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
Maybe you should just sell this one and buy an air and a Bluetooth midi keyboard or pads, whatever you use to input, and use the headphone jack that remains.
Apple is really doing its finest to piss off musicians, between removing ports musicians actually use and now with Big Sur apparently making custom drivers much more troublesome. Not that they care, and I still would rather use Mac over windows for music, but it is a troubling sign. However, I’m staying put with my 2018 iPad and my 2012 MacBook Pro until both absolutely can’t work before I change anything.
This +1. Particularly if its still shrink wrapped.
But the air doesn’t have a headphone jack either. And my impression is I’d have the same problems, whatever they are/were, since they probably share the usb c port design and specs. If I were to get an older model to get back the headphones I’d loose too much ram and processing. So I just hope it was the hub and it doesn’t happen with the apple dongle...
@tahiche perhaps failures are works of demons or other evil things. Have you been doing any witchcraft, occult stuff, etc?
Oh, I didn’t realize they got rid of the headphone jack on the air as well. That’s sad. I like my iPhone 12 mini very much, but the lack of a headphone jack is a pain in the butt.
You're good.
Hi y’all
This Apple dongle is a lot tighter than the Satechi wedge design. It’s actually hard to unplug. This should mean it’s a lot less prone to twisting or moving that could cause bad and dangerous connections.
It’s also stupidly hanging from the side, it looks terrible!.
I’m gonna buy a “smaller” audio interface now. My Zedi 10 is not very portable... Thinking about the Behringer 204hd. Good price and looks like a good set of features.
Since it’s got 4 outputs I’m thinking I can use this as a sort of “loop back” to record AUM and/or IAA into Zenbeats, also as a way to bounce. If I set the output of an app (AUM) or a Zenbeats track to outs 3/4, then connect the 3/4 outs to the interface inputs I should be able to record whatever. Anyone tried it?.
@krassmann, thank you for providing the diagrams. I want to replicate the advanced mobile setup you described here and I'm kinda stuck. I don't know what USB hub to get. If I understood your diagram and your argumentation correctly the hub has to be powered (active). However I can't find any powered USB hub that allows you to power it via some kind of USB cable. Everything I've found is powered via the DC power supply which is included. The power supply ports on all these hubs are DC. Since I want to use a powerbank to power the USB hub with it, I'd have to get some kind of adapter to connect them. Is that what you did with your setup or does your USB hub actually allow charging via a USB cable?
@tahiche, it's been more than a year since you got your 3rd replacement and I'm curious how it's holding up? Is your new setup working properly?
@koalatree I believe he's using this Primewire USB hub. Its power supply connects via a micro USB connector so you can use any USB power source to power it. The power supply is not hard-wired to the hub as most of the others are.
Edit: I looks like this seller can deliver in 2-3 days.
This the 4 port powered hub that I could order at Amazon Germany. It is powered by USB and for that it has two USB cables, one for data and one for power. CSL is just a German trademark for imported Chinese electronics. The same hub is also sold in Germany under the brand Primewire. In your country it might be sold under a different brand name. Maybe checkout other sources like aliexpress.
https://www.amazon.de/CSL-Verteiler-Ultrabook-Tablet-PC-bus-powered/dp/B01K7RR3W8
there is also another even larger hub:
https://www.amazon.de/USB-3-0-Hub-Mehrfachstecker-Dockingstation/dp/B087M6Z5TJ
As you already wrote an alternative could be to use a powered hub with an AC adapter but replace the AC adapter with an adapter cable (USB-A jack to the circular power plug) that goes into the hub. Be aware that more advanced active USB hubs might need 12V and it would significantly consume power on their own. If the AC adapter is also 5V I would think the chances are higher that this approach works.
Another thought. You could try to use a USB-C hub with a USB-C PD input. I assume that such hubs do not only deliver power to the iPad but also power all of the hub's ports. But that is only an assumption. If you don't have a USB-C iPad you could connect the iPad with an A-to-C adapter and hope that the hub powers the ports even if it doesn't power the iPad.
Man I thought Tahiche fried another one !
LOL, me too.
+1, it was a perfect, if unintentional, setup.
Sorry for scaring you all and necroing an old thread but this was the perfect place to ask and clear my doubts. I read through all of tahiche's threads when researching this topic and based on his experience I decided to plan this carefully.
Thank you for the links!
I'd prefer not to work with circular power plug cables so picking up the same or similar hub would suit me better.
I'm also curious how I can calculate the power requirements of the powerbank (I don't have that either yet). I have a 5th generation iPad and I'd like to connect a Launchpad X, a Korg Microkey air and possibly an audio interface (either zoom H5 or scarlett solo 2nd gen.) to it. I got a 10W power adapter with the iPad and I presume that's the minimum power requirement for the powerbank. Since I want to power up more devices however, that would mean, I'd need more power. Am I on the right track? And if so, how do I figure out, how much? Can there be too much?
awwww, man. i made popcorn for nuthin'?
USB is a quite relaxed standard and the performance you get is what the weakest part of your combination of hosts, hubs, cables, powerbanks and devices can do. The base level is USB 2.0. Everything that goes beyond that must negotiate that with the USB hub/cable/device it is connected to. If your host and a device can do USB 3.2 but the cable is 2.0 then the whole setup will do only 2.0. USB 2.0 means 5V at 0.5A = 2.5 W. USB 3.x supports hight data rates and more amperes. The hub I’m using is 3.1 which supports 5V at 0.9 A = 4.5 W. USB-C PD can go far beyond that up to 20V at 5A = 100W. Anyway, if your powerbank can deliver 10W it would only deliver that power if the device you connect to it has implemented a USB standard that allows that much. If you connect your powerbank to this hub and then connect your 2.0 midi gear then it would deliver only 2.0 = 2.5W. So, don’t worry. A device will only get more juice if all components in the chain can do a more capable standard, otherwise they will fall back to 2.0.
FWIW, the standard Apple power adapter that came with my iPad 6, does not provide enough power to also power a Launchpad X.
@koalatree You can use a USB ammeter to test each of your components and get an idea of the currents they require. Add them up and multiply by 5V to get the total watts. Devices often require some extra current at startup, so you could allow about 50% extra for the components (not for the iPad) to get an idea of total load. Remember that the iPad only requires high current when it's very low on charge
Thank you @krassmann, I really appreciate your help. I must admit though that I'm still not completely sure I follow everything. I'd appreciate comments on the following reasoning: Say I have the same powerbank and hub as you do in the "advanced mobile setup". The powerbank (according to amazon.de) can deliver 18 W of power and I want to connect 3 devices as described above to my iPad (5th gen.). All of the 3 devices seem to be powered up normally via the USB 2.0 standard. The Korg Microkey connects via a USB-B to USB-A cable to my computer's USB 2.0 port and works normally. The same goes for my Scarlett Solo (2nd gen.) audio interface. The same goes for the Launchpad X although this one came with a USB-C to USB-A cable. All of them power up and work properly when connected to a USB 2.0 port on my computer. If I understand correctly that means they each require a maximum of 2.5 W of power and a maximum of 7.5 W in total if all are connected at once. So if the powerbank can deliver 18 W, I subtract 7.5 W (supposing each device uses up all of the available 2.5 W) which means I have 10.5 W left to charge the iPad. I presume that 10 W is not necessarily the minimum I need to charge the iPad even though the power adapter it came with can deliver that much. If I understand correctly, that number tells me the maximum power it can deliver. On a related note: If I understood some of the previous posts in these threads, the devices connected can start to heat up if they don't get the minimum power they require. If (for the sake of argumentation) the above-mentioned 2.5 W is also the minimum power requirement for each of these 3 devices and 10 W is the minimum to normally charge the iPad, that would mean, I couldn't connect any more devices to this hub since 10 W + 3 * 2.5 W = 17.5 W -> I'm left with only 0.5 W and that wouldn't suffice. In your diagram however you have 4 devices connected so that means the sum of their (+ the iPad's) minumum power requirements is either equal to or lower than 18 W and they work properly. Does that make sense?
With all that said: I also tested each of these 3 devices to see if they work with my iPad via my wife's powerbank and via the lightning to USB adapter. I connected the adapter to the iPad, then the powerbank to the lightning input of the adapter and the tested device to the USB input of the adapter. The powerbank has 2 USB outputs and each supposedly delivers 5V and 2A (10 W). The only device that powered up and worked properly was the KORG Microkey Air 2 keyboard. For the other 2, the iPad gave a warning that they require too much power. It's interesting though that when I switched the powerbank for the power adapter (it's stated output is 5.1V, 2.1A and 10 W) and connected it to mains power, all of these devices powered up properly. Would that mean, the powerbank's actual output is not 10 W as stated?
Thank you, but if not strictly necessary, I'd like to avoid buying something I might need only once or twice. That's also the reason for all of my speculations above -> trying to calculate in advance what I really need.
I can confirm that. The standard adapter is really close to the minimum what the iPad draws when under load and charging.
The trick in my advanced mobile setup is that my powerbank has got multiple independent outlets. My iPad Pro is powered by the 18W USB-C PD port and the hub by the USB-A QC port. QC can deliver more power than the USB modes but I don’t know if the hub really benefits from that. At least it’s not in its specs. Moreover I made a mistake: the hub is actually 3.2 which theoretically means it could support USB PD. In the specs it says that hub needs minimum 5V at 0.9A but they don’t say what is the maximum.
I think the powerbank can deliver the maximum of what each outlet supports independently. So, no need to substract the wattage. I think my iPad Pro gets the 18W PD regardless what else is connected to the other ports. The critical path is the hub. If I disconnect the power connection to the powerbank then most devices go off. I have such a USB meter. If I find some time on the weekend I can measure how much W it draws.
Thanks for all your help @krassmann! I'll be happy if you find the time for those measurements but don't stress about it.
Also an interesting observation: amazon.de doesn't ship any powerbank to my country (Slovenia). They do ship the hub we were talking about though. Weird ...
I have a UGREEN USB C hub for my iPad Pro. It’s more affordable than the Satechi, and it has one USB C PD port (can also be used for data transfer), two USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI 4K/2K 60Hz output, and an actual, high quality headphone jack! (3.5mm). UGREEN USB C Hub met HDMI, PD en 3,5 mm Audio Aansluiting Compatibel met iPad Pro iPad Air https://amzn.eu/d/3J8EunE
I once had a dead iPhone. I worked in a factory where i tested circuit boards, so i had all the tools to repair the phone.
Opened the phone, disconnected the battery, and hung up a power supply. Sprayed cooling spray on the board, and immediately a spot defrosted. It was a faulty condensator (internal short circuit), and as a result draining power.
I wasn't able to fix the phone, but possibly a power spike blew up the condensator.
What i learned: Never put your power supply in a wall socket with the phone connected. Connect the phone as last.
Me too! 🙋🏻♂️😂
@koalatree no fried iPad since! 🤞
I’m 99,9% sure it was the Satechi attached-design dongle hub that caused the disasters. Well, that and something in the iPad design that allowed that to happen.
I stick strongly with my “hiccups theory”. Having a single port for power and data, under certain circumstances something crosses paths and shit happens. With a dodgy connector you might have fast, intermittent plug/unplug which messes up the routing. Just like when food goes down the air pipe or when you get hiccups. If this theory is bullshit you’ll have give me a good replacement for it.
I think the Apple dongle is stupidly expensive and makes no sense. I don’t need an hdmi port. It’s bulky and looks silly. But I’m still scared shitless of using anything else.
Seeing that UGREEN hub recommended by @Neo8 gives me shivers. That looks just like the dreadful Satechi. I know it was probably just my unit that was faulty but im never ever going for that “attachment” design, seems more prone to cause hiccups. When you plug/unplug into that kind of hub the iPad port is more likely to wiggle. I’m sort of an expert in iPad destruction, do not try and follow my path 🙃
You mean m******er !! 😂😂😂🤣
When i saw this thread popup my heart raced!.
I got to thinking what would happen if I had another experience like this. I have invested a lot in apps over time, and quitting the iOS thing would mean I’d loose all that investment. Of this happened on Android I’d just switch manufacturer, but we’re stuck here. You can’t choose a model with integrated headphones and you certainly can’t choose a model with a dedicated power input. Apple events are a 1000$ display of WYSIWG (what you see is what you get).
you have no idea how "no way! dis is gonna be gud!" we were
No. It doesn’t wiggle. It comes with an extra magnetic attachment that fills the gap between the usb hub and the side of the iPad Pro. This UGREEN is really stable.