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.
iConnectiMIDI4+ now available for order
OK folks... Here's the news... iConnectMIDI4+ is shortly going to be hitting stores! I have a preliminary review up on my blog here: http://www.musicinclusive.com/blog/iconnectmidi4_preliminary_review_part_1/
I have been conducting beta tests on the unit on behalf of iConnectivity and found no functional flaws whatsoever - everything works as expected which is very satisfying. I also hope to have a youtube review ready shortly as well. In addition, I shall hopefully be doing a series - about an hour - of tutorial videos for iConnectivity on setting up and using the device.
This is a very cool device! Sorry I couldn't say anything much until now - it had to hit the stores first and get announced by iConnectivity as available which it just was.
Check out Guitar Center/Musicians Friend/Sweetwater/BandH.
Regards
Derek.
Comments
Just want to clarify this: 1 USB hub host port for class compliant peripheral / controller connection for up to 8 USB controllers.
Will this usb host port allow an external USB hub containing several USB midi devices AND a USB audio interface all while powering the iOS device?
I don't think so @Ringleader - it's a MIDI connection only via the USB -> hub jack.
So when using this device with iOS (since it will use up the dock port), the only option for getting the audio in and out is the headphone jack on the iOS device?
Great news! It's been quite a wait. I've been very happy with my iconnect 2+ w macbook...
Holy sh!t just saw the Audio4+ on their website. Looks like that's the one I am after...carry on!
http://www.iconnectivity.com/iConnectAudio4plus
Can I use Audiobus to bus audio between idevices using the connectivity 4's audio pass through ?
@DaveMagoo, doesn't look like it. Check out Dereck's review. But can bus audio from one ios device to another through iconnect 4+ drivers. Very cool.
Edited...
@DaveMagoo what you can do is you can set the audio patchbay routing in iConfig between the two idevices. So you can then, say, have this:
Sunrizer -> Turnado -> Cubasis on one iDevice
mic (or some app that reads audio in) -> AUFX:Dub -> Auria on the other
and then you can route the audio as though it is one long chain. Yes - it works - minimal latency.
Of course you can get even more sophisticated than this. Routing the audio in to iPad 1 and the audio out from iPad 2 to the Mac/PC as well. And control each device via MIDI concurrent with all of this - even one iPad to the other. I didn't try syncing two devices yet with MIDI that way from one device to another but I did run a test where I fed 3 DIN connected synths and two iPads from a 3rd iPad connected via an iRig MIDI into the 4th DIN and sequenced all of them using both Genome and Cubasis from the 3rd iPad. I'll be showing that in the video reviews. :-)
It's a step up from the 2+, which could only pass audio from idevice to computer, but not between two idevices.
Definitely @Zymos! :-)
@musicinclusive - weird question, but would you please list the specs for this device's power adaptor? I see that it is center positive, but is it 5v and if so how many amps? Thanks!
@MusicInclusive thanks, is it a single audio channel between idevice's ? I'm thinking double the power using 2 iPads
I have the iconnect 2 and it's such a solid product very well built.
No, you have multiple audio channels between the devices @DaveMagoo. Depends on how you choose the bit depth and sampling rate. The way I'm preferring to use it - and the default setup - is to use 16/44.1 which gives you 4 ports of audio (2 stereo pairs or 4 single mono channels) per iPad and for the PC / Mac connection. So, that means, in Audiobus you would see that on the popup on the input slot for example for the System Audio Input menu selection (and would be nice to have on the output too @Sebastian ;-) ).
12V 3A @RingLeader
@MusicInclusive said:
Thanks so much!
Thanks @Musicinclusive we just need cross device state saving now by the sound of it
Are they shipping this with a lightning cable or do you still require a 30pin to lightning adaptor?
I believe it's with a 30-pin cable @trackwerker - but check with them. My review unit came with a 30-pin cable. I already had a genuine Apple 30-pin to lightning adapter which works fine with the cable.
I'll wait for the Audio 4+ because I need to run audio through the lightning port. I hope they'll make it available soon.
Not sure what you mean @Munibeast - do you mean from some other audio device, like a synth? or a mic?
Otherwise - lightning -> 30 pin adapter works fine for bidirectional audio to from the iPad even if it has a lightning connector.
The adapter works fine, except when it doesn't. From their FB page:
"We have had some complaints about our iConnectMIDI devices and the 30-pin to Lightning adapter. Through investigation, we have discovered that there appears to be a batch of these adapters sold through Apple that do not work. Even when plugged in on their own, they give a not supported accessory error. If your adapter does this, we suggest you return it and exchange for a different one from where you bought it. Maybe bring your iPad along so you can test in store if exchanged unit works."
I have no idea what the ratio of lightning to 30 pin devices is among potential users, but it kind of sucks that many people are going to have to either buy an adapter from Apple or another cable from iConnectivity (if and when they sell those) for another $30.
@MusicInclusive I need to run guitar and bass signals into the iOS devices through the dock port. Should have made that more clear...
@Munibeast - Audio4+ due this summer per their home page. http://www.iconnectivity.com
Hoping they can stick to that timeline, I think the midi4+ was delayed quite a bit. I am so excited for the Audio4+. It could be my grail if the iConfig app has all the right features.
OK. @Munibeast - then I think you are most likely going to need the Audio4+ - however I have another experiment I want to try that I hadn't thought of - suggested by an idea from someone over on the iPad Musician FB group. I'll LYK if it works when I've tried it because if it does it may provide yet another audio routing option.
@Ringleader - yes - the delays were unfortunate, but, as best I understand it a confluence of circumstances. Consider that there have been other announced products like the C24 keyboard (not for lack of kickstarter funds) , and some from other bigger manufacturers like Alesis and Focusrite that have not shipped yet despite being announced.
I think it boils down to 4 things. 1.) Supply chain / manufacturing and foreign markets 2.) FCC approvals and how that can affect things with incredibly tight tolerances 3.) Apple approvals for connecting devices. 4.) Apple product / OS changes / obsolescence. All of these work against manufacturers getting things out quickly in an arena that is very fast moving.
Kind of makes you wonder why Apple can't just let us do it with the lightning cable straight into the PC/Mac or such like
I wonder why the iconnectmidi 2 was so easy and readily available? Talked to my Sweetwater rep and he says they don't have any 4+ and hasn't heard anything.
@Bootsy said:
It wasn't. There were plenty of delays before they started shipping.
Mine was back ordered quite a while before I got it. I missed the first batch, and had to wait another couple of months after that to get one.
@musicinclusive you need to be careful saying "lightning -> 30 pin adapter works fine" it might do for you, but as @zymos says a lot of people have had problems (including myself) with the official apple 30pin to lightning adaptor. I've taken the view that I'm not going to try using my ICM2+ again until an official lightning cable is released by ICM. Frankly I find it amazing that they haven't got this sorted yet and are now also pushing ICM4+ out with the 30pin connector. I'd wager that there will be a lot of unhappy people who buy the ICM4+ who hit the same problems.
@trackwerker -
I appreciate your thoughts about this.
I didn't write what you quoted above though ***. I think what I wrote was fine already since I actually said:
"If you have a newer iPad with a lightning connector, you should be able to use an Apple lightning to 30 pin adapter just fine - I did in my test of the device. However, check in with iConnectivity to see if they will begin to supply direct connect lightning cables at some point too."
which is different from
"everyone will be able to... etc."
So, I did direct people to ask iConnectivity about any upcoming plans for lightning cables as well.
However, your point is taken and I've added a clause to the followup sentence. That section now reads like this:
"If you have a newer iPad with a lightning connector, you should be able to use an Apple lightning to 30 pin adapter just fine - I did in my test of the device. However, check in with iConnectivity to see if they will begin to supply direct connect lightning cables at some point too as some have experienced issues even with Apple's own adapters with the iConnectMIDI2+ (apparently a faulty batch from Apple according to the iConnectivity FB page)."
Regards
Derek.
*** Please see discussion below and followup posts :-)