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

drum app for this application?

I'm looking for one drum app that will allow me to come up with drum parts for songs which have multiple sections. Would be great if I can randomize to find a main part, then have controls for easy rhythmic variations and a way to store the settings for each so that I can build up a whole track. Also important is a way to make it sound like a person is playing it and not have that machine computer precision feeling. I've heard Drambo mentioned as well as Elastic but I'm not sure if those would be straight forward enough for what I'm looking for. Ease of use is a big plus but I don't want to sacrifice the quality and variety of rhythms which are possible. Sounds can be actual drum samples or synthetically created sounds.

So, the question is, which app do you find you reach for first for this kind of application?

P.S. the songs I want to create this way have a typical rock structure like Intro, Bridge, Outro etc...

Comments

  • Have you considered the LumBeats apps?

  • Check out Hammerhead. It’s pretty straightforward, x0x style sequencing. Each preset can have 8 patterns that you can cycle through manually, randomly or sequentially and there are a nice selection of randomization options. Easy copy and paste functions so you can makes variations.

    The glitch/mutation functions can get pretty wild. It comes with great sample sets, and you can also synthesize drum parts.

    Also, the patterns can be externally sequenced.

  • @robosardine said:
    Have you considered the LumBeats apps?

    No, I haven't heard of it but will check it out, thanks!

  • @timelining said:
    Check out Hammerhead. It’s pretty straightforward, x0x style sequencing. Each preset can have 8 patterns that you can cycle through manually, randomly or sequentially and there are a nice selection of randomization options. Easy copy and paste functions so you can makes variations.

    The glitch/mutation functions can get pretty wild. It comes with great sample sets, and you can also synthesize drum parts.

    Also, the patterns can be externally sequenced.

    ooo, cool, thanks. Will check out!

  • GarageBand drummer.

  • edited January 2022

    Lum Beats has a section composer and can export in lots of different formats (audio midi) or use DrumComputer as a midi sequencer to run whatever f*cking sound you want from any other drum machine or sample.

    LumBeats has lots of different styles per app that might be hard for an untrained person to sequence by hand or with any other step sequencer. You can customize it thoroughly.

    DrumComputer OUTSIDE of the sound generation has a brilliant sequencer that is TOTALLY under your control. It has generative capabilities, halftime (sequencing on 8ths rather than 16ths), polyrhythms, directional control, swing, tempo change, a section composer (sequence chaining), pitch controls, ratcheting, probabilities... live REMIXING - freaking nuts, but all anyone can talk about is blah blah blah I don't like the bass drum or the sounds are thin. USE it to sequence another set of sounds you like if you don't want to sound design in the app. One of the best IMHOP.

    I don't regret any of my Lumbeats purchases either despite the lack of AU.

  • @klownshed said:
    GarageBand drummer.

    This seems really good and kinda what I > @audiblevideo said:

    Lum Beats has a section composer and can export in lots of different formats (audio midi) or use DrumComputer as a midi sequencer to run whatever f*cking sound you want from any other drum machine or sample.

    LumBeats has lots of different styles per app that might be hard for an untrained person to sequence by hand or with any other step sequencer. You can customize it thoroughly.

    DrumComputer OUTSIDE of the sound generation has a brilliant sequencer that is TOTALLY under your control. It has generative capabilities, halftime (sequencing on 8ths rather than 16ths), polyrhythms, directional control, swing, tempo change, a section composer (sequence chaining), pitch controls, ratcheting, probabilities... live REMIXING - freaking nuts, but all anyone can talk about is blah blah blah I don't like the bass drum or the sounds are thin. USE it to sequence another set of sounds you like if you don't want to sound design in the app. One of the best IMHOP.

    I don't regret any of my Lumbeats purchases either despite the lack of AU.

    I really appreciate this breakdown!! Super helpful! Thanks!

  • wimwim
    edited January 2022

    This is going to sound a bit crazy, but ... miRack.

    Wait! Before anyone's eyes cross thinking about miRack, Topograph is a really great drum sequencer and if it was a standalone app would fit the OP perfectly. Once set up in miRack it is essentially just that.

    Topograph (and its sibling µGraph) has a huge library of drum sequences that you can select and vary at the twist of a few dials. It has individual control over the frequency of kicks, snares, and hats, swing, randomness, etc.

    Here's a simple setup that has CC's assigned to all the knobs if you want to control externally, and outputs General Midi to the host. Notes out and CC's in can easily be configured. You can get good drum beats outta this thing until the cows come home.

    Topograph info here: https://valleyaudio.github.io/rack/topograph/

    There are a few particular settings under the hood, so I attached the preset, which should fire up OK in any host.

    Settings:

    • host sync: CLOCK RATE Beat / 8
    • Topograph: Ext. Clock Resolution 8 PPQN, Run Mode Momentary

    Bonus tips:

    • Try the different sequencer modes under the Topograph menu.
    • You can hide the cables in miRack settings if they freak you out or get in the way.

    Topograph Midi.zip

  • @wim said:
    This is going to sound a bit crazy, but ... miRack.

    Wait! Before anyone's eyes cross thinking about miRack, Topograph is a really great drum sequencer and if it was a standalone app would fit the OP perfectly. Once set up in miRack it is essentially just that.

    Topograph (and its sibling µGraph) has a huge library of drum sequences that you can select and vary at the twist of a few dials. It has individual control over the frequency of kicks, snares, and hats, swing, randomness, etc.

    Here's a simple setup that has CC's assigned to all the knobs if you want to control externally, and outputs General Midi to the host. Notes out and CC's in can easily be configured. You can get good drum beats outta this thing until the cows come home.

    Topograph info here: https://valleyaudio.github.io/rack/topograph/

    There are a few particular settings under the hood, so I attached the preset, which should fire up OK in any host.

    Settings:

    • host sync: CLOCK RATE Beat / 8
    • Topograph: Ext. Clock Resolution 8 PPQN, Run Mode Momentary

    Bonus tips:

    • Try the different sequencer modes under the Topograph menu.
    • You can hide the cables in miRack settings if they freak you out or get in the way.

    Topograph Midi.zip

    Fantastic!! Can't wait to try this. I was wondering about modular possibilities too so this totally fits the bill. Thanks!

  • +1 for GarageBand drummer and DrumComputer. Also check out FAC DrumKit. There are also multiple apps for finger drumming. You could play them by hand (or with a midi controller) and sample that for each section of your song.

  • +1 for DrumComputer having a fantastic sequencer. Plus a “humanize” function to introduce tiny variations in timing and velocity.

  • @wim Hey, just wanted to thank you for the great suggestion of using Topograph + the included miRack preset.. I haven’t played around in miRack for quite awhile now and I don’t recall using Topograph before.. this will definitely get me back into it.. 👍

  • @royor said:
    @wim Hey, just wanted to thank you for the great suggestion of using Topograph + the included miRack preset.. I haven’t played around in miRack for quite awhile now and I don’t recall using Topograph before.. this will definitely get me back into it.. 👍

    Thanks, that's great to hear. miRack and Drambo scare off a lot of people because of how deep they are. It's easy to overlook that they can also be used simply and thought of as a single purpose app once set up.

  • @wim said:

    @royor said:
    @wim Hey, just wanted to thank you for the great suggestion of using Topograph + the included miRack preset.. I haven’t played around in miRack for quite awhile now and I don’t recall using Topograph before.. this will definitely get me back into it.. 👍

    Thanks, that's great to hear. miRack and Drambo scare off a lot of people because of how deep they are. It's easy to overlook that they can also be used simply and thought of as a single purpose app once set up.

    Topograph is Grids? So cool. https://mutable-instruments.net/modules/grids/

  • @wim said:

    @royor said:
    @wim Hey, just wanted to thank you for the great suggestion of using Topograph + the included miRack preset.. I haven’t played around in miRack for quite awhile now and I don’t recall using Topograph before.. this will definitely get me back into it.. 👍

    Thanks, that's great to hear. miRack and Drambo scare off a lot of people because of how deep they are. It's easy to overlook that they can also be used simply and thought of as a single purpose app once set up.

    That’s a lot of fun. Sometimes it’s nice to be fed with a 🥄 template =)

    couldnt get The 4x4 bass drum. Any ways to achieve it?

  • wimwim
    edited January 2022

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    @wim said:

    @royor said:
    @wim Hey, just wanted to thank you for the great suggestion of using Topograph + the included miRack preset.. I haven’t played around in miRack for quite awhile now and I don’t recall using Topograph before.. this will definitely get me back into it.. 👍

    Thanks, that's great to hear. miRack and Drambo scare off a lot of people because of how deep they are. It's easy to overlook that they can also be used simply and thought of as a single purpose app once set up.

    That’s a lot of fun. Sometimes it’s nice to be fed with a 🥄 template =)

    couldnt get The 4x4 bass drum. Any ways to achieve it?

    I assume you mean a plain 4 on the 4 bass drum beat? I don't know. There may be a setting in there somewhere but I wouldn't know how to find it.

    I would just disconnect the kick and use one of the other sequencers such as Gate Seq 64, trigSeq, trSEQ, etc. for that.

    There's also a Euclidean mode, so you could use a separate Topograph in that mode for just the kick.

  • edited January 2022

    @wim said:

    Topograph (and its sibling µGraph) has a huge library of drum sequences that you can select and vary at the twist of a few dials. It has individual control over the frequency of kicks, snares, and hats, swing, randomness, etc.

    Hi @wim , got this set up in AUM and looping to my desktop DAW using the preset. And have CC working using my Launchpad. This is great and I want to make this work, but where can I find the huge library of sequences?

    Thanks again for the great tip!

  • @gkillmaster said:

    @wim said:

    Topograph (and its sibling µGraph) has a huge library of drum sequences that you can select and vary at the twist of a few dials. It has individual control over the frequency of kicks, snares, and hats, swing, randomness, etc.

    Hi @wim , got this set up in AUM and looping to my desktop DAW using the preset. And have CC working using my Launchpad. This is great and I want to make this work, but where can I find the huge library of sequences?

    Thanks again for the great tip!

    The library is built-in. Every turn of a knob brings out a different one. Additionally, if you double-tap the title of the app you'll find there is an alternate "firmware" with more patterns and also a Euclidean firmware. The manual for the hardware module is the best place to understand the plugin: https://mutable-instruments.net/modules/grids/manual/. You should also be able to find YouTube videos on Grids, and Topograph. But really, just twisting dials is the way to go with this one. ;)

    One thing I thought about later that this might need to fit your needs is for the midi to be run through some sort of humanizer. If you have Mozaic, the Ranbo script could be used to dial in a bit of velocity and timing variation. Drambo's humanizer module is good for this too.

  • @wim said:

    @gkillmaster said:

    @wim said:

    Topograph (and its sibling µGraph) has a huge library of drum sequences that you can select and vary at the twist of a few dials. It has individual control over the frequency of kicks, snares, and hats, swing, randomness, etc.

    Hi @wim , got this set up in AUM and looping to my desktop DAW using the preset. And have CC working using my Launchpad. This is great and I want to make this work, but where can I find the huge library of sequences?

    Thanks again for the great tip!

    The library is built-in. Every turn of a knob brings out a different one. Additionally, if you double-tap the title of the app you'll find there is an alternate "firmware" with more patterns and also a Euclidean firmware. The manual for the hardware module is the best place to understand the plugin: https://mutable-instruments.net/modules/grids/manual/. You should also be able to find YouTube videos on Grids, and Topograph. But really, just twisting dials is the way to go with this one. ;)

    One thing I thought about later that this might need to fit your needs is for the midi to be run through some sort of humanizer. If you have Mozaic, the Ranbo script could be used to dial in a bit of velocity and timing variation. Drambo's humanizer module is good for this too.

    Thanks! all good to know. And I do have Mozaic and Drambo.

  • Here's a slightly different version. I realized that the Swing knob has no effect since we're using the external clock. So, this one uses a clock module. The Swing 1 knob on the Clocked module can adjust the swing.

    Under the hood settings:
    host sync: CLOCK Rate Beat / 8
    Clocked: Mode P 8 (accessed via Mode +/- buttons), Momentary Run Input
    Topograph: Ext. clock resolution 4 PPQN, Run mode Toggle

    Next I may work on outputting higher velocity on the accent outputs and humanization built in to the patch.

  • @wim said:

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    @wim said:

    @royor said:
    @wim Hey, just wanted to thank you for the great suggestion of using Topograph + the included miRack preset.. I haven’t played around in miRack for quite awhile now and I don’t recall using Topograph before.. this will definitely get me back into it.. 👍

    Thanks, that's great to hear. miRack and Drambo scare off a lot of people because of how deep they are. It's easy to overlook that they can also be used simply and thought of as a single purpose app once set up.

    That’s a lot of fun. Sometimes it’s nice to be fed with a 🥄 template =)

    couldnt get The 4x4 bass drum. Any ways to achieve it?

    I assume you mean a plain 4 on the 4 bass drum beat? I don't know. There may be a setting in there somewhere but I wouldn't know how to find it.

    I would just disconnect the kick and use one of the other sequencers such as Gate Seq 64, trigSeq, trSEQ, etc. for that.

    There's also a Euclidean mode, so you could use a separate Topograph in that mode for just the kick.

    Nice one! I’ll try it.
    Thnx!

  • Leave it to @wim to suggest a cooler solution than mine ;)

  • @klownshed said:
    GarageBand drummer.

    I consider it the gold standard for drum options. Tons of options to customize and mix and match to find exactly what one might need.

  • @wim said:
    Here's a slightly different version. I realized that the Swing knob has no effect since we're using the external clock. So, this one uses a clock module. The Swing 1 knob on the Clocked module can adjust the swing.

    Under the hood settings:
    host sync: CLOCK Rate Beat / 8
    Clocked: Mode P 8 (accessed via Mode +/- buttons), Momentary Run Input
    Topograph: Ext. clock resolution 4 PPQN, Run mode Toggle

    Next I may work on outputting higher velocity on the accent outputs and humanization built in to the patch.

    Thanks! This works great and is very educational. I appreciate you taking the time to send!

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