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.
Some context...
Just to add some fuel to the debate. iOS music heads seem to fall into two broad categories (don't you just love sweeping generalisations). People who have got turned on to music production because they were browsing the App Store one day and discovered all the candy and people who have been into music production for a while who have been turned onto the possibilities that this platform offers.
These two broad camps have different perspectives on cost. For the former, the app pricing model has the effect of making 20 bucks look like a significant cost. For the latter it looks like someone in the marketing department has put the decimal point in the wrong place.
I'm from the latter camp. I've built a modest hardware home studio over the last 20 years. This is my main hobby, I have an electronics degree with a specialism in music technology systems. I've never been rich, so I carefully pick and choose my hardware and I make it last. I have a couple of hardware effects, an old PC, a mixer, audio and midi interfaces, a couple of synths and a rack mount drum machine and a rack mount bass synth. It all owes me a few grand.
In the last two months I have blown some very hard earned savings on an iPad mini retina and far too many apps. I've done this because what I can do with the bit of kit in my hand right now would cost a small fortune in hardware. Sure, the full blown studio with an uber PC and a couple of grands worth of software would give me the potential to get outstanding results. But for a fraction of the cost the ipad set up is giving pretty damn good results.
This is not to have a dig at people who think some of the higher end apps are pricey - just to highlight that the functionality these apps are starting to provide has traditionally only been available if you were in a position to make a far more serious investment.
Why did I post this? I was reading the following thread and comparing their hardware shopping list (upwards of 10k) with the apps I've been stocking up on. Of course their studio will be cool, but they won't be able take it to the beach 
Comments
We live in good times. These tools were totally out of reach to most people 20 years ago, now you can get a convolution reverb that would have cost thousands for peanuts.
Good summary. And there may be different camps or perspectives, but I know my own biggest (passing) frustration of late has been having too much stuff, too many options, too many ways to skin the heffalump. And knowing that that's a great problem to have and one that the guy who spent his hard-earned way back on a huge old (second hand) bright orange Allen+Heath 24 track desk which took up the living room in his small flat but precluded being able to buy a DX7 for six months would have loved to have had etc.
Exactly. When I started with music production I had a Kawai K1 synth, an Alesis MMT8 sequencer and a Tascam 4 Track Portastudio. Creating anything was painful, it took ages to program simple patterns and building tunes meant recording and bouncing track by track.
Fast forward a couple of decades and have it all in a device the size of a small book.
I can see the frustration side of it as well. It is very easy just to keep collecting candy and playing around rather than putting the ipad in airplane mode and getting on with the work of creating finished songs. Combine that with the large number of possible workflows and it can be almost impossible to get started.
Having allowed myself a couple of months to explore the platform my targets have moved a fair way from where I thought I would be. I honestly expected to just download Cubasis and work on mixing audio tracks I developed in my studio and creating my own samples of my hardware for track building.
Then Korg put iMS20 and iP6 on sale in the first week and it all went downhill from there!
The latest Gadget update has really been the last part of the puzzle. I fell into the trap of trying to get too much running at once through AB and IAA and trying to sequence multiple synths through Cubasis that was far too much of a load on the system. Over the last 24 hours I've been creating simple configurations of synths and building up the sample library. Next it's arranging and adding gadgets, then individual tracks to Cubasis for mixing. So I guess the trick is working out what you want to achieve and then working through the options to establish the best application of the available tools to get you there.
I do understand where you're coming from and agree, but that's why it's so important to understand how everything is relative because 20 years before your 4track imagine what it was like, and what must have all those tascam port studios seemed like to folks at the time you were using them, to some they were like an iPad is now.
Last time I tried to record music seriously was in 1994, with a Tascam 4 track recorder and a really cheap PZM microphone. No effects, cheap guitars etc...
Now I have some slightly nicer equipment, a good guitar and a condenser mic, a Scarlett 2i4 and 4th gen iPad. Those four bits of hardware give me access to a whole world of sound and textures that was completely out of my reach 20 years ago.
The apps are cheap, even Auria with all the plugins is really cheap for what you get and more importantly, what it allows you to do. It's great
@kobamoto exactly!
@kobamoto
Very true, on that basis, the next 20 yrs is looking good.
@xen said:
Let's hope our then quite aged brains will keep up with the technology advancements.
Well said Xen - I'm happy that after selling 20K worth of studio, my app addiction & ipad combo still only puts me in triple figures.
To add more fuel to another topic, there also seem to be another couple of users types. Some understand that software development can be buggy and that feature scope / project scope cannot be all-encompassing all the time. Others have such a sense of entitlement and lack of empathy that apps were not made specifically for their workflow with 'X' feature that they can be quite vociferous in voicing utter contempt at developers.
There are exceptions to these cases... but I'm happy with sweeping generalisations too
Agree with this mostly. Also at play here are the personality types we each inhabit or exhibit, far beyond our experience or abilities. Some folks need or love to complete projects (of all kinds) others (looks at self) love to start something new. These are inherent traits, far beyond the issues of iOS, but ones that remind us that a significant part of workflow should always be "Know thyself".
Agree with that^. Is a difficult balance as apart from the Korg's and Retronym's alot of these apps are one man shows (any women app developers??). Maintaining apps for every Audiobus or iOS update takes time and for alot (i am think majority) of app developers it is not their main day job. People understandably expect a product they purchased to work as described (regardless of whether is $1 or $50) but to expect free updates and improvements forever more may not be a realistic option long term if we want to reward developers for their work. How many music softwares on pc/mac give free updates, not many. I am happy for now to bask in the cheap apps and free updates. Hopefully the developers will make their money through volume of sales as ioS music making becomes more popular.
Apple frustrates me at times and moving files around I find bothersome on ios but, I am still amazed at what can be done with a simple interface, a guitar, midi keyboard and the ipad. There are no limits on what the mind and a simple and affordable set up can produce with such a small foot print.
Did I mention how much FUN it is doing this?
I enjoyed reading through this thread and seeing so many great comments.
I probably fall into the first group, although not exactly. I've always been a musical person, and probably would have learned to play an instrument or two, but a paralyzing accident in high school took that away. The iPad and all the wonderful developers for it, in a sense, brought it back. Well it technically was the Mac first with GarageBand but the Ipad really pulled me in.
I don't think I've spent more than $10 on a single app yet and even then the large majority of my musical apps were had for $5 or less thanks to sales. But I've accumulated quite a collection of them now and it astounds me that this little slab now contains the equivalent of a university music department and then some. And then some more. All for the price of no more than about $150.
However my spending so far on these types of apps hasn't been dictated by me feeling entitled or anything. I may not be a seasoned musician but I understand that these things take a lot of effort to develop, just as other apps do in certain other categories, so I'm not bothered by the pricing. If anything I'm often kind of in shock each time I discover what else can be done with these things for such a small investment. I am thinking of breaking this routine today though with Cubasis before that sale ends. Up until this point my main reason for not spending more was because I suspected this hobby of mine wasn't serious enough to justify it. I think I can justify it now though.
I can relate with the workflow and "getting things done" comments. I've had a difficult time finding a workflow that encourages me to actually finish a song. Sure I can throw together a decent sounding tune in standalone apps like Figure and Oscilab but multi-instrument, multi-effect projects (or multi-apps if you will) elude me. I am making progress in this regard though so I think I'll get there eventually.
But not producing full songs isn't exactly the worst thing in the world (unless it's your job of course). It's just so darn fun tinkering around with all these apps and making just bits and parts. I could argue that I'm getting my money's worth just from that.
Know thyself indeed. Well said.
When I got into wanting to make music back in 1997 (I was 14/15) I despaired at the prices of synths and samplers and other gear that I wanted. There was no way I could afford it.
I spent 1998-2000 dabbling with ModPlug Tracker but gave up on music until getting Renoise in late 2008. Renoise is really awesome but I never got any songs finished during this period of my life. I was a pretty heavy drinker at the time, so I ended up with just a bunch of 30 second songs and fragments.
I bought an iPad in July 2010, swapped booze for a different substance and spent a lot of time in empty parking lots late at night making little tunes with NanoStudio (and then BeatMaker 2 when it came out).
I've owned the 1st, 2nd and 4th gen iPads and spent quite a bit of money on apps, but the money spent still pales in comparison to the price of the hardware I wanted back in the late 90s.
And the price of the booze/jazz rails/brown powder (delete as personally applicable).
There's also the type of user that thinks people aren't entitled to what they've paid for, this type of user generally isn't looking for a tool or an instrument but rather a friendship with a dev or a social moment, they expect you to act like a manufacturer of software is your cousin and even though money exchanged hands you should never approach your cousin for the product. I don't subscribe to this, I'm not buying friendship I'm buying an instrument and I take music very seriously. I'd rather pay a dev the appropriate price for the appropriately working product any day of the week than get a super discounted price for something that doesn't work like it should.
My music hardware history:
One or two of those Yamaha PSR keyboards; a Kawai hardware sequencer (oof!); the venerable but hard-to-navigate Roland XP-50; a Roland PMA-5 (again, clunky interfacing, but fun).
I've never owned or really used any desktop software sequencers of any kind, not even free stuff... but it's come a long ways, baby! It's like STAR TREK for the musician-set!
Makes me wonder what Google's quantum computing power could give us...
I'm 95% hardware these days, and while I still get GAS, lately I find myself not wanting for anything more. I don't have a ton of gear compared to a lot of people, but I have purchased enough that I don't get sticker shock about dropping decent money on musical equipment, even though I'm far from wealthy.
That said, I've slowed my iOS music purchases considerably. Even the most expensive apps cost nothing compared to equivalent hardware, but they add up, and it is easy to drop a good amount of money on a bunch of apps that you may never use, and if nothing else will occupy the finite storage of the iPad.
I'm sure that the debate about the recent Gadget update spurred this post, so let's consider that. Gadget is pretty great, especially as a comprehensive music suite. Having a sampler or two makes a ton of sense. But the new gadgets aren't the only sampler options out there, and for $20 for both on top of the initial cost of Gadget, it makes it a questionable purchase for many relative to the cost of other apps on the market that may do the same or more, with more flexibility than is currently offered via Gadget. I don't scoff at spending $50 on an app, or paying more in the future to support something worthwhile to me, but I do consider the cost as it relates to other options on the market. I'd like an SH-101, but I'm not about to spend the $1K+ on one when I can get a Bass Station II for under $400 that will nearly get me to the same places. For as much as I've spent on apps that have seen little to no use, I could have probably purchased a Bass Station II by now that I would have used far more.
All that said, if my luck turns bad tomorrow and I have to sell everything I own, I'm keeping the iPad and Octatrack because I could make plenty of albums with those two things alone. There are so many quality apps out there that I could never get bored. But there are also enough options that price/sound/interface influence my decision to buy, the same as any other musical purchase I make.
Since we're on the topic of hardware...
http://forum.audiob.us/discussion/3550/all-hardware-synthdrum-machine-youve-ever-had/p1
I come from the former camp, I love my hardware. The iPad was a absolute eyeopener for me and gave me access to unique and awesome sound 'toys' that really are incredible for their price.
Samplr is one of the best. The immediacy and creativity of that app is awesome.
Thats why i told myself i wouldnt buy an new iPad2, then ipad3, then ipad4, and now Air. I've been waiting for an iPad that has more RAM & can really push what can be done on this platform, I'm still using a ipad3 that i bought secondhand online
(i sold my ipad1 for $200 and bought a ipad3 for $300).
I bought the iPad 1 new, and if the iPad being announced tomorrow is a massive leap in performance, it might be finally time to do a new upgrade. It will hopefully have 2GB and an even faster processor (fingers crossed)
Actually i'm just going to wait for this iPad Pro thing...lol
http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ipad/
@Buska said:
Isn't tomorrow's announcement usually just for iPhones? I think iPads generally get announced a month or two later...
I would love to hear an iPad pro announcement tomorrow, but realistically, the thing I care about most is RAM. I just hope they announce something, anything with 2GB RAM. That would be a step in the right direction.
[edit: sorry to get off topic. carry on with the OP. ]
On the topic of buying apps you don't use...
I've bought loads of 'cheap' apps I will never use. And the cost adds up.
However, I'm philosophical about it. I've also taken a punt on apps and discovered real gems for a couple of pounds.
It's like a little gambling habit really. But I consider myself 'up' overall.
@Matt_Fletcher_2000 said:
That's a good point!
I don't mind if I even just get some enjoyment or interesting sounds out of a $1 app. I'm often showing friends apps going "look how cool this is" only to be met with blank expressions.
The old value equation. When I look at all the games my eleven year old has on his (my old) iPad, I see a mirror or my own purchasing behavior: He has plenty of 99 cent 'fart button' apps, but then some relatively expensive games over which (in light of his allowance) he agonizes over before pulling the trigger on. Apple and tree.
For all of that, at this point he has a TON of games of all prices accumulated over time and -on reflection- there was little way of knowing which of these he would 'get his money's worth' out of and which would quickly fade into the background.
Some good stuff being posted here. I guess the holy grail is that killer app that does it all and those products that get close get a lot of attention. It was the recent Gadget update and the various discussions that prompted this thread. I ignored Gadget until last week and finally got sucked in a few days before the update. I think it's great and I don't mind the limitations with the samplers.
Constraints are important, they influence direction and drive creativity. For me the problem solving that goes into understanding constraints leads to outcomes I would otherwise have not considered. If we look back at the great music made with older, more limited technologyI believe the music turned out great because of the constraints, not in spite of them.
The impact of the accumulation of low level cost is another strong point and apple are a canny bunch. They have come up with a platform and business model that plays on some fundamental subconscious behaviours. An almost constant stream of low value (relatively) purchases distributed globally and appealing to people engaged in all manner of disparate activities. What a great way to lock down a long term revenue stream.
It is inevitable that for pro applications like audio, prices will migrate upwards. We demand greater specs and more feature rich releases, the quality of the outputs we produce increases and our expectations increase. It then gets more resource intensive on the devs part to increase quality as the performance margins become more incremental. Less people want or need these marginal gains so the funding base will narrow.
Or will it? Here in the uk apple have woken up to the appeal of the music apps and what people can get of this. A few months ago they ran a TV add for the ipad with a composer preparing music in a taxi etc. last night there was one on with a band prepping for a gig using music apps.
I'm very interested to see what the next ipad and iOS 8 are capable of. The next couple of years should be exciting.