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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Ambient and Post-Rock guitar effects chains

After lusting over expensive boutique reverb pedals I've been experimenting with creating my own effects chains trying to recreate some of the algorithms in pedals like the Big Sky, Neunaber Immerse, Walrus R1, Empress etc...

The premium reverb pedals have two main tricks up their sleeves: firstly they use really good algorithms, which luckily we can match on iOS, and secondly on the more esoteric effects they add interesting modulations to the reverb.

I've spent a few weeks experimenting with different effects chains and I've come up with what I think are great results - not only emulating existing pedals but also creating new sounds and variations.

So in this first video I walk you through how to create a Chorale-style reverb in AUM (it's one of two different methods I've discovered for achieving this, I'll post the second one at some point).

I'm hoping to also make videos for some of the other effects chains I've made, including a recreation of the Kevin Shields/MBV backwards reverb effect as found all over Loveless.

We're lucky to have such a great range of plugins on the platform, that allow us to create sounds similar to very expensive boutique pedals. I think the Eventide apps in particular are really useful for ambient/post-rock guitarists, as well as some of the excellent reverbs: FAC Alteza, Rymdigare, Blackhole, and Virsyn AudioReverb.

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Comments

  • Thanks so much for sharing this! I never really found much use for QVox so this is something I’m looking forward to experimenting with. I’d love to see what else you come up with!

  • @spiteface said:
    Thanks so much for sharing this! I never really found much use for QVox so this is something I’m looking forward to experimenting with. I’d love to see what else you come up with!

    Thanks! I've definitely got a few more ideas to show. Just listening to pedal demos has opened up a whole world of modulated reverb for me, you can do so much by simply putting various effects in the chain before the reverb: modulation, distortion, glitches, filters, resonators etc... and this allows for an endless amount of different textures, all just from a clean guitar signal.

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  • @d4d0ug said:
    Wow thanks for sharing! I have the basics covered with pedals but it’s silly expensive. have decided to stop buying more pedals and try more on iOS. This is helpful.

    I know what you mean! To be fair I really think FAC Alteza can rival any pedal algorithm.

  • Wow this is epic! Can’t wait for your shared AUM preset setups! Thank you for this!

  • So can you replicate the Mooer ocean machine please :)

  • @richardyot said:

    We're lucky to have such a great range of plugins on the platform, that allow us to create sounds similar to very expensive boutique pedals. I think the Eventide apps in particular are really useful for ambient/post-rock guitarists, as well as some of the excellent reverbs: FAC Alteza, Rymdigare, Blackhole, and Virsyn AudioReverb.

    Absolutely! Totally agree with those choices especially the Eventides.. As a guitarist, Attack Softner is a must have.. such a simple effect but it forces you to play differently.. hear differently..

    I would also include Lunar Lander, OtherDesertCities, Velvet Machine, yaleD, Stratosphere, EOS 2, Discord4.. great ambient playgrounds..

    Thanks for sharing this effect chain.. it sounds fantastic..

  • @BiancaNeve said:
    So can you replicate the Mooer ocean machine please :)

    Any particular algorithm?

  • edited January 2022

    @richardyot if you like “blooper” like pedal effects try using Scatterbrain in you signal chain to get several reverbs and delays going at the same time in patterned effect sequences so they aren’t all on at once.

    Combine than with separate buss sends and some feedback loops you can get some crazy stuff

    Thank you for the very instructional vid

  • @richardyot said:

    @d4d0ug said:
    Wow thanks for sharing! I have the basics covered with pedals but it’s silly expensive. have decided to stop buying more pedals and try more on iOS. This is helpful.

    I know what you mean! To be fair I really think FAC Alteza can rival any pedal algorithm.

    It absolutely can!

  • @audiblevideo said:
    @richardyot if you like “blooper” like pedal effects try using Scatterbrain in you signal chain to get several reverbs and delays going at the same time in patterned effect sequences so they aren’t all on at once.

    Combine than with separate buss sends and some feedback loops you can get some crazy stuff

    Thank you for the very instructional vid

    I might try that - although I've already got some nice glitchy FX chains going with filters and resonators.

  • @richardyot Beautiful! Wow, that’s really inspired me.

  • edited January 2022

    Attached and following especially for the MBV discussion. 🙏🏼💕 nice work @richardyot thanks for sharing 👊🏼™️

  • So here is my stab at the MBV sound. Kevin Shields used an Alesis MIDIVerb 2 using the reverse reverb program on most of Loveless, as well as a Yamaha SPX 90 (also with reverse reverb). He usually recorded the guitar as clean and dry as possible, and then worked on it in post with effects, with the reverse reverb and sometimes fuzz. He even treated acoustic guitars this way.

    Here's some background reading:

    https://tapeop.com/interviews/btg/26/my-bloody-valentine-2/

    https://tapeop.com/tutorials/26/my-bloody-valentine-1/

    And here's my video, effects used are Eventide Blackhole, Eventide Undulator, and Chow Centaur:

  • Pure bliss @richardyot 🙏🏼💕

  • @echoopera said:
    Pure bliss @richardyot 🙏🏼💕

    Thanks! There are a few more in the pipeline.

  • I've been listening to a fair few pedal demos in the name of "research", and Walrus Audio make the best demo videos by far. It's not OT since the thread is about post-rock, and pedals ;)

  • New video: creating interesting reverb modulations:

    This is something that pedals like the Big Sky and Walrus Audio R1 do: add modulations to the wet signal before it hits the reverb. You can get many different textures this way, that really transform the reverb. This could be handy to most musicians, whatever instrument or genre they favour. There is a whole world of possibilities to explore here.

  • New video: creating synth-like pads with a clean guitar signal and a small number of apps:

    Some really beautiful sounds and textures can be created from a clean guitar signal and the right apps. Check it out.

  • I found this video on YT where someone recreates the lead sound in "Only Shallow" using pedals, and gets pretty close:

    Also that video references a Sound On Sound article about the song, which is really interesting. It's amazing the lengths Kevin Shields went to to mangle his guitar sound:

    https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-my-bloody-valentine-only-shallow

  • Another cool video from YT - this video shows some of the alternate tunings and the tremolo arm technique for some MBV songs:

  • This is great, thanks for sharing!

  • Going slightly OT but pretty interesting nonetheless: How Venus In Furs was performed. I liked seeing how the tuning on the guitar really affects the sound and gives it that strange-sounding tonality:

  • @richardyot said:
    Going slightly OT but pretty interesting nonetheless: How Venus In Furs was performed. I liked seeing how the tuning on the guitar really affects the sound and gives it that strange-sounding tonality:

    Here’s a great related video:

  • @richardyot said:
    So here is my stab at the MBV sound. Kevin Shields used an Alesis MIDIVerb 2 using the reverse reverb program on most of Loveless, as well as a Yamaha SPX 90 (also with reverse reverb). He usually recorded the guitar as clean and dry as possible, and then worked on it in post with effects, with the reverse reverb and sometimes fuzz. He even treated acoustic guitars this way.

    Here's some background reading:

    https://tapeop.com/interviews/btg/26/my-bloody-valentine-2/

    https://tapeop.com/tutorials/26/my-bloody-valentine-1/

    And here's my video, effects used are Eventide Blackhole, Eventide Undulator, and Chow Centaur:

    I’ve been hoping for a dedicated reverse reverb. This sounds good.

  • @JeffChasteen said:

    @richardyot said:
    Going slightly OT but pretty interesting nonetheless: How Venus In Furs was performed. I liked seeing how the tuning on the guitar really affects the sound and gives it that strange-sounding tonality:

    Here’s a great related video:

    Thanks, that was good - especially the trick of tuning two strings to the same note. Kevin Shields also did this to get that droning sound, but it was good to hear an actual example of it. I might try this out myself.

    I'm thinking of making a kit guitar so that I have something I can try different tunings on.

  • @richardyot You are a man after my own guitar-shaped heart! ✨

  • @oddSTAR said:
    @richardyot You are a man after my own guitar-shaped heart! ✨

    Thanks! I'll be doing some more experiments in sound design, I'm sure there are plenty more sounds and textures to draw out of the guitar.

  • edited February 2022

    @richardyot
    All of this is really inspiring, and your use of fx is so subtle! And the economy of playing, too. Really great, and I could listen to this all day.

    I remember talking to a producer about bands wanting to sound like My Bloody Valentine. The 90s was kind of the birth of the giant pedalboard and chorus and delay on everything. The producer pointed out the band in question had a drummer who wanted to be Ginger Baker who would never have put up with how tiny his kit would sound in a My Bloody Valentine song. The guitars took up all the space.

  • @ExAsperis99 said:
    I remember talking to a producer about bands wanting to sound like My Bloody Valentine. The 90s was kind of the birth of the giant pedalboard and chorus and delay on everything.

    And the irony of this is that MBV never used chorus, or even delay to my knowledge. They didn't even use regular reverb (just the reverse kind). Kevin Shields has said he doesn't like wet sounds, he likes guitars to be dry and upfront. On Loveless there is hardly any compression, and no reverb on the vocals.

    All this to say really is that what made MBV unique was that Kevin Shields just did his own thing, constantly finding new and unique ways to mangle his sound. They didn't follow any of the expected procedures of the time (hardly any panning of instruments, no compression, no reverb etc), they just forged their own unique sound. So much so that they had to constantly fight against engineers who wanted to do things the conventional way and couldn't accept that what MBV wanted was even possible or viable.

    Other bands have also had this experience, the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Sisters of Mercy were also constantly fighting against engineers and producers trying to "improve" their sound :)

    So while I find it really interesting dissecting these sounds on the records I love, it's not so much about emulating the exact sound, but more about the open-mindedness and creativity that went into creating them.

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