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.
OT - Your Local Library - A Great Place For Free Resources
I used to work at my local library, but I’ve been using it for resources, my entire life. I borrow music all the time in CD or Digital Formats, Books/Audiobooks in print or digital, even magazines in both print and/or digital. All free. I recently discovered that my library has added Computer Music Magazine, Future Music Magazine, Music Tech Magazine, Music Tech Focus Series, and several other great books/resources as free digital downloads since the pandemic started. They have also removed fines, and added additional renewals since the pandemic started as well. They offer a ton Movies, Documentaries, Shows, Limited Series, Video Games and even free access to Lynda.com (Which has a bunch of tutorials on different DAW’s, Music Production, etc) & The Great Courses.
It should be extremely easy to get a free library card at your local library, and then just download an app or 2 for all your digital content needs and boom! You’ve got access to a ton of digital items, all free, with out leaving the house, and they even have automatic returns on digital content, so know worries on due dates. At my library you do not have to pay any fines unless you’ve physically lost or severely damaged an item, and it accrues to over $50.
I’ve always wanted them to carry Computer Music Mag, and even sent in a few requests in the past, so I was really pumped to discover this recently. If you haven’t checked your local County/City/Township in awhile I highly recommend you look into what your local library has to offer. It was an enormous amount of stuff before Covid, but now seems to be even better as they adapt to the ever changing world. I can’t guarantee your library will have as much stuff, or be as easy to maneuver as mine is, but it’s definitely worth a look, I can promise you that. Cheers!
Comments
When I was a kid the library was practically my second home, used the microfiches regularly, they used to give me the year old New Scientists and Scientific Americans that they would otherwise have thrown out each week/month. I loved that place, the building was a fantastic domed Victorian fancy thing in grimmest east Lancashire (Darwen, look it up). But being welcomed there by the dedicated staff made me the person I am today and I’m forever grateful for that.
Yea, everyone I worked with except for a couple people out of like 40, were really great, really nice. It’s great in the USA especially cause their is nothing being sold, profitably is not a major concern, helping people is… everyone just wants to help, and share knowledge.
I have some fond memories too.
They have free meal programs, all kids of free workshops for adults, and a ton of free programs/courses/events for kids.
I work at the Chattanooga Public Library, so we're pretty spoiled as far as creative offerings at the library.
We have a $250k music production studio where patrons can learn how to run a professional Pro Tools setup. I think we've got most of the I/O working with Logic now too just to offer variety.
Up on my floor at the makerspace, we've offered access to GarageBand, Logic, FL Studio, and Ableton for a while. We even have a bunch of full-size digital pianos and some smaller Arturia and Akai controllers.
This fall we're launching our instrument lending library where people can check out guitars, basses, and drum kits. We're also starting to check out interfaces, mics, cameras, and other production gear so people can create content at home.
I'm really excited for our next station. We just ordered one of the new iPad Pros and I'm going to set up a station showing off the music, video, and graphic design apps that I've been learning over the last year.
I wish I had taken more advantage of the library as a kid. I used to borrow books all the time, and occasionally used microfiche readers to view all kinds of archived stuff.
What I didn’t do was explore music outside of my immediate level of knowledge - the biggest library in the city had a big selection of records, particularly classical and jazz. They also set up a lot of talks on all kinds of subjects, and sometimes had authors read their own works. I really wish I had paid more attention to those, and had taken the opportunity to meet with various authors who visited.
Mine still does that with authors. Not since covid, but I’m sure it will come back in some way at some point.
What!!!! That’s freaking awesome. We do have a recoding studio at our main branch but wasn’t at that location too often and I don’t think it was as current as yours sounds. Instrument lending that is really freaking cool!
Double post disregard
Academic librarian here
this post brings me joy.
Check out the Libby app on the App Store. If your library participates, you can enter you library card information and check out e-books to read on your device with it.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/libby-by-overdrive/id1076402606
At least in the US in some states, you don’t even have to be a resident of the city/county of the library to get a card. I’ve got cards from all over Ohio.
Also: consider interlibrary loans for titles that are harder to find (LINK+ is the system for Nevada and California)
I’ve moved a few times since then, and quite a few years have intervened. Currently my local library is small, and the nearest large one (in a different city and state) is about 25 miles away.
I just don’t have access to anything like that anymore (other than a journey to downtown Charlotte, NC)
Yea Libby is great and it covers a decent amount of the US Library system. Also Hoopla is good and does the same.
Some libraries let you get a card if you live anywhere in the same state. So with a little research I’m sure you could find one in your state that can set you up with a card number. Hopefully they also have accounts with those two apps I mentioned, but if not there are others apps and other systems available.
Try a big city, doesn’t have to be close but definitely try somewhere in the same state first, you can probably signup all online.