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.
Comments
Loopop overview:
Roland is a bizarre company.
What’s bizarre about those? Looks like they want some of Korgs volca money
A hardware rebirth 338 looks like fun!
Continually repackaging the same tech in new form factors with seemingly arbitrary limitations in each.
The T-8 looks fun for those rare times when I want actual hardware drums, and the 303 bass in it sounds great. Price will be the deciding factor. Up to £150 and I’m in.
They’re £175 each.
Can I please finally just get a compact and/or affordable LinnDrum so I’ll shut up
So many different ways to part with cash.
I’ll stick with Drambo and a pair of controllers.
Affordable at £175? I’d rather get a used Novation Circuit, at least the knobs are bigger.
I haven't watched the Loopop video yet, but I quite like the concept of the E-4 Voice Tweaker.
I'll wait until the Behringer ones come out.
I’ll watch out for a 2nd hand one on fleabay I think.
Yes I think the price is a little hot considering all the menu diving required on the 303 - it looks to me that might spoil the immediacy a bit - and I don’t think it has enough overdrive options. It seems to sit in the middle, not quite one thing or the other. When are they coming out? Does Roland have a big bag of chips?
I’m more interested in the Behringer range too - that Monotribe one looks good.
I’ll wait as well - they will come down in price after a while anyway (Roland Gear usually does) and they will probably be an eBay lookout for me as well - assuming that they can mass produce them.
Hi,
I’m most interested in the blue Juno 1, it looks like a kool way to sequence arp+chords, but there are 2 deal breakers…
Firstly, no built-in speakers, yes I know they’re never great, but 1 of the reasons I love the boutiques, etc, is that you don’t need to have headphones for quick sessions 😺
Secondly, no proper midi in+out connections, if they had a way of connecting via Bluetooth midi that’d be perfect, but AFAIK they don’t
I do love that they use usb-c, are class compliant, & have built in batteries. Finally, in the Sonicstate YouTube vid with David Ahlund, they talk of the possibility of more advanced versions of these Compacts in the future & maybe even an MX-2 mixer…👌🌈🚀
It's definitely about the money. Most companies recycle features or existing tech and resell it in different ways. Synth companies especially. I won't buy these but plenty of people will.
if the J6 doubles as an audio interface for iOS I am all over it!
Boy that guy in the official video looks like he’s having the time of his life!
All these years and I’ll still never get used to djs or synth guys with their head bobs and tics while turning knobs, alternating between seriousness and bounciness. It simply cracks me up and always will.
I'm not alone! I've never been a club or DJ guy so I just assumed I didn't get the scene.
AIRA Compact strikes the perfect balance between portability and power. Each model is small enough to slip into a pocket and features an inviting panel to jump-start the creative flow for immediate results. Onboard lithium-ion batteries provide hours of continuous use per charge, while Roland’s famous build quality will support musical adventures for years to come.
T-8 Beat Machine
The T-8 Beat Machine combines iconic Roland drum and bass sounds in a go-everywhere rhythm factory. Beatmakers can build tracks with legendary sounds from the TR-808, TR-909, and TR-606 drum machines, paired with the shapeshifting low end of the dynamic TB-303 Bass Line. The six-track drum sequencer features the famous TR-REC workflow, enhanced with deep tools like step loop, pattern shift, probability, and others to generate dynamic performances with constantly evolving grooves. The T-8 also provides an authentic TB-303 bass experience, including the tactile power to squeeze, squelch, and mangle sounds in the moment.
J-6 Chord Synthesizer
The J-6 Chord Synthesizer is an endless well of musical inspiration, pairing a powerful chord sequencer with the lavish tones of the renowned Juno-60 synth. Creators don’t need to know chords or theory to make music—they can simply call up one of 100 chords sets and build compelling chord progressions with one-touch presses on the built-in keyboard. Styles and variations are also available to coax dancing lines and rhythmic patterns from chords. Users can quickly string progressions together via step input, tweak the sound with dedicated filter and envelope controls, and add polish with customizable delay and reverb effects.
E-4 Voice Tweaker
The E-4 Voice Tweaker combines advanced voice transformer tools and standard vocal effects with a hands-on interface that’s meant to be played. Performers can go from traditional vocal enhancements to punchy beatboxed grooves to striking alien soundscapes—all in a single tune. Pitch and formant sliders are available to instantly change the vocal gender, create robot voices, and more. Auto Pitch, automatic harmony, and vocoder processors are included, along with reverb, delay, and other effects. There’s also a built-in 24-second looper for capturing performances on the fly, plus a unique Scatter function for slicing and dicing the sound via a dedicated panel knob.
Availability & Pricing
The Roland AIRA Compact series is now available in the U.S. for $199.99 each.
To learn more about the AIRA Compact series, visit https://roland.com
They really needed to come out with a lower price with these. They look great but the price would make me gravitate towards Korg or Behringer still
In RebIrth you have the choice of different drum sounds, e. g. 909 kick vs. 808 kick. The drum sources in the T-8 are fixed. You have no selection between different kick drums, different hi-hats etc. A total disappointment, at least for me. If I had 4-5 sounds per channel to choose from, that would be enough for me.
You have one in GarageBand. Not only the original reproduced ("LinnDrum"), there is also another version called "LinnDrum Tuned Down" for those fat Linn sounds of the 80s.
Ha - that was the first thing I thought too!
Oh that’s a shame…
hahaha
I had the old mc303 groovebox, but it never got quite acidic enough
Yeah, and thousands of samples, but I’ve never had a physical drum machine. I just cannot tap a screen properly without the tactile feel of a button being pressed. It’s practically the last piece of equipment I need to complete my palatial imitation bedroom studio
Ha! That Grand Royal compilation always made me want a Groovebox!
The E-4 looks interesting but for $50 more you can get a VT-4. Hopefully they come out with some different models in the future. Maybe something that hasn't been remade 100x. 🤷🏾♂️
I saw the E-4 and my GAS flared up. Then I remembered I have an sp404mk2 with the exact same effects that I don't use nearly enough 😂
Yeah, they just broke up their looping groove box into smaller units. I’m sure they’ll sell without problems though. As for innovation, don’t see anything groundbreaking here.
The thing is, they have so many amazing products from the past that they could tap into, but they're totally against it.
Imagine a unit like the EF-303 that takes all the landmark aspects of the SP series and puts them in a pedal format. Or maybe just the SP-303 compression - GHz VulfComp as a Boss Waza pedal!
Or a modern Space Echo with actual tape in it...