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.

Sending midi advice. Within DRAMBO.

Hello folks.

I've been messing around with apps and iPad for making music for ages. I've separately been messing around with groove boxes )digitakt, MC101 for a while also. I have decided to try and combine the two and send midi to my boxes from the iPad, instead of fiddling with the mc101s quite fiddly sequencer.

My questions are;

1)Is it possible to send midi to my Roland mc101 from DRAMBO? Like a bass line , and have my MC101 play it?

2) can I send MIDI to my MC101 and also have OTHER channels in DRAMBO producing audio? Like other melody and rhythm tracks? So sending midi and also playing music elsewhere on other tracks?

3) what cables etc do I need to do this? I feel a bit lost as to the technical aspects of this.

Hope these questions made sense. I live the idea of using Drambo to send notes to my mc101 and combining my love for hardware and IOS

Comments

  • Hi @Nasatyuana

    1) Yes, assuming your MC101 has a MIDI In. Just direct the MIDI output from Drambo to your MC101 - it's that simple

    2) Yes. Send one track from Drambo to your MC101, and others to soft synths on your iPad

    3) This is where it gets a bit tricky, and a lot depends on what model iPad you're using. Essentially you need to connect your iPad (either via Lightning, USB-C or possibly Bluetooth) to your MC101. If you've got a Lightning port on your iPad, then Apple's camera connection kit lets you convert that Lightning port to a USB port. From what I've heard, many of the 3rd party equivalents are a bit flaky, so the Apple kit is the way to go. Yes, it seems wildly expensive for what it is...

    If you've got a USB-C port on your iPad, then you can just plug in a USB-C to USB-A cable and use it to connect your iPad to just about any USB hub or device.

    Once you've got USB connectivity from your iPad, one option would be to use a device such as a Zoom U44, connect your iPad to it using a USB connection, then connect the U44's MIDI Out to your MC101.

    Another option may be to track down a USB-to-MIDI cable, and connect your iPad to its USB port. I know USB-to-MIDI adapter cables exist, but I haven't tried one so can't comment on them.

    A final option would be to use a CME Widi plug, which lets you talk Bluetooth to a MIDI device and avoid plugging in anything to your iPad at all. I have one of these; the latency is minimal and it works very well sending from an iPad to a MIDI device over Bluetooth. On the iPad, you install an app, which runs in the background and "sees" the CME Widi plug when it's plugged into a device. Just plug the Widi plug into your MC101s MIDI In and Out ports, then the iPad can see it and talk to it over Bluetooth.

  • @monch1962 Impressive, thorough response. You made me think of a solution to my iPad Pro connectivity with that USB-C to USB-A cable that I need to try.

  • It was an amazing response, thank you very much. This is exactly why this forum is invaluable. A hive of knowledge from very informed and friendly folk!

  • edited July 2022

    Just one little point. You cannot use a USB-C to USB-A cable to connect an iPad to any USB hub or device. The USB-A connector (big, flat, metal box at end) is used by USB slaves to connect to hosts. Here, you need the iPad to be master, so the connector needs to match the host port on the other device. This may be USB-B ("printer connector"), or one of the various mini/micro B connectors, depending on the device. Alternatively, you could use a USB-C dongle with a USB-A port, and connect the other device to it (this is essentially like the Lightning adapter, but made for USB-C).

    Edit: In the case of MC-101, it looks like it requires the USB-B printer connector, so a USB-C to USB-B cable ought to work. You'd need to verify that MC-101 can play MIDI from that port. Check the MC-101 manual.

  • @uncledave said:
    Just one little point. You cannot use a USB-C to USB-A cable to connect an iPad to any USB hub or device. The USB-A connector (big, flat, metal box at end) is used by USB slaves to connect to hosts. Here, you need the iPad to be master, so the connector needs to match the host port on the other device. This may be USB-B ("printer connector"), or one of the various mini/micro B connectors, depending on the device. Alternatively, you could use a USB-C dongle with a USB-A port, and connect the other device to it (this is essentially like the Lightning adapter, but made for USB-C).

    Edit: In the case of MC-101, it looks like it requires the USB-B printer connector, so a USB-C to USB-B cable ought to work. You'd need to verify that MC-101 can play MIDI from that port. Check the MC-101 manual.

    Saved me a lot of time and future posting here! Thanks

  • edited July 2022

    Bluetooth MIDI dongles on the MC-101 and on the Digitakt would be my choice. Low latency and no wires hence no potential ground loops 😊

Sign In or Register to comment.