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 Store

Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Worth it? (Digitakt)

2

Comments

  • it hasn't been added and probably never will.

  • @pete12000 said:
    I'm finally coming to terms with the Digitakt: it's a drum machine and a one-shot sampler that requires babysitting during performance. The step sequencer's p-locks, conditionals, and LFOs are fantastic for making a loop that isn't boring. You can also create simple repeating melodies in chromatic sequencing mode.

    But....

    Longer samples? no
    MIDI sequencing? not so great
    Polyphonic MIDI sequencing? shoot me now
    song mode? sucka!

    I've had this box for 2 years, and just as I'm thinking I'll sell it, I create something cool on it...

    Exactly.
    “I’ll turn it on and do something as a goodbye before I sell it”.
    Loop start knob - woooooocckkkk - ❤️

  • it is a no-go for me.
    i tried it 1 weekend at a friend and it was horrible:
    too much menu diving to be fun...
    it looks fantastic and is fab built and sounds good
    but the interface is a nightmare for me.
    it doesnt feel "instrument-like" at all...

  • @waka_x said:
    it is a no-go for me.
    i tried it 1 weekend at a friend and it was horrible:
    too much menu diving to be fun...
    it looks fantastic and is fab built and sounds good
    but the interface is a nightmare for me.
    it doesnt feel "instrument-like" at all...

    It's pretty quick to learn. I play guitar and keys, so I'm an instrument-oriented person. Everything is immediate on the DT. There's really no menu diving when creating and modifying sequences.

  • pete12000:
    maybe I needed more time with the machine:(
    few hours wasnt enough for me.

  • @waka_x said:
    pete12000:
    maybe I needed more time with the machine:(
    few hours wasnt enough for me.

    If you played with it for a couple days, you'd be flying. And I can also remember how to use it after weeks or months of ignoring it.

  • @waka_x said:
    pete12000:
    maybe I needed more time with the machine:(
    few hours wasnt enough for me.

    few hours is not enough, whatever instrument you are trying to play ...

    DT is very straight forward. You can say that the Octatrack is difficult, that's ok, but not the digitakt.

  • For what it’s worth, I bought a DT because especially at the time there were no quality AU sampler options for use in AUM. Since then I’ve added a digitone, octatrack, analog keys, model cycles, etc...Digitakt is still my favorite, still the only one I do full tracks on, it’s immediate and I can fly on it. Actual until I added the A4 (last week), it was even my favorite synth. It doesn’t do everything perfect, but what it does do it does extremely well, and sounds fantastic. With the built in compressor, it really slaps, too.

    But as you can see by adding all the other boxes I did, it can use some help from more machines. That said, it’s the one box I battery power and take on trips/trains/planes/etc.

  • edited April 2021

    I went Electribe 2s -> Digitakt, after hemming and hawing between DT and MPC One. Ultimately what pushed me toward the DT was the lack of touchscreen — regardless of how much more powerful the MPC is (timestretch, slicing, audio tracks, song arrangement, etc.), I found it hard to jump into what is essentially a full-DAW workflow when I already have Beatmaker 3 on the go and Ableton Live on my desktop.

    One small consideration in favour of the DT was Overbridge, which is free and seamlessly integrates with the actual hardware. The MPC desktop software requires iLok for starters, and it doesn’t actually interface with the hardware — all processing happens on the computer, with the MPC acting as a controller. So you need to manually transfer samples and projects back and forth.

    On their own, the MPCs are lightweight DAWs with a very playable controller attached; the DT is a computer. It looks and feels like a computer, and it literally says “Drum Computer” on the front panel. You don’t really play it; you program it. It’s very easy and pleasant to program. Everything about the DT feels like someone truly considered it, and even though there are lots of nice tricks to get around the limitations, the limitations feel very deliberate.

    EDIT regarding class-compliant audio: I was wrong, you can’t pass audio from the inputs to your DAW.

  • So In answer to @SimRed's question, the answer is Yes. Digitakt is an inspiring instrument to many people who love it despite its limitations — limitations that are so obvious to many others that they can't even believe there's a discussion.

    Which translates to good news: If you hate it, sell it, and there will be plenty of people happy to pay a very high resale value for it! Everyone wins!

  • You can time stretch on the Digitakt using one of the LFO modes (yes the loop will follow any tempo you change to without pitching the loop, no it won’t sound as good as proper TS algorithms, but it time stretches nonetheless🤷‍♂️).

  • @jrjulius said:

    One small consideration in favour of the DT was Overbridge, which is free and seamlessly integrates with the actual hardware.

    This is a sore spot for me. My experience with Overbridge on Macs has been awful.

    Elektron promised Overbridge integration on the DT's launch, then they took over a year to deliver for any platform. The plug-in was difficult to use in Logic, only worked half the time, then it stopped working altogether for people who upgraded to Logic 10.6. They don't support Big Sur--five months after Apple released the OS to the public-- and there are still problems with Logic 10.6 on Catalina.

    I can't speak for Windows, but if you're a Mac person, then do NOT buy the DT if Overbridge is an important factor.

  • @pete12000 said:

    I can't speak for Windows, but if you're a Mac person, then do NOT buy the DT if Overbridge is an important factor.

    Fair point. I have a Windows desktop with Ableton Live and Overbridge, but my main use is stereo I/O to AUM via the class-compliant USB audio.

    Also, to the OP: my last post kind of danced around your question. IMO, the fact that the MPC One relies so heavily on the touchscreen puts it more in competition with a full DAW. If you don’t already have one, or if you’re looking for something to capture a lot of the same functions, then I agree that the expanded featureset is worth considering. But having too many features can be a curse if those features aren’t as powerful/smooth/intuitive as other solutions at your disposal.

    Since you’ve only had your DT a few weeks, I would ask the following:

    • How well do you know the conditional trig features? Have you moved past the percentages into the logic options? You can create consistent patterns FAR longer than 64 steps and this is one area where Elektron has very few competitors
      • Also look into “green trigs,” which allow you to change parameters without re-triggering the sound. I believe the MPC can do something similar via automation, but it’s not something a lot of people know about on the DT
    • How well do you know the sound engine? Can you dial in a perfect patch with your eyes closed? A touchscreen can’t cater to muscle memory, whereas I can do virtually all of my sound design without looking down.
    • Have you gotten the hang of direct sampling yet? The DT is never going to best an MPC, but it DOES work very well. And you can sample over USB audio, which I don’t see discussed very often but makes for a very convenient I/O setup with an iPad.
    • Have you explored the MIDI functionality? Apparently MPC 2.8 finally put the MPC ahead of the DT, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how the DT interfaces with my other gear
  • @SimRed said:
    I am devoting this very night to fully embracing, learning, wrestling and understanding the ins and outs of the Digitakt.

    Definitely plan on more than one night. There is a whole lot of there there and it’s not always easy to remember. For me anyway! One good shortcut to remember as you’re learning is that most function+button actions can be undone by hitting the same combo again. Good for oops moments but also good for performance.

  • @pete12000 said:
    I've had this box for 2 years, and just as I'm thinking I'll sell it, I create something cool on it...

    Haha! You are not alone in this particular cycle. :)

  • One little project I recently undertook that has opened the DT back up for me is setting up some sample chains. Basically a single sample with 10 samples in it, evenly separated. So, maybe 10 kicks in one, 10 claps in another... Then you set the sample length to 1/10 (can remember the exact number) and use the sample start knob to pick a sound. By using 10 per chain, you can do a press and turn of the sample start knob to pretty easily pick between samples.

    I used a free app called Octachainer to set them up. All told, made something like 20 chains. Most are single instrument (say, snares), some are mixed percussion and a couple are subsets of entire machines (like 10 808 sounds, 10 cr78 sounds...).

    From there, you just need to save a single “Sound” that is set up with the correct sample length. Load that sound to a track, pick a sample chain source sample and off you go.

  • PS. Plenty of YouTube videos and elektronaut posts on the ins and outs of chains on the DT and the OT.

    Here’s the free chaining app. Not the most functional bit of software (would be great if you could build/organize chains from a pool for instance) but gets the job done. https://ticticelectro.com/2020/11/14/octachainer-v1-3-1/

    Also, some prefer different length chains (6,8,12, etc). You can use this little web tool to determine offset amounts with different chain lengths. http://bl.ocks.org/NickDimmock/raw/3e8dd44a8e777129d332/

  • SIMON

    Can you please post a vid of how you have been using it?

    Can you explain to me how? With what? What type of sample in each slot?

    Let me help you.....

  • Overbridge beta big sur was released today

  • @mlau said:
    Overbridge beta big sur was released today

    I might dig my Digitakt out to try it!

  • @mlau said:
    Overbridge beta big sur was released today

    AudiobusForum gets results.

  • edited April 2021

    I have Digitakt and Digitone. Would NEVER EVER swap it for MPC One or for anything else .. for me they are like endless. Nothing ever in my life inspired my so much like those two magic boxes. Actually i'm considering to buy another digitone to double synth voices polyphony :-D Amazing tools ..

  • edited November 2021

    Digitakt have already gathered so much praise online that I believe many people just want to try it out from plain curiosity (including me, to be honest).
    I come from Electribe 2s > MPC One > iPad.
    Got MPC One last year, got excited about it's synth, next got iPad as a sound module and discovered it replaces everything (except the physical buttons) MPC has.
    Don't get me wrong, MPC is a great machine but for the money it's possible to have more creative hardware/software combination.

  • edited November 2021

    Guys, I got Digitakt, played with it for a few days and ended with a conclusion - it is a serious downgrade from iOS music making environment!
    All the sound modifying possibilities the machine has does not recompense the limitations it has in comparison to an iPad loaded with DAWs/synths/drum machines/samplers/FX.

    It's really easy to create a rich, multilayered and easily evolving jam on iOS but to achieve similar results on Digitakt requires some serious gimnasticks.
    The only good thing about the machine is the fatness of the sound coming from it (thanks to built in compressor/amp).

    So all this praise Digitakt receives online is not really a benchmark of any kind.
    And BTW, I still had more fun with Electribe 2s than the Digi.

  • @israelite I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. It’s like comparing a Tesla to a bicycle. I’d never want a car, even though it seems that it can do so much more.

    Or, for that matter, comparing a Mac to an iPad. It can do way more, and run Logic and Ableton, but what if you want to touch the screen? Etc.

  • @israelite said:
    Guys, I got Digitakt, played with it for a few days and ended with a conclusion - it is a serious downgrade from iOS music making environment!
    All the sound modifying possibilities the machine has does not recompense the limitations it has in comparison to an iPad loaded with DAWs/synths/drum machines/samplers/FX.

    It's really easy to create a rich, multilayered and easily evolving jam on iOS but to achieve similar results on Digitakt requires some serious gimnasticks.
    The only good thing about the machine is the fatness of the sound coming from it (thanks to built in compressor/amp).

    So all this praise Digitakt receives online is not really a benchmark of any kind.
    And BTW, I still had more fun with Electribe 2s than the Digi.

    If we’re measuring sound modifying capability, polyphony, effects or if you’re trying to achieve something specific there’s no contest. iPad hands down.
    But the Digitakt is such a pleasure to play with. The form factor, the knobs, the screen, the way everything is laid out.
    A while back I fantasized in Turn iPad into a hardware device. Elektron ipad? about an app/hardware controller combo that would be the best of both worlds. IMO there’s no Launchpad or device that gets close to a dedicated software/hardware integration like the one in Elektron machines (or Maschine, or Mpc… if that’s your thing).

  • @mistercharlie said:
    @israelite I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. It’s like comparing a Tesla to a bicycle. I’d never want a car, even though it seems that it can do so much more.

    Or, for that matter, comparing a Mac to an iPad. It can do way more, and run Logic and Ableton, but what if you want to touch the screen? Etc.

    You are right. But it simply a point of view of someone (and to be precise a beginner in this field) who has passion to create music and is searching for the best tool to do this 🙂

    Digitakt has a great potential once you get to know all it's tricks but iOS with it's variety of apps, can be very straightforward and fruitful with creating a wide range of compositions.

  • @tahiche said:
    A while back I fantasized in Turn iPad into a hardware device. Elektron ipad? about an app/hardware controller combo that would be the best of both worlds. IMO there’s no Launchpad or device that gets close to a dedicated software/hardware integration like the one in Elektron machines (or Maschine, or Mpc… if that’s your thing).

    This would be a good way to go!

  • @israelite said:

    @tahiche said:
    A while back I fantasized in Turn iPad into a hardware device. Elektron ipad? about an app/hardware controller combo that would be the best of both worlds. IMO there’s no Launchpad or device that gets close to a dedicated software/hardware integration like the one in Elektron machines (or Maschine, or Mpc… if that’s your thing).

    This would be a good way to go!

    Technically and from a practical standpoint it makes total sense. But my guess is that on a business level it’s too risky having Apple as a “mandatory” partner. What if the whole enchilada stops working on iOS16?. If at least you could downgrade the iOS version. As it is, you’d be handing a significant part of your revenues to apple and not get much of a compromise in return, which is fine with 10€ apps but not on a 200€ (Or whatever) hardware device…

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