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.
B-Step Sequencer - Missing from U.S. Store? Ver 2.0 Update soon?
I was shopping around for some other MIDI sequencers, and came back to B-Step. Think it came out in April, and I gave the trial version a go, and thought it looked promising. Not a big fan of the interface, though some of the version 2 screenshots indicate parts of that have been tidied up a bit.
Except it's nowhere to be found in the U.S. store. The trial version is, but the full version is pulled, though the developer seemed to be in denial of that fact on his message board. And he indicated that the price would go "back" up when the new version drops, except you can't buy the old one!
@Trueyorky - any insight on this?
Also, does anyone like and use this one? I'm kinda conflicted about it.
Comments
They pulled it when they announced the free update to version 2. There is still a lite one available, not sure what the differences are.
get Thesys instead......... and a magnifying glass.
New one is released on the 22nd of this month I believe.
@firejan82 said:
What's up with that? Anyone know if they'll rejig it at some point? I loved the muscle in Thesys, but went blind with none of the usually-associated pleasure; put it in the 'maybe one day' folder...
Thesys cool? It looks pretty bizarre/unconventional in how it comes up with patterns. Like almost "Different Drummer" levels of unconventional.
None of the Sugar Bytes apps are at all reimagined for iPad use - that's my biggest gripe with them. Super powerful apps with unique capabilities, but it's like someone took a screenshot of desktop VST from 5 feet away and just mapped controls to it.
Ah....well....I agree with you, or did until I got my hands on Turnado and Wow and all was forgiven. Doesn't mean I don't open the update box every day with a little prayer that those boys have translated it all for the short-sighted, but even though it gets the fingers dirty, their pudding tastes so good (as my grandma always said).
I think all the Sugar Bytes apps are great, Thesys is the only one with a little problem. It still is my favourite midi sequencer app despite the small UI/zooming issue.
I would need to investigate Thesys further. I know the Sugar Bytes stuff is quality, but after looking at Thesys several times, I was never fully convinced (or never fully clear) on how I would use it.
@StormJH1 said:
My two cents:
I bought Thesys on the recommendation of someone who's opinion I value, who said that he didn't find the UI or zooming, etc. to be a bother. I tired of Thesys after a few sessions. Thesys could have been pretty amazing if Sugarbytes had only made the effort to adapt the UI to the iPad. As it is, I find it fatiguing and uncomfortable to use. The ability to zoom does not improve the use-ability of the app.
Just my opinion, but I desperately wanted Thesys to be great. It's not.
I take back what I wrote earlier. I don't use it that much so I either forgot or I didn't knew that they added a zoom lock button. My biggest problem was that it was zooming in and out each time I tapped twice so I had to turn the zooming off which made the UI controls too small. The zoom lock is a good enough solution for me and the midi sequencing functionality is great. So no need for a magnifying glass.
@JohnnyGoodyear said:
Sofa king good.
I'm giving Thesys a shot. I think when I initially looked at it, I barely knew what a MIDI step sequencer was. Now that I've used some of the other ones, I have a better understanding of what I like/dislike, and how the apps vary.
Totally agree with @papertiger on the issue that the interface is half-assed and inconvenient. On the main screen, only about the upper third is actually dedicated to the note sequencing selectors. Rows below that control velocity, gate, and modulation by step, and then there is a keyboard below that. All of these things get equal space, except this is one example of how having "all on one screen" isn't necessarily good if NONE of it is easy to use.
Fortunately, the fonts are sharp enough (even on my less-sharp iPad2) that I'm able to read it all, and the zoom is at least a half solution.
But as much as all that sucks, it has a lot of the features I would want. Chords, on-the-fly transposition (which is really well-done), and even a freakin' built-in synth engine which isn't bad at all. Much like Xynthesizer, having some (any) degree of built-in sounds narrows the "convenience gap" between working in something like this versus a complete ecosystem like Korg Gadget. You don't have to leave the app or hook another synth up to hear your note patterns play out.
It also has MIDI file export, which intrigues me because of how that would work with MultiTrackStudio, though I haven't found how to use it yet in Thesys.
It's because it has so much promise that it annoys me so....
@JohnnyGoodyear said:
Amen.
Maybe the guilty isn't the app itself, but our expectations...
@fjcblanco said:
Expectations to see what's on the screen clearly? Have you used Thesys on an iPad?
Also want to add I have an expectation to not have difficulties tapping an option available to me on an app. Don't think that's too much to ask...
Yes I have it. But I was talking about apps in general.
Anyway, yours is a good point. But I didn't delete by the layout. Simply I use MdiSequencer more. Sure, I'm still dreaming on an update making play Thesys easier.
Did you expect Thesys to get bigger between the AppStore previews and your ipad?
@fjcblanco said:
MidiSequencer is probably the best out of all these apps. I really should use it more. That developer (Tony) has added tons of features even since release, and he's working on a piano roll MIDI sequencer this fall that will own me whenever it comes out. MidiSequencer is also easier to program, since the sliders are large and he added touch preview (brilliant). It now has chord/added note functionality (IAP, I think), so what looks like a simple monophonic sequencer (Like "Little MIDI Machine") is actually a full-featured beast.
Still, in the early going, there are a few things about Thesys I like even better. The built-in sounds/synth engine is awesome. The touch-keyboard transposition is really cool, as are the half-speed, mute, and other controls. Pretty sure it has more options in terms of effects, which you'd expect from SugarBytes. I just wish is was easier to read and touch control what is going on.
Also, the app doesn't do "Open In" with MIDI files, which is strange because many DAW's and even many instrument apps do (bs-16i comes to mind).
I don't know if the BiancaNieve question is to me or not...Anyway, I didn't expect the iPad worked like my PC. In the same way iCubasis doesn't match Cubase.
But for ending the Thesys question (mainly because is a MS thread), I suffer the same pain working with Thesys but, IMHO sometimes the sacrifice pays the price.
And for justice, the Tony support is an example.
.
@Flo26 said:
Agreed.
^ Agreed.
Thesys ticks a lot of the right boxes for me. I never bought it (or wow) though because of the zoom thing. I really like Turnado but it can be a kill joy with the zooming shenanigans.
I don't expect we'll ever see native UIs for the sugar bytes apps. Guessing they have their own UI rendering engine that is pretty tied up into the processing engine and they've directly ported the entire bramble to iOS to make it work for them economically. Maybe as they start to release new apps on the desktop they'll divorce the UI engine from the processing engine making more native feeling iOS ports cheaper/easier for them. Or maybe my guess is totally off.
@syrupcore this sounds/feels about right. I'm just in denial about it.... and on the same subject (depending on your need of course) I would seriously consider NPT denying youtself WOW. I can't decide if its either the dog's bollocks or all that and a bag of crisps, but, zoom or otherwise, I've got every pfennig of my money's worth out of it...