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 Store

Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Favorite Hardware-/Midi Controller

24

Comments

  • edited May 2021

    Seems like we are on the same track. I’m a control freak 😄 have the following controllers:

    Akai MPD218
    Arturia KeyStep
    Arturia BeatStep Pro
    Keith McMillen K-Board
    Korg nanoKONTROL 2
    Midi Fighter 3D
    Midi Fighter Twister
    Novation Launchkey 37
    Novation Launchpad Mini
    Roli Lightblock M

    I love them all, but I am thinking of replacing my MPD218 with a M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro even though my MPD works as expected, no double triggers. The TFP pads are supposed to be as good or better than NI Maschine.

    I would like to add the following:
    Artiphon Instrument One or Linnstrument.

  • @audiblevideo said:
    Can confirm the usefulness of:

    Beatstep pro
    Midifighter twister
    Keystep (old regular)
    Launch Control XL

    Orba and some Mozaic scripts

    Orba looks amazing and this is the first I've heard of it. Is it amazing? Looks so versatile.

  • @gkillmaster said:

    @audiblevideo said:
    Can confirm the usefulness of:

    Beatstep pro
    Midifighter twister
    Keystep (old regular)
    Launch Control XL

    Orba and some Mozaic scripts

    Orba looks amazing and this is the first I've heard of it. Is it amazing? Looks so versatile.

    on second thought and after looking at some videos, it looks more like a gimmicky toy. Maybe it really isn't but I'm looking for a controller with similar form factor that will let me "play" CC values and manipulate parameters like I can with rotary CC knobs.

  • @krassmann said:

    Would you mind sharing your BeatStep related Mozaic stuff?

    That was the plan to upload it to Patch Storage soon, but I want it to make it more reusable before.

  • @gkillmaster said:

    @gkillmaster said:

    @audiblevideo said:
    Can confirm the usefulness of:

    Beatstep pro
    Midifighter twister
    Keystep (old regular)
    Launch Control XL

    Orba and some Mozaic scripts

    Orba looks amazing and this is the first I've heard of it. Is it amazing? Looks so versatile.

    on second thought and after looking at some videos, it looks more like a gimmicky toy. Maybe it really isn't but I'm looking for a controller with similar form factor that will let me "play" CC values and manipulate parameters like I can with rotary CC knobs.

    Its a bit gimmicky but I use it as a controller to bash out chords and some expression. Its a pocketable keyboard I dont have to plug in or find space for.

  • Never tested myself, the editor is windows only, but looks good
    http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/usb-midi/controllers/conspiracy/

  • @krassmann said:
    Korg nanoKontrol 2 is great as a mixer controller. I also have the LaunchControl XL but I find myself using the Korg more often because it is more compact and does what I need. Mostly I’m using the mute and solo buttons with AUM.

    I want to love my NK2 with AUM, but I can't.

    I set up MIDI learn for the solo and mute buttons to the same per channel, and each slider for channel volume. But I then found out that one slider also wants to control a filter on an app, and another slider wants to control volume on an app on a different channel. I cannot figure out how to undo both of these. I sought help here on the forum and thought I'd figured out the issue (needed to start with a clean set-up) but it persists.

    So the NK2 got set aside and I'll try something else. Yes, I guess I need to download a MIDI tool to find out what the NK2 is sending, but to me I should not have to do this for a brand-new product.

  • edited May 2021

    @os68ng said:

    @krassmann said:

    Would you mind sharing your BeatStep related Mozaic stuff?

    That was the plan to upload it to Patch Storage soon, but I want it to make it more reusable before.

    Cool, that would be awesome. Keep us posted please.

  • edited May 2021

    @MarkR said:

    @krassmann said:
    Korg nanoKontrol 2 is great as a mixer controller. I also have the LaunchControl XL but I find myself using the Korg more often because it is more compact and does what I need. Mostly I’m using the mute and solo buttons with AUM.

    I want to love my NK2 with AUM, but I can't.

    I set up MIDI learn for the solo and mute buttons to the same per channel, and each slider for channel volume. But I then found out that one slider also wants to control a filter on an app, and another slider wants to control volume on an app on a different channel. I cannot figure out how to undo both of these. I sought help here on the forum and thought I'd figured out the issue (needed to start with a clean set-up) but it persists.

    So the NK2 got set aside and I'll try something else. Yes, I guess I need to download a MIDI tool to find out what the NK2 is sending, but to me I should not have to do this for a brand-new product.

    Check your Midi Control settings in AUM. This synth might have also Midi Control configured for this parameter. Another reason could be that the synth receives Midi from the NK2 and does react to the NK2‘s CCs by default or you maybe Midi learned this synth previously. You could try to make your NK send on another Midi channel with the Korg Midi manager software. The NK2 sends on channel 1 by default.

    I got pretty far with the NK2 and AUM. I even managed that the buttons stay lit. Maybe I should make a video how I did that.

  • edited May 2021

    @ervin said:

    @audiobussy said:
    iPad Pro. As a second device.

    How do you connect it to the first ipad when you use it as a controller? May I also ask what apps you use on the second ipad for controlling stuff on the first ipad? Thank you!

    @gothamoddisee Sure. I host everything that generates sound on the faster iPad. On the back up iPad I connect to a UM via a UM via BlueTooth. You can use it as a control surface, as a Linnstrument, etc.

    Xequence Aus are great, Velocity keyboard, GeoShred, etc. etc.

  • edited May 2021

    @ervin said:

    @krassmann said:

    Arturia BeatStep Pro. I totally fell in love with this device and can only say the best things about it. It enriched my music making more than any other device I bought. It’s so easy to come up with a beat and some melodies. Moreover it’s a great synth controller with 16 endless knobs. You can use the three sequencer tracks and the controller knobs all together so this device became quickly the center of my music making. It’s kind of heavy though.

    Can I ask you about this, @krassmann?

    When you say it enriched your music making, do you mean it allows you to do things that you couldn't do on an ipad (or on a second ipad)? Or is it about being a piece of hardware with physical knobs and pads, instead of software with a touchscreen? Or is it something else I don't even think of?

    Thanks much in advance.

    I think basically to have a lot of knobs and buttons and three sequencer tracks I can easily interact with. The direct access to the steps of a sequence and being able to play some extra notes / beats with the pads is a lot of fun. It’s so easy to quickly copy and modify a pattern.

    The control mode is also great. It gives you 16 endless CC knobs and the step buttons. Instead of sending CCs in the control mode you can use the step buttons to store scenes of sequencer patterns much like scenes in ableton live.

    The three sequencer tracks and the control mode settings are all stored together in a project on the BSP. For each BSP project I have a matching project on the iPad with the basics of a song and patterns with chords in AUM (with LK and Atom 2) and I add the BSP tracks to that and control the whole setup with BSP, a Launchpad (trigger Lk or Atom 2 patterns) and a Korg nanoKontrol 2 (AUM channel mutes and volumes). The BSP tracks I modify live and I also use the control mode knobs to tweak synth parameters like filter and envelope. Recently I also try to do the same with Zenbeats.

    It’s such a great combination for live performance and the BSP is the control center.

  • edited May 2021

    @MarkR said:

    @krassmann said:
    Korg nanoKontrol 2 is great as a mixer controller. I also have the LaunchControl XL but I find myself using the Korg more often because it is more compact and does what I need. Mostly I’m using the mute and solo buttons with AUM.

    I want to love my NK2 with AUM, but I can't.

    I set up MIDI learn for the solo and mute buttons to the same per channel, and each slider for channel volume. But I then found out that one slider also wants to control a filter on an app, and another slider wants to control volume on an app on a different channel. I cannot figure out how to undo both of these. I sought help here on the forum and thought I'd figured out the issue (needed to start with a clean set-up) but it persists.

    So the NK2 got set aside and I'll try something else. Yes, I guess I need to download a MIDI tool to find out what the NK2 is sending, but to me I should not have to do this for a brand-new product.

    Cant really comment without knowing the apps but even Bram apps that have fixed cc. They shouldnt really trigger if you arnt pointing nk2 at the app in aum and you have suggested you use for just aum. Which is midi control of aum. Unless once connected to aum and the app in question does listen to midi and cc just by being in aum and dosent need pointing at app like I said. Or the apps have been given permission for bluetooth. I think apps in aum dont need bt permission but it can be fixed

    just by knowing theres hardly any apps with fixed cc. Then just using korg editor to work around the apps in question. When you find the manual for these and they will say the cc.

    The korg editor is there for this reason. To fix the issue that isnt from the NK2. What I mean is. Theres a chance you could correct the midi, even without fixing it elsewhere but the main point is you can customise midi, like any controller really. You cant set the midi from the device like a faderfox but you wouldnt not want to be able to edit midi.

  • @audiobussy said:

    @ervin said:

    @audiobussy said:
    iPad Pro. As a second device.

    How do you connect it to the first ipad when you use it as a controller? May I also ask what apps you use on the second ipad for controlling stuff on the first ipad? Thank you!

    @gothamoddisee Sure. I host everything that generates sound on the faster iPad. On the back up iPad I connect to a UM via a UM via BlueTooth. You can use it as a control surface, as a Linnstrument, etc.

    Xequence Aus are great, Velocity keyboard, GeoShred, etc. etc.

    Brilliant, much appreciated, we're almost there. But what's a UM? I tried a few resolutions, "Universal Midi" seems a better bet than "User Manual", but I don't really know, excuse my ignorance, please help me out here. :) 🙏

  • @krassmann said:

    @ervin said:

    @krassmann said:

    Arturia BeatStep Pro. I totally fell in love with this device and can only say the best things about it. It enriched my music making more than any other device I bought. It’s so easy to come up with a beat and some melodies. Moreover it’s a great synth controller with 16 endless knobs. You can use the three sequencer tracks and the controller knobs all together so this device became quickly the center of my music making. It’s kind of heavy though.

    Can I ask you about this, @krassmann?

    When you say it enriched your music making, do you mean it allows you to do things that you couldn't do on an ipad (or on a second ipad)? Or is it about being a piece of hardware with physical knobs and pads, instead of software with a touchscreen? Or is it something else I don't even think of?

    Thanks much in advance.

    I think basically to have a lot of knobs and buttons and three sequencer tracks I can easily interact with. The direct access to the steps of a sequence and being able to play some extra notes / beats with the pads is a lot of fun. It’s so easy to quickly copy and modify a pattern.

    The control mode is also great. It gives you 16 endless CC knobs and the step buttons. Instead of sending CCs in the control mode you can use the step buttons to store scenes of sequencer patterns much like scenes in ableton live.

    The three sequencer tracks and the control mode settings are all stored together in a project on the BSP. For each BSP project I have a matching project on the iPad with the basics of a song and patterns with chords in AUM (with LK and Atom 2) and I add the BSP tracks to that and control the whole setup with BSP, a Launchpad (trigger Lk or Atom 2 patterns) and a Korg nanoKontrol 2 (AUM channel mutes and volumes). The BSP tracks I modify live and I also use the control mode knobs to tweak synth parameters like filter and envelope. Recently I also try to do the same with Zenbeats.

    It’s such a great combination for live performance and the BSP is the control center.

    Wow. It sounds like it's a bit further down the road for me... :) Thank you for the detailed explanation. 👍

  • To me it’s the Launchpad Pro MK3. It’s just so extremely versatile.

  • I think “a UM” might be AUM, but possibly not?

  • @stown said:
    I think “a UM” might be AUM, but possibly not?

    Oh. I should've thought of that. Worth a try. Thanks 👍

  • What about Arturia MicroFreak?
    Could it be used as a portable midicontroller?
    (With the Synth as a bonus).

    Thanks

  • @ervin said:

    @stown said:
    I think “a UM” might be AUM, but possibly not?

    Oh. I should've thought of that. Worth a try. Thanks 👍

    AUM ... Siri

  • edited May 2021

    @FloRi89 said:
    To me it’s the Launchpad Pro MK3. It’s just so extremely versatile.

    Hard to argue with this choice. Especially with all of the third-party support that is emerging

    What some people may not understand, is that this can be used pretty much like a Linnstrument. If you know how to play guitar or bass or strings in general, it’s liberating

    And it does chords. And it has a sequencer. And you can make custom control surfaces. Totally nuts

    As someone theorized, Jim from Jim audio probably developed the support for himself and we benefit, for example

  • @FloRi89 said:
    To me it’s the Launchpad Pro MK3. It’s just so extremely versatile.

    Can you send Continuous Controller values from it? Also, can you use the pads to send XY CC?

  • Using DSI Pro 2 to control pigments - ok it’s not a specific MIDI controller but works brilliantly.

  • @128BPM said:
    What about Arturia MicroFreak?
    Could it be used as a portable midicontroller?
    (With the Synth as a bonus).

    Thanks

    Such a great idea! I've always wanted an excuse to get the microfreak and it looks like you can use it as controller fairly easily. There's lots of info online about this.

  • @gkillmaster said:

    @FloRi89 said:
    To me it’s the Launchpad Pro MK3. It’s just so extremely versatile.

    Can you send Continuous Controller values from it? Also, can you use the pads to send XY CC?

    You can send CC for sure, but I don't think there is an XY pad widget. Would work though, the new Groove Rider update has an XY effects pad.

    Here is a video from Novation about the custom modes:

  • @FloRi89 said:

    @gkillmaster said:

    @FloRi89 said:
    To me it’s the Launchpad Pro MK3. It’s just so extremely versatile.

    Can you send Continuous Controller values from it? Also, can you use the pads to send XY CC?

    You can send CC for sure, but I don't think there is an XY pad widget. Would work though, the new Groove Rider update has an XY effects pad.

    Here is a video from Novation about the custom modes:

    Thanks! I saw that video but wasn't sure if there was a widget to accomplish XY control with the pads. Also, wondering if this same functionally applies to the Launchpad Mini Mk3 and Launchpad X?

    I think the only difference between the Mini Mk3 and X is that the X has velocity sensitive pads and the Mini does not. Is that correct?

  • I use Bitwig for my DAW and wondering if anyone here has recommendations on best controllers for Bitwig? A lot of the controllers here are geared toward Live it seems.

  • @gkillmaster said:
    I use Bitwig for my DAW and wondering if anyone here has recommendations on best controllers for Bitwig? A lot of the controllers here are geared toward Live it seems.

    A lot of Live scripts have been ported to Bitwig. Pretty sure Push 1 and 2 are supported. All other controllers mentioned here should work.

  • @auxmux said:

    @gkillmaster said:
    I use Bitwig for my DAW and wondering if anyone here has recommendations on best controllers for Bitwig? A lot of the controllers here are geared toward Live it seems.

    A lot of Live scripts have been ported to Bitwig. Pretty sure Push 1 and 2 are supported. All other controllers mentioned here should work.

    Thanks! Great to know!

  • If you could use the Beatstep pads to program XY CCs, I'd definately get it now. For what I need, it seems like the best option now for me is the Launchpad X.

  • @audiobussy said:

    @ervin said:

    @stown said:
    I think “a UM” might be AUM, but possibly not?

    Oh. I should've thought of that. Worth a try. Thanks 👍

    AUM ... Siri

    Thanks. Tried in the meantime, it does work, AUv3s are perfect for what I want, midi channel assignment becomes a bit awkward when I try to control IAA apps in AUM, but I guess that's because IAA apps in AUM... :)

Sign In or Register to comment.