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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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Helium - step mode … step forward without note (or chord)
After a number of disappointing attempts, I finally have found a very useful AUv3 -sequencer for me: Helium. Rather complex direct-recordings possible, but also step-recording, which accepts chords! Excellent!
It would be very helpful if there was a way to forward steps without entering notes from an input keyboard (pauses). E.g. via a controller (sustain pedal, pitch bend...). At the moment I'm doing this with an (annoying) workaround: I enter a not-used-midi-note in a not-used-range. At the end I have to delete manually these notes.
Paul, is there any chance that this feature will find a way into helium? Thanks
Comments
You will want to contact Paul via Facebook as it's the most effective way to reach him.
I figured out a way to do this a couple months ago but I need to recreate it again before I explain what I did. But it definitely wasn’t as annoying as your current solution. I only remember having to assign many loop starts to the Remote Transport snapshots( one for each preferred grid note resolution). But I couldn’t figure out a way to copy and paste to another section without touching the screen, which is why I think I ditched that method.
Or the workaround may have involved having to toggle the Remote off after you’ve jumped to desired step in order to enable record—all no problem and I achieved it remotely— but the problem with that is MIDI thru gets automatically disabled once Remote Transport is toggled off, and it will remain off when toggled back on. Again, having to touch the screen.
But Helium is fantastic, I still use it differently.
I just pulled it up, and noticed that if you are in Step Record mode, pressing play will advance the step. Do you have a way to set up a pedal to send a CC to Helium to trigger Play? Disclaimer: As I established in the mLFO thread, I am having a hell of a time learning CC-anything (just started) but I think this could work.
Also, recently downloaded Helium and it has done wonders for my efficiency. Great app.
When pressing Play in AUM, the playhead continously starts running, even in step mode. Then I tried to send a single „0xFA“ (midi message ‚Start‘) via Bram Bros’ Mozaic. No effect.
If I get a midi code which does a step forward in Helium, I could trigger Mozaik with a sustain pedal and let Mozaic pass any „forward message“ . That would be great.
hmm… I killed my facebook account some years ago (I could not stand their agressive strategies). Not planning to reactivate it. I found no other way for reaching 4pockets support (no 4pockets-contact or Email from Paul). So I had to go this way…
sounds complicated! I just went through the Remote description in Helium help. Seems not really suitable for building a „pause“- trigger. If there is a suitable „forward“ -solution with Heliums Remote feature and you can describe how … would be great!
I tried, but can not rebuilt your solution. Helium seems only to accept host (AUM) transport commands. And if it comes from AUM, play will start continous play and not only one step (also when Helium in step record mode). Sending any transport commands via Midi to Helium (as desribed in my previous post via Mozaic) seems to be ignored.
I now found a way, which comes a bit closer: I use the AUM midi control panel. By assigning there a midi note or a midi CC to „next bar“, I can step forward without recording a note. Unfurtunately, this works only with full bars, not with quaters (or even grid adjusted) . Limited workaround could be to set AUM time signature to 1/4 (leaving Heliums time sig. at origin, e.g. 4/4). Then each push of the „forward“-midi note makes AUM to push the play-bar one quater further. Not extremly elegant, but for input of chords in quater note grid it works. Half a solution…
Again: Paul… can you help for a full „pause“-solution (grid oriented, as your note input)? Not everyone wants to (step-)record melodies without pauses inside…(maybe composers of irish session tunes 😉) .
If you use YouTube, I believe Paul is usually very active in the comments of his manymanymanymany videos.
If you set the > @Joha said:
If you set the recording mode to Step Recording (long press Record), and have Record enabled then notes are entered into Helium via MIDI as you rightly pointed out. Since you are in a none play state we can press PLAY to advance the cursor by whatever GRID setting is currently set. I think this is what you are looking for.
Thanks for reply, Paul.
ok, I got that. But I was looking for a way to control note-rests from an external keyboard, without having to hit the little play-triangle somewhere on the iPad with my finger. If the play button could also be triggered remotely via midi, that would also be fine. Then I can use the method you described externally. I can then translate e.g. a sustain pedal to any midi code that Helium understands to trigger the play button. Already checked it with 0xFA (system real time "start"), but Helium doesn't react.
Is there a way to trigger the play button via a midi command?