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.
Hopes for iOS music making in 2023!?
As we hurtle towards the end of another weird and horrible year generally, I imagine that we aren’t due many more bombshells regarding iOS music making. There’s only the Bram bos and Hainbach synth as far as I know. This led me to wonder what’s in store for us next year?
Personally I think, thanks to the supply chain crisis and post covid global recession we might have a tiny silver lining… I can see more companies focusing on soft synths and by association iOS apps as they can provide a fair simulation of hardware that is having trouble getting out to people.
I also think that fewer people are willing to invest in hardware when they can get a plug-in for a fraction of the cost. So perhaps we will see a move back inside the box, which can only be good for us mobile tech users. After all what’s more ubiquitous than a phone!? I’ve seen quite a few YouTubers who focus a lot on hardware making more videos about software and that’s encouraging to me.
I know we’ve probably had the golden years of the democratisation of music making thanks to cheap technology, but I also think that there is a good chance that the iOS ecosystem will be interesting enough for plug in makers to port their stuff over. I’m hoping for this anyway. Maybe iOS has reached its peak in terms of being of use to musicians and we won’t see another truly killer app, or dare I say “game changer”. But I can’t help but think that things will be interesting over the next 12 months.
Comments
I also think iOS as a viable music production OS needs some big name artists to champion it, we’ve had Damon Albarn, Flying Lotus and also ahem Jordan Rudess, but I can’t think of any others.
My hopes:
Drambo audio clips and timeline.
Bonus: they fix the undo button
Hoping 2023 is the year we get a timeline in AUM and MIDI loops in Loopy Pro. I’ve given up waiting for Logic Pro on iPad; if it comes it comes, but I’m no longer expecting it. Maybe we’ll get a clip launcher in Cubasis? Dreaming, I know. I will be excited to see what Note looks like a year from now. Can’t honestly identify any real gaps in my plugin collection, but the iOS music devs out there never stop surprising me with cool new synths and effects.
more ram, more storage, and let's dream, balanced audio.
These are exactly the two things I was thinking of.
In more general terms I would like to see more utility apps rather than more synths and sequencers and FX. Apps to help keep things organised which are focussed specifically on iOS music making, batch file renaming, soundfont editors - that sort or thing.
I hope that Drambo continues on its impressive development path, and am happy to buy IAPs to ensure it remains a viable venture for the dev.
Definitely!
Seriously!!! I just bought Drambo last week and the undo button is quite possibly the oddest implementation I’ve ever come across. Especially for an app that is so well thought out otherwise. ONLY for midi sequences? How bizarre.
I am a brand new user so maybe I’m missing something? Hope so!
2023 iPad Pro with 3.5 audio jack!!
😂😂😂😂😂
I hope Korg release more sound packs instead of making all the gadgets available as AUv3 😁
LogicPro for iPad! There I've said it...
And well Gadgets and Korg apps as AUv3's including the KORG Collection 4 and WaveState and OPSix...
...but I would also not be too surprised by 'Roland Cloud for iOS AUV3s'.
(They may even use ZenBeats as a container to host the AUv3's that can be used in with other apps).
But all in all it would be nice with some BIG surprises when it comes to complete DAWs.
I'm happy I've got Logic on the desktop but wouldn't mind being able to run it on my iPad when I'm on the go.
Will this happen? I don't think so...
I'd love to see automation in AUM...
Audio tracks in Nanostudio 2 would be nice too 😆
2023 iPad Pro with 3.5 audio jack.
1 app that actually uses the M2/16GB power I just paid $2000 for or XCode on iPadOS
A couple of extra tracks and increased bar length for Reason Compact.
"Hopes for iOS music making in 2023!?"
That people become satisfied with what they have on iOS. 🤣 Myself included.
Oh yes, and AEM's vocal tune studio thingamabob.
It's in (pre?) development according to @j_liljedahl .
He mentioned it a couple times publicly in the past, but kinda easy to miss. Cheers mate. 
Now that we’re all using Gadget VR, I hope Korg follow up that success by blowing next year’s development budget on Gadget AR filters and an Apple Watch app.
It doesn’t look like it will ever happen, but I’d love a Gadget update with a sample editing utility and audio routing between tracks. Maybe a couple of new gadgets: Kyoto, based on the Electribe SX, and a Kaoss pad multi FX box that takes advantage of the audio routing.
Failing that, perhaps some new sample packs for Fairba… nope, can’t finish that.
Oh yeah, and a proper resampling method.
Midi and panning in Ableton Note, Korg Gadget 3 with a new suite of audio effects and audio tracks, midi clips in Loopy Pro and a proper mixer inside Koala
Just hoping for a daw or groovebox that is both fun to use and capable of detailed production work. Currently seems like you get one or the other
NS2 to be updated with note repeat in Slate and ARP in Obsydian
GREAT!
I would want that every developer that makes music apps have survived and be well
I didn't expect we'd get 3 excellent tape delay emulations, didn't foresee the likes of Scaler and Unfiltered Audio bringing their apps to iOS and had no clue that Riffler was even possible. 2022 has been a damn good year on that front!
My hopes for next year? An iOS Buchla Easel, RNBO allowing people to convert MaxForLive devices into AUv3s and Madrona, Madrona, Madrona!
Atom 2 ‚Automation Update’
Those apps were absolutely unprecedented on iOS. Lo-fi-af is absolutely amazing! I use it for the analogue section, but the other sections are also great on drum loops and such. And I'm still coming to grips with how deep Scaler 2 is.
As a “traditional” songwriter, I’d like either huge improvements to Cubasis to make it more like a desktop experience or something like Logic Pro on the iPad. I flit between a desktop DAW (Studio One + apps like EZ Drummer on tap) when I am at home and Cubasis when I’m away and it’s still night and day in terms of stability and to an even greater extent, ease of workflow.
I absolutely love iOS music making via AUM, Drambo etc which are fantastic, but for the linear songwriting process it would be wonderful to see some big strides of progress.
I would love Madrona or Korg AUv3 but I have close to zero hope for them. I do hope to see a few additions to Drambo (circular buffer/tape loop module, specifically) and maybe a new offerings out of left field, like we just had with Unfiltered Audio. Anything by Bram Bos would probably get an instant purchase from me as well.
PianoTeq
SWAM ensembles
Some heavyweight or desktop-class developpers coming to iOS (iZotop, NI, Spitfire, ...)
Some groundbreaking synths capable of waveform morphing or other weird and crazy things (Soundpaint, ...)
Big update on Garageband
Just another last Waldorf synth
Success, recognition and love (and money) for all our beloved current iOS developpers. May they go on inspiring us.