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.
anyone using m-vave chocolate bluetooth controller?
..to midi-control your ios apps? If so, are you having the same connectivity problems I'm having? I thought at first this was a great little controller (4 midi-assignable foot switches), but I've had continuing issues with the unit losing connectivity with my iPad. Sometimes it's after 10 minutes, sometimes after 60, but this consistently happens. I'm using an 2021 iPad Pro, running IOS 15.4.1. I've put the pedal aside and will not be using it again unless I can identify a solution to the problem.
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That looks like a pretty cool little foot switch. I hope you find a solution because that looks real tempting if it can be made to work. TBH, at that price point, I'm not too surprised that it might have quality issues though.
I think I found a solution. If I connect through the Conji app, it's stable and doesn't drop off
I just got one of these, and it seems to disconnect after about 5 minutes. It quickly reconnects, but I need to reselect it in AUM (BT icon on the routing matrix), awkward. I tried Conji with no change in results. I'm using iPad 6 with iPadOS 16.2.
Have you found a reliable solution?
I've noticed that it seems to connect as an HID as well as a MIDI controller (in Manufacturer Mode), because I briefly see a mouse cursor, and my assistive touch Home button vanishes. Now, I know that BT keyboards disconnect when not in active use; the first key wakes them up. I wonder if Choc is somehow doing that, while MIDI requires a continuous connection.
I've made a StreamByter script to get reliable CCs for all of A-F in Manufacturer Mode.
I finally got one. Here's my experience:
Overall, I prefer it over my BlueBoard.
I've been able to use it reliably, but it's necessary to use the settings app go get it out of any of the HID modes. I've used the advanced configuration and have it set to send CC's. It can be configured as an HID device to simulate a typing keyboard, but I wouldn't use it that way for music.
It's interesting that unlike other BLE Midi devices, it requires pairing in iOS Bluetooth settings first before you can use it for BLE Midi. This tripped me up at first.
I haven't had disconnection issues, but I never tried in Manufacturer mode. Maybe I should do some more testing to be sure it doesn't drop connection.
Long time user of M Vave Chocolate, and it have connection issues very often. May be ok at home, but on the gig may lose connection on the second song.
I had one before and also had problems with unstable connections. I took it apart and found that it was a design flaw, the Bluetooth antenna was not positioned properly causing most of the Bluetooth signal to be shielded by the metal housing.
Even when connected instead via USB? (which I would always do live anyway)
Mine has been sitting more than 15 feet away, connected for hours without a single drop. Perhaps I have a newer one that has a better antenna design. Or maybe it's the firmware. You can upgrade the firmware using the settings app. Mine shipped with the latest, so maybe it's a new production run.
Or, it could just be that a home environment has way, way less radio interference. I shudder when I think of trying to use Bluetooth anything in a venue full of phones all with their wifi and bluetooth radios on.
I’m looking for a small, portable midi footswitch to control Loopy. Interested in the Chocolate, great price and I prefer the clicky buttons.
I’d be paranoid to use it with Bluetooth on a live scenario so the USB connection is a must… I’m guessing the reported connection drop-outs only apply to Bluetooth mode. Right?.
@wim would you still recommend it?.
@tahiche this might be of interest to you - surprised not more interest generally when I posted
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/57199/paint-audio-midi-captain-footswitch-is-this-finally-the-one#latest
Yes. I love it. I have to say that I haven't used it a whole lot though. I have however done lengthy connection tests and have never had a single Bluetooth disconnection. I've left it on for more than 12 hours and moved it close, far away, and near other BT and wireless devices without any disruptions. But like you say - if I was in a venue I would always go USB.
I have a suspicion the reports of constant disconnects were from people who mistakenly tried it in Bluetooth typing keyboard mode. That would result in the reported behavior because that's how typing keyboards behave to save battery. Just a theory though.
The configuration software is a bit cryptic and the documentation is poor. But it's not too hard to figure out. The Mac version is a little more friendly than the iOS version, but both work.
What I especially like is you can program long-press behavior onboard. So, rather than having Loopy wait that extra little bit to check for long-press in software, you can configure the switches to send a different CC altogether on long-press.
Thanks for the too!. Looks great but a little pricey… I already have the Line6 floorboard which has plenty buttons, but I wanted something small, portable and cheap…
@wim , I’ll go for the Chocolate, I even like the name. Seems like a win-win.
I’m actually a little discouraged right now. I was planning a little performance and be realized how far I am from being ready to perform live with Loopy…
I need to switch, mute and solo input sources, with monitoring, and record into different colors… It’s a lot harder than I thought… I can manage in a “room” scenario where it’s ok to screw up and I can undo. But for a live use I need it to be spot on. I need to sync the input to record, where it’s going to record and do the “song parts” (play/stop donuts) at the same time, all from the foot controller…
Most obvious choice to do all this consistently would be the timeline… but it scares me!. What if I miss my cue?.
I’m being ambitious, maybe too much. I want to do rythm, bass (octaver), 2 guitars, keyboard (via Midi2guitar) and vocals. With song parts… I was working on playing Flaming Lips “Yoshimi”. I feel like it’s beyond me at this point, need a lot more practice and a setup I know by heart, muscle memory.
Out of curiosity, where did you get yours? It looks like the price jumped since I last looked about 6 months ago. I am curious to give it a try. I see them available at surprisingly different prices at different sites and don’t know if they are all legit.
I’ve just posted about the M Vave USB and 5 pin Bluetooth midi set, these make it possible to control FX Pedals and other USB equipment via midi, there’s a video demonstrating the control of the Zoom MS stomp pedal using these and the Chocolate, but these devices a lot of which are distributed under different names, on inspection are clearly marked M Vave, so it’s very probable the same thing with the Chocolate.
Here’s the video demo using the MS-1 and Chocolate.
I bought it from Walmart.com. Sold by "Save Money", fulfilled by Walmart. $39.99 in May and is the same price now.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/M-VAVE-MIDI-Foot-Controller-Portable-MIDI-Foot-Controller-Pedal-Chocolate-BT-Wireless-MIDI-Controller-Rechargeable-APP-Control-4-Buttons/660980724
ymmv with Walmart for 3rd party goods. I'm always a little hesitant to pull the trigger with them, but in this case it came on time, in good shape ... and was even what I actually ordered.
I searched for the Chocolate on A-Express, and the price seems to be 31 euro for the unit, and about 8 for the extra midi transponder.
Thinking about buying two, one for my Ipad and one for my son who uses Amplitube 5 on his computer. But I did not order yet. It was not clear if I need the extra transponder, or not (I was too lazy to find out....)
The chocolate should connect to the iPad and Computer if it’s a Mac both via Bluetooth but Windows PC’s can be a little more tricky, possibly use the MS-1 usb if the built in Bluetooth isn’t reliable enough.
M Vave Chocolate is £13 from AlliExpress.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005507684382.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.9.4b5f6197032zmg&algo_pvid=c0698039-c0de-43ea-b1b5-6bb3cd979771&aem_p4p_detail=202312090541036842182042604790001284246&algo_exp_id=c0698039-c0de-43ea-b1b5-6bb3cd979771-4&pdp_npi=4@dis!GBP!21.33!10.66!!!26.08!!@2103864c17021292633712786e55c4!12000033766419562!sea!UK!2910609542!&curPageLogUid=IiJbu8um3xOw&search_p4p_id=202312090541036842182042604790001284246_1
okay, thanks, good to know!
And about that AE link, they advertise with the midi transponder first, when you change the photo of the product and choose the unit, the price goes up 30 euro.
Yes I see what you mean about it changing, not sure about that as the description is for the chocolate initially.
yes I searched a bit on AE, looking for a reputable shop to buy and found out the cheapest ones have the midi transponder first in the row with pictures. I guess 30 euro is a fair price for such a device (alone, without the transponder).
I purchased one on eBay for $28. and so far it works great. No dropouts. I did not buy the MS-1 because the BT with the iPad works fine. As someone stated, it did not show up in AUM and other music apps. I needed to connect via iPad Settings - Bluetooth. After I connected it there, it showed up in AUM.
The software Cubesuite is confusing. FYI, it makes changes right away. It is not like other midi software where you send the changes to the device.
FYI to download the Mac software: http://www.cuvave.com/appdownload
@wim Never mind I found it online. (In my previous post I asked you where to find the software. I edited it out.)
http://www.cuvave.com/appdownload
Have others found that they need to connect via system Bluetooth rather than the Bluetooth MIDI panel?
Not exactly "rather than", but "in prior to" in my experience.
Yes. It's unusual in that way. It first needs to be paired in system Bluetooth to get it to show up as a BLE Midi device. You still have to connect it with the regular BLE Midi connect panel though. Just pairing it isn't enough.
I believe this is because it can also be put into HID mode where it sends typing keyboard keystrokes.
If I remember correctly, mine defaulted to HID mode, which confused the heck out of me until I figured out the configuration software (which is rather cryptic until you get the hang of it.)
Oh, and I think this HID mode has caused some to think that it doesn't hold connection reliably. Typing keyboard devices disconnect after an idle period. When in BLE Midi mode and connected through the regular Bluetooth Midi dialog, it stays connected fine.
Thanks for the info. Once it is configured to not use HID mode, does it still require connecting both in regular bluetooth and BLE bluetooth.
Yes. You need to pair it once in regular Bluetooth mode to get it to show up as a BLE Midi device in the regular connection dialog in apps. But after that it behaves like any BLE Midi device.
BTW, one of the things I like the best about the Chocolate is it can be programmed to recognize long-press in the hardware and to send different midi messages for long presses. This is nice for Loopy Pro because it avoids Loopy having to do the long-press detection itself.
Setting this up in the Cube Suite software was a bit confusing for me to figure out. It's in the "Advanced Custom Mode". Short press is referred to as Bank A and long press is Bank B. I'm pretty sure I posted some details elsewhere. I'll try to find the post or will write something up or answer questions if needed.