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.
Whatever happened to....Audulus?
Is anyone using that? Haven't seen it mentioned once since I have become a regular reader of this forum. Version 4 seems to be coming soonish with AUv3 support.
I never got into modular so far. Had some brief encounters with max and pure data years ago and decided I was too lazy. What better time to give it another try than now?
So, two questions:
1. Which is the perfect beginners modular ios app to get my modular workflow going? I am currently looking at jasuto and ops modular.
2. And of course, which is the very best modular ios environment? Which app gets closest to a max/pd functionality?
In general I am more interested in sampling/granular/spectral than additive/subtractive synthesis. I am also interested in generative maths based stuff (but far from understanding any of it).
Cheers
Comments
Drambo is hands down the easiest/fastest modular workflow on IOS. It's fresh out so it's getting a lot of attention, and great roadmap for updates and improvements. It's got something like 140 modules. Plenty of maths, several sampler modules. Additive is possible. Granular is on the roadmap, but not yet available. Handles polyphony better than any other IOS modular.
miRack is closest to a hardware euroack workflow. Got lot's of real world modules like the Mutable Instruments catalogue.
Getting updated to AUv3 pretty soon. There may be some granular modules - I don't know if it's got Clouds yet.
Spectral is quite niche, Izotope and apeSoft specialize with it, but even on desktop there's not a great deal of spectral effects. Finding them in modular environments are going to be even more difficult.
ZMors is quite decent. It doesn't have a great deal of modules - but it can host Auv3's and modulate exposed parameters. It doesn't always work a expected, especially when splitting cv and gate from midi modules. IAA is a pain sometimes. But if you plan to work inside the modular environment alone, Zmors is unique with it's IAA and AUv3 hosting ability.
I'm eagerly awaiting Audulus 4. I hope it's still receiving active development.
It looks like neither Jasuto nor Ops have gotten much in way of updates for years. If I'm being honest, they feel a bit abandoned to me.
miRack is constantly improving. I prefer to invest my time, programming, and money in apps like that and Drambo which have higher chances of being supported for the future.
edit:
As far as I know there isn't really a visual programming language for iOS like pd or max. Have you heard of Sunvox though? It's got a modular patching interface that somewhat resembles PD.
@aleyas thanks for the info. I will give drambo another look and also check out apesoft and izotope. I am also waiting for Audulus 4. Seems like they had some problems with the AUv3 some while ago and decided to completely redo everything. Apparently a first ios beta went out end of april with more to follow.
Modular CV stuff seems to routinely get ignored here. I cannot believe the brilliant new CoVariant app has barely got interest.
I have a modular and Expert sleepers interface and at the moment as slow progress in terms of crossover with the iPad and iPhone. MiRack seems great but It doesn’t talk to Interfaces (at least last I tested) neither does Drambo yet. MiRack only just got Ableton Link, but until I can properly merge with the eurorack stuff I’ll wait before I invest my time.
Audulus3 and zMors do talk to interfaces which is awesome but they are both behind the zeitgeist.
I was always waiting for a Ableton Link module in Audulus3 but I don’t think it ever came and if Audulus 4 is just around the corner then that is very exciting.
zMors could use a housekeeping update.
If you haven’t already checked it out, you might want to look into MobMuPlat, PdParty, Holonist.ist or zMors modular as they all have some Pd support. There is RunloopSound for learning and creating Csound.
The Wotja app has lots of the functionality you’re looking for plus JavaScript.
Spectrum has a lot of granular and spectral functionality as do Alexander Zolotov’s apps (e.g. SunVox), and many of the ApeSoft apps.
miRack has lots of modules with all sorts of options. The most difficult part of using the app is probably trying to figure out what all of the modules do.
Drambo offers a lot of modular capability in a relatively easy to use format.
Mozaic and MidiFire cover the MIDI modular aspects of MIDI.
The best modular environment is a very subjective evaluation.
I personally like Audulus quite a lot because once I understood the significance of the lights and that I could put output components wherever I wanted in my patches to find out what was really happening versus what I thought was happening, I was able to learn how to make my own patches. More significantly I could understand how other people’s patches worked, learn from them, and modify or incorporate them into my own patches. One of the rarer and crucial functionalities that Audulus offers is a sample delay so you can utilize real-time feedback loops which are critical in many DSP operations such filters. The users on the Audulus forum are very knowledgeable and very helpful.
What I didn’t like about Audulus 3 was the lack of separation between the programming process and the GUI. It was very tedious to have to create a patch and then redo it into a playable patch.
Multi touch support, better and more comprehensive MIDI I/O, AUv3 support, and sample support are the features I eagerly await for in Audulus 4.
ScriptSONIC is an app that uses java script but the developer didn’t get enough traction so the app isn’t for sale anymore and their website and forum have been closed. This can be a real concern with modular apps on Apple’s mobile devices as there’s a certain amount of attrition and it wouldn’t be very fruitful to invest your time in learning a modular app only to have it become another piece of abandonware. It’s my strong impression that it can be a lot of work to maintain, update, and support a modular app on iOS/iPadOS versus other music creation apps.
Even open source projects like Pd which have widespread support in other operating systems have limited functionality and support in iOS/iPadOS. Perhaps Apple’s focus on more cross OS compatibility will eventually start to grease the wheels for these open source projects. Apple’s decision to not support Web MIDI versus their Android/Google competitor is another unfortunate sacrifice that I hope gets remedied ASAP.
If you ever decide to commit some time to learning a script based language, I’d strongly urge you to get Textastic as it has lots of support for many different languages and additional extensions can be installed. The Mozaic extension made by a forum user is fantastic.
@Paulinko Thanks, there is some really interesting stuff here!
Funnily enough I just discovered Wotja via the ableton link supporting apps website 5 minutes ago but wasn't really sure if it wasn't just an overpriced esoteric meditation toy. So I'll definitely will give that another look.
I love Alexander Zolotov's phono paper but don't have Sun Vox yet. Holon.ist also looks really interesting, not too sure how much the peripheral gear would cost. It is quite clear, that I'll have to learn/struggle in multiple directions for the forseeable future!
SunVox has a wide user base and lots of tutorial videos. It’s multi platform and the project files and how the app functions is cross compatible. He updates and adds new features to SunVox on a regular basis and has been on iOS since the very early days.
Yes, there are many rabbit holes to disappear down into for modular. You might be wise to survey your options initially and what’s involved before diving down into one.
Since you mentioned phono paper, you might want to check out PixiVisor which converts video to sound and vice versa. It’s especially good if you have multiple iOS/iPadOS devices for creating video samples if you’re into creating audio reactive music videos. You can add audio hardware or effects software via a USB audio interface into the loop to modify your video and sound. Hopefully the app will some day get an AU upgrade.
If you are into reactive video and synesthesia, then the Takete app has a lot to offer. It even has a simple granular sample instrument. You can tightly link the music and video controls together such that when you’re mixing your audio, you’re also mixing your video too.
A more script based approach to reactive video effects can be found in K Machine which uses OpenGL vertex shaders to respond to audio in real-time. Examples of these visualizations can be found on vertexshaderart.
KQ Mini Synth is kinda fun. It's not one of my go to's but it didn't get mentioned, so I thought I would put it out there.
Thanks @Paulinko for saving me mucho time writing out my thoughts. You covered everything I would have said plus about 70% more that I never new.
There's no one best modular for everyone. They all have really different focuses. It depends on what you're looking for. In order of usage for me. Drambo and MiRack get used far more the the other two.
I just got Analog Kit the other day for $3.
Not a lot of time spent on it yet, but it seems pretty awesome.
Lots of components to build your own modules.
Audulus 4 basically was rewritten from scratch to make it more efficient and to allow a host of things that weren’t possible before. The developer recently posted that he is close to being done with the closed beta testing which will be followed by a public beta. He has mentioned that quality is his goal and he isn’t going to try to stick to artificial or high-pressure deadlines.
It will be awesome when it comes.
I made my first subtractive synth patch on ios in Audulus it was pretty lame but it was fun I learned a ton making it. I also have a lot of fun playing with the O-Coast patch somebody made in Audulus, its worth it just for that patch alone.
i don’t know that for me drambo was the quickest or best way to learn modular, it might be, but for me it’s more confusing than mirack. don’t take that as any kinda diss to drambo because i absolutely love it... but this is my story..
i’ve wanted to learn modular for years. by that i mean learn how to take a list of modules, select them and then string them together to make useable sounds 😎
i grabbed audulus first (on ios) and tried to study preset patches, and youtube videos... no luck.. when every module looks the same my brain just couldn’t keep track of what was going on..
then i went thru a slew of other apps, still... seemed like i wasn’t learning anything but falling into the “ oh well i’ll use these presets “ camp.
mirack dropped...i loved the looks of it. the modules look like euro rack. and vcv rack, i could see there were lots modules that had labels saying what was going on, lots if videos online that walk you thru the basics of building a synth using each module either in hardware form or vcv rack ( which i used on macbook for a while but never really learned it) still it was confusing and i didn’t really watch the videos ( time was tight)
drambo released, finally!! i opened it up and it was another list of modules with names that intimidated me... i was able to build a basic synth.. use it for sequencing external synths, use it for effects, and a few other tricks.. lots of fun but def not learning how to build crafty synths...
so i was at the crossroads... i wanted to know how to work with drambo and mirack... so had to figure out what was going to be my best chance to really understand signal flow, cv, etc better the two
i didn’t feel like drambo was going to be the system to fully let me dive into learning and understanding, there are limited recourses to learn from..a long list of modules that look very similar to each other by you can’t see them until they are selected, and that you kinda have to drop into your project in the right order or else you have try to understand how to rewire them, so to me it was not feeling like the best place to start.. drambo is more than capable to do a lot of what i want but like i said for learning purpose, not the best place for by brain to learn and understand.
so i went with mirack.
i was like ok this time... start basic, simple, small..
don’t get ahead of yourself by trying to use every module or a module just because it looks exciting and you know it can do great things...
start small, learn the steps, build the same basic synth over and over and over again until you can do it without hesitation. use that same patch to build on to... one module at a time. almost every module has a video to learn from on youtube...
so that’s what i did... within a week i was building pretty basic synths and adding more complex modulation than ever.
now i have pretty good grasp of all the modules i use regularity... and can look at the other ones and start to see how they can fit into my rack.
rant over, hopefully it helps i just woke up and my brain isn’t functioning yet 🤣
Your mention of KQ Mini Synth reminded me of Ripplemaker by Bram Bos which is his modular contribution.
I think with any of these deeper modular apps, there’s definitely a capital investment and need to use them on a regular basis to make progress. The only reason I’m familiar with so many of these apps is that the modular approach gives me more insight into synthesis in general so I find myself drawn to them.
Audulus being a fully fledged visual programming language appeals to me because I’m a lousy programmer. In addition to the mechanics of programming patches, there’s also the DSP side of things and having access to Audulus forum members who have insight into that is wonderful. I know a couple of years ago Audulus developer, Taylor, looked deeply into why VCV Rack was having so much success and how they could apply it to Audulus. Hopefully Audulus 4 will incorporate some of these ideas so that Audulus developers can create patches that are more easily integrated into setups in much the same way that modules are created for VCV Rack. This would effectively expand the user base for Audulus to more than just a core of people coming from a programming/DSP perspective. The exchange of ideas between patch creators and more practical results oriented musicians could improve the quality of modules produced.
Similarly, we’ve seen how Bram Bos providing us with Mozaic has led to many users creating and sharing patches on PatchShare which others can and have used. I‘m persuaded by his reasoning that given the niche nature of many user requests, there’s no way it would be practical to meet these requests through traditional app development while Mozaic facilitates the development of Mozaic presets to meet these requests by its users/preset developers.
I believe there will be a growing need and opportunities to utilize these community based developer approaches rather than simply rely on professional level developers to meet those needs. Hopefully as more musicians delve into these modular and scripting environments, they will also develop more respect for what developers do and this will spread to other musicians they associate with. Too often I see a lot of attempts at app design by forum thread posts. While some of these suggestions may be helpful, others are just half baked ideas because the posters can’t draw upon any experience gained from the challenges of developing music apps.
Good catch! I forgot beloved Ripplemaker too. I think because I think of it as a synth, not as a modular environment.
I think people often don't realize (because there are no docs that approach it from this perspective) that for most people, Audulus is best for wiring together pre-made modules (of which are are TONs -- though well-hidden if one doesn't know that there is a huge archive that one can download) rather than for wiring up modules.
I tend to not think of it as a modular synth -- I think there are better-sounding general purpose modular synths out there -- but as a place to hack together cool complex effects or the occasional special synth (like the Buchla-inspired non-clone that I did).
There are some incredibly cool filters and the like that people have posted.
Drambo has a lot of appeal for a lot of what you can do with Audulus and it is AU -- but I see myself likely to use both. Some things are easier in Drambo -- some in Auduus -- and Audulus has more flexibility for organizing the user interface of complex modules -- and apparently Audulus 4 will be less gaudy looking.
You guys are great! I love this forum. So far all the advice has been excellent!
My problem right now is that there are so many things to learn. Synthesis, signal flow, DSP, music theory, acoustics, data sonification, compositional strategies...a never ending list.
So, yes I am really excited to do all that, step by step. I think I'll be focusing on the smaller apps for now and then work my way up to the big league.
While there are modules available, users still need to know how to use them which is similar to miRack; however, the deeper issue is that unlike a miRack module, they can’t break it by simply trying to play a patch using the GUI. If a user doesn’t have some sort of basic knowledge of Audulus to be able to repair the patch, they’ll need to download a new copy unless they had the foresight to make a backup copy before they used the patch. For some this isn’t plug and play enough for their needs versus an app like miRack.
While I’m never one to weigh in on the subjective quality of sound produced by an app, I do believe it can be more difficult to create a more complex synth versus an effect patch. It can make very elaborate and generative sequences using all sorts of scales. Having MIDI output and sampling capabilities will make Audulus 4 more useful for me and I believe others too.
I still rock Audulus! I have a few snags with it but think its very unique even with drambo and Mirack. I actually think Audulus 4 might blow up the iPad I have so no more cpu heavy apps!
Hi, I’m a bit late to this thread but thought I’d let you know that Holon.ist can be used with just the onboard sensors of the phone or iPad. The supported Movesense smart sensors are each €38.50 + VAT + delivery from Finland, this is the cheapest option for peripherals. Holon.ist is also fully integrated with miRack
Despite being abandoned AnalogKit is my favorite full modular on the iPad. I clicked with the container system, where you can do all your patching of the building blocks, and then close up the mess, just leaving a knob or two exposed.
Once I got the math module, it became like a nicer looking Pure Data, where you can run it as a logic gate, or transform, that works on CV the same as audio.
I used to design analog effects for guitar, it would take a couple evenings to breadboard a novel effect idea, with AnalogKit I could build new effects and instruments in like an hour. All with a $10 app...
Not to mention, Apple Watch support too.
To the OP, question 2, about granular/spectral synthesis, and my experience with AnalogKit, to be honest, it excelled more in subtractive synthesis, CV manipulation, and modular effects than sampling or any advanced izotope type spectral processing. I did mess around with sampling with it (to the point of building my own RAM by cascading little memory modules in the app), but it got pretty difficult, like you had to deal with low level dsp problems like aliasing, if you wanted to play back samples faster or slower than they were recorded.
In general I’m especially interested in the iPad as a sampler, so am very interested to hear about anyone’s experience with modular/pure data/science project type sampling here on iOS.
@Conkers thanks for the info! I was looking at holon.ist only yesterday again :-) There are just too many apps I want to try! It's good to know about the low price for the gear though. It's in the top third of my to buy list
@Processaurus I was just thinking wheter to properly give pd another try when I'm buying my new MBP. Did you ever take a look at STEIMs LISA software? It is now apparently called ROSA.
It's a freeware sample buffer/server for desktop that can be used with Lemur on the ipad. The sampling doesn't really happen on the ipad but maybe you'll find it interesting.
https://steim.org/rosa/
I found Audulus way too complex, but I appreciate its depth. I just couldn't get into it, but one thing I really liked about it - that Drambo doesn't have (yet) is the customisation of built instruments. You can customise the appearance and design something any way you want. I liked that.
But for me, Drambo is the modular of the moment. It's just so damn instant and I can knock up a set up in literally minutes and be playing very quickly.
You’d probably be more interested in Fieldscaper and it’s sister apps, and identity and its sisters.
Yesterday I had a brainwave. I finally realised what use Audulus might be, for me.
Originally I bought Audulus iOS and macOS about the same time as each other, thinking they’d be all I ever need, and it’d put a stop to this never-ending uphill avalanche of app buying. I used it for a while, understood it all, very impressed with all that had already been done with it, then utterly dropped it because I was completely pissed off with the UX infuriation of onscreen rotary knobs vs dragging modules. I just walked out on the whole mess.
Yesterday I accidentally drifted into some Audulus videos on youbute and it occurred to me – Audulus is where to set up crafty sequencers. That’s all. Don’t try doing synthesis in it, although you can and it’s good at it, so are a lot of other synth apps that have better UI handling. However, making a laboratory of sequencing rigs and jigs and assemblages, then ‘pressing go’, is where Audulus could fit in better, as the interaction required is minimal. Once you’ve set the whole thing up, like a Heath Robinson machine, then set the ball rolling, that’s it – no more annoyance, you just sit back and let it do it. Or tweak it and try again.
It would be good to know where things stand with Audulus development. It seems like version 4 is overdue, but it's been really quiet over on the forum for a long time now. I totally understand that the developer doesn't want to commit to timelines he can't keep to, but it's just been a little too quiet.
I can't help but wonder if I should cut my losses with Audulus and assume that there's nothing happening with it very fast anymore. There seemed to be so much enthusiasm a year or so back, but that seems to be non-existent now.
I've put it off as a dead product.
The best thing about it is the Audulus forum with a few chaps regularly posting great user creations.
I've bought version 3 the day they've announced AUv3 support (Audulus as a plugin, that is), then silence, then a few weak excuses, then a "no, it won't happen before V4" and now I'm not even sure if there will ever be a V4.
But I don't care anyway, except trying out a few fun user patches here and there.
Drambo and miRack are in a completely different league now, both from exceptional developers who offer great support and continuously work on their products.
Audulus 4 is coming along. The developer doesn’t publish timelines and won’t be beholden to them. It is definitely not abandoned.
I would like to see version 4, but there aren’t even occasional short posts on progress on the forum anymore (seems like a really long time since Taylor posted anything).
Like I said, I get that he doesn’t want to set timelines, but it’s not very encouraging to go to the forum and get crickets most times.