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.
Audiobus - loopy hd - Samplr - Sunrizer = mission impossible (IOS8)
So, some of you know that I've been stuck on IOS7 using an audiobus set up involving all of the above apps. It is almost perfect but one particular thing is hard to swallow. Loopy HD has a bug that shifts the whole loop when going into playback by a few milliseconds backwards causing the loop to be slightly ahead of the beat. This is very annoying and makes the whole groove wonky.
So I've been beta testing Loopy HD in which the above bug has been sorted. Other improvements however caused the live input glitching (just the input the rest of the mix works fine). I thought it was because apps these days get optimised for IOS 8 so I tried the same preset on my mini retina but there is even more annoying bug in audiobus where some apps (namely: Magellan, turnado and Samplr) need to go through the AppStore I order to open so when I'm away from wifi I'm stuffed because they just refuse to open.
Now, I'm not writing this to start another Apple bashing thread but to find out whether others are experiencing any of those behaviours and whether @Sebastian and @Michael have anything to add?
Thanks in advance
Comments
I don't have Samplr, but I just turned off wifi and then loaded Audiobus, Magellan (input slot) and Turnado (effect slot) with no issues. Using Air 2 on iOS 8.2.
Neither of those apps opens in my case. It just goes to Safari and won't move from there. When I go back to AB the offending app is still idle.
The work around I found is to start the problem apps before AB. This worked but then I got latency override message I the settings I will try to work that one. I still kept having problems with the live input and Sunrizer of which sound is very choppy as if heavy stutter with bit crusher fx were applied. So I killed Sunrizer and replaced it with nlog pro which worked. Then I wouldn't get any sound of turnado and if I moved all of the xy pads the app would just crash.
I don't know what to point a finger at. Is it the individual apps or the audiobus that isn't quite there with IOS 8? I will do some more testing on my air one 7.1.2. I remember trying the latest loopy HD beta in that configuration and Magellan causing the live input problems. Maybe it was Sunrizer after all. I will try to replace Sunrizer with nlog to see if that works.
@supadom I just tried all those apps. and they worked at first, I had my wifi off, but then they all went crazy but then they worked again. Sunrizer into loopy, magellan into loopy, samplr into loopy, my guitar into sampler, the main bus from loopy into turnado then to system out. Everything seems to be working. I am on an iPad Air, the latest iOS and the latest beta test of Loopy.
next question is I know you use the MPK minis
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00466HM28/ref=gb1h_img_c-2_9802_68c3a36d?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1BJ7TFZGG97K3FAVKYWE&pf_rd_i=9559544011&pf_rd_p=1948499802
Is $71 a good price? My buddy is looking at buying one.
Thanks for the testing @gmslayton I will definitely keep testing different configurations on my mini. I can't risk going 8 with my air 1 as I'm just expanding my current project and don't want things to go south just because of the software.
As for the mpks. Here in the uk they can be found for about £45 second hand so I suppose $71 new is a great price. I sold my second one and got beatstep for more knobs per square inch but I'm thinking of getting another mpk mk1 as a backup. They are great and very dependable.
Ok, I'm done testing. I tried audiobus preset with just latest loopy beta, turnado and Samplr running on IOS7 on Air 1 and there's clicks happening here and there, not loads but enough to get in the way. Unusable. I'm staying where I am = IOS 7.1.2 the last stable IOS for audiobus. Hope things will improve in months to some.
Edit: the culprit for clicks turned out to be tonestack on my 4s which I recently updated to the latest version. Fortunately I had a previous version in a back up but be aware of this if you're still on 7 as it seems the two IOS versions in question are not audio compatible.
Dom, I have an AB preset with Sunrizer into Loopy and then Loopy through Turnado to speaker, Air running 7.1.2. Oh, and I'm on the latest Loopy beta. No problems.
Do you use midi bindings to trigger/mute/unmute loops? @MoonWolf
Yes, I use mute and solo bindings on my foot pedal regularly. Lately, has been all good. I did experience that loop offset you described a few builds ago, but seems like Michael has that sorted.
I know that beta has that bug sorted, that's why I'm eager to make it work buttthere seem to be other little things like the live input bug that stop me from using it. I don't have much time to test these days so it gets frustrating to spend the little time I have fiddling with configurations instead of playing music.
I hear you, have struggled at times myself.
Yeah, I seem to remember. I'm absolutely loving my set up as it is and can bare that slight loop offset if need be but living on the edge of the cliff knowing that my set up only works on all but absolete IOS 7 feels a little unnerving.
Create now and in large volume before you fall off for you must know that it has been given to very few down these days since electricity to utter I'm absolutely loving my set up without being soon punished by the Gods and other disinterested corporations....
I have been trying to narrow down the number of apps I use, for stability and efficiency, but also to prepare for the leap. I'm going iOS 8 as soon as Michael has Loopy Masterpiece ready. Aside from some favorite synths, I think Masterpiece will be where I spend all of my iOS time.
We have surprisingly similar plans. Masterpiece won't be hear before Christmas but I sure hope to jump on the beta testing bandwagon. If it is stable on air 2 and takes turnado, some kind of vocal effect and Sunrizer via IAA and syncs with Samplr then I'll be switching like there's no tomorrow. I always wait in anticipation for Michael's logs. My air 1 is only 2 months old so should last at least until Masterpiece is out.