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.

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Using "Steel Guitar Pro" in Unintended Ways

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Comments

  • Hi @McD and @sujoybose77 … and @yonac ?
    I have GeoShred working about 95% successfully by following your cluster suggestion McD I.e. as per screenshot at bottom…
    I have 6 SGP being fed by 6 SB (StreamByter) being played by 1 GS.
    In GS I am using the standard Midi Out Control but instead of using Multi Channel Mode I am using a modified version of MPE Channel Mode. The modification is to drop the pitch bend down from 48 to 12.
    In this mode by default each string outputs on a different channel,I.e. Low E on 7 down to High e on 2. So each StreamByter takes one channel and moves the PitchBend up to channel 16 as per McD one line script. So the SHP for E would accept data on channels 7 and 16 etc.
    The main change to SGP is to move the Pitchbend Radius up from 2 to 12. I’d have followed your suggestion sujoybose77 and set Note Snapping to its lowest value. The results are pretty good… but …
    Issues are…
    1) It’s all a bit clunky… having 6 SB instances and 6 SGP instances is a pain!
    2) A bug in SGP where you lose control of the volume after a save in AUM (already posted) makes it even worse.
    3) There are some odd artefacts if you slide up to a note, release and then press the same note or a different one. I think something to do with PitchBend triggering again. It’s worse the bigger the initial slide.
    All in all it’s just a bit to cumbersome to use regularly (for me) but I’m not sure if there is a better solution either via scripting or via changes to the app?

  • Sorry, I should have said that if you don’t want PitchBend then playing GS in Guitar or Piano mode (not Slide) straight into one instance of SGP works fine and the sounds are fantastic!

  • McDMcD
    edited July 2022

    Thanks for the test drive and report. I hope someone test Velocity Keyboard and shares their opinion of the results.

    I think @Yonac should consider 2 additional options/products:

    1. add full MPE support to the existing product in an update or IAP
    2. make a "Tapping Guitar" Product that makes tapping the primary fret mode but also detects and responds to slides as a guitar would changing pitch as the fret line is crossed

    We asked for MIDI input to Steel Guitar and they responded with a Pro version. I think they will see stringed instrument products as an untapped market. I hope they consider cello as a potential offering... who we don't have now is effect control of vibrato and slides (with the possible exception of SWAM's products). I should re-visit SWAM using Velocity Keyboard to see if it helps add fine grain control of vibrato.

  • @McD said:
    Thanks for the test drive and report. I hope someone test Velocity Keyboard and shares their opinion of the results.

    I think @Yonac should consider 2 additional options/products:

    1. add full MPE support to the existing product in an update or IAP
    2. make a "Tapping Guitar" Product that makes tapping the primary fret mode but also detects and responds to slides as a guitar would changing pitch as the fret line is crossed

    We asked for MIDI input to Steel Guitar and they responded with a Pro version. I think they will see stringed instrument products as an untapped market. I hope they consider cello as a potential offering... who we don't have now is effect control of vibrato and slides (with the possible exception of SWAM's products). I should re-visit SWAM using Velocity Keyboard to see if it helps add fine grain control of vibrato.

    GeoShred is great for soloing, but I've never found it usable for strumming, despite a guitar fretboard-style layout. I need Yonac to add the ability to create complex solos, or GeoShred to add some way to strum. :)

  • There is another vote for MPE on the Yonac Forum.

    I have added another request for MPE, more attention to strumming as a "guitar" gesture independent of the slide which I think should be a new app or potentially an IAP enhancement.

    I doubt they will commit without doing a proper feasibility assessment and business case of the market.

    Yonac is not afraid to compete on price... I think this category of IOS App, "Guitar Simulation" and NOT just Amp simulation is open for implementation leadership. It's not a trivial use case but Steel Guitar Pro proves they are up to the task of creating a portfolio of apps for this community of users that live outside the synth paradigm.

    What are some good strumming apps that already exist and should be tested with SGP as it exists?

  • edited July 2022

    @McD said:
    There is another vote for MPE on the Yonac Forum.

    I have added another request for MPE, more attention to strumming as a "guitar" gesture independent of the slide which I think should be a new app or potentially an IAP enhancement.

    I doubt they will commit without doing a proper feasibility assessment and business case of the market.

    Yonac is not afraid to compete on price... I think this category of IOS App, "Guitar Simulation" and NOT just Amp simulation is open for implementation leadership. It's not a trivial use case but Steel Guitar Pro proves they are up to the task of creating a portfolio of apps for this community of users that live outside the synth paradigm.

    What are some good strumming apps that already exist and should be tested with SGP as it exists?

    The best strumming app on iOS used to be "Pearl Guitar" until Steel Guitar came along (and Pearl Guitar subsequently fell into disrepair and incompatibility with newer versions of iOS). Pearl Guitar had individual note picking, chords, strumming and the subtle squeaks and creaks which come from playing a real guitar. It was quite impressive. I must've been their only customer, because I've never heard anyone else ever talk about it. It was great until it wasn't, but I used it on a LOT of recordings.

  • Well… If “Pearl Guitar” gave up then there’s no competition left for this “use case” request? Do the Guitars in GarageBand Pro come close? I won’t use it but it might help move the conversation along until someone addresses this gap in the market.

  • edited July 2022

    @McD said:
    Well… If “Pearl Guitar” gave up then there’s no competition left for this “use case” request? Do the Guitars in GarageBand Pro come close? I won’t use it but it might help move the conversation along until someone addresses this gap in the market.

    What the guitars in GarageBand do fairly well is note-bending, but there are limits to this behavior. Strumming is not possible when soloing. You have to switch modes. And Apple also implemented a fairly decent version of velocity sensing so a little variety in volume is possible.

    I think Steel Guitar takes the overall champion’s position. It’s greatest weakness is soloing. I’ve managed to occasionally generate some fast solo string work in Steel Guitar, but that works best when you don’t have to involve the slider too much.

    It’s almost a miracle any of these apps work as well as they do, but when they are employed using their individual strengths, some really convincing guitar work is possible. And I applaud any developer with the intestinal fortitude willing to address these challenges, which are considerable.

  • @NeuM said:

    @McD said:
    Well… If “Pearl Guitar” gave up then there’s no competition left for this “use case” request? Do the Guitars in GarageBand Pro come close? I won’t use it but it might help move the conversation along until someone addresses this gap in the market.

    What the guitars in GarageBand do fairly well is note-bending, but there are limits to this behavior. Strumming is not possible when soloing. You have to switch modes. And Apple also implemented a fairly decent version of velocity sensing so a little variety in volume is possible.

    I think Steel Guitar takes the overall champion’s position. It’s greatest weakness is soloing. I’ve managed to occasionally generate some fast solo string work in Steel Guitar, but that works best when you don’t have to involve the slider too much.

    It’s almost a miracle any of these apps work as well as they do, but when they are employed using their individual strengths, some really convincing guitar work is possible. And I applaud any developer with the intestinal fortitude willing to address these challenges, which are considerable.

    Trust me, I am playing physical Lap Steel Guitar (which has a steel bar) for more than 30 years. But still playing on the same 'lap steel like' glass interface is so difficult that I could hardly do any complex articulations which I can easily do on a physical lap steel guitar.
    I think SGP 'lap steel like' interface is not suited for fast soloing on glass. Rather Geoshred/VKB like isomorphic interface is heaven for soloing but not that good for strumming. Here are some interesting apps I found (more or less) suited for guitar chord strumming:
    a) Guitarism: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/guitarism-pocket-guitar/id409707446
    b) OMGuitar: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/omguitar-with-fx-and-autoplay/id413803615
    c) Echo Guitar Pro: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/echo-guitar-pro/id467568511
    d) Jam Maestro: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jam-maestro-create-guitar-tab/id596628003

    Bringing the two worlds of soloing and strumming together is really a challenging task (especially for the dual playing style while performing live).
    But I think @Yonac SGP has great potential as the other apps I mentioned are not updated and those did not implement MPE.

  • You're always thinkin'. like that about you.

  • @Stochastically said:
    You're always thinkin'. like that about you.

    Thinkin' is good.

  • I wanted to try a solo using Steel Guitar Pro as an MPE target from Velocity Keyboard.
    To do this you run the output of Velocity Keyboard into a Steambyter instance with this line loaded:

    EX = EF

    That routes all Pitch Bends to channel 16.

    The backing track is a loop taken out of Session Band "Acoustic 2" which is a simple broken chord guitar part. The the Steel Guitar comes in with a lot of pitch bends.

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