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
Praise be to Doug!!! He produced a video (under CONSIDERABLE pressure from us) that managed to legitimize DD and move the discussion from "how ludicrous" to "it's too much". I will only comment that I believe it is naive a prejudiced of the developer (however nice he was to let Doug demo it for him) for him to think a high price will cause only serious musicians to utilize this app. Please consider a "serious" musician like Jordan Rudess going crazy playing Bebot and praising its virtues! If we start making apps super expensive like VST's, we minimize the draw of IOS....
@thesoundtestroom Awesome video. Must've been an interesting experience recording it, knowing there's all these people waiting for it
I like Sebastian's tweet from earlier today:
@rhism I don't really get the lines on that chart. I see the bump for today (congrats @technemedia !) but the other lines? Does the first one on the left indicate that it was ranked ~80 and dropped to ~275 in December?
@syrupcore Exactly. Each of those vertical lines means it suddenly jumped in rank (from unranked to that high number) and then quickly dropped off. I believe each of those coincides with app update releases and the one price drop from $150 to $130. The most recent bump coincides with the price drop to $50 as well as the new version with AB support.
Note that this is the Top Grossing chart not Top Paid. I.e. DD is currently one of the Top 50 Grossing Music apps on the iPad right now. Which means that the current price point is definitely not too high for many people. Note also that this all happened before Doug's video.
I tend to agree with @iClifDotMe's thoughts on DD's pricing as efffective marketing. Had DD just been released at $50 I don't think it would have done this well. A lesson for the rest of us to learn from perhaps. Though the app itself does need to be pretty unique for this technique to work.
@ Rhism In that case, I'm glad I purchased Guitarism before you learned that lesson. Lol
I was a little hesitant purchasing this app because of the price and the small amount of information regarding it's abilities. I got lucky and bought Auria ($50) at half price which I feel was a bargain. I have been waiting for Cubasis ($50) to go on sale and have it in my wish list on iTunes but as yet no sale. When Different Drummer went on sale for 1/3 off, I figured it could be a bargain as well.
I am glad I did as this app is completely "Different" from my usual workflow of creating drum tracks. I am by no means a drummer and sometimes have difficulty laying down a drum track with the usual drum apps available to fit my needs. DD helps get closer to non repetitive rhythm as my favorite PC VSTi, JamStix. Very much unalike but still quite different than standard beat apps.
And not only drums but sending MIDI out to other synth apps opens up a whole new and random way of creating music which I may not have ever traversed. Nearly all apps I own have recognized the MIDI output from DD.
I have confidence that Peter will continue to develop the app and take user's requests into consideration. I could be wrong but I hope that is not the case.
Looking forward to getting to know the app better and to see how it evolves.
@mgmg4871 I don't think I have the stomach to try pricing guitarism at $150
@Rhism Seriously speaking. I would have paid more than I originally purchased Guitarism for and will gladly pay for IAP's. It's a great app.
.
Hi Simon..thank you, and thanks to everyone else who liked it..I think it was a fair review. Maybe more time would have been better, but I think its enough to get the general idea, and to get real deep would take way longer than 20 minutes..anyway I see that some people have bought it and like it...
@Keebo (or anyone else who can answer this), how many midi channels can it send to simultaneously? Can you explicitly set the midi channel(s)? Are there any other midi-related features or options we should know about?
Thanks
@iClifDotMe, funny you should ask as I was just trying to figure out how to send multiple MIDI channels to multiple synths.
I had three wave selectors running (sorry if my terminology is incorrect) all going into Animoog and was randomizing each wave until I came across an interesting rhythm. I wanted to send one of the waves to Magellan and the other to PPG Wavemapper just for kicks. I am unable to see how to set MIDI channel per wave currently though it seems like the Channel Mode option could do the trick. The help file is very useful but I don't quite grasp how to do so at this time.
It may be ABC (Adult Beverage Consumption) kicking in and I'm just missing something. There is no forum for this app but upon registering, there is a statement of nearly unlimited support via email. I'll wait until tomorrow to send Peter the question.
Gotta say that so far I am enjoying the random/generative possibilities this app provides.
Question to dev or other users?
Can you export the different parts as separate tracks to our DAW of choice or are they all just sent out as one single file?
For example, I use Auria and might like the kick sound and snare sound but want the digiradoo eq'd higher and compressed in the overall mix with guitars and vocals. Can I do this?
Thnx in advance.
Right now I have the same feeling when Ive gotten off work, had a few beers and have $50 on me and there's a nudie bar nearby. I know I shouldn't go in and should save my money for groceries but it's just so close.
Its not for me, not at this price. If I want a semi-randomized beat, I'll stick to Stochastik Drums which is good at coming up with beats and feels that I would never have programmed.
Animoog was less then 1$ when it came out.
How things have changed.
Will DD cause devs to rethink their pricing policy with regards to
Updates ect.
Would be a shame if we gradually see price increases.(only takes one to do it for the rest to follow)
The potential market for mobile music apps is huge.
I hope this app isn't the catalyst that changes that landscape to an
exclusive club.that would just make mobile music sterile.
'Exclusive customers'...nah...
Let the masses create music
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=F6v9C3TAOL8&desktop_uri=/watch?v=F6v9C3TAOL8
.
I cracked. I bought it. This shit better be worth it.
I'm now banning myself from this forum for a few days if not more. I just spent $50 on a drum app so i better be writing music and not just "researching" anymore.
Happy music making everybody!
@commonstookie - No, i think the app has to warrant it. I paid $50 was it for auria because it had 24 bit audio/96 khz audio, had drumagog which no other daw had. I paid $20 for bm2 because it was like an mpc on iphone. If this app is not worth $50, you can be sure i'll be warning my brothers here on this forum. plus, i specifically am looking for apps to help my beats/rhythms so I doubt id pay that much for a guitar or keyboard app whereas maybe someone who needs more guitar sounds might pay that much. I just bought dm1 last night for $2 as many ppl on this forum who i respect their opinion use it. I think its great! However i wouldnt pay $10 or $20.
one of my favorite drummers is budgie from the creatures/siouxsie and pete defreitas from the bunnymen and this app was the first that seem to be able to emulate them somewhat so im in that unique "niche" market for this app.
I hope your right gjcyrus.
I would luv for DD to be the muts nuts.
And...I'm just pleased you spent your money on an app and not in the chick bar..
.
If the app is good Simon,it should sell.
Soundprism has sold more the a million copies.
Apps like AB.Forums like this and ppl like you, ( think what your doing is fantastic ...chasing devs,encouraging them to join the bus ect)
are growing the mobile music industry.
But I agree with you,devs need to make a living out of this.
Also...
Doug seems to have become the app tester/reviewer of all things AB.
Doug,if its ok with you,
I'd like to elect you the official AB reviewer....if that's ok with you???
Devs can send you promo codes and we can decide if we want to buy apps.
Maybe this should be a new thread??
Ok wanted to share some initial thoughts after playing with it for 10 min.
First off it is unique. I don't know of any other app that makes you approach making beats this way. I'm obviously still learning it but as for sounds, it's decent. I have yet to upload my own samples which is where Im hoping this baby will shine but if any of you have propellerheads figure, imagine having a beat play and moving your fingers up and down on the kick and snare adjusting the timbre on each beat. This app does it automatically. If ur a broke musician, I guess if you wanted that feel, you could just play a beat on figure, record a loop of that and just copy and paste.
Here is my criticism which I'm hoping either DD dev or Thumbjams dev can comment on. I am running different drummer through audiobus thru tonal energy tuner. When I play a kick on DD and specify say E, it does not register as E on tonal energy. It might register at C for example. When I change the key for the kick to maybe G or A, it still registers as C. I have to adjust the kick's key a whole lot to get it to finally change but obviously inaccurate. Not a deal killer for most ppl, but I want my E kick to be in E. pls see my other thread. This is a big deal. If this was my own sample, I could understand the tuning is off but this is the preset kick. Pls advise if I'm doing something wrong or if tonal energy app is doing something wrong.
Thanks in advance
.
Tiz indeed Simon.
You'll have to ask Seb.
One thing I have learned from this forum is that its set a bench mark for how to do business.
As a user,I'm likley to buy your app,(sometimes out of curiosity)if I see your willing to talk/listen to your users needs.
If,when a bug or issue is spotted,your on the case and if I hear good things about your app from other users.
I have to give the DD dev respect tho,for his
'Megala arhidiya'...he's named his tune.
So far,some consumers are dancing to it.
They should've called this app different percussionist, not different drummer. I can come up with amazing percussion rhythms that maybe only Impaktor could provide if you knew how to play bongos on a table but just making a simple boom ba boom boom ba is really difficult. Everything just keeps playing straight non stop, thus the washing machine reference earlier in thread. Have any of you been able to figure out how to just do a simple beat without the ongoing percussion like tempos? Instead of an ongoing four to the floor beat, I want to cut out a kick here and there for dynamics
Also midibridge or glitchbreaks aren't detecting the midi out from DD. I may just have it configured wrong but it doesn't appear in the apps list of midibridge and when I click on glitchbreaks, I don't see anything referencing DD. I just choose midi clock receive.
I for one won't be buying this app. I didn't see anything in the review that would warrant me paying more for this app than Drumjam, DM1, Funkbox or any of the many great beat making apps on IOS. If this becomes successful, watch all the other developers start pushing up their prices.
The devs have had some great free publicity from this forum, congratulations on a great marketing ploy.
Technemedia call this app "esoteric" which means:
es·o·ter·ic adj.
Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult.
Of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people.
Confined to a small group: esoteric interests.
Not publicly disclosed; confidential.
At this price....let's hope it stays that way.
@mmmwhaha - yeah dude, it is expensive especially if you aren't looking for percussion. But while I will be the first to criticize it, many other drum apps are just toys that you could probably just sample off any electronica song and loop over and over. I had an Alexis sr-16' old school drum machine from like a decade ago and most drum apps sounds like that now anyways so nothing unique. Maybe in the early 80s when depeche mode was big but now nah.. This app actually does do stuff no other drum app can do UNLESS you know how to play bongos/tablas/drums which I do and you could pick up one of my fave apps, Impaktor, and just bust out the beat yourself.
Oh wait, stochastik can at least vary it up but the samples are still static. For many types of music, ppl might not really give a fuck but if you need nuance, this app can provide percussion wise. But I still can't figure out how to do a simple ass beat. It'd be nice to blend the complex timed rhythms with a simple backing beat that's not four to the floor.
EDIT: after playing with it a few hours, here some thoughts. Great for percussion rhythms. If you really want a bongo or tabla player this is the app for you. If you want tribal drumming, this is the app for you. If you wanna make a simple boom bap boom boom bap dr. Dre type beat, this is NOT the app for you. It's too complex to do simple beats which I'd want to mix in with these complicated rhythms. I was a little upset when I started to realize this until I turned on BM2 and started jamming along with DD, and that's when I felt I got my money's worth. So for me, I need another drum app to play along with DD rhythms to bring the beat together. Oh the help menu is a little tiny i to the right. There were also a few times I pressed record and it crashed.
I think that chart shows something interesting. Bear in mind that it shows gross revenue ranking.
At the high price point, DD occasionally made a sale. When it did, the revenue leapt to $150 for that sample point, putting it quite high in the rankings, (a $5 app would have to sell 30 copies in the same period to compete) after which It quickly tumbled back down through the rankings until it vanished from view until the next sale. This pattern obviously reoccurred a few times until the drop to $50. Then something interesting happened. There's a little blue tick on the 21st April. If that's a genuine reading and not a glitch, it shows that DD made multiple sales on that day, getting higher in the rankings than before and was for the first time actually slightly improving in the rankings over time. To me that says a lot about pricing strategy.
Personally, I'd rather sell 100 copies at $1.50 than 1 at $150.00. Why? Because a proportion of those people will recommend the app to their friends (assuming it's not crap), who will then be more likely to buy to try (because it's affordable), which means I'm more likely to sell another 100 the next day, and so on.
'Stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap' probably works quite well for apps provided you have a decent and useful product, due to lack of additional investment or overheads.
@gjcyrus That's exactly the point I was making. With the current feature set, DD is dictating your creative flow, not the other way around. I suspect you'll have to A) use your own samples, and
transfer the result to a DAW and edit in the beats you're having trouble getting DD to insert for you.
BTW, SunVox can do probability based drumming, and I can think of ways to automatically vary the samples used.