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.
Audulus 4 Released, now Freemium - Ask Us Anything!
Greetings Audiobus Users!
My name is Mark Boyd, and I created the new Audulus 4 Module Library with my colleague Jerry Smith. I also write the documentation for Audulus and create tutorials.
Audulus is a modular synthesizer visual programming environment with a Universal license for macOS and iPadOS. It was created by Taylor Holliday, with engineering help from Bas Alphenaar and Mike Lee, and the new UI redesign by Hannes Pasqualini of Papernoise.
Download it here for free now:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/audulus-4/id1592022030
Audulus is now freemium, meaning you can download and use Audulus patches, but you cannot add modules, look inside modules, or create new patches without a $19.99 USD IAP.
The great thing about the freemium version is that you can work your way through all of the tutorials I'm posting over at our forum and learn a lot not just about Audulus but about synthesis and sound design.
I'm here to answer any and all questions you have about Audulus.
If you in the past thought Audulus was too difficult to learn, you might find Audulus 4 a lot easier to use after following these easy step-by-step tutorials. The best part is you don't have to buy Audulus before you work through enough tutorials that you decide it's right for you.
Audulus Discord
https://discord.gg/aPkQtDWfUP
Audulus Forum
https://forum.audulus.com
Audulus Documentation
http://docs.audulus.com
note: Modules are documented in-app (for now - I will get around to putting up documentation on the above website as well sometime next month)
Social Media
http://youtube.com/audulus
https://twitter.com/audulus
[email protected]
http://instagram.com/audulus
Module Library Tutorial + Video Series
This series is already 1h11m of material that will get you up and running with the new Audulus Module Library.
https://forum.audulus.com/t/module-library-tutorial/3129
Node Tutorials
Every single node in Audulus documented! You have examples to get you started using every single node. Eventually, like the tutorial series above, I will make a short video for each node as well.
https://forum.audulus.com/t/node-tutorial-patches/3132
Wired Up with Mark
This is a long-form build series that I'll be doing where I just whip up a patch and tweak some things, talking about what I'm doing as I go.
https://forum.audulus.com/t/wired-up-with-mark/3166
Comments
Great posting, thanks!
Audulus looks awesome, but is it possible to add support for MacOs 12?
Right now we're requiring 13 to get around an Apple bug that interferes with how screenshot are generated. If Apple fixes the bug or we find a way around it, we'll lower the requirements. Same goes for iOS.
Thank you - documentation is definitely what I wanted to see, and I’m sure it’s going to be really helpful to others too.
I appreciate that. I know Audulus has been super powerful since 3, and it's even more so now. You can actually code inside of Audulus using Lua and GLSL Shaders!
All of this needs to have extensive documentation and video tutorials, all of which I'm committed to doing for the community over the coming years.
I also hope some other people can pick up the baton, especially for GLSL Shaders, which I'm certainly not learned in, to show off their skills and help others (include me!) use them.
Below are two screenshots of the Lua coding done to create some of the cooler patches that Jerry made - looking at what he was doing taught me how to (begin) to code with Lua.
The first one creates one ring of the Buchla 252e-like sequencer in one of the example patches, and the second one is the code for the visual aspect of an XY touch pad where you can change the surface to different quantized scales.
$19.99 USD IAP IS SUPER FAIR for universal and for functionality
Thank you so much! I think people are getting a really great deal as well. Hours and hours of tutorial content, 189 and counting modules with more on the way, this will be a heavily updated and improved app over its lifetime, and I'm a huge believer in it, starting as a user back in the early days of Audulus 2.
Here's a couple screenshots showing a selection of modules and tiles. Tiles are like mini-modules that are easier to get your head around, especially if you're a beginner, but I use them all the time just becuase they're compact and convenient.
You can also see below here one of the demo patches highlighting all the commentary on the patch so you can understand what's going on.
Finally, here's a screenshot of what the in-app documentation for the modules looks like. Every module in the library is documented in-app, so all you need to do is open the inspector panel and you'll see the module's controls and I/O explained.
Hey Mark (@Audulus_Mark), just wanted to say thanks for joining us and adding in some great links. Watching your latest audulus 4 tutorials on YouTube today… brilliant. Easy to understand and a great starter for building bigger things. Would love some additional MIDI based tutorials as I’m sure this could be the springboard for some amazing midi tools within AUM. Thanks for all the stuff you are doing with Audulus 4, this really is something special.
You can see below how the spigot node works - basically it turns off a node if it's not selected, so what I did was put many different keyboard nodes with different polyphony settings into one module, then just switch between them.
The MIDI module - notice how there is a control labeled Mono at the top. That's the control you can use to shift between different polyphony settings.
This is inside the MIDI module, one layer deep. Most of the modules in the module library now have this kind of architecture where the first layer inside of the module is arranged around a core. You can see all of the inputs and outputs, but the actual workings of the module are packed inside yet another submodule container. This helps you wrap you head around the inputs and outputs, and you can also then take these cores out of modules and use them in your own.
Inside the core here is what I'm talking about - the knob on the front panel that controls the poly goes into the module here and then selects these different keyboard nodes, and both the pitch and gate outputs of the keyboard node are sent through the spigot nodes, turning each on and off according to which is selected. This helps save CPU as well!
Do you have a fediverse presence (come over, come over, it’ll be good 😊 )
Fediverse? Is it like Mastadon? We just signed up for that and I'm going to get it set up tomorrow. We're [email protected]
I totally understand not putting in too much effort toward supporting older operating system versions. Unfortunately neither my iOS devices, nor my MacBook can update to where they need to be. Here's hoping that a not-too-difficult solution can be found to support at least iOS 15 and macOS Monterey. I would love to get sucked into this. 😎
No pressure from me though. I've got enough toys to play with to last me a decade.
@Audulus_Mark Is an iPhone version planned for this? I'm keeping my iPad on 14.x, but I could update my iPhone to run this. Otherwise, maybe I'll get a new iPad in a year or two. Audulus 4 looks great!
Thanks wim! Yeah, I wish I could say this is definitely going to get solved, but we just don't know. When you have problems like this, it's like, do you spend hours and hours possibly not solving the problem, or do you spend that time moving forward and working on new tools for users? From the chorus of voices I've heard here and elsewhere around the web, obviously, it is hurting our reach to not support 15 or 12, but Audulus 3 was around for many many years, and so Audulus 4 will be also. That means people will eventually (even if very slowly) catch up and be able to use it. We're in it for the long haul, and we'll be here when you're ready!
Thank you Skyblazer! Taylor tried to make an iPhone version, but with all the new UI elements that Audulus 4 adds (namely, what's going on in the inspector panel) he couldn't find a good way to lay it out so that it'd be a good experience on mobile.
Part of me hopes he'll find a way to do it in the future, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
This is absolutely brilliant Mark. Opened the module up and it’s like going down a rabbit hole. So much to see and learn. Loving it! Thanks for this.
Same here unfortunately. Although my iDevices are capable of running iOS 16, I'm stuck at iOS 12 and 13 for now (except on the iPhone where security matters more). Same for MacOS 12.x for now.
Supporting iOS versions a few major releases back also helps reduce electronic waste (iDevices that can't update) which has grown to ridiculous amounts nowadays.
An additional problem is that whatever issue we're facing after upgrading to a newer iOS version, there's no way back as Apple won't sign older iOS releases for installation except on older iDevices which are capped at a certain iOS version.
I know that supporting older OS versions means more work for the developer but many devs either implement workarounds or just offer reduced functionality where a few features would require a later iOS version.
No rush though, I'm already super busy with Drambo on iOS 12, 13 and MacOS 12
Believe us, we really would want to support earlier OSes, but we would have to get rid of all patch previews, which isn't really a great tradeoff. I hear you about in general it would be great if programs could support OS versions further back, but the fraction of people getting a new iPad solely because they can't use Audulus is pretty slim. Upgrading for most people is a more complex decision matrix. I'm using a 2017 Macbook Pro that's starting to feel slow for some things, but I'm thankful at least I have time to save up for a new computer. Hopefully - we'll see - but hopefully the new M1+ chips will have a longer shelflife since they're such a quantum leap in speed.
I have to make some time to check out Drambo, I hear a lot of people talking about it. I spend pretty much all of my free time using Audulus, but I eventually want to make some videos to show people how to use it with VCV, Max, and other modular environments. A lot of people here and elsewhere (not saying you at all) but they get this mentality like they have to side with one program or another. The only reason I stick to Audulus 99% of the time is because it's how I'm making money, and it's what I know, and the skills I have in it can contribute to the userbase as a whole.
Max is probably the most powerful of all of the modular systems, but it's obtuse and has an even higher learning curve than Audulus. VCV gives you a 1:1 Eurorack experience which makes it almost effortless to use if you are already familiar with Eurorack, but on the other hand, you need to know C++ to make your own modules. Drambo, from what I'm seeing here, seems to try to strike a balance between being a modular environment and a more readily available beat/song making tool that would take a while and several different modules to replicate in Audulus - but I'm sure it's doing a tradeoff somewhere of complexity vs. being more user-friendly. Audulus modules can't run as efficiently as a compiled C++ module, but, again, you don't have to know C++ to make your own modules (hell, I don't know C++, I barely know Lua and Python). Everything is tradeoffs, and it's ok to be super into one program and not care about others.
What irks me, though, is when people (again, not saying you, just taking this moment to step up on my soapbox about it) talk bad about this or that app because it doesn't have the exact feature set that they want. No matter how many requested features we add to Audulus, it always seems like there's the same percentage of people saying, "I won't use Audulus until it has X." Ok. That's fine. It's not that we're deliberately not adding that, or we're lazy, it's that adding new features takes time, money, and effort, and not all of it can happen at once. I haven't paid close attention to talk about other apps, but I'm positive it's the same for them.
What I do know about meeting audio devs and Eurorack and pedal producers is that they're mostly all friends and they all admire one another's work for different reasons. I understand the impulse people have to stan this or than environment and put down others they deem inferior, but I've been to the conferences, Moogfest and Knobcon, namely, and the best part is after the day is done and you get to sit around a table having drinks with people who do the same kind of work you do. Developers understand that it's not a zero-sum game, and our goal is never to compete for a limited audience - our goal is always to grow the whole community, and to acknowledge that there's room for all of us.
Sure, making money in apps is tougher and tougher, especially when people don't truly appreciate the amount of labor it takes to make these little apps, but I'd sooner blame the proliferation of subscription services, depressed wages, and just economic instability of the world in general than think, "Oh man, VCV and Drambo are really eating into our userbase," lol. That's not it.
I think everyone has the ability to enjoy Audulus - and modular synthesis in general. I see it as my job to show everyone why Audulus is useful and fun and how it can teach you a lot about not just synthesis but computer programming also. I just don't want anyone to feel like they think they're not "smart enough" for Audulus, or that they'll never understand it.
I was more clueless than 90% of the people on this forum when I first started using Audulus. It took me years to get to the level I'm at, and I'm not saying I can convey everything I know in just a few weeks, but I do want to say that the entire time from the start to today, I've been learning new things every time I patch and I have enjoyed every moment of it. I want people, most of all, to feel like that while they're using Audulus, regardless of what the end product they create with it.
What a brilliant and inspiring post, that hits a lot of nails on the head and in a very articulate and broadminded way. Glad we have you here, Mark!
Aw thanks @Gavinski! It's just impossible to spend any time with audio devs and not walk away feeling like you got more from the interaction than you gave. It's a great community, and I think one of the nice things about Audulus is you can sort of tap into a piece of that camaraderie by building and sharing things - things that other people will use and go inside of their music. You struggle and learn and share and build upon others' successes - what's not to love about that?
Wow @Audulus_Mark, thanks a lot for your elaborate answer!
There's so much in it that I'll reply in more detail later 😊
@Audulus_Mark The site https://docs.audulus.com is not yet up...
It's working on my computer, but I am having a problem getting it on my iPhone for some reason. I'll look into it, thanks for pointing it out!
Solved:
Your SSL is not configured correctly as it seems.
The pure HTTP site works:
http://docs.audulus.com
Ah, gotcha, thanks for letting me know! I'll pass the info on to Taylor he should be able to solve that.
Added a new short tutorial video showing you how to import patches into Audiobus using copy and paste:
A lot of people also asked how to save your own custom modules and patches - this is how.
There seems to be no sound in this video. I can only see the cursor running around but no voice.
I just checked on YT and there are more of these short tutorials without voice. Please keep in mind that (new) users are not as quick as you demonstrating things, and that it really helps if someone would explain what is going on.