor has no midi capabilities at all it stays in perfect sync with loopy if started in time.
Now, I thought, brilliant: I'm going to run these two loopers alongside each other (impaktor's built in looper and loopy hd) in parallel. The first problem I found was that impaktor has no background audio the second was that even when insert within AB it would hiccup when swiping between apps.
So... I came up with the cunning plan of controlling sunrizer via akai and loopy via bluetooth keyboard through bindings. Unfortunately this is where I found out that bt only works with the foreground app.
I can see what you're saying about wiring one of akai's pads to start/stop in a latch mode. Is that what you're saying? I'll do some testing in a mo
Edit: the idea of the workflow would be mostly impro with impaktors looper running throughout and bringing looped bass lines/sounds from loopy but recording everything on the fly. Hope it makes sense. To add insult to the injury I'm also looping short vocal phrases using boss rc 3 loop pedal with a mic hooked up to it.
Yay, it worked. Mapped transport and rec mute of one tracks which that's what I really need for now. I need to work out how to send program change messages to sunrizer to toggle between two patches. Thanks @sonosaurus I just needed to turn all required pads to latch.
@Rafael - I'd recommend checking the Loopy app Forums - this idea has been suggested in the past.
@supadom - MIDI bindings with Audiobus work just fine in the background. If your Ipod Touch is recent enough you can download Apollo to do point-to-point MIDI between two iDevices.
@b0bert0 said:
Cheers man, I found the solution in controlling everything from mpk mini. Having 2 devices sounds attractive but the set up was starting to get too complicated for unplugged work and to be honest I can't afford to keep my iPod touch just for that as I hardly ever use it and have been planning to get rid of it. I will definitely check out those links though. There are so many info gems to be found.
@b0bert0 tks! I'll check the loopy forums, I think it would be a nice addition to users that want to use loopy live
@Rafael_laurenti definitely a popular request on the loopy forums. @Michael had a Facebook poll going for a while to gauge enthusiasm for various feature requests. Not sure if that's still being monitored but you might try to find it and register your vote there.
Thanks @syrupcore I'll check it out!
I do indeed continue to monitor that - it's more-or-less my main source of guidance
@Michael said:
Just saw one on your videos on loopy forum. Do you live in an aquarium?
Thanks @Michael ! Is this feature somewhere in your plans for Loopy?
"Audio-triggered punch in" is priority #8 according to users who have voted on the facebook poll. And Michael just said he uses the poll as his main source of guidance,
just a guess, but I think we will see this sooner than later, Rafael!
https://www.facebook.com/questions/504463922928679/
edit: priority #6 is completed, so that makes audio punch-in #7!
This is probably better suited for the Loopy forum but while we are talking Loopy: I would love for Loopy to do MIDI looping in the same way that it handles audio looping.
I'm currently syncing Genome to Loopy to accomplish this, but the workflow is not very smooth.
Tks @Hmtx ! I couldn't find their Facebook page, I search for loopy and other thousands of pages appear, now I'll just follow your link!
Oh, that's why, I should have searched for A Tasty Pixel
Tks everyone!
@gburks, I thought I would do the same thing with Genome, but gave up when I realized it didn't have sufficient MIDI command options to operate it in the background. yeah, workflow issues like you said. I would love if we could just record and launch Genome tracks via MIDI command.
Are there any loop based midi sequencers that support midi cc control and fit the Loopy workflow better? What about syncing one of the DAW sequencers in loop playback mode?
I wonder if it is possible to use one of the Audio to MIDI apps? Maybe in conjuction with something like a Lemur script to squelch all but the first and map that to the trigger message?