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.

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Default Midi Mappings for apps

TheAudioDabblerTheAudioDabbler
in General App Discussion

Hey everyone,

After taking a break from most everything during this COVID stuff, I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I am currently working on a few videos that will hopefully be up soon.

As some of you may know, I bought myself the Novation SL MKII controller. Amazing controller and very versatile. One thing I want to do is to build up some templates for iOS apps. I know that some have default midi mappings. MIDI Learn is great and wonderful but since the Novation can add labels to the knobs and faders and buttons, it would be nice to be able to select a certain synth and have everything map to a default.

I guess this is where developers could help as well. I want to compose a list of default midi mappings.

Also secondary question, for those that do not have default values, from experience, what are the most common knobs, faders, buttons, that you would want on a physical controller?

The SL MK3 has 16 knobs, 16 buttons, 8 faders per template. Lots of opportunities for physical controllers.

thanks for everyones help in this. I will freely share any template I develop so everyone can enjoy.

Mitch

Comments

  • 0tolerance4silence0tolerance4silence

    I hate to bring negativity, but 'been there, done that' and it was a complete waste of time. Tried with various controllers (older SL with or without automap among them) and it's always ended up being either too much of a hassle or compromise, just to be able to do what I can do already much faster.
    On the constructive note - it depends on the tool you want mapped, and how do you use it. You'll have to leave thing out or hidden in subpages, so instead of trying to unify I would suggest to go with your personal favourites. Muscle memory builds up fast if it works out well (my experience is, it never does, or it's not worth it).

  • colonel_mustardcolonel_mustard

    It's a real head-scratcher, coming up with a coherent system for this stuff. I just got a Faderfox EC4 a couple of weeks ago and while it's a different thing, it does raise similar issues.

    It's very easy to use up 16 knobs. Considering the 'average' synth architecture, the amp and filter envelopes use up 8 already, then the cutoff, resonance, filter amount and volume take 4 more. With this approach, there are only 4 knobs left for oscillators, LFOs, fx parameters, mod slots etc.

    I'm just thinking into the keyboard here, but maybe it's an idea to reserve a few knobs set to 'out of the way' CCs (116-119 might work) and then freely map and remap these ones as you go? Knobs A, B, C and D. Meanwhile, keep a 'fixed' set across all presets, so that you always know where your cutoff etc. are? That could be a basic set up, then make extra 'pages' (i.e. related presets) to cover more parameters? Still keeping A, B, C and D on every page.

    I don't think there's a right way of doing this. We're in the Wild West. Defaults vary across so many things, so I figure it's a case of going through them one by one. It will take a long time, but you'll really be moved in by the end of it, and it will all make perfect sense to you. I'd recommend starting out with your favourites and if an app doesn't seem worth the trouble, delete it.

    Maybe somebody worked out a great system already? Personally, I'm letting it cook awhile. Happy to hear any/all success stories of course.

    And happy you're sticking an oar back in the water :)

  • TheAudioDabblerTheAudioDabbler

    @0tolerance4silence Thanks for the confidence building post. hehe. I completely understand your viewpoint though. I have started this venture a few times. I do think that the SL MK3 combined with the components editor will hopefully make it more palatable.

    @colonel_mustard great points as to take one synth at a time. I will have to discipline myself to actually sit down and do it though. Very hard to do that.

  • colonel_mustardcolonel_mustard

    @TheAudioDabbler said:
    @0tolerance4silence Thanks for the confidence building post. hehe. I completely understand your viewpoint though. I have started this venture a few times. I do think that the SL MK3 combined with the components editor will hopefully make it more palatable.

    @colonel_mustard great points as to take one synth at a time. I will have to discipline myself to actually sit down and do it though. Very hard to do that.

    Yes. Yes it is. But there's no other way sometimes, and future you will be glad that you did. Plus you get faster at doing the stuff as you go, when you get a rhythm for it.

    For this type of thing I set myself achievable, low targets like, "Four 15-minute sessions a week." Just one hour of my week, every week until [whatever it is] is done. Impatience usually steps in and I'll do a few longer sessions, and finish way ahead of schedule, but by setting an arbitrary bar, I find I don't need quite so much procrastination time.

    Reminds me, I have a mountain of envelopes to set in SunVox.

  • LosNevelsLosNevels

    I'm in the same midi-mapping boat. I've enjoyed the 4 banks of Keystep knobs, but they really aren't sufficient. I have mine programmed, but am finding myself going back to screen touching because I feel like I can more quickly adjust the parameter. That being said, adjusting knobs with a screen is not an idea UI.

    Now that you've had some more robust midi controllers for a few months, is it worth it? Or are the hardware guys right, that in the end, hardware synths are better...

    So do you (1) build a bridge and get over it--screen is fine! (2) go all in on a robust midi controller--that ec4 looks awesome! (3) admit defeat and start budgeting for the real deal?

  • AlmostAnonymousAlmostAnonymous
    edited February 2021

    You should see my ever growing list of how to deal with this.
    Right now, I’m just tackling effects presets.
    I’m kinda limiting myself to stuff that actually gives midi feedback (Turnado for example) or
    Things you can export.

    For example, Eventide. You can export the presets in a readable format, which I can import into my arduino/teensy controller for recall (technically assignment of the preset values to the encoders of the controller)

    It’s still is the suuuuuuuuuuper beta phase as I just started dicking around with it, and I suck at code, but it’s works.

    Best thing I’ve ever done was put a teensy between the iPad and the rest of the usb world.

    Wish I actually knew coding enough that it doesn’t take me eons to do it. A web interface would make my life easier. :/

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