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.

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

Getting back into iPad, some guidance needed!

I had an iPad 2 and had some cool apps like Samplr, Patterning, etc. I have recently been getting bored of my PC/DAW setup and I want to get back into iPad music because the apps are great fun and intuitive. I'm also thinking of getting a few hardware synths for the first time to pair with it and maybe a groovebox but I want to start with the iPad.

So I will be recording a bit of external sounds from synths and vocals into iPad and using the iPad to sequence hard synth and iOS synths. I hope that I'll be able to sketch out the songs with an iOS DAW and only go back to PC when I need to master.

I used to make more pop/rock but I think I'll mostly be making electronic, ambient, experimental type of stuff.

I have some questions:

1) My current audio interface, Roland Duo Capture EX, is supposed to work with iPad but it actually doesn't. So I will probably need an iOS-compatible audio interface. If this is also compatible with PC (Windows), it's better because I can use it on both.

I see that the iConnectivity devices are still around but last time I was researching, they had some issues. I see the iConnect4+ model in the local market but don't know if it's obsolete. What do you think is a decent audio interface that works for both iOS and PC?

You know what, just a good interface model will also do. My laptop is aging and I shouldn't plan too far ahead for the PC part, I can just keep it running with the Roland Duo Capture.

2) I'm not an Apple user mainly so I find the models really confusing but as far as I can tell, iPad Air 4 was released in 2020 and is still one of the best price/performance ratios based on a review (I think musicradar). It looks like a new Air model may not arrive until 2022. I plan to get the iPad Air 4 with 256 GB and wifi only. I'm hoping that it can keep me going for several years. Does my judgment here sound good?

3) I have an iRig Pads, Korg Nanokontrol 2, Roli Seaboard Block, and Arturia Keystep but I am thinking of getting a Groovebox like Novation Circuit. It may be redundant with the iPad, I'm not sure. What do you think?

I'm open to any other suggestions. I'm ready to pick up whatever apps are needed for a good workflow, I'm not worried about that. But for the hardware side of things as mentioned above, I really need some opinions.

I'm excited with the prospect of using the iPad as the center-piece of my musical efforts and anything you say to help me get there is much appreciated. Thank you!

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Comments

  • That’s great that you’ll be joining the iOS crowd. I think your iPad 2 is gonna be pretty frustrating, so don’t let that discourage you. The Air4 sounds like a good choice and you retain the headphone jack. A used Pro2 with 512 might also be worth considering, especially if you’ll be doing video.

    Let us know what kind of music you’ll be making. You’ll get plenty of tips. Make sure you stay on top of the app sales thread to keep costs down. What DAW do you have in mind? And then there’s AUM.

    Welcome and good luck. iOS has some drawbacks, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

  • edited August 2021

    @adilsaribay said:

    1) My current audio interface, Roland Duo Capture EX, is supposed to work with iPad but it actually doesn't. So I will probably need an iOS-compatible audio interface. If this is also compatible with PC (Windows), it's better because I can use it on both.

    I have two and they both work great. I have used them on iPad Air, iPad 2017 base and iPad 10.5 Pro 2017

  • edited August 2021

    @adilsaribay said:
    2) I'm not an Apple user mainly so I find the models really confusing but as far as I can tell, iPad Air 4 was released in 2020 and is still one of the best price/performance ratios based on a review (I think musicradar). It looks like a new Air model may not arrive until 2022. I plan to get the iPad Air 4 with 256 GB and wifi only. I'm hoping that it can keep me going for several years. Does my judgment here sound good?

    Here the iPad Pro 11" is only 150$ more than the Air4, has twice the ram and a little more CPU power.

  • edited August 2021

    Hey LinearLineman, Thanks for the encouragement. The iPad 2 is long gone, but maybe my Apple account will help me retain some of the apps I had in it (I don't know, it's only the second iPad I'll be getting).

    I added the style of music, mostly electronic, ambient, experimental stuff.

    I guess Pro 2 refers to the model released in 2017 and discontinued in 2019. I worry enough about planned obsolescence with the 2020 iPad Air 4 so I probably will avoid getting something even older. I won't be doing video anyways.

    I had heard of AUM. I'm sure I can catch up easily with the apps. There's probably lot of reading to do in this forum and youtube videos to watch. Also, one of the reasons I decided to go back to iPad is that a lot of the fun PC plugins have their iOS counterparts but much cheaper. Audiomodern comes to mind. I demo'd their Playbeat in PC recently and got pretty good results but it was not cheap whereas it's definitely affordable in iOS.

  • @AudioGus said:

    @adilsaribay said:
    2) I'm not an Apple user mainly so I find the models really confusing but as far as I can tell, iPad Air 4 was released in 2020 and is still one of the best price/performance ratios based on a review (I think musicradar). It looks like a new Air model may not arrive until 2022. I plan to get the iPad Air 4 with 256 GB and wifi only. I'm hoping that it can keep me going for several years. Does my judgment here sound good?

    Here the iPad Pro 11" is only 150$ more than the Air4, has twice the ram and a little more CPU power.

    Thanks, the models are still pretty confusing but I checked and I see that there is an iPad Pro 3rd generation 11" that is somewhat close in price to the iPad Air 4. What I remember reading from musicradar is that strangely, the iPad Air 4 has a stronger processor than (some model of) Pro. I'm not sure if it's true in this case.

    Also, I haven't really thought about screen size. I don't think I will care too much. My fingers are thin enough and my vision is okay. These two models seem really close in screen size though (10.86 vs. 11) so I guess you recommendation is based on some other strength of the Pro vs. Air.

  • @adilsaribay said:

    @AudioGus said:

    @adilsaribay said:
    2) I'm not an Apple user mainly so I find the models really confusing but as far as I can tell, iPad Air 4 was released in 2020 and is still one of the best price/performance ratios based on a review (I think musicradar). It looks like a new Air model may not arrive until 2022. I plan to get the iPad Air 4 with 256 GB and wifi only. I'm hoping that it can keep me going for several years. Does my judgment here sound good?

    Here the iPad Pro 11" is only 150$ more than the Air4, has twice the ram and a little more CPU power.

    Thanks, the models are still pretty confusing but I checked and I see that there is an iPad Pro 3rd generation 11" that is somewhat close in price to the iPad Air 4. What I remember reading from musicradar is that strangely, the iPad Air 4 has a stronger processor than (some model of) Pro. I'm not sure if it's true in this case.

    Also, I haven't really thought about screen size. I don't think I will care too much. My fingers are thin enough and my vision is okay. These two models seem really close in screen size though (10.86 vs. 11) so I guess you recommendation is based on some other strength of the Pro vs. Air.

    The 11" Pro is better (also 8 months or so newer I think?) in every way than the Air that I can tell. Unless the M1 processor is a turn off. Some devs do need to update their AUs apparently to some new uhhh, AU code thing as the old one seems to cause crackles. I think the devs who care/matter are doing this though. ;)

    But yah, whatever you get do try the Duo Capture on it as mine work great.

  • I really have not much idea about the whole transition to M1. Probably with time, things will work better as apps get updated and now it's a transition phase.

    I had tried and failed to get the Duo Capture working with that old iPad 2. This was the whole reason I actually switched from a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to the Duo Capture and I was pretty upset at Roland. I remember that there were other people who had my problem. But maybe it'll behave this time.

    Thanks!

  • The transition to M1 is much more of a Mac thing, since it was on Intel previously. The iPad simply has the next iteration of what was already there, right?

    I have a 2020 12.9” Pro, and in many ways it doesn’t differ too much from the previous model, which was already plenty fast. (The M1 iPad is probably the bump that we might have wishfully imagined for the 2020 model.)

    The “pro hardware vs mobile OS” gap, as has been noted, is where people are finding themselves a little underwhelmed. I use my iPad for 90% of my computing requirements these days, so I’m certainly not scoffing at it as a toy, but each day there’s still a “WTF, why can’t I do X on this level of hardware” moment or two, and I imagine the annoyance of M1 iPad users must be magnified.

  • @jebni said:
    The transition to M1 is much more of a Mac thing, since it was on Intel previously. The iPad simply has the next iteration of what was already there, right?

    I have a 2020 12.9” Pro, and in many ways it doesn’t differ too much from the previous model, which was already plenty fast. (The M1 iPad is probably the bump that we might have wishfully imagined for the 2020 model.)

    The “pro hardware vs mobile OS” gap, as has been noted, is where people are finding themselves a little underwhelmed. I use my iPad for 90% of my computing requirements these days, so I’m certainly not scoffing at it as a toy, but each day there’s still a “WTF, why can’t I do X on this level of hardware” moment or two, and I imagine the annoyance of M1 iPad users must be magnified.

    Thanks, I didn't know thay M1 happened sooner in iPad vs Mac. That's good.

    Your point about pro-audio sounds important but probably it won't matter too much for me. I have released and do plan to release more music in Spotify etc but I'm not trying to earn money from it and do not have specific audio production requirements. I mostly want to switch to ipad because of the tactile element and more fun/intuitive/cheaper apps. I won't be letting go of the PC setup. That's why I was interested in something like an iconnectivity interface, to integrate the two worlds when/if needed.

    I think I will just be happy using some creative sampling and sequencing apps on the iPad.

  • Look into the Iceworks apps, like LaGrange and Kronecker. Lots of ambient and electronic sounds. Also extra free banks by @Spidericemidas to download. They go on sale often.

  • If you do get a groovebox like Circuit I have had oodles of fun sampling it in Beatmaker3.

  • Get the fastest/newest iPad you can afford.

    Drambo
    Moog synths
    Eventide FX
    Loopy Pro when it’s released

    Use GarageBand for what it’s good for and you’re set for a while.

  • edited August 2021

    @adilsaribay said:
    I really have not much idea about the whole transition to M1. Probably with time, things will work better as apps get updated and now it's a transition phase.

    I had tried and failed to get the Duo Capture working with that old iPad 2. This was the whole reason I actually switched from a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to the Duo Capture and I was pretty upset at Roland. I remember that there were other people who had my problem. But maybe it'll behave this time.

    Thanks!

    I think this is almost certainly the case. IOS 15 is going to allow apps to use more than 4GB, and I think that will only apply to M1s.
    Of course, app developers will probably need to update something to take advantage of this.

  • @atoms said:

    @adilsaribay said:
    I really have not much idea about the whole transition to M1. Probably with time, things will work better as apps get updated and now it's a transition phase.

    I had tried and failed to get the Duo Capture working with that old iPad 2. This was the whole reason I actually switched from a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to the Duo Capture and I was pretty upset at Roland. I remember that there were other people who had my problem. But maybe it'll behave this time.

    Thanks!

    I think this is almost certainly the case. IOS 15 is going to allow apps to use more than 4GB, and I think that will only apply to M1s.
    Of course, app developers will probably need to update something to take advantage of this.

    The thing I worry about, then, is the tension between Apple wanting to abstract the details of specifications away, which I generally support (it’s been a long while since I focused on the numbers) and the very real chasm that exists across the range of mobile devices, especially in terms of RAM.

    With this in mind, what’s going to happen when we move away from the bare minimum expectations on things like background processes that mobile OSes engender? The already existing situation — of apps simply not running on a specific class of device but having no clear way to explain why — is only going to get worse.

  • @LinearLineman said:
    That’s great that you’ll be joining the iOS crowd. I think your iPad 2 is gonna be pretty frustrating, so don’t let that discourage you. The Air4 sounds like a good choice and you retain the headphone jack. A used Pro2 with 512 might also be worth considering, especially if you’ll be doing video.

    Let us know what kind of music you’ll be making. You’ll get plenty of tips. Make sure you stay on top of the app sales thread to keep costs down. What DAW do you have in mind? And then there’s AUM.

    Welcome and good luck. iOS has some drawbacks, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

    There is no headphone jack on the Air4 - but there is on the Air3 👍

  • edited August 2021

    @adilsaribay said:

    I really have not much idea about the whole transition to M1. Probably with time, things will work better as apps get updated and now it's a transition phase.

    In terms of the iPad there is no transition phase to M1.

    The M1 is and always was the same type of processor as any of the A chips in previous iPhones and iPads. It could easily have been called an A14Z. It's only called an M1 for Mac marketing reasons as Macs are transitioning to Apple silicon and it makes people think the processor is a special Mac chip, not the same chip as is in their iPhone. (the M1 has the same cores as the A14 in the iPhone, more RAM and a few extra things that the Mac in particular needs, but will also turn out useful on the iPad in the future).

    So the only transition is on the Mac, where they're going from Intel x86 to Apple Silicon ARM processors.

    iPads have always had ARM chips.

  • @atoms said:

    @adilsaribay said:
    I really have not much idea about the whole transition to M1. Probably with time, things will work better as apps get updated and now it's a transition phase.

    I had tried and failed to get the Duo Capture working with that old iPad 2. This was the whole reason I actually switched from a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to the Duo Capture and I was pretty upset at Roland. I remember that there were other people who had my problem. But maybe it'll behave this time.

    Thanks!

    I think this is almost certainly the case. IOS 15 is going to allow apps to use more than 4GB, and I think that will only apply to M1s.
    Of course, app developers will probably need to update something to take advantage of this.

    To get more than the normal allotted RAM limit on a device, the application has to ask for an "entitlement" when the app is developed and then request the RAM while running. It isn't limited to the M1. It also isn't guaranteed that you will get the RAM. It is also more likely that your app will get signaled from the OS to release the RAM and shut down if you don't.

    It's only going to be useful in a small number of use cases and I haven't seen an audio app yet where it'll really matter. It's also important to remember that on iOS, every AU has its own memory space and the limits apply directly to them. on desktop DAW's, the plugins are mostly running in the same process space as the DAW and they all share the same RAM.

    The larger amount of RAM is nice for sure, but it's the extra two performance cores that are going to enable more pro level creative work on the iPads. It's going to take some time to get there though. Apple uses the iPad Pros to get the capabilities into the hands of developers. Once the Airs and flagship phones are running on four or more performance cores, I'd expect there will be a bigger push for apps to use them.

    Getting an iPad Pro now is useful for future-proofing. When the heavier apps hit in a couple of years, the current iPad Pro will be perfectly capable of running them. For the audio applications that we have now, I'd expect the new Air that'll be released in a month or so will be just as capable as the M1 iPad Pro (maybe even a bit faster if it gets a new generation of performance cores).

  • @NeonSilicon said:

    @atoms said:

    @adilsaribay said:
    I really have not much idea about the whole transition to M1. Probably with time, things will work better as apps get updated and now it's a transition phase.

    I had tried and failed to get the Duo Capture working with that old iPad 2. This was the whole reason I actually switched from a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to the Duo Capture and I was pretty upset at Roland. I remember that there were other people who had my problem. But maybe it'll behave this time.

    Thanks!

    I think this is almost certainly the case. IOS 15 is going to allow apps to use more than 4GB, and I think that will only apply to M1s.
    Of course, app developers will probably need to update something to take advantage of this.

    To get more than the normal allotted RAM . . . the application has to ask for an "entitlement" when the app is developed

    Surely there's a typo in there somewhere. Did you mean "when the app is launched"? Or that the developer has to ask for an entitlement from Apple that is specific to the app being developed?

  • @hes said:

    @NeonSilicon said:

    @atoms said:

    @adilsaribay said:
    I really have not much idea about the whole transition to M1. Probably with time, things will work better as apps get updated and now it's a transition phase.

    I had tried and failed to get the Duo Capture working with that old iPad 2. This was the whole reason I actually switched from a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to the Duo Capture and I was pretty upset at Roland. I remember that there were other people who had my problem. But maybe it'll behave this time.

    Thanks!

    I think this is almost certainly the case. IOS 15 is going to allow apps to use more than 4GB, and I think that will only apply to M1s.
    Of course, app developers will probably need to update something to take advantage of this.

    To get more than the normal allotted RAM . . . the application has to ask for an "entitlement" when the app is developed

    Surely there's a typo in there somewhere. Did you mean "when the app is launched"? Or that the developer has to ask for an entitlement from Apple that is specific to the app being developed?

    Both really. Apple uses the term entitlement to mean any of the things an app may need that aren't normal for an app. An example would be the entitlement you request when you want multiple applications to be able to use a common storage location. The developer requests the entitlement in the property list of the app (which then ends up in the info that the app store has). This entitlement lets the system know that you may request more memory than the normal limit. Even with the entitlement in place, there is no guarantee that you will be given the asked for memory. It depends on the running state of the system. As a dev, you want to do everything you can to not ask for more RAM.

    The Apple developer page for the entitlement is here, https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com_apple_developer_kernel_increased-memory-limit?changes=latest_beta

  • edited August 2021

    I imagine the extra ram may enable me to jump back and forth between BM3 and Procreate or Lumafusion without having to quit out as much, while listening to unbounced sessions, which would be nice.

  • Thanks everyone for the info. I'm not a regular Apple user and have no idea about all this stuff. It's difficult to find one's way but I think I will have boat loads of fun whether I get Air or Pro.

    More critical might be the interface. I hope that my Roland Duo Capture EX will run well this time (it didn't with iPad 2). With a PC, if you don't have a dedicated audio interface, it's useless for any kind of music production (well, not really, but it is). I do not fully understand iPad in this sense. I guess the interface is more critical for really interfacing with a mic or MIDI device, rather than to give the iPad sufficient power to process internal audio, which it already has?

    If the latter is the case, I might buy a MIDI-only device when all I want is to link the iPad to a MIDI device (or even use bluetooth MIDI I guess, but my current device do not have this capability apart from the Roli Seaboard Block I guess) instead of carrying the Roland Duo Capture.

    Also, assuming the iPad I get has USB-C, I guess getting a hub would be good? Any other peripherals I should get? Probably a good case and some sort of stand.

  • As for the Duo Capture I am pretty sure I will pony up for the 11” 512gig Pro this weekend and if so will give it a try with this…

    https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/MUF82AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter

  • @AudioGus said:

    I imagine the extra ram may enable me to jump back and forth between BM3 and Procreate or Lumafusion without having to quit out as much, while listening to unbounced sessions, which would be nice.

    Absolutely and that is where it will be really useful. The additional RAM will enable heavier multi-app workflows that are much more smooth.

  • Although I have an audio interface, MIDI interface and a pile of hardware I do like being able to grab just iPad and headphones and sit on the sofa.

  • @AudioGus said:
    As for the Duo Capture I am pretty sure I will pony up for the 11” 512gig Pro this weekend and if so will give it a try with this…

    https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/MUF82AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter

    Cool, let me know how it works, and thanks for that cool stand link. cheers!

  • @MadGav said:
    Although I have an audio interface, MIDI interface and a pile of hardware I do like being able to grab just iPad and headphones and sit on the sofa.

    So it works just as well without an audio interface if you want to do something complicated like have multiple apps working together via AUM or something? If that's the case, that is really nice and I will just take the iPad alone to wherever I want and go crazy with it. A cafe, a park, nature, etc. What a difference vs. my laptop setup. So liberating! I cannot wait to get into this.

  • @adilsaribay said:
    More critical might be the interface. I hope that my Roland Duo Capture EX will run well this time (it didn't with iPad 2).

    Those pre-lightning iDevices were much more finicky with what worked and what didn’t, nowadays it’s much easier. A powered hub is a good idea because you won’t use the iPad’s own power to run the interface but just make sure you get a hub that’s iPad compatible, not all are.

    With regards to the lack of a headphone jack, you can either use a 10€ usb-c headphone adapter or bluetooth headphones, which have significant lag. But the adapter occupies the usb-c port, so you need a hub if you want to attach a controller. Mobility is always a kind of a catch 22 with Apple.

  • @Stiksi said:

    @adilsaribay said:
    More critical might be the interface. I hope that my Roland Duo Capture EX will run well this time (it didn't with iPad 2).

    Those pre-lightning iDevices were much more finicky with what worked and what didn’t, nowadays it’s much easier. A powered hub is a good idea because you won’t use the iPad’s own power to run the interface but just make sure you get a hub that’s iPad compatible, not all are.

    With regards to the lack of a headphone jack, you can either use a 10€ usb-c headphone adapter or bluetooth headphones, which have significant lag. But the adapter occupies the usb-c port, so you need a hub if you want to attach a controller. Mobility is always a kind of a catch 22 with Apple.

    Thanks, it's pretty bad that there is no headphone jack on some iPads. I am unknowledgeable about the idea of a hub, never had to use one for Win laptops. I will look that up, seems like a pretty crucial peripheral to have.

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