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.
Effectrix type control of FXs in Gadget via Midi ccs
I had a crazy thought this morning...
Gadget synths and drum machines are generally limited to one effect. You can choose delay, or phaser, or ring mod or whatever... But not all 3 at the same time.
However over 2 bars of, say, a drum loop in one of the drum gadgets, you could automate a change in the effect type, as well as the FX value 1 and 2. This could end up kind of like Effectrix (limited to one effect at a time) where you add couple of beats with delay, then a beat with distortion, then a beat with Grain Stutter etc... Per step.
Very cool - but a real pain to paint into the automation channel, because it's fiddly, there are no labels as to which effect you're switching to, and it's not very immediate. You'd have to adjust the FX amounts (1 and 2) as well as FX type each time too.
Because all this is accessible via MIDI, I'm wondering if I can set up some kind of clever template that sort of emulates Effectrix's interface and logic. Nice per step control of which effect to use and the FX value 1 and 2.
The problem is that Midi Designer doesn't have tempo or clock syncor anything - so there's no sense of 'per step'. TC data does have a sequencer that you can set to tempo and (although no clock sync) you could set it running on the beat.
The problem with TC Data is simply that it has no labels (or buttons) so it's hard to design something like this and you run into the same problems as doing it inside the Gadget automation panel - there's no labels of which effect type has which value.
Gadget does quantize midi ccs it gets in I believe - so that helps to do things on a "per step" basis. I could possibly slow down the tempo to as low as possible and hit buttons in Midi Designer - then speed up and see how the pattern sounds.
If I could stop and start Gadget on a per step basis that would be great - but i'm pretty sure that's not possible.
I'm still pondering is this is possible - and if so how.
Probably Lemur might do this for me - but I don't want to spend on another app since it's not a particularly cheap one (although i'm sure it's amazing).
Comments
Or to be honest it would be a lot simpler if Effectrix or some other step sequencer would send out 3 midi cc values on a per step basis.
Any ideas much appreciated.
I'm thinking about StepPolyArp now - although still no way to label the 16 or so FX types for easy reference...
Cool... possible hypothetical solution:
StepPolyArp looping through 16 steps synced to Gadget
SPA sending sequenced midi (probably the step number value of between 1 and 16) to MidiDesigner using it's incoming "Pedalboards" functionality (http://mididesigner.com/qa/15/pedalboards-explanation)
User friendly MidiDesign Template that sends midi out to Gadget, each time there is a new step, dictating FX type and a value for the FX1 and FX2 parameters.
If that all works then it's kind of like a basic Effectrix-style per step FX sequencer for Gadget. That would be lush.
What could go wrong?
I'll stop talking to myself now
I like B-Step. Here's "beige" hand controlling Gadget's fx1 and "green" hand controlling fx2, simultaneously.
Igor Vasilev's Midi Pattern Sequencer is pretty handy...
MIDI Pattern Sequencer by iMusicAlbum
https://appsto.re/us/QQPII.i
Thanks @solador78 and @Zetagy
To be honest I look at both those apps for a few seconds and my mind boggles. I can't get my head around the interfaces. I'd also not be able to label the different gadget FX types (there are 26 of them!) in either interfaces for ease of use. That's why I want to try midi designer.
I've basically got it working in principle as per the attached.
It works really well actually. You'll see I've just built 4 steps so far.
I found the easiest way to trigger a step is to send mididesigner a note from any sequencer (I've made c2, d2, e2, f2 - correspond to the first 4 steps). I've been triggering with Axuy (by any sequencer would do) where I hit play to be in sync with Gadget. Then midi designer sends a combination of FX types and FX values to my Gadget sampler (I've been trying with Abu Dhabi) in sync with the beat.
The cool thing is I could obviously send it 16th or 4ths or whatever. But also it could be irregular steps. Each step can just be triggered whenever you want.
Being able to easily flick live between the 26 effect types is pretty awesome. You just fiddle around live until something sounds good. Then hit record in gadget and it will save it all inside Gadget as automation - which you can then tidy up if necessary.
It should work with any Gadget that has the FX drop down.
It's basically a midi/Gadget version of Sugarbytes' model they use in Effectrix, Egoist, Cyclop etc. It requires a bit of setting up - but then it's really useful.
Ok, i get it. Sounds cool.
@Matt_Fletcher_2000 Matt, you're a tinkerer. You need to stop doing what you're doing and then do this all the time and then when it goes pear-shaped and there's no food in the cupboard you need to come and beat me on the kidneys with a piece of rubber hose or a stick made out of nothing but rage. But I'll still like how your head noodles
Not sure there's a London wage in making MidiDesigner and TC Data Templates, sadly.
Mainly I'm motivated by getting Gadget to sound more interesting / better without having to spend ages drawing in automation from guesswork. This template is cool cos you can play around until you hear a pattern you like - or use it to mildly vary a pattern over time. I'm gonna try it on a baseline in Chicago (which has some FX).
If midi sync on iPad worked better it would be easier to have it more acurately on the beat - but it doesn't always matter in the result.
Awesome thinking (and doing!) Matt.
And...
awesome writing Johnny.
Meanwhile, BStep can automate up-to 8 CCs simultaneously, in < 30 seconds, and even if the notes are already in Gadget.
This is a really good idea @Matt_Fletcher_2000. I had been trying to automate effects switches in Bilbao by hand recently to create a bit of extra sonic mayhem too. So, after seeing what you achieved I decided to dig out Lemur to see what could be done.
I managed to get two effects switchers and sliders to edit their settings one page so that both fx units could be messed with in Marseille at the same time( see pic )
Works really well! I recorded a short clip to show the destruction that could be visited upon the Marseille Piano preset:
First time I have done anything remotely interesting with Lemur since I bought it in the sale ages ago
Geez, that's a lot of work.
What are the sounds or instruments you like so much you want that motivates you to do all this?
hehehe this thread and the over-engineering in music threads being on the front page at the same time is funny
@MattFletcher2000 Isn't there a way to turn quantize off on Gadget? Also, I'm pretty sure if you just press record and manually turn the knobs on the active Gadget, it will record that automation, as well. Not sure if you mentioned that, but it's another option (not nearly as exacting, but there).
It seems you like to keep things as much in the Gadget sandbox as possible. I'm starting to see for your workflow how having an IAA effect internal and sampling capabilities would probably help your cause.
I'm going to keep talking to myself about the engineering marvel that is B-Step. It's like the lever, the pulley, the wheel, the inclined plane, and ancient Egyptian slaves all rolled into one. And it's perfect for building pyramids in Gadget.
B-Step is kind-of like a stringed instrument with a capo, so there might be too much of a learning curve for non-guitarists. Based on the dev's early screenshots, the idea behind B-Step seemed to be that you could exploit a midi connected device like a lazy guitarist with an open tuning. Maybe users never figured out how to tune it correctly, or maybe there was a push to obfuscate its true power. Either way, there doesn't seem to be much awareness of how to use B-Step correctly.
The biggest benefit of using B-Step correctly is that it makes auditioning tonics, progressions, and most importantly pattern changes a breeze. If you tune B-Step like a tenor guitar (I use Open E), it will do all of the heavy lifting for you in just a couple of knob turns.
It can take a simple melody or chord progression starting with an E chord for the tonic (I) and then expand on it across five more intervals (i.e. ii, iii, IV, V, vi) from the major or minor scale, using nothing but the bar chord and step chord knobs.
"Should I use 'I-vi-V-IV' or 'I-vi-IV-V'?" B-Step makes it easy to decide. Don't like E for the tonic? There's a tuning knob for that. Decide now... Change your mind later.
A big plus is that it can also modulate Verse/Chorus/Bridge changes using the circle of 5th/4ths (i.e. E Major to B Major or A Major) or the relative major/minor keys (i.e. E Major to C# minor), with the chord set knob. This to me is one of many key elements that separates professionals from amateurs and B-Step is straight-up cheating.
So, one melody can be instantly transformed into dozens of different variations simply by turning a couple of knobs. And the amazing thing is that every note always stays in harmony, even with every other variation! *With no heavy lifting required after the initial tuning setup (30 mins).
I have B-Step. I like it but it's far from the fastest workflow in a MIDI Sequencer for iOS...that would go to Pro MIDI (and that includes CC automation).
I personally don't like the amount of screen switching required to do stuff in B-Step. I do like it for random tinkering/noodling though.
1 word = B-step
CUMBERSOME
I haven't tried running Pro MIDI into Gadget. Not sure if it could add anything to the process.
If you're comparing the amount of time it takes to enter a short melody's notes+velocity into B-Step, then it's obviously slower. I'm more interested in moving the melody around and making variations out of it, without having to micromanage every single note. I haven't found anything else that helps with this, except for CholdPolyPad, which I also use to tune B-Step.
@Calcutta - yes, it is a bit of an engineering project I guess. Few hours in Midi Designer. But once done, it's done.
It results in a step-based effects controller that opens up access to all 24 different Gadget effects (delay, distortion, GrainStutter, 3 different reverbs, chorus etc, etc) on the same instrument/track. That's particularly cool for drums, for example, where you might want to vary things rapidly over 16 bars, adding different effects on different hits.
You are right it's possible to automate and quantise directly in Gadget - but it's impossible to change effect type anything like fast enough to audition in real time a variety of effects combining on the same clip. And even doing it manually in gadget on the automation lane in non-real time would be a massive engineering project in itself.
With my template you can run the loop in gadget then audition and sequence different combos of different FX on the same clip. Getting round a pretty major restriction in Gadget.
Yes, I'm trying to be nearly 100% in the box in terms of Gadget because it's a PITA moving audio clips around between apps. And I love the Gadget workflow. You're right, I would love IAA effects and/or proper audio track import. Maybe one day.
Ah I gotcha, and I'd agree, B-Step is very cool for that purpose. If you haven't tried it already, Different Drummer is extremely good at a similar workflow (don't mind the name, this thing's real power is in MIDI Sequencing), their progression/probability stuff can be scale-locked.
It can be done. Here's 1 bar of stock Marseille Piano 16th notes, first virgin, then switching FX1 between Pump, Distortion, Comb Filter, Grainshift, Ring Mod, Auto Pan, and Distortion again in real-time with B-Step (repeated 4 times). These switches were done on 8th notes, but 16ths work too.
Here I cleaned-up the FX Type Chart:
*With no heavy lifting required after the initial tuning setup (30 mins).
Seven stone weaklings among us sit down at this point...
It can be saved as a template so that it only needs to be done once. But it's a shame that the devs removed these hard-coded tunings and labels instead of making them out-of-the-box defaults.
Not talking (solely) to your self @solador78 but after re downloading B-step and nearly fainting at the complex interface, I try pushing a few buttons and turning a few knobs but I have no idea if I am affecting the output. It may reward more time spent with it but I couldn't make much sense of the UI, again. As for Lemur, it sat unused for maybe a year but after being given a spark of an idea by @Matt_Fletcher_2000, I actually enjoyed learning how to put together my own UI layout for this. One of my brothers made himself a biscuit tin banjo which is a pretty unique sounding instrument. I see Lemur, Midi Designer, TB-Midi etc,.. as creating your own performance instrument.
I like Midi Designer too and would use it all the time if it didn't have bluetooth connection issues. You're right about Lemur. I need to figure out some physics-based stuff to do with it. Haven't tried TC-Data yet, but Matt had a bunch of cool ideas that I want to look into as well.