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.

JWM - The Dreams of Eno

Damn it! I can't seem to figure out how to create a proper drone piece, lol. So, what started off as a drone piece turned into this.

Basically, the thought was "What if Eno did a new take on 'Music for Airports 1/1' using iOS and only iOS?" The piano melody is NOT an exact copy of the piano melody from "1/1" but has the general feel of it.

I used Gauss to play back two elements - Ivory Grand from Module (i.e. the piano) fed through Velvet Machine, and Zeeon providing the warm drone. Both elements were recorded in A Major and the speeds reduced to 62%. The Zeeon recording was played with 1989 mode on. The piano was not.

Both were fed through the same mixbus into Alteza. I live performed this back. Cheers and enjoy! Let me know what you think.

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Comments

  • Dang, that’s good! It’s not Airports but the Eno vibe is in there. Nice work.

  • I don’t want to catch my plane. Awesome opening chords from 2.40 onwards. Love this place. Well done, Jim!

  • I think you're making solid progress towards your goal here. You are developing a workflow that produces some impressive soundscapes. Personally, I don't like being shaken out of my revery by "the nothing" eating up the world at 4:30 but maybe that's your point.

  • Fantastic stuff! Did you do any limiting/compression on the master or were you just careful with your levels? The reverb sounds massive!

  • One of your best. Ambient music worth listening to.

  • This is really good, @jwmmakerofmusic. It has an epic quality that builds and evolves across a wide range of tones.

    Love the Tibetan-like chanting that launches the musical journey.

  • Very enjoyable. Not sure what a “proper” drone piece is supposed to sound like. If this is “improper” because it goes somewhere and maintains interest, then screw proper and continue to just let the music be what it wants to be.

  • I enjoyed that @jwmmakerofmusic ! Thanks for sharing it :smile:

  • Keep em coming, mate! This is great stuff. Glad you’re having a play with Gauss. It’s my favourite app for journeying into massive scapes and drones. Good luck on your journey!

  • @rottencat said:
    Dang, that’s good! It’s not Airports but the Eno vibe is in there. Nice work.

    Thank you so much. ^_^ Yep, nothing is going to top Airports, but Eno is one of my hugest inspirations.

    @Bob said:
    I don’t want to catch my plane. Awesome opening chords from 2.40 onwards. Love this place. Well done, Jim!

    Thanks mate. :) I'll get to your private message in a bit. I've been so busy this past weekend, lol.

    @McD said:
    I think you're making solid progress towards your goal here. You are developing a workflow that produces some impressive soundscapes. Personally, I don't like being shaken out of my revery by "the nothing" eating up the world at 4:30 but maybe that's your point.

    Ah, the point was more to bring in an interesting sound to mimick the sound of waking up in a dream. But instead of using a third audio track, I manipulated Alteza to bring in the "rush".

    @HotStrange said:
    Fantastic stuff! Did you do any limiting/compression on the master or were you just careful with your levels? The reverb sounds massive!

    Mostly letting the mix breathe, although at a couple of points the mix got so loud, and instead of taking the level down on the mixbus, I slapped AUM's simple limiter on instead so the levels could remain somewhat consistent.

    @LinearLineman said:
    One of your best. Ambient music worth listening to.

    Thanks mate. :) I appreciate it. This track is one of my favourites since the Minimal "Painted Infection" track that I released last year in June.

    @DavidEnglish said:
    This is really good, @jwmmakerofmusic. It has an epic quality that builds and evolves across a wide range of tones.

    Love the Tibetan-like chanting that launches the musical journey.

    Thanks mate. :) I'm glad you dig it. I love how the timbres interplay with each other. I can't believe how much sound I evoked from two simple instances of Gauss. (Imagine what I can do with a 12.9" iPad Pro that has a lot more screen real estate! Then again, keeping things minimal often produces better results.)

    @boomer said:
    Very enjoyable. Not sure what a “proper” drone piece is supposed to sound like. If this is “improper” because it goes somewhere and maintains interest, then screw proper and continue to just let the music be what it wants to be.

    Exactly! I can only do so much pre-production work before the actual live performance takes over and the musical feeling dictates what I should do. I want to someday create an actual drone piece, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around not doing too much and letting the sound play.

    @AlterEgo_UK said:
    I enjoyed that @jwmmakerofmusic ! Thanks for sharing it :smile:

    Of course mate. :) Thank you so much!

    @Spidericemidas said:
    Keep em coming, mate! This is great stuff. Glad you’re having a play with Gauss. It’s my favourite app for journeying into massive scapes and drones. Good luck on your journey!

    Thank you so much mate. :) Gauss is incredible! I kind of brushed it off last year since I was like, "I can produce Ambient, but don't feel like performing it." Bruh, I get so much more enjoyment from performing it, and Gauss is the perfect tool for working within the Ambient genre!

  • Very impressive piece, like the way it builds, and - elevates? Transcends? - by the piece end. :)

  • @jwmmakerofmusic said:

    @rottencat said:
    Dang, that’s good! It’s not Airports but the Eno vibe is in there. Nice work.

    Thank you so much. ^_^ Yep, nothing is going to top Airports, but Eno is one of my hugest inspirations.

    @Bob said:
    I don’t want to catch my plane. Awesome opening chords from 2.40 onwards. Love this place. Well done, Jim!

    Thanks mate. :) I'll get to your private message in a bit. I've been so busy this past weekend, lol.

    @McD said:
    I think you're making solid progress towards your goal here. You are developing a workflow that produces some impressive soundscapes. Personally, I don't like being shaken out of my revery by "the nothing" eating up the world at 4:30 but maybe that's your point.

    Ah, the point was more to bring in an interesting sound to mimick the sound of waking up in a dream. But instead of using a third audio track, I manipulated Alteza to bring in the "rush".

    @HotStrange said:
    Fantastic stuff! Did you do any limiting/compression on the master or were you just careful with your levels? The reverb sounds massive!

    Mostly letting the mix breathe, although at a couple of points the mix got so loud, and instead of taking the level down on the mixbus, I slapped AUM's simple limiter on instead so the levels could remain somewhat consistent.

    @LinearLineman said:
    One of your best. Ambient music worth listening to.

    Thanks mate. :) I appreciate it. This track is one of my favourites since the Minimal "Painted Infection" track that I released last year in June.

    @DavidEnglish said:
    This is really good, @jwmmakerofmusic. It has an epic quality that builds and evolves across a wide range of tones.

    Love the Tibetan-like chanting that launches the musical journey.

    Thanks mate. :) I'm glad you dig it. I love how the timbres interplay with each other. I can't believe how much sound I evoked from two simple instances of Gauss. (Imagine what I can do with a 12.9" iPad Pro that has a lot more screen real estate! Then again, keeping things minimal often produces better results.)

    @boomer said:
    Very enjoyable. Not sure what a “proper” drone piece is supposed to sound like. If this is “improper” because it goes somewhere and maintains interest, then screw proper and continue to just let the music be what it wants to be.

    Exactly! I can only do so much pre-production work before the actual live performance takes over and the musical feeling dictates what I should do. I want to someday create an actual drone piece, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around not doing too much and letting the sound play.

    @AlterEgo_UK said:
    I enjoyed that @jwmmakerofmusic ! Thanks for sharing it :smile:

    Of course mate. :) Thank you so much!

    @Spidericemidas said:
    Keep em coming, mate! This is great stuff. Glad you’re having a play with Gauss. It’s my favourite app for journeying into massive scapes and drones. Good luck on your journey!

    Thank you so much mate. :) Gauss is incredible! I kind of brushed it off last year since I was like, "I can produce Ambient, but don't feel like performing it." Bruh, I get so much more enjoyment from performing it, and Gauss is the perfect tool for working within the Ambient genre!

    Very nice! The extra filters, compressors, and limiters are some of my favorite things about AUM. Makes everything so much easier and more manageable.

  • @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:

    @rottencat said:
    Dang, that’s good! It’s not Airports but the Eno vibe is in there. Nice work.

    Thank you so much. ^_^ Yep, nothing is going to top Airports, but Eno is one of my hugest inspirations.

    @Bob said:
    I don’t want to catch my plane. Awesome opening chords from 2.40 onwards. Love this place. Well done, Jim!

    Thanks mate. :) I'll get to your private message in a bit. I've been so busy this past weekend, lol.

    @McD said:
    I think you're making solid progress towards your goal here. You are developing a workflow that produces some impressive soundscapes. Personally, I don't like being shaken out of my revery by "the nothing" eating up the world at 4:30 but maybe that's your point.

    Ah, the point was more to bring in an interesting sound to mimick the sound of waking up in a dream. But instead of using a third audio track, I manipulated Alteza to bring in the "rush".

    @HotStrange said:
    Fantastic stuff! Did you do any limiting/compression on the master or were you just careful with your levels? The reverb sounds massive!

    Mostly letting the mix breathe, although at a couple of points the mix got so loud, and instead of taking the level down on the mixbus, I slapped AUM's simple limiter on instead so the levels could remain somewhat consistent.

    @LinearLineman said:
    One of your best. Ambient music worth listening to.

    Thanks mate. :) I appreciate it. This track is one of my favourites since the Minimal "Painted Infection" track that I released last year in June.

    @DavidEnglish said:
    This is really good, @jwmmakerofmusic. It has an epic quality that builds and evolves across a wide range of tones.

    Love the Tibetan-like chanting that launches the musical journey.

    Thanks mate. :) I'm glad you dig it. I love how the timbres interplay with each other. I can't believe how much sound I evoked from two simple instances of Gauss. (Imagine what I can do with a 12.9" iPad Pro that has a lot more screen real estate! Then again, keeping things minimal often produces better results.)

    @boomer said:
    Very enjoyable. Not sure what a “proper” drone piece is supposed to sound like. If this is “improper” because it goes somewhere and maintains interest, then screw proper and continue to just let the music be what it wants to be.

    Exactly! I can only do so much pre-production work before the actual live performance takes over and the musical feeling dictates what I should do. I want to someday create an actual drone piece, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around not doing too much and letting the sound play.

    @AlterEgo_UK said:
    I enjoyed that @jwmmakerofmusic ! Thanks for sharing it :smile:

    Of course mate. :) Thank you so much!

    @Spidericemidas said:
    Keep em coming, mate! This is great stuff. Glad you’re having a play with Gauss. It’s my favourite app for journeying into massive scapes and drones. Good luck on your journey!

    Thank you so much mate. :) Gauss is incredible! I kind of brushed it off last year since I was like, "I can produce Ambient, but don't feel like performing it." Bruh, I get so much more enjoyment from performing it, and Gauss is the perfect tool for working within the Ambient genre!

    Very nice! The extra filters, compressors, and limiters are some of my favorite things about AUM. Makes everything so much easier and more manageable.

    And easier on the CPU to boot! :)

  • I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

  • @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

    I’m interested on your thoughts on loopy pro once you dive in. I used it a few days during my free trail and wasn’t able to quite get along with it, but everyone seems to love it so much. Maybe I just didn’t give it a fair shake.

  • @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

    I’m interested on your thoughts on loopy pro once you dive in. I used it a few days during my free trail and wasn’t able to quite get along with it, but everyone seems to love it so much. Maybe I just didn’t give it a fair shake.

    I had the same experience mate. Tried the free trial and didn't get on with it at all. Of course back in those days I only produced Ambient in a DAW setting using a time line and sequencer. I didn't bother live performing anything. That wasn't my workflow.

    Then 2-3 weeks ago, the OP-1 Field was announced, and I suffered GAS because of it. Then when searching for an iOS equivalent to produce Ambient in, I found Koala Sampler and crafted a couple of live Ambient pieces in that. Koala is not the OP-1 Field, but it cured my GAS. This was the beginning of my live ambient era of sonic sculpting.

    Then came PaulXStretch and Cubasis, and I crafted a 44-minute long piece of dark ambient in that.

    Then came AUM and Gauss. Gauss is a fucking phenomenal plugin by Hainbach and BramBos, and I wanted to get that tape sound. I tried to craft a drone piece and instead created something in the spirit of Brian Eno. 😂

    So today, I redownloaded Loopy Pro, carefully poured through the guided tour, and come to find out I can use sliders to control parameters in built-in fx AND AUv3 fx! I had to dive deep into the settings menu to set up Loopy Pro the way I want it (i.e. free looping, loops not bound to bpm, etc), but let's just say once that hassle was out of the way, I can use Loopy Pro however I damn well please! All I really need now are three pieces of audio to loop, set up some sliders, and perform Ambient.

    Can it do what AUM and Gauss can do? Not natively, but I sure as hell can add Gauss as an audio source to record into a loop and manipulate further from there. 🫠 And I don't have to constantly dive into AUv3 interfaces to adjust parameters as the sliders take care of all of that! I can comfortably fit everything (loops and sliders) onto a one-page layout on my 5th Gen iPad Mini.

    So what am I waiting for? Sounds of KSHMR Vol 4 to finish downloading. 😅 Over 6gb worth of audio samples I have to wait forever to download lol!

  • @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

    I’m interested on your thoughts on loopy pro once you dive in. I used it a few days during my free trail and wasn’t able to quite get along with it, but everyone seems to love it so much. Maybe I just didn’t give it a fair shake.

    What didn’t you get on with?

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

    I’m interested on your thoughts on loopy pro once you dive in. I used it a few days during my free trail and wasn’t able to quite get along with it, but everyone seems to love it so much. Maybe I just didn’t give it a fair shake.

    What didn’t you get on with?

    For me it was the fact I didn't live perform Ambient back then. 😅

  • @jwmmakerofmusic said:

    @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

    I’m interested on your thoughts on loopy pro once you dive in. I used it a few days during my free trail and wasn’t able to quite get along with it, but everyone seems to love it so much. Maybe I just didn’t give it a fair shake.

    I had the same experience mate. Tried the free trial and didn't get on with it at all. Of course back in those days I only produced Ambient in a DAW setting using a time line and sequencer. I didn't bother live performing anything. That wasn't my workflow.

    Then 2-3 weeks ago, the OP-1 Field was announced, and I suffered GAS because of it. Then when searching for an iOS equivalent to produce Ambient in, I found Koala Sampler and crafted a couple of live Ambient pieces in that. Koala is not the OP-1 Field, but it cured my GAS. This was the beginning of my live ambient era of sonic sculpting.

    Then came PaulXStretch and Cubasis, and I crafted a 44-minute long piece of dark ambient in that.

    Then came AUM and Gauss. Gauss is a fucking phenomenal plugin by Hainbach and BramBos, and I wanted to get that tape sound. I tried to craft a drone piece and instead created something in the spirit of Brian Eno. 😂

    So today, I redownloaded Loopy Pro, carefully poured through the guided tour, and come to find out I can use sliders to control parameters in built-in fx AND AUv3 fx! I had to dive deep into the settings menu to set up Loopy Pro the way I want it (i.e. free looping, loops not bound to bpm, etc), but let's just say once that hassle was out of the way, I can use Loopy Pro however I damn well please! All I really need now are three pieces of audio to loop, set up some sliders, and perform Ambient.

    Can it do what AUM and Gauss can do? Not natively, but I sure as hell can add Gauss as an audio source to record into a loop and manipulate further from there. 🫠 And I don't have to constantly dive into AUv3 interfaces to adjust parameters as the sliders take care of all of that! I can comfortably fit everything (loops and sliders) onto a one-page layout on my 5th Gen iPad Mini.

    So what am I waiting for? Sounds of KSHMR Vol 4 to finish downloading. 😅 Over 6gb worth of audio samples I have to wait forever to download lol!

    Thanks a ton for the detailed reply! I own (and love) all the apps you mentioned. Especially Gauss. It’s one of my most used. I think next time I get paid I’ll dive into Loopy Pro again and see how I feel about it this time. I didn’t realize you can use the sliders to control AU parameters. That’s very cool and super useful!

    Do you see it taking the place of Cubasis/Koala/etc? Or is it more just another tool in your arsenal?

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

    I’m interested on your thoughts on loopy pro once you dive in. I used it a few days during my free trail and wasn’t able to quite get along with it, but everyone seems to love it so much. Maybe I just didn’t give it a fair shake.

    What didn’t you get on with?

    I think I just didn’t have the time to fully dive into it the way I wanted before the trail was over so I never went back. I did enjoy it, but wasn’t sure it could take the place of Cubasis for me, but it doesn’t need to. It can just be another tool in my arsenal.

    Sometime in the next week or so, I’m gonna bite the bullet and fully dive into. Set up an interface for exactly what I wanna do (experimental industrial jazz drones haha), and then take it from there.

  • @HotStrange said:

    @espiegel123 said:

    @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I think my next foray may be into Loopy Pro. :)

    I’m interested on your thoughts on loopy pro once you dive in. I used it a few days during my free trail and wasn’t able to quite get along with it, but everyone seems to love it so much. Maybe I just didn’t give it a fair shake.

    What didn’t you get on with?

    I think I just didn’t have the time to fully dive into it the way I wanted before the trail was over so I never went back. I did enjoy it, but wasn’t sure it could take the place of Cubasis for me, but it doesn’t need to. It can just be another tool in my arsenal.

    Sometime in the next week or so, I’m gonna bite the bullet and fully dive into. Set up an interface for exactly what I wanna do (experimental industrial jazz drones haha), and then take it from there.

    It isn't a Cubasis replacement -- or meant to be -- but in its own right it is extremely powerful and flexible and can fit into a lot of workflows besides traditional looping. I personally find it super useful as an idea catcher and a place to quickly sketch out songs and arrangements -- besides all the other more obvious uses.

  • I understand the sentiment about not gelling with Loopy. There's so much to love, but I keep ending up in cul de sacs. The levels are never the same in Loopy as they are in the AUM channel I'm sending from; the loops are not as seamless as I'd like, and I can never get the tails to play; it takes five or six taps to remember where everything is; it's a mathematical feat beyond my small brain to get loops of different lengths to start in sync. Etc.
    Also, is it just possible to record into the timeline?

    I recognize that these are ME problems. All these quirks can be solved, and I should figure this out with some patience. But it's not clicking with me the way other environments have.

    Sorry for the derail.

  • @jwmmakerofmusic

    That is really something. I'm a longtime fan of so-called ambient or nonlinear soundscapes, and I'm somewhat suspicious of newcomers, largely because many make the assumption that in the absence of pop structure, the music is formless. Which is not true. And you avoid that. This is really very interesting. I like it a lot. Have you heard Stars of the Lid? I recommend this highly; I think you'd really like it.

  • I finally caught a break and will answer you now, mates. :)

    @HotStrange said:
    Thanks a ton for the detailed reply! I own (and love) all the apps you mentioned. Especially Gauss. It’s one of my most used. I think next time I get paid I’ll dive into Loopy Pro again and see how I feel about it this time. I didn’t realize you can use the sliders to control AU parameters. That’s very cool and super useful!

    It truly is. Even I didn't know that until I purchased it to play around with. Loopy Pro goes DEEEEEP not only in how you can customise the interface, but in what you can do with it. I will say comparing LP to Drambo is like comparing apples and oranges, but if there's one thing both apps have in common, it's that there's always some new pleasant surprise lurking around the corner you didn't realise the app could do before.

    (Then again, despite Loopy Pro having a bit of a learning curve to truly utilise it to its max, it's very easy to get acquainted with on a surface level right away. Drambo however requires a PhD in music to grasp immediately, and most of us mere mortals will spend a lifetime discovering all it can do. :lol: )

    Do you see it taking the place of Cubasis/Koala/etc? Or is it more just another tool in your arsenal?

    Definitely another tool in my arsenal no doubt! :) For me personally, Cubasis 3 is perfect for super long Ambient pieces that span beyond 10-15 minutes (such as "Bruno Walks on Eggshells") and for compiling Ambient albums into a complete whole.

    AUM is perfect for Gauss-based live Ambient performances. Of course one gets better use out of it on, say, an iPad Pro 12.9" as opposed to an iPad Mini due to far more screen real-estate to be able to have multiple AUv3 windows open at once.

    Which is where Loopy Pro comes in. Even on a small iPad Mini screen, one can set up LP's performance interface any which way they please. If you do redownload LP, be sure to carefully go through the guided tour first. It will demystify a LOT of things. Also have a clear idea of what workflow you're looking for so if you purchase it, you can adjust all of the settings in the options menu however which way you please. And if you have a 12.9" Pro (no matter which model), the possibilities on how to customise LP's interface become increasingly endless.

    Anyways, Koala standalone is perfect for quick-and-easy live Ambient performances, and sometimes that's all one really needs. Sure I process the recorded audio from Koala through Alteza and Reelbus, but even without those extra goodies, Koala on its own sounds superb.

    And yes, I've also produced Ambient in both NS2 and Gadget. Gadget's internal reverb isn't as good as most other internal reverbs out there, but I make it work nevertheless. NS2 has AUv3 capabilities, so of course Alteza or Stratosphere or some other reverb will worm its way into the master channel, lol.

    @ExAsperis99 said:
    I understand the sentiment about not gelling with Loopy. There's so much to love, but I keep ending up in cul de sacs. The levels are never the same in Loopy as they are in the AUM channel I'm sending from; the loops are not as seamless as I'd like, and I can never get the tails to play; it takes five or six taps to remember where everything is; it's a mathematical feat beyond my small brain to get loops of different lengths to start in sync. Etc.
    Also, is it just possible to record into the timeline?

    I recognize that these are ME problems. All these quirks can be solved, and I should figure this out with some patience. But it's not clicking with me the way other environments have.

    Sorry for the derail.

    To be honest, I don't post tracks so to be lauded. I post tracks to learn, to grow as an artist, and to discuss music and apps in general, so for me this is very much on topic. :)

    Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty accomplished at producing EDM music. However, this is why I've been diving back into Ambient since last year after years of not producing it since my college days. Producing EDM for myself hasn't really challenged me for years if I'm being quite brutally honest, while producing Ambient has indeed provided that challenge, pushed me to better myself as an artist, and provided me a sense of satisfaction. Then even that became "too easy" for me.

    And I think this is why I lusted after the OP-1 Field so much. Of course part of it was the product itself that enticed me, but also the live performance workflow, committing sound to tape, etc. Once I redownloaded Koala and discovered all it can do, that was what got me into live producing of Ambient!

    Now this is not to say I won't produce EDM ever again, lol. I can definitely put myself out there on Fiverr to pick up projects to work on, and I can definitely collaborate as well.

    Back to Loopy Pro. So I definitely get where you're coming from. Loopy Pro isn't gonna click with everyone right away. Sure didn't with me. When I tried the 7-day trial, I thought "screw the introductory tutorial, I don't need that", tried it, thought it was like Loopy HD and Loopy, and was like, "Meh, this isn't for me." Once the "live performance" bug bit me, and I gave Loopy Pro a second chance, sure on the surface with default settings it's like Loopy HD and Loopy. But the amount of customisation and options and just, everything, makes it a masterpiece of an app! @Michael is a genius and will go down in history as one of the greats who influenced how music is made.

    To get to your question about the timeline, I honestly haven't dove into that yet. I know @Michael and/or one of the beta testers of LP would have better knowledge of that than me. LP for me is a live performance environment. :lol:

    @ExAsperis99 said:
    Have you heard Stars of the Lid? I recommend this highly; I think you'd really like it.

    I haven't until now. I'm 45 minutes into listening to this album while writing my wall-of-text brain droppings here, and there were a few moments that made me feel emotional, especially the opening track. If I can describe the emotion, it's like being transported to a familiar place, like your childhood home, where you both feel at ease and yet wistful at the same time. Yes I teared up like a baby, shut up! :lol:

    That is really something. I'm a longtime fan of so-called ambient or nonlinear soundscapes, and I'm somewhat suspicious of newcomers, largely because many make the assumption that in the absence of pop structure, the music is formless. Which is not true. And you avoid that. This is really very interesting. I like it a lot.

    Thanks mate. Yes, it's true, I used to be a newcomer back in my college days. When I first heard "Music For Airports" as recommended listening, I didn't quite get on with it. "It wasn't exciting" was my thought, because I was a dumb 20-something-year-old addicted to EDM/Trance/House music and Lady Gaga. :lol: But, as I went on in my college career, I come to realise "that's the point of Ambient! It isn't meant to be exciting! It's meant to evoke a strong feeling, an emotion."

    Then I started paying attention to what Ambient IS. Of course it lacks a pop structure, but it isn't formless! It ebbs and flows with louds and softs, subtle interplaying of various timbres and textures, all geared to evoking a feeling, an emotion.

    Of course I'm inspired a lot by @iOSTRAKON in that I like to evoke a sense of tension and unease with most of my latest Ambient pieces, mostly by utilising atonal sound sources I either record myself or find on freesound.org. However, once I clicked with the Ambient genre, I've always wanted to do a tribute piece to Brian Eno, and I think I pulled it off above. A great way to come full circle on the first chapter of my unending Ambient journey.

    And now, for Chapter 2...

  • @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    I finally caught a break and will answer you now, mates. :)

    @HotStrange said:
    Thanks a ton for the detailed reply! I own (and love) all the apps you mentioned. Especially Gauss. It’s one of my most used. I think next time I get paid I’ll dive into Loopy Pro again and see how I feel about it this time. I didn’t realize you can use the sliders to control AU parameters. That’s very cool and super useful!

    It truly is. Even I didn't know that until I purchased it to play around with. Loopy Pro goes DEEEEEP not only in how you can customise the interface, but in what you can do with it. I will say comparing LP to Drambo is like comparing apples and oranges, but if there's one thing both apps have in common, it's that there's always some new pleasant surprise lurking around the corner you didn't realise the app could do before.

    (Then again, despite Loopy Pro having a bit of a learning curve to truly utilise it to its max, it's very easy to get acquainted with on a surface level right away. Drambo however requires a PhD in music to grasp immediately, and most of us mere mortals will spend a lifetime discovering all it can do. :lol: )

    Do you see it taking the place of Cubasis/Koala/etc? Or is it more just another tool in your arsenal?

    Definitely another tool in my arsenal no doubt! :) For me personally, Cubasis 3 is perfect for super long Ambient pieces that span beyond 10-15 minutes (such as "Bruno Walks on Eggshells") and for compiling Ambient albums into a complete whole.

    AUM is perfect for Gauss-based live Ambient performances. Of course one gets better use out of it on, say, an iPad Pro 12.9" as opposed to an iPad Mini due to far more screen real-estate to be able to have multiple AUv3 windows open at once.

    Which is where Loopy Pro comes in. Even on a small iPad Mini screen, one can set up LP's performance interface any which way they please. If you do redownload LP, be sure to carefully go through the guided tour first. It will demystify a LOT of things. Also have a clear idea of what workflow you're looking for so if you purchase it, you can adjust all of the settings in the options menu however which way you please. And if you have a 12.9" Pro (no matter which model), the possibilities on how to customise LP's interface become increasingly endless.

    Anyways, Koala standalone is perfect for quick-and-easy live Ambient performances, and sometimes that's all one really needs. Sure I process the recorded audio from Koala through Alteza and Reelbus, but even without those extra goodies, Koala on its own sounds superb.

    And yes, I've also produced Ambient in both NS2 and Gadget. Gadget's internal reverb isn't as good as most other internal reverbs out there, but I make it work nevertheless. NS2 has AUv3 capabilities, so of course Alteza or Stratosphere or some other reverb will worm its way into the master channel, lol.

    @ExAsperis99 said:
    I understand the sentiment about not gelling with Loopy. There's so much to love, but I keep ending up in cul de sacs. The levels are never the same in Loopy as they are in the AUM channel I'm sending from; the loops are not as seamless as I'd like, and I can never get the tails to play; it takes five or six taps to remember where everything is; it's a mathematical feat beyond my small brain to get loops of different lengths to start in sync. Etc.
    Also, is it just possible to record into the timeline?

    I recognize that these are ME problems. All these quirks can be solved, and I should figure this out with some patience. But it's not clicking with me the way other environments have.

    Sorry for the derail.

    To be honest, I don't post tracks so to be lauded. I post tracks to learn, to grow as an artist, and to discuss music and apps in general, so for me this is very much on topic. :)

    Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty accomplished at producing EDM music. However, this is why I've been diving back into Ambient since last year after years of not producing it since my college days. Producing EDM for myself hasn't really challenged me for years if I'm being quite brutally honest, while producing Ambient has indeed provided that challenge, pushed me to better myself as an artist, and provided me a sense of satisfaction. Then even that became "too easy" for me.

    And I think this is why I lusted after the OP-1 Field so much. Of course part of it was the product itself that enticed me, but also the live performance workflow, committing sound to tape, etc. Once I redownloaded Koala and discovered all it can do, that was what got me into live producing of Ambient!

    Now this is not to say I won't produce EDM ever again, lol. I can definitely put myself out there on Fiverr to pick up projects to work on, and I can definitely collaborate as well.

    Back to Loopy Pro. So I definitely get where you're coming from. Loopy Pro isn't gonna click with everyone right away. Sure didn't with me. When I tried the 7-day trial, I thought "screw the introductory tutorial, I don't need that", tried it, thought it was like Loopy HD and Loopy, and was like, "Meh, this isn't for me." Once the "live performance" bug bit me, and I gave Loopy Pro a second chance, sure on the surface with default settings it's like Loopy HD and Loopy. But the amount of customisation and options and just, everything, makes it a masterpiece of an app! @Michael is a genius and will go down in history as one of the greats who influenced how music is made.

    To get to your question about the timeline, I honestly haven't dove into that yet. I know @Michael and/or one of the beta testers of LP would have better knowledge of that than me. LP for me is a live performance environment. :lol:

    @ExAsperis99 said:
    Have you heard Stars of the Lid? I recommend this highly; I think you'd really like it.

    I haven't until now. I'm 45 minutes into listening to this album while writing my wall-of-text brain droppings here, and there were a few moments that made me feel emotional, especially the opening track. If I can describe the emotion, it's like being transported to a familiar place, like your childhood home, where you both feel at ease and yet wistful at the same time. Yes I teared up like a baby, shut up! :lol:

    That is really something. I'm a longtime fan of so-called ambient or nonlinear soundscapes, and I'm somewhat suspicious of newcomers, largely because many make the assumption that in the absence of pop structure, the music is formless. Which is not true. And you avoid that. This is really very interesting. I like it a lot.

    Thanks mate. Yes, it's true, I used to be a newcomer back in my college days. When I first heard "Music For Airports" as recommended listening, I didn't quite get on with it. "It wasn't exciting" was my thought, because I was a dumb 20-something-year-old addicted to EDM/Trance/House music and Lady Gaga. :lol: But, as I went on in my college career, I come to realise "that's the point of Ambient! It isn't meant to be exciting! It's meant to evoke a strong feeling, an emotion."

    Then I started paying attention to what Ambient IS. Of course it lacks a pop structure, but it isn't formless! It ebbs and flows with louds and softs, subtle interplaying of various timbres and textures, all geared to evoking a feeling, an emotion.

    Of course I'm inspired a lot by @iOSTRAKON in that I like to evoke a sense of tension and unease with most of my latest Ambient pieces, mostly by utilising atonal sound sources I either record myself or find on freesound.org. However, once I clicked with the Ambient genre, I've always wanted to do a tribute piece to Brian Eno, and I think I pulled it off above. A great way to come full circle on the first chapter of my unending Ambient journey.

    And now, for Chapter 2...

    Much appreciated for the in depth reply. I think rushing through the opening tutorial may be partly why I didn’t get along with it on the first try.

    I make experimental stuff mostly, and from everything I’ve read it seems like LP can handle that with ease as well. I’ve always leaned on AUM and C3, but having another tool for more live-performed tracks sounds like it could be useful for me. Insane how much you can customize the interface. Seems like every screenshot I see looks completely different.

    I don’t have a 12.9”, just the 11, but I do plan on getting an updated pro with the big screen soon. At first for AUM but now I think LP will reallt take advantage of it. Thanks again 🙏

  • @HotStrange said:
    Much appreciated for the in depth reply. I think rushing through the opening tutorial may be partly why I didn’t get along with it on the first try.

    I make experimental stuff mostly, and from everything I’ve read it seems like LP can handle that with ease as well. I’ve always leaned on AUM and C3, but having another tool for more live-performed tracks sounds like it could be useful for me. Insane how much you can customize the interface. Seems like every screenshot I see looks completely different.

    I don’t have a 12.9”, just the 11, but I do plan on getting an updated pro with the big screen soon. At first for AUM but now I think LP will reallt take advantage of it. Thanks again 🙏

    Yes of course mate. :) Well, if you're not using it for sheet music, the 11" iPad Pro should suffice (unless it's like a 2018 version getting long in the tooth and showing its age). Loopy Pro's interface is wonderful. I finally set it up on my new 12.9" iPad Pro. Setting up the music production apps is the easy part. The tough part is going into Files and importing all of my scanned sheet music into Piascore. That'll be a major pain in the arse, lol. Not the importing part, but adding relevant keywords. Oof.

  • @jwmmakerofmusic said:

    @HotStrange said:
    Much appreciated for the in depth reply. I think rushing through the opening tutorial may be partly why I didn’t get along with it on the first try.

    I make experimental stuff mostly, and from everything I’ve read it seems like LP can handle that with ease as well. I’ve always leaned on AUM and C3, but having another tool for more live-performed tracks sounds like it could be useful for me. Insane how much you can customize the interface. Seems like every screenshot I see looks completely different.

    I don’t have a 12.9”, just the 11, but I do plan on getting an updated pro with the big screen soon. At first for AUM but now I think LP will reallt take advantage of it. Thanks again 🙏

    Yes of course mate. :) Well, if you're not using it for sheet music, the 11" iPad Pro should suffice (unless it's like a 2018 version getting long in the tooth and showing its age). Loopy Pro's interface is wonderful. I finally set it up on my new 12.9" iPad Pro. Setting up the music production apps is the easy part. The tough part is going into Files and importing all of my scanned sheet music into Piascore. That'll be a major pain in the arse, lol. Not the importing part, but adding relevant keywords. Oof.

    Haha no sheet music for me but that does not sound like fun for you 😆 how do you like the new iPad Pro? That’s what I plan on getting next. I have the 2020 Air but I’d like something with more storage and power.

  • @HotStrange said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:

    @HotStrange said:
    Much appreciated for the in depth reply. I think rushing through the opening tutorial may be partly why I didn’t get along with it on the first try.

    I make experimental stuff mostly, and from everything I’ve read it seems like LP can handle that with ease as well. I’ve always leaned on AUM and C3, but having another tool for more live-performed tracks sounds like it could be useful for me. Insane how much you can customize the interface. Seems like every screenshot I see looks completely different.

    I don’t have a 12.9”, just the 11, but I do plan on getting an updated pro with the big screen soon. At first for AUM but now I think LP will reallt take advantage of it. Thanks again 🙏

    Yes of course mate. :) Well, if you're not using it for sheet music, the 11" iPad Pro should suffice (unless it's like a 2018 version getting long in the tooth and showing its age). Loopy Pro's interface is wonderful. I finally set it up on my new 12.9" iPad Pro. Setting up the music production apps is the easy part. The tough part is going into Files and importing all of my scanned sheet music into Piascore. That'll be a major pain in the arse, lol. Not the importing part, but adding relevant keywords. Oof.

    Haha no sheet music for me but that does not sound like fun for you 😆

    Actually, once I develop a rhythm of "import, arrange pages if need be, and keywords", and rinse and repeat, it's not as horrible as I had anticipated. Just a LOT.

    how do you like the new iPad Pro?

    It's amazing mate! I was actually planning a trip an hour and a half away to participate in disc golf tomorrow, but I think I'm gonna blow it off, stay home, and play on my iPad Pro all day making music and art. :lol:

    That’s what I plan on getting next. I have the 2020 Air but I’d like something with more storage and power.

    Yeah, the Air is good in a pinch if you don't need it for sheet music, but a 12.9" iPad Pro is fucking mindblowing. Mine has 512gb capacity since they were out of the 256gb size, but I'd say 256gb is the sweet spot. And if you need more storage, a compatible USB-C thumbdrive definitely does the trick for offloading samples, stems, mastered tracks, well any audio basically.

  • edited June 2022

    @Edward_Alexander said:
    I like!

    Thanks mate. :) I can't wait to experiment more with sound tomorrow! I may generate some notes using Rozeta's Particles on a couple of different AU synths into Gauss via AUM, record the output as loops of varying length, record a drone into Gauss via AUM, record THAT output as a long-ass one-shot, import into Loopy Pro, and perform an Ambient piece within Loopy Pro on my new iPad Pro 12.9". Maybe I'll add a couple other sonic elements too from Freesound.org. We'll see where the sound takes me.

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