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.
Seems like a very overlooked gem - Voco
Now that I know how it works, I can't stop playing it. Basically, its similar to Borderlands but a drastically more simplified version. To me the power is in the simplicity. You record a sample into it and it saves it as a file which you can load. You then play it with your fingers to control start, end and pitch. It has 3 play modes controlling the play type and triggering and will play quantized or continuous. One of my very favorite apps.
It creates a screen of phase vocoder data recorded directly from the audio so you can smoothly play anywhere in the sample using any playback speed. I do wonder what other apps Jonathan McKenzie might be working on. I haven't been able to find it on the app store now so I fear it's been removed. Runs great on my 2018 iPad Pro still.
Comments
Used to have this long ago, but can't find it now. And of course feel suddenly bereft etc.
Are we talking about DerVoco?
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dervoco/id1391057304
No, it's actually called Voco. I wish I could send the link but it's no longer on the app store.
I heard back from Jonathan Mackenzie, the developer of Voco. He said it was ok to post his response:
"really pleased to hear you like Voco. Unfortunately I'm not really
working on the apps at the moment. I coudn't really make a living from
them, so had to return to full-time work. I also got a bit fed up with
Apple and their super closed and controlling universe. The reason you
can't find my apps is that Apple pulled them because I wasn't updating
them often enough. Personally I don't like things updating for the sake
of it. Like you say it's a simple app, so why change it if it ain't broke?!
Anyway, I may return to music software later this year when my current
job ends. I was thinking of possibly turning my apps into plugins for
other platforms. Will let you know if I do.
All the best
Jonathan"
Here's his e-mail I got from the app: [email protected]
There is definitely a tradeoff here... imagine the app store if they didn't have such a policy. Would probably have 2x or 3x the number of apps, with many not updated in ages.
It's unfortunate though to lose apps that work just fine due to this policy.
yes, good points, The app really doesn't need to be updated though and works great in the latest OS so it seems odd they would just remove it.
How many years did it go untouched? There may be more to the story. There are apps untouched for years that have stayed in the store.
Well, what do you know. It’s on my iPad and I didn’t even realise it!
_Voco Version 2.3
Voco is a touch-controlled phase vocoder for manipulating sampled sound.
The sound is mapped onto the screen, with time running left to right, and pitch up and down. By touching the screen the sound can be manipulated and played like an instrument.
Press Sample to record up to 1 minute of sound directly from the microphone or audio input. Then press Play.
Use iTunes to transfer mono wav files (at 44.1khz) to the app, and then press Load. Use AudioPaste with the Paste button.
Audiobus compatible as an input or output device.
Release mode only plays sound when the screen is touched.
Hold makes sound continuously.
In Glide mode you can push the playback point around.
Use two fingers to create a loop between two points on the screen. A third finger can be used to change the loop speed - up for faster, down for slower. Looping works in all three modes.
The pitch shift can be Continuous or limited to a Pentatonic or Chromatic scale.
Record saves what you are playing to time-stamped files which you can transfer using AudioShare or via iTunes.You can Manage your recordings and samples: preview them, rename and delete them.
On iPod and iPhone, touching the Voco logo will toggle the controls to make more screen space.
Please get in touch if you have any problems or feature requests
[email protected]
Thanks for buying Voco!
Software © Jonathan Mackenzie 2012-17
www.jonathanmackenzie.net_