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.

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Vocals + USB Midi possible?

necromenecrome
in General App Discussion

Hi everyone, I'm sorry if this has been asked before! I play the piano and sing professionally, I've been looking into recording live vocals /together/ with an XKey37 midi controller with virtual instruments from Korg Module and/or iGrand. What is the best approach to interfacing or going about doing this?

Comments

  • GanthoferGanthofer

    @necrome - first, to answer your question, Yes it is possible.

    The possible solutions, while not unlimited are quite high. I would recommend that you consider what your preferences are with respect to a)type/model of microphones b)midi connection (USB or 5pin din) for controller c)number of audio inputs you may want in future perhaps, as this will influence what audio interface you choose. Other things to consider are portability (compact all in one, battery powered versus power cords and patch cables).

    Not a keyboard/Synth guy, but the specs on the XKey37 looks like it can possibly do USB and/or 5pin din Midi connections, but would require the USB connection for power either way.

    Something like the Akai EIE (http://www.akaipro.com/product/eie) would work, along with a CCK (Camera Connection Kit - Apple). But might be overkill with the 4 mic/instrument inputs. However it does have a built in USB hub and 5pin din Midi connections all powered by one AC adapter.

    Give it some thought and maybe list your preferences (mic/portability/etc) the more details, the better some may be able to direct you to hardware that fits.

  • animalanimal

    you'll need an usb-hub plugged into the lightning-usb-Adapter, and that plugged into your pad/phone. then an AudioInterface with Midi capabilities, or a seperate midi Interface (depends also on whether you are using usb-midi or Din-midi). mic and midicontroller go into the interface, and you're set. of course, some settings in your preferred Apps might have to be considered, audio- and midi-wise. have fun!

  • necromenecrome

    Thanks for the amazing answers Ganthofer and animal! I'm looking to just have a single input for the microphone (1/4" or USB if it's even possible cause I have a Zoom H2 just lying around), another 1/4" jack for an acoustic guitar, and then just a single USB midi input for the controller. I'm hoping to spend as little as possible and have a portable solution cause I travel a lot! :)

    According to my research so far, it seems like the iRig PRO may be the best fit for this application? But it only accepts 5-pin MIDI, which I am not sure would be future-proof? I'm utterly new at MIDI so I have no idea if 5-pin is something that's slowly being phased out? Thanks again for being so helpful!

  • dwarmandwarman

    Just a powered hub and the CCK will do it then. The Zoom works fine as an audio interface through a hub. To make the system truly portable - i.e. not even tethered to the wall power - you can use a USB charger battery to power the hub.

  • GanthoferGanthofer

    @necrome - the iRig PRO would work for connecting a single audio source (mic or guitar) and the XKey37 5pin din Midi. However, you would need a USB power supply for your XKey37 to work. Also, no possibility to connect a mic and guitar at the same time. For your original request (mic and midi keys) it's not a bad choice. However I don't own one and I would suggest that once you narrow down what hardware to buy that you search the related Forums out there to see what kind of problems users are having. It seems every device has its problems, kind of depends whether you can live with it or not.

    The 5pin Din midi connector has been in use around 30 years, being phased out? Future-proof is a nice word, but in the world of electronics it's only good for a couple of years. Unless you stay with your current iDevice, chances are the lightning connector will have changed before you have to be concerned about the Midi connection.

    As for 5-pin din midi versus USB midi, you have to becareful when purchasing new devices. Some only have USB, some have both. USB is probably more common today, but due to the amount of old Midi equipment out there, many manufacturers still include 5pin din Midi as it makes it more versatile and marketable.

    I'll give some thought to a 2 input audio interface with midi and see if I come up with any good suggestions.

    One thing to consider, the interfaces designed specifically for iOS connections (30pin/Lightning) are ussually more expensive for the same features. And rightly so, since they connect direct with no added hardware. However, the choises are some what limited. By adding a CCK (~$30 US) and a powered USB hub (~$10-20 UD) you can connect your USB keyboard (if it is class compliant) and a USB Microphone (again if it is class compliant) with no added hardware. And this might be a good place to start. From there, if you decide you need more, you could add a USB (class compliant) Audio and/or Midi interface for more or different inputs (line in/guitar, 5pin Din Midi). The USB interface would also be usable on a PC/MAC.

  • necromenecrome

    Ganthofer and dwarman, you guys have been a huge help! I totally didn't notice that an iRig Pro wouldn't power the XKey controller at all! I would've made a wrong purchase for my context if not for your comprehensive advice!

    It does seem like a powered USB hub with the CCK is the exact solution I'm looking for, and at a very reasonable price too! I'll go for that and post my findings here once I have it done so anyone with the same needs can benefit from the knowledge you guys shared :)

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