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
Cool item, but disappointing (for me) as I wanted some real MPC One competitors.
Yeah @coolout , thanks from me also..I sing too bit still I’d like to have the Elastique time stretching algorithm. I guess you can’t have everything lol
True not to mention most devices with big screens are> @Telstar5 said:
Yeah you can't have everything, but they've packed enough features for the job of getting a song completely done. What are you using time stretch for as a singer?
Not as a singer but for combing samples along w my voice
Zenbeats + Verselab integration was supposed to be out Feb 2021. Any news?
I’m also considering the Akai Force. I wasn’t into clip based songwriting until I switched to iPad and Zenbeats (or aum + LK lately), can’t go back. The Force, which seemed like a strange machine, looks totally familiar now, just like Zenbeats (or Ableton I guess). The Force seems way more powerful and full featured than the Verselab, which is understandable as it’s a different product and demographics...
But Verselab MV1 with Zenbeats could tilt the scale. Would you be able to use third party Auv3 effects and instruments?. Bounce them to the Verselab?. More than one insert effect per track?. Now, if it’s just as a controller, the Force seems better for that too...
@coolout: can the versalab stream audio from SD? Alternatively, what is the longest stereo continuous audio sample you can record and playback?
6 minutes stereo, 12 minutes mono, same as the 707 and 101. I thought the Loopop review did a great job showing what the MV-1 is and what it does best.
I have one too. If you're wishing to edit those nice synth engines... think again. Better buy a used MC 707.
It's like the MC 101, with sampling and better controls... and bigger
I don't like the workflow either... a lot of menu diving, and if you're into converting sounds into musical instruments like I am... good luck. The amp env, filter env etc are a bit crappy honestly.
If you're just into making trap beats with the supplied presets, it's a fun box nonetheless.
But I've been on a similar quest like that Gabe Miller dude from YT, for the perfect groovebox, and I feel a bit disappointed by the MV-1.
Looking forward to the Circuit Sampler tomorrow. I know it's a different story and with a shit load of limitations, but at least the workflow is nicer on the Circuit. and it'll cost 1/2 the price.
So if you're looking for a good sampler, sequencer: MPC One is the shit. Also, Maschine+ but $$$. Now you can even power the MPC One with those awesome RipCord cables too so just slap an Anker battery with velcro on the back.
Honestly it was the main reason I sold it, and now regret it.
PS: I sometimes wish I had the time & patience to do youtube reviews. I had all the grooveboxes, samplers you can think of and I would've spared the $$$ & frustration a lot of people. And I would probably have the coolest channel out there
Sounds like you don't really accept the difference between a groovebox and a sampling workstation. Why are you even using hardware? lol. Software samplers have far outpaced hardware for the last 18-20 years. Plus, grooveboxes have never been designed for deep sampling and/or sound design. They are for quickly finding a good preset, maybe doing some little tweaks, and laying down an idea. That's the way it's always been.
The Verselab takes the concept further by just focusing on one thing...going from an idea to arranged song with vocals in a finished mastered WAV...all in a guided step-by-step way. Sampling is like 1/8 of the machine. If your goal is to piddle around making some custom sound library, the Verselab just isn't designed for you. It's for making albums. If I were you I'd just fire up Kontakt or whatever and call it a day.
6 min stereo max recording into a Vocal Take or to import WAV from the SD card to a Tone track or Drum kit pad. Live sampling uses a different memory buffer and is limited to 63 sec at a time, although once you drop it to Tone or Drum kit track it uses that 6 min stereo/12 min mono memory. The only current Roland device that streams directly from the SD Card is the SP-404, which has hours and hours of sampling time but other limitations.
@coolout : thanks, good to know. I’ll take a look at the SP404.
A finished song is supposed to be a groove track with some (few) vocals. That’s great. Thanks for letting me know!. I’ve wasted years and years doing songs and albums that weren’t really songs.
The audio limitation (12 min mono, 6 min stereo) is just a huge mistake. It looks like it’s marketing with knobs. Exact same limitations as the 707, but that doesn’t claim to give a “finished song”. Let me say it again, the audio limitations on this product are stupid, like shooting your foot. I don’t know if the Zenbeats integration (when it comes out) is gonna get around this somehow, otherwise this seems like a product for my niece. A glorified karaoke machine.
Sorry for being blunt but it’s incomprehensible why they’d put out a product with pres and really good features with such a massive and avoidable limitation. Like buying a 24v cilinder 3000 horse power car with a 5 minute drive autonomy.
@coolout I would really like to know, since you seem so offended by others doubting this product a) what’s an album, b) who this product is for.
The manual should state what a “finished song” exactly is. You could also do a finished song with one of those little Casios, and it had an integrated calculator. As for the “look elsewhere” inevitable response, yes, again. BTW the new Circuit Track has 2 audio inputs but you can’t record audio, I’m glad things are getting better.
Sorry if my tone sounds aggressive. I'm not offended by anyone, just trying to clarify and set realistic expectations. There's a lot of apples to oranges comparisons and critique of the Verselab. It has limitations sure, but it's not meant to be an uber do-everything device. It's has a specific selection of features and a workflow that's pointed towards one goal...make a finished song. I think it accomplishes that goal pretty well. at least in my experience. I'm on my 4th Verselab song.
By 'finished song' I mean a composition that is:
1. arranged is a linear song format (intro, verse, chorus, bridge, etc.)
2. has live audio on top (vocals, etc.)
3. has a balanced mix with mastering FX
4. is streamed to a final WAV file that's ready for upload to distribution
Album = a collection of finished songs packaged as a product.
If that's what your niece wants to make, then yes, she's the target user for the Verselab. Could it be bigger, have more recording time, and deeper editing?...sure. You're not going to develop your custom sample library or record a full band or some epic 20 minute song on the Verselab. Can you use it crank out little 3-4 minute pop ditties? All day every day.
Still no news or videos about Zenbeats integration. I’m curious to know if the integration would somehow provide good hands-on workflow and most importantly overcome the crippling audio time limitation of the Verselab.
@alecsbuga im considering getting the Akai Force as I’m comfortable with the clip based workflow, like Zenbeats. The Force looks straightforward and very fast, but it’s huge and I’d like a more portable sofa-capable device. Have you tried the Akai Force?. The Mpc One looks perfect, the size, the features. But I’m afraid about the workflow. I like the tracks -clips approach where you can seamlessly add clips, record new stuff and so on. Seems like a lot more menu diving, creating and assigning tracks, etc on the MPc line like the One or Live.
MPC One doesn't support clip recording like the Force (sampling to clip and loop) and Akai (&users) don't care much for improving the sampling engine (pitch envelope,more LFO's etc) ,so the Force seems far better option
Check this video (sorry if it has been posted before)
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fnozqa495oxbctc/AADwF67U-Kj9UuTZ3nU4bw5Ba?dl=0
They’re putting a lot of emphasis on this being a computer-less DAW, especially for those who are vocalists. Maybe the integration wil be ongoing a and evolving. I’m strongly considering going this route .
Verselab is hardware...everything is pretty much hands-on. I own Maschine, some older MPCs, an Ableton Push, numerous drum machines, hardware samplers, grooveboxes, and keyboard workstations...plenty to compare it to. The Verselab workflow is very focused and guided...one of the easiest I've ever used for what it's designed for.
I played around with a pre-release of the Zenbeats update today. Just the desktop version only as I'm not one of the iOS beta testers. The Zenbeats integration is primarily a remote editor for Verselab at this point and gives a graphical front end to the mixer and parameters. That's cool since it adds more controls, you can balance the tracks with a traditional mixer view for instance, but in my experience the Verselab is perfectly usable as standalone. The Zenbeats stuff is just an added bonus not a must-have in my opinion.
Also...I wouldn't call the time limitations 'crippling' at all. You just have to be prepared and deliberate in your performance, not waste time bullshitting. Just think in terms of a 3-4 min song and you'll be fine. I've yet to run out recording time.
Here a repost of that Roland livestream from last Thursday on my Youtube channel. I show some of the stuff I've been doing on the Verselab around 22 min and there's a preview of the Zenbeats integration at around 36 min.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2sJuIHW1Nzs
Thank u so much @128BPM and @coolout for the videos!.
First of all I want to clarify that my complaints about the VerseLab are born from the fact that I think it’s a great machine with great potential. I’m looking for a dawless hardware setup that can do audio and was excited when the VerseLab came out. I’m a Zenbeats user but want more hands-on and less screen and long pressing. VerseLab seemed the ticket until I started getting the details, and it seems like a lost opportunity.
That’s probably the case if you’re using it just for vocals. Take a 4 minute song. Add a mono bass track, 2 mono guitar tracks... no room left for vocals, samples, nothing...
At this point, I got a question @coolout, in the video you show the 16 vocal takes... If you don’t use them all, do the ones you don’t use still count as audio time?. Even if you only did vocals, the time limit would a problem if you wanted to do a harmony-rich song.
Now the obvious and probably correct answer is “it’s made for vocals, this product is not for you”. Ok, but that’s what I call a missed opportunity and a severe limitation of your user base. VerseLab is amazing as a “pop/hip hop/trap short song machine for singers who don’t want to play instruments or do complex harmonies”. It’s got the same audio time limitations as the 707, so no clear advantages besides being easier to use.
Now on to Zenbeats integration... First and foremost I understand this is a first stage and that it’s going to evolve and add functionality. But I’m gonna comment on what I see, and I don’t get it. The appeal of integrating VerseLab with Zenbeats, to me, would be to have a super tight hardware controller and integration for Zenbeats. Trigger clips, record, transport...all from VerseLab. But it seems the opposite, Zenbeats becomes a touch screen control for some VerseLab parameters, like an advanced parameter editor. From what I see it’s not even using the iPad/Zenbeats to provide a big editing screen for feedback and parameter navigation, enhancing the hardware control. It’s “either” tiny hardware screen or iPad touch screen. I would have expected something in the lines of the Akai Force (similar Ableton style clip workflow), where you have a screen and buttons/knobs that work side by side. You see the parameters on screen and tweak them via hardware.
A nice Zenbeats integration would have even minimized the audio limit problem. You start stuff standalone and when plugging in Zenbeats you can transfer the project and keep on working on the device. Again, if you take the Akai Force as an example, the Force screen could be seen as an iPad with software (Zenbeats) but you keep the hardware control. I don’t see this in these videos, what I see is VerseLab as sort of an instrument inside Zenbeats. That, IMO, is a very limited integration and not a game changer at all.
Again, I hope you see I’m not just bitching... if I didn’t see the potential I wouldn’t even bother. But I do feel like VerseLab is sort of in the middle. It’s only a standalone solution for a very specific and limited use case and the integration with Zenbeats doesn’t seem to provide a new game-changing workflow.
PD: the Akai Force is huge...🤷🏻♂️
@tahiche , that was an awesome response to @coolout . I’ve learned a something from both of you on here . Yeah , that’s what I was thinking too. Run out of time and resources on Versalab a d use Zen Beats to take up the slack. Apparently that isn’t the case yet but who knows in the future ? Hope springs eternal .
The mv-1 is new and remarkably less powerful than the mv8800/mv8000 of the past...quite funny to me.
You can buy a used mv8800/mv8000 cheaper than a new plastic as hell mv-1.
GarageBand is better and it’s free
Of course this is my opinion, and you are free to disregard it at will.
Not if you’re a vocalist
Sounds like you’re having fun. Good on you 👍
@gusgranite : I thought the Akai Force was “the sh-t”
@alecsbuga i feel really old, back in my time you didn’t get rich making a product just for this☝️
I can’t get over how wrong the product manager/s was with VerseLab. I’ve been in plenty of work meetings where terrible and inexplicable decisions were made. I would have loved to see the Verselab powerpoint “whooping 6 minutes of audio for a finished song”.
It's always interesting to see how new gear is received when a company steps out of the box a bit.
It's interesting to see a company release a modern all-in-one for specifically finishing songs. I'd love to see other companies take on it.
It'd be a lot more impressive if it did all the promotional marketing for one's songs too
So I bought a verselab mv1 for the Quick efficiency and creativity based on efficiency and limitation in favor of straightforward song completion. Me and a local rapper kinda are a producer rapper duo group and this just seems like the BEST thing for throwing down quick tracks and if needed separate the stems and touch then up a little post verselab mixdown,
That said, I have updated my firmware correctly, formatted my Sd card correctly, but I can’t for the damn life of me figure out Roland cloud manager. Like WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F.
I don’t understand it at all. I don’t know how to get the packs onto my verselab. Can I put my OWN sounds into the verselab like with my 404mk2? Or must I only use Roland sound packs? Which is fine if I could figure out HOW THE F TO DO IT?!
And you got a year with your verselab?!? That stinks I feel like I kinda got ripped off. I didn’t get anything cloud related with my verselab, however i got 6months of pro with the 404mk2 (yet it’s stilll taking my 2.99$ a month for core subscription? Do I need to cancel that and just let the free 6 months expire before resubscribing? )
Am I missing how I can redeem my free year? To me it’s like “you get one extra pack with your verse lap but you may be able to get 4 ¯(ツ)/¯ “ and truly yes, one pack is available for download for me and there are several “locked” packs that I cannot download. Because of core subscription I have all the zenbeats packs but the Roland cloud packs which are different is so confusing to me and it doesn’t help when im literally inside Roland cloud manager and I click on a pack and it says “availble in Roland Cloud Manager!” I’m like wtf am I using something different here? No says Roland cloud manager at the top… I really want to use the verselab like you are using it. Here’s the thing, while I was trying to put more sounds and packs on the as card I was attempting to play with the barest minimum sounds that it has without the SD card and found it incredibly unresponsive I couldn’t play the pads with any kinda of smooth precision it seemed to be quantized to 1/4th notes and even the “style” or note repeat type button just didn’t work…. The pads again half of them didn’t work, etc. I’m hoping it we the lack of the sd card being in it at the time and it will return to its responsive self once I get the sd figured out and put back in… but it was so frustrating i gave up on the SD card and the verselab altogether that night. Maybe @MatthewAtZenbeats can help me out here too?? What am I missing here?! I want to absolutely love this product I bought it for all the reasons it was advertised for but again half the damn packs on Roland cloud were locked despite my free 6 months of pro…
Oh and also (I haven’t tried iPad yet) whenever I try to integrate windows zenbeats and the verselab it just gets stuck on the opening/loading screen for zenbeats after clicking “verselab editor” nothing happens and i wait for so long and nothing until I have to turn it all off and try again. Not once has it worked, again I haven’t tried pairing it with my iPad or iPhone yet but I really want those Roland cloud packs I was basically promised now to find out I only get a single pack, doesn’t tell you how to install the pack to your hardware, and all the other packs including PACKS I ALREADY HAVE ON ZENBEATS were locked on Roland cloud when attempting to add them to my verselab.:.