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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I still like to tinker. And I just can’t seem to quit Drambo
I must admit I'm kind of hitting the wall myself these days, I still have fun with the iPad, but I get more done on in Ableton with less fuss nowadays, I'm loathed to sell the iPad though as it's handy for some external sounds and a bit of scratching here and ther with DJay pro..
I sold my laptop a few years ago. On a desktop computer i was wasting more time solving driver issues instead of making music.
I not had driver issues for many many years. PC or Mac seem to work just fine for me.
Ahhhh...gotcha! Hmmm, and the mighty Drambo doesn't just have a loop recorder?
And also because i lose focus on a pc, because of a the trillion settings you can adjust. I like to keep it simple and manageable.
It has a recorder, which is amazing, and can record in sync. But—just like the Octatrack’s flex buffers—the recordings are not saved with the project. So you have to save them somehow, and it’s a bit of a hassle.
Since 2019 I’ve been looking for a one iPad only continuous live set. I experimented with few options that led me to build “scenes” for Ampify Launchpad.
realized it’s much easier to build and edit the content in Ableton.
Exporting from Ableton to Launchpad app painstakingly made me to decide to perform with Ableton scenes in session view.
I built an Ableton template which simulates a groovebox with different controllers and synchronized few iPads with Ableton link for performance.
I generate beats and melodic and harmonic content on iPad straight into Ableton via optical cable or export a whole sketches from iPad.
So still a lot to improve on that setup but also looking forward for loopy pro update with multi out so I can have the best only one iPad continuous live set.
For me, the iPad is a sequencer for hardware here and there, an effects rack for my microfreak, and a synth here and there.
Koala and Beatmaker 3 get used.
It’s a travel music sketcher movie machine…
That’s about it.
Funny thread, I went in the opposite direction basically from Ableton for everything to Koala/AUM for starting projects. I was searching for a flexible portable midi controller with rack macro controls and this lead me to Touchable Pro, which I never ended up buying after visiting their forum.
Some things are still missing on iPadOS like room simulation / crossfeed plugins, quick key/bpm detection or a SSL G Bus compressor emulation like the Ableton Glue Compressor which works very well for more agressive music. The DDMF tube compressors are nice, but they're more for musical stuff imo.
Didn't want to gum up the Nanostudio Is Dead! No, It's Alive! thread so am linking here. In that thread, @krassmann made an excellent bullet-pointed liste about the almost-but-not-quite-ever-there aspect of iOS daws:
So the debate is Bitwig v. Ableton. Was all set to jump in on Ableton (I have a friend's license on my laptop that I can't port to a new computer). But the Bitwig love is real. And naturally, both daws are on sale — TODAY ONLY! LAST DAY!
Naturally.
I have to, Drambo is pulling me back in.
Goddammit, @mistercharlie! You're the one who inspired this whole thing!
I know! But Drambo is so good. I’m using it to come up with parts, then taking them to Ableton.
It’s really the optimal flow. I do like that when you’re at the Ableton stage there is still the option to use Drambo in there if needed too.
Bitwig if you don't have Ableton. It solves most of Live's shortcomings and does many things better but it lacks Max for Live. I use both.
@Michael_R_Grant was asking in another thread "Sorry for going off topic, but what is it that really appeals to you about Bitwig? I've never tried it!". So let me take it here, also @ExAsperis99 is interested in it. So here is my short(?) write-up of the pros and cons of Bitwig.
In my opinion, Bitwig is the best choice on the desktop for an iOS musician who loves Drambo and/or enjoys the DAWless approach of AUM or ApeMatrix but never found a good solution for audio tracks.
The similarities with Ableton Live
Basically, Bitwig and Ableton Live appear very similar which is not by accident because Bitwig was founded by some ex-Ableton employees. Both have a session view with a clip-based workflow and a timeline workflow which you can even mix or record your clip jam into the timeline. On the iPad I think Zenbeats comes closest to that. Like Ableton, Bitwig has a device chain per track and with device containers you can nest devices and containers as deep as you want.
Where Ableton is better
Ableton has an edge when it comes to sampling and warp algorithms. Ableton has four different clip launcher modes while Bitwig only has a toggle mode. Max4Live is more powerful than The Grid and makes countless modules available to Ableton. Bitwig is initially cheaper but can be more expensive in the long run. While Ableton has a classic pay-for-major-versions model, Bitwig has a pseudo-subscription model where you pay for a one-year update plan that entitles you to get all updates within that year. You can continue to use Bitwig without a plan but then you are stuck with the last version that your expired plan covered. But many users are doing this and buy an upgrade plan when Bitwig adds a new feature that they really want to have. Ableton supports AUv3 and Bitwig does not.
Where Bitwig is better
Very much like Drambo, Bitwig has a virtual modular system that has a lot of CV modules that is called The Grid. It is less powerful than Max4Live (from Ableton) but it is much easier to use. It is a 100% visual editor and it's easy to get something going. it does a lot of automatic connections like Drambo. There is the Poly-Grid for instrument devices, the FX-Grid for audio processing, and the Note-Grid for Midi processing. https://www.bitwig.com/de/the-grid/
Very much like AUM and ApeMatrix you have very flexible routing options. You can virtually connect everything with each other. I would say in this department it is superior to Ableton Live. And where Bitwig really shines is modulation. It comes with a huge amount of modulators and you have an almost infinite degree of freedom in what you can modulate. Adding an LFO or step sequencer to modulate a device parameter is just a few clicks away and is done visually. Probably with Max4Live you can develop stuff to do the same but it's much more difficult to do. Modulation is deeply built into Bitwig. To a large degree, I don't need to automate but I modulate instead. This is a workflow that is very common with AUM and made me instantly feel at home BUT with Bitwig you have the audio tracks you were missing on iOS.
Other things that I love about Bitwig:
Try Bitwig
If you want to try Bitwig there is the 8-Track version: https://www.bitwig.com/de/8-track/ but it is not only limited to 8 tracks, it also misses a lot of devices. https://www.bitwig.com/de/feature-list-8-track/ I've heard that oftentimes you get a license when you kindly ask the support for it. Otherwise, sometimes a license comes with a music magazine: https://zamplersounds.sellfy.store/p/beat-workzone-01-2021/
Update: Added a bullet point about musical values and the online help. This is my personal view and I'm not an Ableton expert, so please correct me when I'm wrong.
Thanks for the write-up, @krassmann. Very useful.
I like your passionate takes on Bitwig. Every time I read something from you about it, I always start looking for excuses to go for it 😁. But whenever I'm on the edge, ready to jump, Logic Pro comes out with yet another major functional update - FOR FREE. Scarily perfect timing. I am not about to put a third horse in the race here, mind you but the fact that for a grand total of cc. 200 units Logic gives you a very decent system to begin with, PLUS unlimited free upgrades for a who knows how long period of time is a rather strong argument, and I think that's the major thing that keeps me back from any alternative.
And I agree, the 8-track trial version of Bitwig is very limited; too limited in my case to motivate me, it's almost the opposite. But Bitwig does look really cool and promising.
@krassmann Minor correction for above - “Ableton supports AUV3” !AUDIO! only - but NOT midifx currently !
So don’t expect your AUV3 sequencers ,arps etc to load - they are not recognised in AU folder .
Yeah, since midi from plugins isn't well supported, there is no priority around this. I emailed them about it during the beta.
Dammit, I am so close to being in this boat too.
I have these completely mysterious incidents of midi not working in AUM. Have tried to solve it with Jonatan, but I think next step would be to start with a virgin iPad and only install stuff I REALLY need.
But right now I will sit down and befriend Bitwig. I will see if I can recreate something that resembles my iPad setup. Will actually be quite interesting to see how that goes, and will allow for making an informed decision in the iPad/Macbook question.
First of all, @krassman, so well argued. You know your stuff, and even rarer, you're a clear writer!
And yet, in the end, I went with Ableton. When I've used it, I've loved it. The big benefit that Bitwig fans promote is its huge modulation abilities. That is where everyone says it outshines the competition, but that sounds like it would be wasted on me. I'm pretty quick to dial in a sound; endless tweaking is not my thing. Plus, it was the release of Note on iOS that rekindled my interest, and I do love the little sketches I've made.
Interesting side note: In a moment of madness I decided, What the hell, toss in a Push 2 while you're at it. But the Push 2 was out of stock? There was no option to pay the sale price and get it when it came back in stock. Which to me says the Push 3 is imminent.
Now I need a new Mac. But that's another tread.
@ervin true, Logic has an unbeatable value for the money. I had the trial installed when I evaluated DAWs on my shiny new MacBook but we did not become friends. I was on a computer music detox for 20 years and then I was iPad only. All major desktop DAWs were new to me. I tried a lot and it clicked with Bitwig, although Ableton was a close contender. You’re right 8-track is too stripped down, it’s missing some of the best features. True, I can be quite a fanboi when it comes to Bitwig 😂 I’ll try to behave.
@RetroNewb thanks for the correction. I didn’t know that but I also didn’t try it.
@LarsDaniel you won‘t regret ist. Both worlds have their pros and cons. The desktop worlds delivers all the features you are missing on the iPad. And the iPad delivers all the spontaneity and immediacy. Now my quest is to combine both. The drawback is just that you now have two rabbit holes and two money sinks. 😂
@ExAsperis99 congratulations for choosing Live. It’s a very cool DAW. I also bought it in November because I had a very good offer 🤦♂️ So, you are not alone burning too much money. There are really cool M4L devices. Regarding Bitwigs modulation, I do not use it so much for sound design with synths. I rather use it for generative stuff, adding some randomness and modulation that replaces what I used to do with automation, like filter sweeps or modulating effects.
also Ableton can do modulation easy attached to midi or CV. its not off the table. I use modulation all the time in Ableton.
push 3 is gonna be awesome, plenty of development time from the last one to make some big improvements.
I don't use my Push 1 enough or at all but I've been wanting an upgrade.
Push is the best hardware I have ever bought in my life. It is joined to my hip when I’m in Ableton.
I think I've finaly hit the wall, I've been, thinking about it for a while but the writing is on the wall for the iPad as far as me making any serious progress with it, just grabbed a new desktop pc to replace my ageing laptop for all the heavy lifting, so I'm selling the iPad to fund it and I'll use the laptop for the sketching with an APC mini mk2, it's been fun and my only regret is spending so much on apps these last four years.. probably would have paid for the desktop 😅