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.
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It’s a setting in preferences that allows you to use the slide bar and tap in the area off the bar with a second finger for muting. It takes a little practice to get it right. But you get a much more realistic performance by doing this.
Super nice!
All I'm missing is the ability to move the slide via AU parameter control and/or MIDI CC. Using pitch bend just ain't doing it for me. I really, really, really hope this comes.
You know, from my perspective the only big thing that’s missing now would be a macOS version which could be used both as a standalone (and played used IDAM with an iPad or iPhone connected) and as an Audio Unit in GarageBand or Logic Pro. But the iPad version now is just great.
If the slide can ever be effectively controlled by midi then I'm going to build a ribbon controller for it. It will be cheap and easy to build. I think I can even make it so there's tactile feedback for where the frets are.
If you do, consider selling them here. I think you’d get quite a few buyers.
I was thinking that too. Not because I think I'd make any money from it, but I think people would want them. Oh well, I'm not starting up another custom controller project until there's a definite use for it. Got enough of those "cool idea" suckers sitting around the house already. 😂
Why this thing that to me seems so hugely obvious is missing from SGP is really puzzling to me. I'm not exactly complaining as I love the app - it's just that I don't get it. I hope it's just a matter of time, not some fundamental problem that I'm overlooking.
Dope. Thanks
Isn’t pitch bend MIDI? You could map a ribbon control to PB on channel 16. The app outputs and accepts PB’s on channels 2-5 as well so they can have a protocol that relays those tilting events but 16 seems to work for PB’ so I use a StreamByter script to switch them from any to 16:
EX = EF
I’m not sure why they don’t accept channel 1 with the external controllers notes and also CC 64 (sustain pedal). You have to use a Mozaic script to emulate a sustain pedal by deferring note offs until the pedal is raised. Bryan wrote and posted one to patchstorage.
Yes, Pitch Bend is MIDI, and it's a good MIDI message to use for this because of the finer control, but it isn't the same thing really as moving the slide bar as far as I understand it.
Maybe I'll do some experimenting with converting pitch bend to cc and see if decent results can be had.
Got to get to work on some new presets now...
This may be a Stupid question but do these MIDI specifications mean it’s possible for me to put what I’ve recorded on the app onto say Logic Pro? Thanks
Logic Pro works on Macs.
Steel Guitar Pro runs on IOS.
Are you asking if you can route the MIDI out of Steel Guitar Pro into Logic Pro for recording?
And then send that MIDI stream back to Steel Guitar Pro for playback?
I'd imagine this will work using Apple IDAM or an external box to forward the MIDI streams bi-directionally.
I’ve requested from Yonac some kind of functionally limited Steel Guitar AU player for macOS, which would be ideal as a way of getting our Steel Guitar iOS tracks onto desktop. Steel Guitar has been my favorite iOS app for nearly a decade and now the lack of some kind of container/player on desktop is forcing me to use alternatives which are not as flexible or realistic.
Does it work as a touch instrument in garageband? I actually really like the electric bass in GB (paired with tonebridge) but the guitars sound like baked ass mostly even with tonebridge -_-
just record the audio!
That’s brilliant
Yonac went through the effort to transition Steel Guitar from an IAA-only app to an Audio Unit based one. IAA is slowly going away in GarageBand. It’s only logical that the work already done by Yonac will now extend to the desktop.
Why is it "only logical"?
If it was my time, and my time meant money, I'm not sure that I would feel it was worth it.
You're going to have to trust me on this one. And if you don't, I'm OK with that too.
Huh. Interesting response to a question "why is it only logical?"
Trust you that it's "only logical?" You've given me no reason to. And there's no reason I should expect you to if you don't feel like it. It was a sincere question though. I wanted to see if I was missing something. We'll just leave it at me not trusting you on that score. 😉
Trust you that it'll come to desktop? If that's what you're saying I'll assume you have inside knowledge that it's going to happen, which is cool. 👍🏼
I can say no more.
I really appreciate you bringing Steel Guitar PRO by Yonac Inc. to our attention! It's evident that this app is a game-changer for guitar enthusiasts, offering an innovative and immersive experience. The control surface seems intuitive and expressive, allowing for a truly interactive approach to playing.
The diverse selection of guitar models, amps, and FX processing is remarkable. The fact that you can customize tuning, experiment with various pedal combinations, and even use MIDI for control adds a layer of creativity that guitarists would undoubtedly love to explore.
If you're keen on discovering more about enhancing your guitar playing experience, you might want to check out the blog discussing the best guitar picks for acoustic playing. Finding the perfect pick can greatly influence your acoustic performance.
I love it. Only Steel Guitar PRO and the now defunct app known as "Pearl Guitar" for iPad (it hasn't been updated in years) were credible enough to use on tracks in GarageBand or Logic for iPadOS. Now there is only one. Steel Guitar PRO.
how do you record MIDI from Steel Guitar Pro? In AUM, it is possible with the Helium AU, but when playing back the recording, the pitch data of the notes aren’t there (only note on/off, no pitch). In Auria Pro, it does not record.
It appears that both DAWs aren’t suitable for this task. What DAW would you recommend?
Midi tape recorder.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/midi-tape-recorder/id1598618004
good idea, it does record fine. However, the exported MIDI file does not play back well in Auria Pro. It is really now the time for me to buy Cubasis (luckily it is half the price at the moment).
After several hours of experimenting with different apps and combinations, I see that my Gibson Bros slide guitar project can finally start to develop.
Thanks a lot, @sujoybose77.
Cubasis is really good but I’d also recommend looking into Zenbeats.
You are welcome. Can you throw some light on "Gibson Bros slide guitar project" ?
track 5 of their 1987 album “Big Pine Boogie”. With Yonac‘s Steel Guitar app, the guitar part is quite easy to play, but it’s IAA, and may crash the host app. That’s my experience, so I updated to the new Pro version with AU plugin, which works flawlessly. And with Cubasis 3 it works out of the box, so to speak. MIDI data from Steel Guitar Pro records directly to the MIDI track. No need to use other AU plugins or hosts, no need to export/import MIDI anymore. What a relief! As a long time Cubase owner on PC, I know that Steinberg is king in MIDI. Which is also true for their iPad app, Cubasis. I should have known earlier, but in general I use what I have (not having an unrestricted budget for my hobbies like music production). Auria is a great DAW, I’ve used it since the early days, and didn’t want to spend money on something I already paid for - but for MIDI, eh, Auria isn’t up to the task. Recent experiments with a wind controller (Re.corder) showed the flaws of Auria’s limitations concerning MIDI as well.
However, while the specific guitar part is easy to play with Steel Guitar Pro, it is necessary to edit the MIDI data after recording. While sliding, the slide/pitch data isn’t always right. To a lesser extent, the same with the strum/note data. In the end it gets more complex to get it right in post production. First, one has to do a good performance. Repeat, delete, repeat, delete, etc. The second stage is about fine-tuning pitch bend and notes.
I’m very happy to have all the necessary tools available now, finally. A slide guitar app that is up to date, and a DAW that can manage any challenge concerning MIDI data.
The Gibson Brothers (Gibson Bros, or the names of their LP’s, might be the better search term, as there are two or more other groups of the same name - one Disco music, and one Hillbilly) are one of a kind. They played straight rock after the golden age of r’n’r (1950-1960), in the 80’s, similar to the Sting Rays. They were support acts of The Cramps and Nick Cave, but never went above. Which is, in a way, a good thing. They played good, true, rock music. And kept on in various other short-lived projects. Never got commercialised.
I appreciate (but not really love to listen to) Nick Cave, and The Cramps. But the Gibson Brothers are - for me - the real driving force. Something like the early Beatles. Raw. Straight to the point. I also recommend the Sting Rays. Post Rock, post Punk.
An interesting fact is, that they used three electric guitars, no bass guitar. Indeed there is no bass ‘foundation’ in this album I mentioned. Against the rules. Against the mainstream. Against popularity and success. Just pure r’n’r.