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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Ibassist and a drummer in Quantiloop, disable count in?
hello Forum,
A new member here, I used to follow the mobile music maker scene closely with my first generation Ipad and the Palmsounds website. Then after a while I lost my interest, but I want to try it again, and the Black Friday discount had set me back on track with a lot of interesting apps.
But right now I have a little problem with Quantiloop Pro.
In Quantiloop I choose Ibassist as the rhythm player. In Ibassist I choose a drummer, for example reggae drummer of funk drummer. With Ableton link there apps respond to start-stop, but Ibassist has a count in.
So when I record a guitar loop, and stop the sound, and start it again, the loop starts and Ibassist is one bar too late, the guitar chords don´t match with the bas notes.
When I turn off abelton link in Ibassist (stand alone) the count in is gone, but start-stop sync with the drummer is lost.
Is there a solution for this problem? Is it possible to give Quantiloop a count in too after a stop and start? I could bounce the bass and drum loop to an audio file, but than my jam is not that dynamic anymore.
Comments
And my problem is solved. In the rhythm section, there is an option for start on play, start on record. Under the on/off button is an hidden menu, and there you can choose count in. With this option enabled you hear a click 4 times and then the loops and ibassist and the drummer start on the same time.
I think this is a very powerfull combination. Just type the notes and chords you want to play in Ibassist, generate a drum beat, and start looping, jamming and soloing. Like a Digitech Trio+ pedal but with much more control.
Thank you @raabje for this thread, your comments are really useful for me. I owned Trio+ then switched to Band In A Box on my PC and then moved to iOS where I'm looking for some app for guitar looping with drums/bg. Neverending story
Could I ask you ... Is the Quantiloop able to save configured Ibassist & drummer all parameters/settings (like common DAW can) or you always have to set them again after loading Quantiloop project?
AUv3-app settings are saved in Quantiloop, but IAA-apps like iBassist are not.
Thank you @Harro . I assume the same condition is valid in other loopers (e.g. Loopy Pro) too, am I right?
@filo01, thanks!
My experience is that Ibassist is bit problematic, when combined with other apps. I stepped up from Quantiloop to Loopy Pro, and I record the incoming bass and drum sound as soon as possible to audio loops. Quantiloop is still a great app, no doubt about that.
And I have to say I use the Lumbeat drummers a lot more than Ibassist these days. I play my own (simple) bass sequences on guitar, with a -1 octave shift pedal.
I do recognise the search to the perfect solution. I also have Band in a Box on my desktop and laptop, and for me that is really a great program to get a music piece going. With Band in a Box I can jump start a new project, good to explore new styles or more complex music pieces. With Loopy Pro I start form scratch and then what I play and record is a lot more basic.
The Ipad has good music apps but the way to control apps for me is still very clunky, when it comes to import and export audio files, and move files between apps. So I gravitate slowly back to my laptop, I have got Amplitube 5 SE for free, and there is a basic multi tracker inside. I export a file from Band in Box, simply drag it into a track lane, and then I can play and record my guitar.
It has nothing to do with the host app. IAA doesn’t have any sort of state-saving mechanism. So, no host can cause iBassist to restore its state. If iBassist supports MIDI program change, you could send a MIDI PC to load a desired project.
@espiegel123 Thank you for your precise explanation, understand now. As old PC user I still feel my lack of knowledge here but it is getting better .. slowly a painfully
@raabje Thank you again! It looks like you have very similar approach to thing like me so please let me ask you for some details.
Why did you do that? I'm still hesitating what (from these two) would be better option for me. What advantages has the Loopy Pro for you?
My ideal looper scenario for iOS is to tap drum rhythm to track/donut1 then record bass (guitar+octaver) to track/donut2 and optionally record some MIDI instrument (piano, strings) and rhythm guitar into track/donut3-4. Finally play/practice with my guitar into this.
But I have no idea now how to arrange this solution to be as simple as possible and also have chance to save whole setup for future using. For what I've understand from @espiegel123 post above I definitely need AUv3 for drum app (which one?) and keys (solved, Numa Player).
I still gravitating to some all-in-one solution where looper will be a host for AUv3 I need and saving looper's project will save everything.
Loopy Pro is much more modulair, and has advanced recording possibilities. You can have much more than 4 tracks running.
What I like is that for example when a drum loop is 8 bar, you set recording to 8 bar interval. The drum loop is running, and then I press record on time, at (for example) bar 2, and then I have my hands free and I have time to go back to my guitar, and I am ready for the recording. And it is possible to cycle the recordings, so after an 8 bar recording, the next one starts in a new donut. @espiegel123 can explain this much better than I can.
And the recording of Lumbeat drummers in Loopy is totally sample accurate, I could not do this in Cubasis.
When you collect more AUv3 fx and instruments there is much more possible in the signal routing in Loopy Pro.
But again Quantiloop is also a good app, it is more the digital version of a looper pedal of station.
For drum sounds, the Beat Hawk app with the acoustic drums IAP is recommended.
What doesn't work for me is mixing devices with each other. I have Trio+, Zoom R8 recorder, laptop with Band in a Box, Ipad with Loopy, I have to use them by themself, as a sandbox, not together, than I have more problems to solve instead of playing guitar.
@raabje Thank you very much for your workflow description, comments and BeatHawk hint as well!
I'm pretty sure now my first iOS looper will be Loopy Pro :-)
But keep in mind, you cannot sequence instruments in Loopy Pro directly, you need an AUv3 sequencer app. I have not done that yet. It is possible but it might not be easy to set up. There are topics about this subject on the forum. I think you can sequence little midi clips and bounce this to audio, but not a whole linear time line (?).
Maybe it is more easy to record some stuff in Loopy Pro stand alone mode, and then open a DAW like Cubasis, and use Loopy Pro as a AUv3 instrument inside, along other instruments. Or use Loopy Pro in AUM.
@raabje : it is pretty easy to use a midi sequencer auv3 in loopy pro. Drambo, LK, midi Tape Recorder and Atom 2 all have their fans.
@raabje Thanks. I would like to tap my drum pattern by fingers in drum app. I guess I will do it in the same way as this guy with HouseMark I piano here
@espiegel123 , thanks for the explanation, I have not yet tried it. I do have LK, Atom 2, Helium, but I thought, if I need to record some keys, or piano, I can play it live in Loopy Pro, unsequenced. And redo it a couple of times before it is right. I have to admit I did not come to this point.
@filo1 , indeed with finger drumming and recording keys live, you can get pretty far. Maybe it is even better if you can play it with a nice groove. I use the Lumbeat drummers to record a beat, mostly because they generate a nice fill, and the groove and complexity of a pattern can be adjusted pretty easy. So I record an 8 bar loop with lower complexity for the "verse", and the same pattern with higher complexity for "chorus". And maybe something in between. And that is my drum loop material for my project in Loopy Pro.
I use Sitala to finger drum drum parts. I usually record the audio directly into clips though I occasionally use Drambo for recording midi loops within loopy.
By the way, Loopy’s retrospective recording is a good way to play until you get something right. You can play and record what you just played when you get a take you like.
Drambo is my preferred sequencer in Loopy Pro. I can't really explain why, it just works well for me, that's all.
That said, my most effective template has four one-shot drum samples (kick, snare, closed hat, open hat) right there next to the clips. More often than not, I just do my finger drumming direct to clips right there - no plugins to mess with (though I do sometimes change out the samples). I actually find that being freed from feeling like I want to constantly edit midi drum parts has boosted both my chops and my creativity hugely.
But, that tempo also has drambo already loaded and ready for midi duties if I feel like starting with sequencing instead. It also has my typical guitar FX chain sitting idled and waiting if I decide to bust out the guitar.