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.

using old gear: Griffin Stompbox -- solved!

edited January 2016 in App Tips and Tricks

I have this out-dated foot pedal "Stompbox" by Griffin.

image

I'm wondering if I can make it work with modern iOS hardware. Its 30-pin so I'll need the adapter of course. Anyone else have one and using it? I've just got a few questions before I give up on it.

  1. Is anyone using it to send MIDI commands to various iOS apps? How? EDIT: answered my own question :) jump to answer here : https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/194502/#Comment_194502
  2. Has anyone hacked it to send standard MIDI data? Maybe put an arduino in it? I'm thinking of those creative types like @otem_rellik

Comments

  • I have one, but it's seen very little use. I'd be interested to hear what other's are doing with it to.

  • I'm not familiar with this. Seems like if you are only interested in the housing you could easily gut it and use a teensy or arduino and usbmidi.

  • Cool, what I would really prefer is some way to re-program the thing (without gutting it). What messages does it actually send? Keystrokes?

    I can get it connected to the stompbox app, so I know it is working.

    But I can't find any apps that will listen to foot presses and send out standard MIDI (either virtual MIDI or Network MIDI. ). I would love to get this working. The box and the foot switches seem great, just non-standard software :-/

  • Seems like a lot of work when there are USB footswitches like the Line 6 FBV Express on Ebay for $50, or wireless BlueBoards going for $75 new.

  • Except these are $20 on Amazon right now !

  • So - a lot of work 'and' $20... :smile:

  • Yep, that's why I'm hoping there's a solution that skips some of the "lotta work". The design of the pedal is great. I would pay $50 for a similar designed pedal that has a USB cable on the end and just sent standard note on/off MIDI.

  • Blueboard has mushy buttons. Line 6 seems iffy with its own iOS issues. I've been watching this space for a while.

  • edited January 2016

    Actually, the Line6 FBV pedals in USB mode are pretty solid. No issues with iOS. Agree on the BlueBoard.

    There's also the Lodigy UMI3. I see them for around $50 on Ebay. Have used them live for the last couple of years. They can do CCs and Notes - also have CV pedal in. Solid unit.

  • Line 6 express MKII looks great, you are right. And the manual is very clear about how to set it up as USB MIDI device.

    now I'm not sure why I went out and spent $20 on this stompbox thingy ...

  • edited January 2016

    ah yeah! so stoked right now. OnSong has saved this Griffin Stompbox from the rubbish heap @funjunkie27 . OnSong can hear whatever this old pedal is speaking and send Network MIDI.

    So here's what I did:
    1. I got OnSong connected to Stompbox on an old iPod Touch 3rd generation (which has the required 30-pin connector)
    2. configure OnSong to send MIDI notes for each Stompbox pedal press, sent to Network MIDI via wi-fi to my main iPad
    3. on main iPad, connect MIDI Designer Pro to receive Network MIDI from iPod Touch.
    4. Create 4 buttons on the pedal board in MD Pro. (MIDI learn each of the notes coming from iPod.)
    5. DONE! I now have limitless banks of 4 pedals. (look up MD Pro tutorials on "Super Controls" and "Pedalboards" ) I can now create any message in MD Pro and have it go anywhere and everywhere on iOS.

  • By the way, this solution turns a cheap old foot pedal into a wireless wi-fi based MIDI pedal. Exactly what I was hoping to do.

    Now to find some time to test it out with Loopy, ToneStack, check it's latency, etc.

  • Very cool. I wonder if you could use Bluetooth (via Appollo) rather than wifi?

  • The only other issue is OnSong looks like it costs as much as the pedal :)

  • I forgot about OnSong @Hmtx. Very cool! I'm guessing MidiFlow on the iPad might also work.

  • @Hmtx said:
    ah yeah! so stoked right now. OnSong has saved this Griffin Stompbox from the rubbish heap @funjunkie27 . OnSong can hear whatever this old pedal is speaking and send Network MIDI.

    So here's what I did:
    1. I got OnSong connected to Stompbox on an old iPod Touch 3rd generation (which has the required 30-pin connector)
    2. configure OnSong to send MIDI notes for each Stompbox pedal press, sent to Network MIDI via wi-fi to my main iPad
    3. on main iPad, connect MIDI Designer Pro to receive Network MIDI from iPod Touch.
    4. Create 4 buttons on the pedal board in MD Pro. (MIDI learn each of the notes coming from iPod.)
    5. DONE! I now have limitless banks of 4 pedals. (look up MD Pro tutorials on "Super Controls" and "Pedalboards" ) I can now create any message in MD Pro and have it go anywhere and everywhere on iOS.

    Very cool, though seems like a lot of apps to load before you get to the app you want it to control.

    But if it works...

  • @Matt_Fletcher_2000 said:
    The only other issue is OnSong looks like it costs as much as the pedal :)

    Woah! Didn't realize the current price is 20usd. Not worth it if you don't already have onsong and midi designer pro.

    BT LE would work on a 4s, but I have an old iPod touch 3rd gen so it has to be over wifi for me.

  • I would think wifi would be ok for key presses alone.

  • Oh yes, this is working great. I had a decent LoopyHD - acoustic guitar looping session last night and the pedal is functioning very well and quite consistently. Consistent enough for live looping without a preset tempo, so I actually couldn't ask for anything more :-)

    Stompbox> iPod > OnSong > network MIDI > iPad > LoopyHD = musica bellisima

    Not really too much work considering I now have a $20 wifi foot pedal :+1:

    And of course I can add in MIDI Designer Pro if I want more than just the one bank of 4 buttons. Maybe there are some other MIDI tools that would work too.

  • @Hmtx can you share the MDP project?

  • Well, sure but I haven't made it yet. I've just been playing with it direct from OnSong to Loopy HD.

    Let me see if I can just put one together real quick.

  • Don't bother @Hmtx....I still haven't managed to get midi out from On Song yet. I'm sure I'm missing something simple.

  • edited January 2016

    Yeah, it was a fiddly task @funjunkie27 . In OnSong it is under utilities > editors > MIDI . Lots of useful settings in there. Most importantly that is where you bind the pedal click to a MIDI out message.

    Also don't forget to turn on utilities > settings > Run In Background - Always

  • Thanks @Hmtx. I did have BG set to always and thought I set the bindings correctly. I'll dig a bit deeper shortly though. It took a while before I found where the Griffin could be selected, but I finally found it. I've got On Song set up on an iPod touch and monitoring network Midi with MidiFlow on a mini retina. I also set the bindings to volume just to make sure the hardware connection was working, and it is, but when I returned it to Midi bindings, I'm not seeing it on MidiFlow.

  • @Matt_Fletcher_2000 said:
    Very cool. I wonder if you could use Bluetooth (via Appollo) rather than wifi?

    I know this thread is a bit old but I’d love to know if this works! I plug my guitar into the lightning dock for high quality sound in JamUp Pro and I’d love to use my old Griffin Stompbox via Bluetooth!

Sign In or Register to comment.