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.
Quanta, iDensity, Borderlands?
Looking at these and wondering what people’s thoughts are on them. Sure they all do things slightly differently so have their own strengths but if you had to use one, which on and why?
Yeah, I know, but all three.
Cannot at mo.
Yeah, I know, what do you want to achieve?
Don’t know really it’s a bit experimental :-)
I know comparisons are not always helpful and subjective but still interested in your experience/opinion.
Thanks
Comments
I don’t have quanta yet, but I will...
Idensity is great. I prefer it as IAA because of the 6 slots. I tend to use granular synths for scrubbing through audio rather than creating a keyboard patch and you can get very experimental with idensity.
Saying that, I’d go for Borderlands first because it is a thing of beauty. It took me a while to dig deep into it and get the best out of the various controls but there is plenty that you can do with it. The rhythmic setting is very cool.
If you get Borderlands first then you won’t feel as bad throwing an extra 7.99 at idensity...
Borderlands for creating evolving soundscapes, Quanta or FRMS for playing.
I prefer Quanta for sound design but FRMS has great preset packs.
@rud thank you, that helps 🙏
Thanks all
You're considering iDensity, but what about iPulsaret?
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ipulsaret/id565880268#?platform=ipad
iDensity (and Borderlands) are more like experimental sound labs imho, whereas iPulsaret (and Quanta) are relatively conventional synths, with granular oscillators.
SpaceCraft is worth a consideration if not already on your radar.
It’s super playable.
I echo others opinions on the other 3.
I agree. Spacecraft then Borderlands for me.
Keep in mind that both iDensity and Borderlands can be used as fx, as they can granulate real time audio. Quanta only does samples.
Anyway, these 3 are about as different as granular apps can be. All are well worth owning imo.
Granular from Burns Audio included in the Spectrum bundle
is another granular app that's worth a mention.
Just to confuse matters even further 😀, Tardigrain is pretty good.
spacecraft is my fav granular!
If I could only have one out of the three choices, it would have to be Borderlands for that brilliant touchscreen experience (just like TC-11, fingers all over the screen to play it). Great for live performance explorations. Slide the nodes over the waveforms or slide the waveforms over the nodes. Stick them anywhere, stack them up, tune up multiple nodes over the same portion of sound to make chords....
It was even updated in the past to allow recording of movements. Set a performance going then jam something else over the top.
Endless fun and very relaxing just getting lost fingering your surface...a lot.
Borderlands is so different from the other apps, I think they are worth considering as not in competition with them. I recommend both reading in the archives here(you will find lots of opinions on this topic) and check out videos of the apps to see which of them appeals to you. Like SamplR, Bordelands is an instrument unto itself , designed as a touch instrument. That is its great strength , but for some people is a turn-off...as it requires some time getting to know it and practicing/exploring.
Here you have 2 more to compare 😆
I'd say that they are really different, it depends on what do you want to achieve.
Quanta is THE granular synth when it comes to something pitched, iDensity is the very first I've got and I loove it, it's like a granular mad scientist lab, and as mentioned above you get the ability to use IAA/Au in the standalone version and a really cool sample-player-ish audio unit.. and Borderlands it's a huge thing on it's own because its beautiful interface and concept, more for ambient and experimentation.
Borderlands and Spacecraft are the most fun. Quanta and iPulsaret are the most conventional. Quanta uses up all my cpu though, so I rarely open it and don’t know it well.
Seeing that the Bleass apps are on sale, does Bleass Granulizer add anything unique? I think I have all the other granular apps.
It’s more of an fx app that you add to an existing sound source. It’s not a standalone synth like the others.
Thank you.
Bleass Granulizer is like an audio Re/de composer. Its super for adding motion, texture, and harmonies (or cacophony) to your existing audio stream.