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.

Percussive Synth by Vadym Rostok

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Comments

  • @vadymrostok said:
    I work on it. Turns out that making a separate AU with sequencer only (alongside the existing AU) is way trickier than packaging both sequencer and synths in one AU.
    Still, I think it's worth it, separate sequencer AU will provide superior agility.
    I have a full-time job that gets in the way though :) I hope I'll be ready to ship a big update this summer.
    By now I've done a 2 column view for iPads. I've seen in statistics that most people use the app on iPads. And current UI is designed for vertical phone view. So I decided to give an option to toggle the app view as two columns - sequencer on the left, and synths on the right.

    Awesome update! This is gonna end up being maybe my favorite app of the year. Thanks for the continued support!

  • Still diving in. Lots of fun. The flexible simplicity of the sequencer with wide range of bpm is really cool. So far the sounds make me believe i am existing in an apocalyptic 80s film. Thank you for the update/time and love you have invested in this.

  • @myapologies said:
    Still diving in. Lots of fun. The flexible simplicity of the sequencer with wide range of bpm is really cool. So far the sounds make me believe i am existing in an apocalyptic 80s film. Thank you for the update/time and love you have invested in this.

    Yep having the BPM go that low/high is my favorite thing about it.

  • edited June 2022

    Awesome, @dasgoods!
    I'd share it on IG if you're ok with it.

  • @vadymrostok said:
    Awesome, @dasgoods!
    I'd share it on IG if you're ok with it.

    Please do. I'll be creating more soon

  • Hello, everyone!
    I'm ready to give beta access to the new version.
    It includes:

    • Ableton Link support
    • 2 column view for wide screens (iPad or iPhone in landscape view)
    • sequencer module as a separate AudioUnit
    • an ability to edit a pitch for each note (you can still set the pitch for the whole track and override that value if needed)
    • minor UX improvements like fractional bpm values and persisting settings like gain, retriggering and Ableton link On flags and so on

    I intend to give away up to 10 beta accesses.
    So far, I have made less than $700 from sales, so the project is far from paying off itself. It is still essentially a hobby project fueled by enthusiasm and good reviews :)

    Also, I'd like to prepare new presets for the new release, so if you've made a cool preset and are willing to share it - I'd be happy to include it in the final release. Especially presets involving the new feature of editing pitches note-wise.

    To participate in beta-testing, please PM me your Apple ID email and first and last name (to create a tester's account).
    Thanks!

  • Great news @vadymrostok and looking forward to the new iteration(s)!

  • I just released a new version (1.2). It should become available to everyone during the next 24 hours.
    Thanks to all beta testers! Especially to @Proppa, @anickt, and @gusgranite.
    I also started a blog, so I posted the changelog there - https://blog.percussive-synth.rocks/release-1-2-changelog/.
    It's mostly what was already mentioned here and a few small things referred by testers.
    Thanks, everyone!

  • I'm so happy for the update! The new column view makes it so much better to use and the other features are dope. This is such a great drum machine, easy to use , fun and very capable!

  • This is Awesome. Huge thanks for all that you’ve implemented here!

  • Thanks!
    Btw, nobody sent me their presets. Please do send something, even if you're not sure if a preset is cool - it'd be awesome to hear other people's creations and include some of them in a new release. 🙏

  • Buying now!

  • I have been sleeping on this. Gotta fetch me a gift card and do it! :lol:

  • Thanks! I hope you'll like it.

    There's a problem some people may already have noticed. The app runs in the background (to support background audio), and with AbletonLink enabled, it constantly tries to keep the rhythm in perfect sync with other peers.
    The result is a heavy energy impact. My battery drained overnight.
    I've already submitted a fix for Apple review: audio processing will be suspended after 5 minutes of background inactivity (no audio being played and the app being in the background). To resume - transition the app into the foreground. Until the update comes, close the app by swiping it away in the App Switcher to save battery life.

  • @vadymrostok So far i can see there's only the synth engine and sequencer available as AU, and the full version as IAA?

  • @vadymrostok So far i can see there's only the synth engine and sequencer available as AU, and the full version as IAA?

    @Identor, no, combined they are only as a standalone app. I think this separation adds to agility, one can set up their combination in AUM as follows - sequencer sends different tracks to different channels. Map each channel to a separate synth AU, and you'll have a similar to the standalone app setup. But also you can go further and use multiple synth AU for one track, or send one of the tracks to multiple synth AUs, and so on.
    If having AU identical to the standalone app will be further requested, I'll work on it in the next big release. Especially if benefits over multi AU setup will be clear...

  • Version 1.2.1 has been released. Added processing and syncing suspension after 5 minutes of background inactivity to save battery.

  • @vadymrostok said:

    Version 1.2.1 has been released. Added processing and syncing suspension after 5 minutes of background inactivity to save battery.

    Thank you. I did notice using the sequencer and synth two days ago, my DSP maxed out and the iPhone got really warm after only a few minutes use.

  • Suspending is helping, but still, the app hanging in the background drains the battery. Slower, but still. I guess the right decision here would be to kill the app after some timeout. It looks like the Moog model 15 app does just that. Maybe suspend after 5 minutes and kill after 10?

  • edited August 2022

    Thank you - this is so good, the machine opens up when sequenced in Aum (f.e. w/ 'Progressions'), such clear waveforms and filters, so much sounds in the parameters' range (double-tapped all to default) ... very great (: to explore, it might seem strange or inaccessible first, but there's a sonic universe inside

    edit: I've set 3 lanes in Aum, incidentally all per 'audio' nodes, the PercussiveSynthSequencer sends MIDI to Progressions w/ Input activated, forwarded 'thru' through to the PercussiveSynthSynthesizer

  • Thanks, @ccs2 !
    Sorry, I didn't get what's the issue with your AUM setup... Do you want Percussive Synth (PS) Sequencer to send midi to a Progressions app and Progressions app to send it (though) to PS Synth?

  • edited August 2022

    yes (: @vadymrostok,

    Percussive Synth (PS) Sequencer sending midi to the Progressions app and Progressions app to send it (through) to PS Synth,
    but that's already happenning and perfectly possible, only that both apps differ (incidentally) from other auv3 MIDI apps,
    as they are simultaneously outputting audio and therefore are 'audio' 'nodes' or instances in Aum to be loaded as 'audio' ...
    although the 4pockets app and yours (the sequencer app) could also be considered as MIDI apps to be loaded/labeled as 'midi' fx instances.

    The basic idea is to effect the MIDI notes from your sequencer, and return them to your synth this way :)

    All the best

  • Yeah, both PS AUs are available as Midi nodes and as Audio nodes. It may be a bit confusing, but their names should help. I'll try to figure out how to separate them, so that sequencer would show only as Midi node and synth only as Audio node. Thanks!

  • edited August 2022

    The new version is out - v1.2.2
    It has a proper implementation of app suspension (killing >:) ) after 5 minutes of inactivity. Also, it has randomizers for synth params and for the sequencer under the settings menu.

    As I've noted in one of my previous posts, suspending the app using the framework's means is not enough, the app keeps handing in the background and draining the battery rather fast. An obvious decision would be to kill the app after a timeout. It required a new logic for saving the unsaved state when the app goes to the background. It took most of the effort.

    Randomizer was a requested feature. With synth params, it's pretty straightforward, except some params' ranges are limited, like release and decay time. In most cases, their values will be short. Otherwise, you'd often get over 1s attacks and half-a-minute releases.
    The sequencer randomizer is trickier.
    Between a more controlled approach, where you'd get a lot of playable but boring sequences, and a more random but fun approach, I chose the latter. I'm happy with it because at least 1 in 10 may qualify as a happy accident for me and was good as is or required minimal manipulation. The only new sequencer preset (called "randomized") was made this way.

    Edit: I forgot to mention - randomizer action has no confirmation. Just use undo function if you've changed your mind. Also, I added a duplicate "check synth" button at the bottom. It's at the top of the settings menu when it's opened.

  • thanks for the update! @vadymrostok works great on M1+M2 too

  • Does it have multi-out?

  • Happy to support now it had AU and dev @vadymrostok is proactive. Looks promising.

  • Thanks, @Jumpercollins, @cazel!

    Does it have multi-out?

    @panthera86 I don't get the question, sorry. If you mean separate recordings per track - no. In the standalone app, all synths' outputs are merged into one audio stream for playback and for recording. But I believe one can set up AudioUnits in AUM in a way so that there would be separate recordings for each AU synth node.

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