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.
Comments
I only have the non pro and like its form factor and the amount of controls but the knob acceleration isn't very natural and absolutely unsuitable for quick and precise (rhythmical) control. Lpd 8 has much cheaper and shabbier knobs but works much better for that.
I don't get why you'd want to convert relative controllers from the Beatstep to absolute controllers??
You can set the Beatstep to send absolute CC in the first place using Arturia's Midi Control Center, and when using absolute controllers, you always have the problem of parameter jumps, MidiFlow or whatever converter won't change that.
@orand In the app MidiFlow (standalone/ not the AB3 effect suite) there was an update that helped but as far as I could tell only allowed for increment OR decrementing.
I think if you want to achieve absolute to relative or vice versa then MidiFire is the best option as it has scripting abilities but I havent persued it further as I upgraded the BeatStep to the Pro version and its controllers respond much better
@rs7000 The reason I personally started looking into this was that in relative mode on the BeatStep the jumping is reduced/removed. For example, Ableton lets you choose either relative or absolute and in relative mode using the beatstep, in my experience, I didnt get any jumping. In the iOS world, apps dont let you use the relative option. I believe you could get the same result on iOS by having BeatStep in relative mode and using a midi transforming app like midifire, translate it back to absolute giving a jump free result.
I exchanged my Korg electribe with a friend for a Beatstep and after a week I was so disappointed I reverted the deal. Boring sounding device if you are already used to software synths with build-in arps (icegear) and apps like gestrument, rozeta, refraktions etc.
if you comparing them in terms of sound then definitely any electribe will come on top
I think the jumping people are referring to is the peculiar way the deal with knob response. They are quite slow until you turn a bit faster at which point they accelerate a lot resulting in a jump to maximum value. If you turn backward quickly it will go to zero in an instant. It is useful for going between extremes but if you wanted to turn quickly to 30% you are stuffed as it will go to all the way to 100!.
Yes, lol. Forgive me because english ain't my first language. Correction: "controlling device"
No worries. Neither it is mine! I don't have a first language anymore, the all three are equally bad.
I wish it was that simple!
Unfortunately, if an app does not support incremental/relative MIDI CCs, you have two options:
1. Kindly ask the developer to add support for them (by far the best option)
2. Kindly ask the developer to send parameter snapshots to the intermediate MIDI CC converting application to it knows what values to start from when receiving incremental CC from the BeatStep and converting them to absolute CC for the app under control. This is as much a mess as it sounds like, therefore back to 1.
OT: @Richtowns Have you owned a Yamaha RS7000? Nice one
^ Yep, proud owner of the RS7k, not much she cant do. Sh's big, heavy, complicated and so sits in a the cupboard most of the time but when she comes out she likes to groove. Amazing groove mode, my fave feature.
Apologies for the cross-post: here are two solutions to the relative/absolute mapping problem.
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/461979/#Comment_461979
@orand looks impresive. When I get a chance Im going to see if I can get my head round this smooth solution. Thanks for sharing.
Having Nic as a resource makes buying MidiFire essential for anyone wanting to really get into midi.
Yep, Nic’s support far exceeds expectations. It feels equivalent to wondering out loud if “FAC Autotune” or “MassiveMaker” are possible, and the next day, Fred or Bram have a beta out. There are entire categories of MIDI apps that can be implemented with “just” a script in MidiFire.
If you need any help getting this to work in your setup, just let me know, I’d be glad to help.