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.

Recording AUv3s into iPad DAWs: impossible?

I love my iPad music apps, but whenever I try to record the output of an Audio Unit into GarageBand or Cubasis, it never works. At best, I get a midi track that I can freeze, but usually nothing at all gets recorded.

Apps tried include Egoist, Koala, and (iirc) Factory.

Do I have to use AUM and manually import the audio tracks? I can use iDAM or an iConnect to record into Ableton on the Mac, but I’d rather do it on the iPad.

This is the single biggest thing stopping me from using the iPad for creating songs.

How do you all work around it? Or am I just doing it wrong?

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Comments

  • edited November 2021

    In Beatmaker 3 you could record audio from pads loaded with AUv3s. But there were some quirks with effect chains, like it recording only dry signal, don't remember exactly...

  • Load your AU in Audiobus and choose in the Output-Slot your DAW. With Cubasis this works perfekt. If you load your AU in Cubasis, you only will get a Midi-Track of your recording.

  • Never encountered this issue
    Will try with those you mentioned a tad later within GB and Cubasis

  • edited November 2021

    @Lycaan said:
    Load your AU in Audiobus and choose in the Output-Slot your DAW. With Cubasis this works perfekt. If you load your AU in Cubasis, you only will get a Midi-Track of your recording.

    This sounds like a decent workaround. I wonder why I can’t just capture the audio from the AU in the DAW though.

    Edit: this is exactly the kind of workaround that keeps me on the Mac for this kind of thing. Which I don’t prefer, but it seems necessary.

  • Can’t you just route an AUv3 track to a blank audio track in Cubasis, arm the audio track for recording and then perform the AU into the audio track? It’ll still record the midi I guess but you’d also capture your playing on the instrument track.

    This might not be possible, haven’t tried but seems like it should work? None of this works in GB unless you used it as an output for an IAA app but I suspect this is not the workflow you’re looking for jedi hand wave

  • @mistercharlie said:

    @Lycaan said:
    Load your AU in Audiobus and choose in the Output-Slot your DAW. With Cubasis this works perfekt. If you load your AU in Cubasis, you only will get a Midi-Track of your recording.

    This sounds like a decent workaround. I wonder why I can’t just capture the audio from the AU in the DAW though.

    Edit: this is exactly the kind of workaround that keeps me on the Mac for this kind of thing. Which I don’t prefer, but it seems necessary.

    But that's how things work on Mac as well isn't it? When you put an AU in a track in Live or Logic, for example, when you record on to that track it records the MIDI you play, not the audio. You then have to bounce or capture the audio if you want the track as audio instead of an infinitely tweakable AU.

    Say you're in GarageBand, once you record your track as MIDI and are happy with it you can select the track, tap the icon on the left and choose "Merge" to convert the MIDI track to audio.

    it's similar in other DAWs where you bounce to audio.

    A lot of people leave the MIDI as MIDI and mix with it like that as you can go in and edit any note and synth parameter whilst mixing if you need to (to say make a synth line brighter by opening up the filter or fixing a note that doesn't sit right in the mix).

    It's nice to bounce to audio to commit and stop yourself tweaking forever (note to self; print to audio :lol:) and most DAWs on iOS allow that. Or you can route the audio from the AU/MIDI track into another audio track and record that live whilst you twiddle some knobs in the AU Plugin window (although not in GB, that doesn't route audio). You could use AUM for that which is the most flexible app on iOS for that kind of thing as you can just record the output of any channel as audio.

    When I am using Logic on the Mac, I records AUs as MIDI and then bounce the regions I want as audio afterwards. It's not that different.

    There are other, huge, differences that keep me on Logic on the Mac though, but I am not sure I understand your issue here?

  • edited November 2021

    @klownshed It’s the same on the Mac, only reliable. For instance, the other day I wanted to record Koala. I added it as an AU in Cubasis, but even the midi would not record.

    I'm pretty sure I’ve managed it before. The inconsistency is probably the biggest problem. At least with Ableton, it always works the same every time.

    Can you route audio between tracks in Cubasis? I didn’t think that was possible.

  • @iammane said:
    Can’t you just route an AUv3 track to a blank audio track in Cubasis, arm the audio track for recording and then perform the AU into the audio track?

    No and I'll keep reminding @LFS for as long as it takes until we can do that in Cubasis...
    ...It's such a basic DAW routing feature and it's mind boggling that it's still missing after all these years...

    BM3 has been able to do that since initial release...
    (Ie. an Audio-Track in BM3 can use any pad or bank as the audio-input source).

  • FPCFPC
    edited November 2021

    @Samu said:

    @iammane said:
    Can’t you just route an AUv3 track to a blank audio track in Cubasis, arm the audio track for recording and then perform the AU into the audio track?

    No and I'll keep reminding @LFS for as long as it takes until we can do that in Cubasis...
    ...It's such a basic DAW routing feature and it's mind boggling that it's still missing after all these years...

    BM3 has been able to do that since initial release...
    (Ie. an Audio-Track in BM3 can use any pad or bank as the audio-input source).

    Yes I agree this is a much needed feature that really should exist in Cubasis.

    Apps like Tube AU and WebSDR are pretty useless in Cubasis with no easy method of capturing their audio.

    Also I'd like to be able to record the audio from more experimental apps like Esoteric Synth and Virtual ANS3. Yes I know I can automate and edit the midi data but sometimes I just want the spontaneity of capturing what I'm doing right now without the added layer of complexity that always seems to come with automating stuff.

    Also (not an expert here so correct me if I'm wrong) don't apps like Mononoke and Animoog Z not play nicely when outputting midi data from their keyboards?

    Anyway, +1

  • @mistercharlie said:
    @klownshed It’s the same on the Mac, only reliable. For instance, the other day I wanted to record Koala. I added it as an AU in Cubasis, but even the midi would not record.

    I'm pretty sure I’ve managed it before. The inconsistency is probably the biggest problem. At least with Ableton, it always works the same every time.

    Can you route audio between tracks in Cubasis? I didn’t think that was possible.

    Yeah I'm in agreement there.

    I don't like any of the DAWs on iOS enough for them to be the main DAW. For me that's been Logic and has been since before the World Wide Web was even a thing.

    What I like iOS for is it allows me to be creative whenever I have some time (which is not often; pre-kids it was easy!) with the minimum of friction.

    I had messed about with iOS audio since the beginning too, but it only really clicked with me when I stopped trying to duplicate what I did on the Mac and used iOS for it's strengths. There are countless apps and countless ways of working on iOS that are inspiring and creative and I use them to generate ideas. If I'm in Logic I often get stuck in an arrangement so I export stems and use those stems in BlocsWave or NS2. I often get songs finished like that with a hybrid approach.

    I don't try and finish songs on iOS, but a lot of the songs I have made recently have started or at least developed from an 8 bar loop into something approaching a song on iOS. That in itself is invaluable to me.

    So my main advice would be to not try and replace your Mac with iOS but use the strengths of iOS to enhance making music on your Mac. If you try and use iOS as you use Live, it will always pail by comparison. But there are tons of cool things you an do on iOS that you'd never try on your Mac. and it's in your pocket. :-)

  • @klownshed Right now the best option (for me) seems to be Koala, because it is a) awesome and b) can save out as Live sets. I should just use that and quit whining.

  • @mistercharlie said:
    @klownshed Right now the best option (for me) seems to be Koala, because it is a) awesome and b) can save out as Live sets. I should just use that and quit whining.

    I guess we need to whine. If we don't the likelihood of our most beloved features getting implemented goes down drastically :sunglasses:

  • @mistercharlie : Auria can be set up to record AUv3 instruments to audio tracks.

  • edited November 2021

    Just to get the context right... @mistercharlie I guess you are trying to record Animoog Z, right? Normally in Cubasis you can freeze your track and then you will find the audio file in the audio folder and then you can drag it onto an audio track. But this workaround fails if the track freeze fails. ATM it seems to be impossible to record the Midi output of Animoog Z properly, so you can't record the Midi and then freeze the track. There are a few other AUs that are also problematic when freezing.

    Anyway, we shouldn't accept workarounds in our workflows. So I second the call for proper audio and Midi routing for Cubasis. Yes, Midi routing, too. Filtering the Midi input by channel is not working, you always get the events from all channels regardless of the selected channel in the Midi input. Although stated in the manual on page 29. I filed a bug report for that but the fix didn't make it into 3.3.3.

  • edited November 2021

    double post

  • Just a thought: for the DAWs that don’t have the routing flexibility to record audio from an AUv3 (Cubasis can’t but Auria can), you should be able to work around the issue with 4pockets Multitrack Recorder: just add it as an insert after your synth.

  • @krassmann said:
    Just to get the context right... @mistercharlie I guess you are trying to record Animoog Z, right? Normally in Cubasis you can freeze your track and then you will find the audio file in the audio folder and then you can drag it onto an audio track. But this workaround fails if the track freeze fails. ATM it seems to be impossible to record the Midi output of Animoog Z properly, so you can't record the Midi and then freeze the track. There are a few other AUs that are also problematic when freezing.

    Anyway, we shouldn't accept workarounds in our workflows. So I second the call for proper audio and Midi routing for Cubasis. Yes, Midi routing, too. Filtering the Midi input by channel is not working, you always get the events from all channels regardless of the selected channel in the Midi input. Although stated in the manual on page 29. I filed a bug report for that but the fix didn't make it into 3.3.3.

    As far as I understand, Animoog Z played from its keyboard in Cubasis (and currently every other DAW) won't result in something identical to how it sounded when played -- so the only real option is to record the audio. The current workaround as others have noted is to use something like Neon or MultiTrack recorder inserted as an effect on the channel to capture the audio. Capturing the MIDI isn't currently very helpful. It isn't clear whether the the issues are with Animoog Z or Cubasis or both.

  • Why don’t y’all use AUM’s output nodes routed to Cubasis? Easy and simple! You’ve got 8 IAA channels to work with.

    In Cubasis, “Add” an audio track for each track. Then under the “Routing” for each one, select “AUM port 1” and so on.

    Back in AUM, select the output node for each as the highlighted Cubasis IAA output.

    This will even give you little Cubasis transport controls right there in AUM at the output node. Works like a charm!

  • Here’s a how to from our beloved @jakoB_haQ

  • I’m so glad this topic was brought up. This has always been my biggest (and really only) frustration with the AUv3 workflow. I was always more of an audio guy than a MIDI guy and it just feels like iOS music tools greatly favor programming and midi sequencing over working with audio. I was shocked when I first realized I could not just record the AUDIO from a loaded AUDIO unit in a digital AUDIO workstation?!

    I have always just used AUM or Audiobus to pipe in audio to Cubasis. This results in losing so much of the benefits of working with audio units and leaves me with essentially still the clunkier, rapid app switching IAA workflow for Cubasis.

    Getting this changed would be a….gamechanger.

  • @Edward_Alexander you are right. That is probably the easiest workaround if you just want to play live with Animoog and record it along with your Cubasis track. 👍

  • @marmakin said:
    I’m so glad this topic was brought up. This has always been my biggest (and really only) frustration with the AUv3 workflow. I was always more of an audio guy than a MIDI guy and it just feels like iOS music tools greatly favor programming and midi sequencing over working with audio. I was shocked when I first realized I could not just record the AUDIO from a loaded AUDIO unit in a digital AUDIO workstation?!

    I have always just used AUM or Audiobus to pipe in audio to Cubasis. This results in losing so much of the benefits of working with audio units and leaves me with essentially still the clunkier, rapid app switching IAA workflow for Cubasis.

    Getting this changed would be a….gamechanger.

    What “benefits” are you losing? You can control Cubasis’ transport and recording right from AUM.

  • edited November 2021

    @krassmann said:
    @Edward_Alexander you are right. That is probably the easiest workaround if you just want to play live with Animoog and record it along with your Cubasis track. 👍

    But seriously a multi-app work-around for a flaw in a DAW?
    I'm almost ready to give up on 'iOS DAWs'(BM3 being one exception) and go back to Logic...

    As long as we come up with these 'work around with apps' there's no real pressure on DAW developers to implement or add anything more than the 'basics' and when even that fails I start to question the sanity behind those who prioritize the features that get implemented...

    ...sorry for the somewhat naggy tone, but at the phase things are going I Cub-Land give it 2-3 years and a few more paid updates and we might get something that contains some of requests made since the initial release years ago...

    Cheers!

  • @krassmann said:
    @Edward_Alexander you are right. That is probably the easiest workaround if you just want to play live with Animoog and record it along with your Cubasis track. 👍

    Screen recording is another viable method. Of course the purists and audiophiles will argue that the quality isn’t the same, but I’ve never been able to hear the difference with my 52 year old ears.

  • @espiegel123 said:
    @mistercharlie : Auria can be set up to record AUv3 instruments to audio tracks.

    @Edward_Alexander said:
    Why don’t y’all use AUM’s output nodes routed to Cubasis? Easy and simple! You’ve got 8 IAA channels to work with.

    In Cubasis, “Add” an audio track for each track. Then under the “Routing” for each one, select “AUM port 1” and so on.

    Back in AUM, select the output node for each as the highlighted Cubasis IAA output.

    This will even give you little Cubasis transport controls right there in AUM at the output node. Works like a charm!

    This is just great! AUM is also a much nicer place to host audio units too, so it’s a win-win.

    Although now I’ve discovered the joy of Koala in AUM…

  • @Edward_Alexander said:

    @marmakin said:
    I’m so glad this topic was brought up. This has always been my biggest (and really only) frustration with the AUv3 workflow. I was always more of an audio guy than a MIDI guy and it just feels like iOS music tools greatly favor programming and midi sequencing over working with audio. I was shocked when I first realized I could not just record the AUDIO from a loaded AUDIO unit in a digital AUDIO workstation?!

    I have always just used AUM or Audiobus to pipe in audio to Cubasis. This results in losing so much of the benefits of working with audio units and leaves me with essentially still the clunkier, rapid app switching IAA workflow for Cubasis.

    Getting this changed would be a….gamechanger.

    What “benefits” are you losing? You can control Cubasis’ transport and recording right from AUM.

    The biggest lost benefit is being able to just open up a single Cubasis project and have everything as you left it. As soon as multiple apps are involved, that goes out the window.

  • >

    The biggest lost benefit is being able to just open up a single Cubasis project and have everything as you left it. As soon as multiple apps are involved, that goes out the window.

    +1, This is why we need to keep on 'whining' :sunglasses:

  • edited November 2021

    Yet another MTS feature: MultitrackStudio, something dev calls practice tracks records AuV3 directly into audio tracks w/effects. This also works for IAA

  • @mistercharlie said:

    @Edward_Alexander said:

    @marmakin said:
    I’m so glad this topic was brought up. This has always been my biggest (and really only) frustration with the AUv3 workflow. I was always more of an audio guy than a MIDI guy and it just feels like iOS music tools greatly favor programming and midi sequencing over working with audio. I was shocked when I first realized I could not just record the AUDIO from a loaded AUDIO unit in a digital AUDIO workstation?!

    I have always just used AUM or Audiobus to pipe in audio to Cubasis. This results in losing so much of the benefits of working with audio units and leaves me with essentially still the clunkier, rapid app switching IAA workflow for Cubasis.

    Getting this changed would be a….gamechanger.

    What “benefits” are you losing? You can control Cubasis’ transport and recording right from AUM.

    The biggest lost benefit is being able to just open up a single Cubasis project and have everything as you left it. As soon as multiple apps are involved, that goes out the window.

    Yes! That is a big one. Also I’ve gotten quite used to the AUv3 workflow of having everything right there in one app.

    Using AUM or Audiobus isn’t bad, it just very much feels like a workaround. I also like to see the audio file tracking and can’t do that from AUM or AB3. Not a showstopper, just not ideal for me at least.

  • @marmakin said:

    @mistercharlie said:

    @Edward_Alexander said:

    @marmakin said:
    I’m so glad this topic was brought up. This has always been my biggest (and really only) frustration with the AUv3 workflow. I was always more of an audio guy than a MIDI guy and it just feels like iOS music tools greatly favor programming and midi sequencing over working with audio. I was shocked when I first realized I could not just record the AUDIO from a loaded AUDIO unit in a digital AUDIO workstation?!

    I have always just used AUM or Audiobus to pipe in audio to Cubasis. This results in losing so much of the benefits of working with audio units and leaves me with essentially still the clunkier, rapid app switching IAA workflow for Cubasis.

    Getting this changed would be a….gamechanger.

    What “benefits” are you losing? You can control Cubasis’ transport and recording right from AUM.

    The biggest lost benefit is being able to just open up a single Cubasis project and have everything as you left it. As soon as multiple apps are involved, that goes out the window.

    Yes! That is a big one. Also I’ve gotten quite used to the AUv3 workflow of having everything right there in one app.

    Using AUM or Audiobus isn’t bad, it just very much feels like a workaround. I also like to see the audio file tracking and can’t do that from AUM or AB3. Not a showstopper, just not ideal for me at least.

    in the meantime, use Neon or Multitrack recorder inside Cubasis to capture the audio.

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