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 Store

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

OP-1 feature discussion thread (no $ talk, please!)

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Comments

  • The OP1 field, SP 404 MK 2 and iPad Pro is a killer combo
    I will wait to see what MPC drops this year

  • edited May 2022

    @DMan the og op-1 is not velocity sensitive. The field isn’t currently but maaaaybe will have it through the accelerometer. That would be exciting. Like sell some stuff i really like to afford it exciting lol. the op-1 is really more than the sum of it’s parts and if you got one there’s a decent chance you’d fall in love with it. Lack of VS is one of the biggest shortcomings but can plug a midi keyboard into it and jam away!

  • Also I think any one is welcome on thi> @DMan said:

    I’m watching a video someone posted above and I hear them say it’s not velocity sensitive? What?!! I never cared for the original but I guess that one was also not velocity sensitive. For something that has a feature that cannot me mentioned that is crazy. Can you plug a MIDI keyboard into the USB? And does it respond to velocity there? That wouldn’t be so bad as poking those tiny keys won’t work for long anyway.

    You can also use a Bluetooth keyboard for velocity sensitive input as well. At super booth the TE rep mentioned that they are trying to come up with an accelerator based pseudo velocity sensitive input.

  • Yes you can plug a keyboard in and record velocity, and they also hinted that this is coming to the Field version in the near future as well.

  • @oldschoolwillie said:
    The OP1 field, SP 404 MK 2 and iPad Pro is a killer combo

    This is a trio I am definitely thinking of sitting in with.

  • The lack of velocity does seem nuts. Maybe it’s too small?

    I’ve been using my OG OP-1 with Drambo this weekend and it’s pretty great. Sync seems solid, and recording Drambo parts to tape works really nicely.

    Doing it in stereo, 32bit, would be even nicer.

    It’s odd that there’s such a lack of videos still. I wonder if they just don’t have the units to spare. If so, then I wonder why they announced now, and not when they’re ready. The optimist in me says that it’s because the OP-Z Field is coming soon, and they wanted to announce the OP-1 first.

  • The OP1field could be the one addition to an ipad only workflow to give enough tactile fun to feel more like a musician than a calculator operator.
    I use an Opz for this at the moment, but its keyboard is so terrible

  • @geesbert said:
    The OP1field could be the one addition to an ipad only workflow to give enough tactile fun to feel more like a musician than a calculator operator.
    I use an Opz for this at the moment, but its keyboard is so terrible

    I agree on the OP-Z keyboard. The good news is, the Drambo sequencer is almost there. Almost!

  • I’ve been using an OP-1 F for a few days and it’s pretty great.

    Much nicer build than the (already great) OG. Feels like an Apple product. The iPhone 5, specifically.

    The speaker is incredible. Totally good enough to use most of the time. i prefer it to headphones.

    New Mother reverb also good, with some dialing in. And the original FX are also sometimes better. CWO is actually useful now (it’s a harmonically pitched delay, apparently, not just a weird robot machine).

    New midi features are solid. Works amazingly well over Bluetooth LE MIDI with the OP-Z. I’ve been using the Z to sequence OP-1 synths and drums, and record them to the tape. You can even map the four encoders of the OP-Z to parameters on the OP-1 for p-locks. Could do with separate channels for midi in and out though.

    Screen is much better. Not OLED, but nicer, and easier to see which tape track you’re using. Also viewable outdoors, even at default 100% brightness (it goes up to 120% I think).

    USB audio interface ability—spotty. Sees my Roland R-07 as a source (stereo mics!), but not my K-Mix.

    Despite being billed as a 32-bit device, it seems like that’s just the tape, and perhaps the internal processing. Samples are still 44.1KHz 16-bit, although stereo. You can load 44.1KHz 24-bit samples and they work fine, but internally-recorded samples are 16-bit only. They sound great though.

    Stereo is amazing. Makes a huge difference. Although some FX are still mono. The delay, for example. A friend suggested that maybe there is a new stereo delay in the works, like the Mother reverb.

    All in all, this thing is fantastic. I’ve had some crashes (still feels like a beta in some places), but this fulfills the promise of the original. Stereo, midi-synced four-track recording, nice keyboard, great IO, literal day-long battery, and the easiest sampler I’ve ever used.

    I have yet to explore it with Drambo, but the stereo recording and solid MIDI makes me think it’s going to be great, especially with a USB-C iPad mini.

  • Thanks for the update, this one is definitely still on my list.

  • Can you use the op-1 field with ipad and monitor what is playing from both op-1 and ipad. I haven’t manage to do that with the op-1 og

  • You can, but it’s not ideal. You have to activate the input monitor, which also makes it easy to accidentally sample the iPad input.

    It’s the same as the OG in this regard

  • @Tarekith said:
    Thanks for the update, this one is definitely still on my list.

    It’s a totally different machine to the original. For me it feels like I finally found a device that fits the way I like to work.

    Plus i finish stuff in Ableton, so some of its shortcoming don’t matter.

  • @mistercharlie said:
    You can, but it’s not ideal. You have to activate the input monitor, which also makes it easy to accidentally sample the iPad input.

    It’s the same as the OG in this regard

    Ok thanks.

  • edited August 2022

    The OP-1 Field goes really nicely with Loopy Pro.

    One OP-1 limitation is that you cannot record the OP-1's effects on an incoming signal. For example, if you listen to the radio, or play a guitar into the line in, and add reverb or delay on the master bus, it sounds great, but the inputs get recorded dry.

    I hooked the Field up to an iPad via USB-C, launched Loopy Pro, and switched off input monitoring (to avoid feedback). LP is set to receive MIDI clock from the OP-1.

    Set up like this, you can use Loopy to capture perfect loops of anything coming out of the OP-1, then record them back to the OP-1's tape. This includes playing a loop from the iPad, through the OP-1's master effect, and recording into another loopy loop.

    It sounds more complicated than it is. In effect, LP adds a bunch of extra tracks to the OP-1, any of which can receive the master out, and therefore the master-effected audio, from the OP-1.

    You have to do a lot of muting of OP-1 tracks, so you only record what you need, but that's easy. Also, I recorded a dry loop of a drum track out and back onto a second track, to check latency. Playing both the original and the new track together, I got mild phasing. I could probably adjust the timing a little, but it's more than close enough.

    Really, really great with an iPad mini!

  • TE added velocity sensitivity to the OP-1 F. Also, pre-tape panning.

    This will be great for internal stuff, but also for using it as a MIDI keyboard controller.

  • Adding velocity to the firmware is huge, no? Wasn't that the main sticking point for so many who were appalled by the cost for such a device?
    Does make you wonder if they couldn't apply the same firmware update to the original OP1. (Do they even sell it anymore?)

  • Wow, I had always assumed that the keyboard was just an array of key switches, like a computer keyboard, and so was incapable of detecting velocity

  • and how many midi cc's again?

  • @Grandbear said:
    Wow, I had always assumed that the keyboard was just an array of key switches, like a computer keyboard, and so was incapable of detecting velocity

    On the original this was the case, did not realize it was different for the Field. Unless this only applies to incoming MIDI?

  • edited November 2022

    @Tarekith said:

    @Grandbear said:
    Wow, I had always assumed that the keyboard was just an array of key switches, like a computer keyboard, and so was incapable of detecting velocity

    On the original this was the case, did not realize it was different for the Field. Unless this only applies to incoming MIDI?

    From what I read elsewhere it is implemented for the integrated keyboard, though it could be using the accelerometer instead of the keys

  • Sounds like a TE thing to do :)

  • I think it uses accelerometers, like GarageBand on the iPad. That’s what Jonas hinted at around launch time. And an Elektronaut tried pressing a key while tapping the side of the OP-1, and it affected the velocity.

    I guess accelerometers are perhaps no less of a way to detect movement than dedicated switches, as long as the velocity curve is good.

  • @mistercharlie said:
    I think it uses accelerometers, like GarageBand on the iPad. That’s what Jonas hinted at around launch time. And an Elektronaut tried pressing a key while tapping the side of the OP-1, and it affected the velocity.

    I guess accelerometers are perhaps no less of a way to detect movement than dedicated switches, as long as the velocity curve is good.

    It's far less consistent than dedicated key switches (btw, the old E-Mu Launchpad did the same!) but probably acceptable fo this kind of ... err ... device ;)

  • @rs2000 I’m looking forward to trying it out this evening.

    On one hand, this is less responsive than dedicated keys. On the other hand, Ableton’s Push 2 has weirdly non-sensitive pads, and those are dedicated.

    I bet the TE method will be good enough for me though. Also stoked to test it paired with the OP-Z

  • I sold a guitar and with a portion of the money I bought an OP-1field. I never had one of the originals so I had no comparison or expectations.

    I am impressed. It sounds beautiful, rich, pristine. And it is the most fun I've had with a piece of gear in...maybe ever. I don't own a lot of gear, I like having just a few nice pieces. I also own an OB-6 and if I had to grab one of them to escape some disaster, it would be a very tough decision. I think the OP-1field might just win, and not only because it's so small. It is well made, a bit heavy, solid, it feels good using it. The screen/graphics are lovely.

    I intend to pair it with my iPad, thanks to @mistercharlie for the suggestion of using it with Loopy Pro, I am going to check that out.

    What I find so far-

    These first two features knocked me out:
    The tape emulations are excellent, the best I've heard. I've owned 3" stereo, 7" 2-track, and 1" 8-track reel to reels, a minidisc machine, a portastudio, and recorded to 2" 16-track and 24-track tape in studios. Teenage Engineering nailed those sounds (the portastudio emulation is of a machine in worse condition than mine was). Very impressive. I will use this box as an effect machine, I plan to run plenty of DAW recorded tracks through these emulations.

    The pitch shifting of samples is so good.

    Also:
    The microphone sounds very nice, as do the converters, so sampling is rewarding.

    The effects are very good, I hope they update the delay.

    The synths sound great, some are more to my taste than others, the new Dimension synth is sweet.

    The drums are good, hard hitting. The finger sequencer is a blast to use with the drums.

    Velocity sensitivity is welcome but not totally smooth, especially with the black "keys".

    The sequencers and LFOs are fun and weird.

    We have the perfect FM stations around here for finding good sample material- a religious station constantly asking for money, a station for avant jazz, another for oldies from the 1940s and 50s, and a pop psychology station where people call in to discuss their problems. I am loving sampling the radio.

    The vocoder is a nice addition and works seamlessly, I will use it.

    This box is deep but totally fun like an amazing puzzle. I haven't yet explored sample slicing or lifting and dropping pieces of tape or dozens of other interesting features. It will take some time to dive into all of it, and I will enjoy every minute.

    It's worth every penny I paid for it.

  • I've been fortunate to own the original OP-1 twice (2nd time I bought it back from the original buyer).

    I loved its form factor and the way it encourages you to play but in the end, the sound quality for me personally wasn't enough. Sold it and bought a synthstrom deluge and was blown away.

    Now when you buy it brand new it comes with a better LED panel as previously it used a hard-to-read LED. Sound quality is amazing, and it's super versatile - can connect it with multiple things and use a sequencer with your iPad (with an extra BT connection).

  • I agree, the Deluge is another fantastic portable music machine. I owned one years ago but eventually sold it. It required some time reading the manual but I got the hang if it. The Arranger view is brilliant. I think that's what it's called- turning patterns into songs. I also feel it's under-rated as a sampler/slicer. And it's great for sequencing other synths.

    The Deluge is a different workflow, but also fun. I get along better with the UI of the OP-1field but it's a matter of preference only.

  • Why did you sell it?

  • @abf said:
    I sold a guitar and with a portion of the money I bought an OP-1field. I never had one of the originals so I had no comparison or expectations.

    I am impressed. It sounds beautiful, rich, pristine. And it is the most fun I've had with a piece of gear in...maybe ever. I don't own a lot of gear, I like having just a few nice pieces. I also own an OB-6 and if I had to grab one of them to escape some disaster, it would be a very tough decision. I think the OP-1field might just win, and not only because it's so small. It is well made, a bit heavy, solid, it feels good using it. The screen/graphics are lovely.

    I intend to pair it with my iPad, thanks to @mistercharlie for the suggestion of using it with Loopy Pro, I am going to check that out.

    What I find so far-

    These first two features knocked me out:
    The tape emulations are excellent, the best I've heard. I've owned 3" stereo, 7" 2-track, and 1" 8-track reel to reels, a minidisc machine, a portastudio, and recorded to 2" 16-track and 24-track tape in studios. Teenage Engineering nailed those sounds (the portastudio emulation is of a machine in worse condition than mine was). Very impressive. I will use this box as an effect machine, I plan to run plenty of DAW recorded tracks through these emulations.

    The pitch shifting of samples is so good.

    Also:
    The microphone sounds very nice, as do the converters, so sampling is rewarding.

    The effects are very good, I hope they update the delay.

    The synths sound great, some are more to my taste than others, the new Dimension synth is sweet.

    The drums are good, hard hitting. The finger sequencer is a blast to use with the drums.

    Velocity sensitivity is welcome but not totally smooth, especially with the black "keys".

    The sequencers and LFOs are fun and weird.

    We have the perfect FM stations around here for finding good sample material- a religious station constantly asking for money, a station for avant jazz, another for oldies from the 1940s and 50s, and a pop psychology station where people call in to discuss their problems. I am loving sampling the radio.

    The vocoder is a nice addition and works seamlessly, I will use it.

    This box is deep but totally fun like an amazing puzzle. I haven't yet explored sample slicing or lifting and dropping pieces of tape or dozens of other interesting features. It will take some time to dive into all of it, and I will enjoy every minute.

    It's worth every penny I paid for it.

    I will not succumb to GAS. I will NOT succumb to GAS. New iPhone Pro Max...1TB...fits in my pocket...phew. GAS averted. 😂

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