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.

How do you feel about the Surface Pro computers including the recently announced 9?

edited October 2022 in Desktop

Are they good replacements for my iPad Air 3 Wifi 64 GB model (which may not be worth selling because they sell on eBay for $160-200)? Also, what desktop softsynth can replace AddStation? I think Harmor layered in Blue Cat Patchwork might not be a bad idea.

Edit: Oh shoot, the Surface Pro 9 won't have a headphone jack?

Comments

  • I feel nothing for Microsoft's products. Absolutely nothing.

  • @NeuM said:
    I feel nothing for Microsoft's products. Absolutely nothing.

    What about the Lenovo Yoga tablets or another kind that can run Windows?

  • @frosttrance_7 said:

    @NeuM said:
    I feel nothing for Microsoft's products. Absolutely nothing.

    What about the Lenovo Yoga tablets or another kind that can run Windows?

    I prefer Apple's stuff.

  • I was tempted to try a Surface Pro, thinking it could combine a laptop and tablet… and I could use it for Adobe media editing and Ableton or Cubase.
    Couldn’t sell it quickly enough - and get back to MacBook and iPad.
    IMHO Windows on a tablet is horrible - and the Surface was so underpowered compared to a modern Mac.
    YMMV…

  • I have a couple reasons to switch but I have an old dual-booted macbook I keep at work that I use for the few uses I do have. Also, it seems they're tacking on a lot of price for touchscreen for not a lot of machine.

  • Have had a posh Surface laptop for a few years. Write poems on it. Watch movies. Drag it with me around the place. Run Maschine Mk3 on it. Make music on it. Love the gimmicky reverse screen thingie. Never had a second's trouble with it. Recommend it highly. But will be buying a Macbook next time because Logic. It's the software.

  • edited October 2022

    Get a MacBook Air instead. I have a Surface 6, it works for Maschine but meh for everything else. M1 Air is unbelievably efficient and powerful. Plus you can run Addstation in Ableton now.

  • Personally as far anything replacing my IPad I’d be open to anything if it had the same apps, musically specifically as what’s available for the IPad but nothing comes close. The IPad wins hands down for me as far as audio production apps go.

  • @JohnnyGoodyear said:
    Have had a posh Surface laptop for a few years. Write poems on it. Watch movies. Drag it with me around the place. Run Maschine Mk3 on it. Make music on it. Love the gimmicky reverse screen thingie. Never had a second's trouble with it. Recommend it highly. But will be buying a Macbook next time because Logic. It's the software.

    Let’s see a poem please.… …if you’re so inclined..

  • @auxmux said:
    Get a MacBook Air instead. I have a Surface 6, it works for Maschine but meh for everything else. M1 Air is unbelievably efficient and powerful. Plus you can run Addstation in Ableton now.

    I may also consider that for replacing my Dell XPS 13 (runs surprisingly well after 6 years), which has a weak ass 6th gen Intel Core I7 that can only handle 4 instances of u-He Repro.

  • Microsoft have got rid of the headphones jack on the next surface pro 9 I read.

  • I've a Surface pro 8 and it is a good machine but I think a laptop and an Apple M1 will be a better option. Why? Because is quite as portable as the surface and for me a laptop is better for working (and music) with better keyboard, touchpad... Another question is if you prefer Apple ecosystem (I do) and if you want to stay captive inside Apple hw/sw (I don't :-)

  • edited October 2022

    @iof said:
    I've a Surface pro 8 and it is a good machine but I think a laptop and an Apple M1 will be a better option. Why? Because is quite as portable as the surface and for me a laptop is better for working (and music) with better keyboard, touchpad... Another question is if you prefer Apple ecosystem (I do) and if you want to stay captive inside Apple hw/sw (I don't :-)

    I'm a Windows guy, and I own a gaming PC and a 6 year old laptop that both run it, but I don't mind trying out Mac.

  • It’s probably fine, but you should really check latency as the biggest concern. I remember when I got my Surface Go I found it’s not worth using for music compared to 2nd gen iPad Pro. I have the very first version of the Go with a crappy processor (it was the only processor option back then), so the newer ones are probably better. The Surface Pro is probably also much better as well.

    I remember tweaking my Surface Go via some recommendations for Windows optimization and I do recall some of the updates removed that option. I’m not sure if that matters much or not.

    As far as cost keeping your 3rd gen Air with the Apps you already paid for is clearly the most economical option. Latency is usually pretty good on the iOS.

  • @iof said:
    I've a Surface pro 8 and it is a good machine but I think a laptop and an Apple M1 will be a better option. Why? Because is quite as portable as the surface and for me a laptop is better for working (and music) with better keyboard, touchpad... Another question is if you prefer Apple ecosystem (I do) and if you want to stay captive inside Apple hw/sw (I don't :-)

    What do you mean by “if you want to stay captive inside Apple (hardware/software)”?

    You do know that you can run Windows on an Apple computer, right? And several relatives (who used run Windows on their Macs… until they decided macOS was better) used to do this.

  • @NeuM said:

    @iof said:
    I've a Surface pro 8 and it is a good machine but I think a laptop and an Apple M1 will be a better option. Why? Because is quite as portable as the surface and for me a laptop is better for working (and music) with better keyboard, touchpad... Another question is if you prefer Apple ecosystem (I do) and if you want to stay captive inside Apple hw/sw (I don't :-)

    What do you mean by “if you want to stay captive inside Apple (hardware/software)”?

    You do know that you can run Windows on an Apple computer, right? And several relatives (who used run Windows on their Macs… until they decided macOS was better) used to do this.

    I heard that Parallels is the best way to use Windows in Mac. There's also bootstrap.

  • My opinion about Windows in general is pretty low, from having to use license mechanisms to validate a plugin (including the dreaded dongles, although I've heard since I last used a Windows machine that dongles are all virtual now), to using antivirus software while viruses and malware still could sneak past, to folks using cracked software because the prices for quality plugins are so prohibitively expensive, to machines slowing down over time, etc. Just too much hassle.

    The advantage to Windows is indeed having an all-in-one DAW of choice (FL Studio, Bitwig, Ableton, Cubase, etc) that can do everything, which iOS currently lacks. But, I'd rather bounce between apps on iOS than deal with the aforementioned shortcomings of Windows. (Then again, it seems getting a prohibitively expensive Macbook is the best course of action if you truly need an all-in-one DAW.) Plus there are apps on iOS with no Windows alternative. Just my personal hot take of course. 😅

    I will say that I do miss FL Studio, especially Harmor. That synth was mindblowing! One could load a sample, and the synth would turn it into a series of harmonics and noise that could be further manipulated! Such a beast!

  • @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    My opinion about Windows in general is pretty low, from having to use license mechanisms to validate a plugin (including the dreaded dongles, although I've heard since I last used a Windows machine that dongles are all virtual now), to using antivirus software while viruses and malware still could sneak past, to folks using cracked software because the prices for quality plugins are so prohibitively expensive, to machines slowing down over time, etc. Just too much hassle.

    The advantage to Windows is indeed having an all-in-one DAW of choice (FL Studio, Bitwig, Ableton, Cubase, etc) that can do everything, which iOS currently lacks. But, I'd rather bounce between apps on iOS than deal with the aforementioned shortcomings of Windows. (Then again, it seems getting a prohibitively expensive Macbook is the best course of action if you truly need an all-in-one DAW.) Plus there are apps on iOS with no Windows alternative. Just my personal hot take of course. 😅

    I will say that I do miss FL Studio, especially Harmor. That synth was mindblowing! One could load a sample, and the synth would turn it into a series of harmonics and noise that could be further manipulated! Such a beast!

    Nearly all of the synths I have on my PC do not require dongles. I use Renoise (and sometime Ableton) to make music on Windows. There are many iOS apps I love, but softsynths and effects on Windows still tend to have higher sound quality and are more complex than what most iOS stuff can do.

  • Had one, hated it and sold it to buy a new iPad Pro

    Apps on iPad and their ui are specifically designed for the touch screen but surface music apps just don’t have the same fluid interactivity. Was good being able to run full daws and access to all the vsts but it was just rubbish to use.

    Plus constant updates every week

    Then driver issues when using hardware

    Terrible machine

  • I bought a Surface Go for the only app I needed, but wasn't made for my iPad - Line6 Helix Edit.

    It's the only thing I use it for. It works great for that.
    Other than that - it's Windows - I hate it.

  • @frosttrance_7 said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    My opinion about Windows in general is pretty low, from having to use license mechanisms to validate a plugin (including the dreaded dongles, although I've heard since I last used a Windows machine that dongles are all virtual now), to using antivirus software while viruses and malware still could sneak past, to folks using cracked software because the prices for quality plugins are so prohibitively expensive, to machines slowing down over time, etc. Just too much hassle.

    The advantage to Windows is indeed having an all-in-one DAW of choice (FL Studio, Bitwig, Ableton, Cubase, etc) that can do everything, which iOS currently lacks. But, I'd rather bounce between apps on iOS than deal with the aforementioned shortcomings of Windows. (Then again, it seems getting a prohibitively expensive Macbook is the best course of action if you truly need an all-in-one DAW.) Plus there are apps on iOS with no Windows alternative. Just my personal hot take of course. 😅

    I will say that I do miss FL Studio, especially Harmor. That synth was mindblowing! One could load a sample, and the synth would turn it into a series of harmonics and noise that could be further manipulated! Such a beast!

    Nearly all of the synths I have on my PC do not require dongles. I use Renoise (and sometime Ableton) to make music on Windows. There are many iOS apps I love, but softsynths and effects on Windows still tend to have higher sound quality and are more complex than what most iOS stuff can do.

    True, but then again, many PC apps aren't touch-screen friendly either. 😅 And as @muzka just pointed out, the iPad has much more fluid interactivity. And as Muzka pointed out, there are often issues with drivers and whatnot too. Just so much fiddling about.

    But if a PC works for you, that's valid. I'm just giving my personal opinion. :)

  • @frosttrance_7 said:

    @NeuM said:

    @iof said:
    I've a Surface pro 8 and it is a good machine but I think a laptop and an Apple M1 will be a better option. Why? Because is quite as portable as the surface and for me a laptop is better for working (and music) with better keyboard, touchpad... Another question is if you prefer Apple ecosystem (I do) and if you want to stay captive inside Apple hw/sw (I don't :-)

    What do you mean by “if you want to stay captive inside Apple (hardware/software)”?

    You do know that you can run Windows on an Apple computer, right? And several relatives (who used run Windows on their Macs… until they decided macOS was better) used to do this.

    I heard that Parallels is the best way to use Windows in Mac. There's also bootstrap.

    It is not my intention to discuss that issue here, simply to make several things clear:

    • No, we no longer have bootcamp: support was removed entirely on the M1s.
    • You cannot run intel's windows 11 on an M1 because it is an ARM and therefore windows 11 for ARM must be installed. That along with the fact that it is virtualized does not make it usable for music tasks, at least in a simple way. That virtualization can be a source of incompatibilities, but of course it depends on the use. Several of these aspects are discussed here: https://www.appsntips.com/learn/use-parallels-desktop-run-windows-11-m1-macs/
    • Look closely at the features of the device and its expandability. The surface can be upgraded with SSD disk (the 8 Pro). The M1 for example must be chosen well, as it is not possible to upgrade anything. That is what I was referring to. You can't easily install another operating system and you can't update anything. And for the record that my work laptop is a mac and I am very happy with it (and it is a very good option for music, especially if the applications and filters you have are in this environment), but you have to have these issues clear to not screw up.

    Maybe the decision comes more from the software/hardware you already have. In my case, with all the investment I have in IOS apps I don't consider any other option :-)

  • edited October 2022

    I've now been using a Lenovo tablet (yes, with headphones port, SD card slot and USB-C) next to an iPad for quite a while and the apps are hardly comparable. Touch friendly music apps are still rare and the choice on iPhone/iPad is so much wider yet more limited.

    Pro Windows tablet:

    • I can access my own files, anywhere, in any context!
    • Quite a large number of deep, feature rich apps that don't exist on iOS
    • Support of popular formats like VST2, VST3 and so many apps that have only ever existed on Windows
    • Insanely better 3rd party hardware support

    Pro iPad:

    • Immediacy: Power on, a few taps and you're making music. Rarely happens on Windows :D
    • Stability: Be it Microsoft or 3rd party driver developers, standby and wake from sleep is often a hit and miss experience. The first time it mostly works but the second or third time? Well.... (Imagine you had to reboot your iPad after each 3rd sleep!)
    • And the most important one: The apps. Fresh thinking in app development without conforming to too many old fashioned rules. Reduction to the essential minimum. I think that multi touch helped them develop like they are today.

    Early Windows tablets had been weaker than iPads in display resolution and quality but that has changed definitely. For browsing and showcasing my photos and videos, I'm mainly using my Win tablet now because I can have as many 512GB (and soon larger) uSDHC cards as I want.

    Headphones port sound quality is great in mine, one thing that Windows still struggles with is Bluetooth. Hard to believe that after so many years of Microsoft selling Windows licenses, Bluetooth MIDI is a nightmare to get up and running reliably and consistently. I'm using a CME WIDI Bud, not bulletproof but works halfway OK specifically with the Yamaha MD-BT01 BT MIDI dongles, with some other BT MIDI devices including iDevices, it won't even keep the pairing.
    Dunno about the Widi Bud Pro but it's too bulky to be used on a tablet safely.

  • @Telstar5 said:

    @JohnnyGoodyear said:
    Have had a posh Surface laptop for a few years. Write poems on it. Watch movies. Drag it with me around the place. Run Maschine Mk3 on it. Make music on it. Love the gimmicky reverse screen thingie. Never had a second's trouble with it. Recommend it highly. But will be buying a Macbook next time because Logic. It's the software.

    Let’s see a poem please.… …if you’re so inclined..

    But then I'd have to kill you though (and write about it, of course :)...

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