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.

High quality Acoustic Bass/Jazz Guitar app?

Greetings, this is my first post. I'm planning on doing a lot of solo & duo events using only my iPad. I'm a Jazz Pianist, so far I'm enjoying the Module/Ivory piano, I've just started using Drum Perfect Pro. What I need to complete this puzzle is a great sounding Acoustic bass and Jazz guitar app. I have Sampletank, but it doesn't cut it for me. I also have sessionband Jazz, but the lack of functionality is frustrating. Until Band in a box is available for iOS, can anyone recommend something?? Thanks so much for any info....

Comments

  • Check out iFretless Bass and iFretless Guitar. Also, the new bass Gadget within Korg Gadget is excellent, but would require 50 dollars or more of initial investment.

    As a guitar player, I find those to be the most realistic to real-life instruments.

  • The new Madrid Gadget bass machine is very nice - has a variety of bass sounds to choose. There's a couple of YouTube demos featuring it if you wanna check out.

    Maybe check out iFretless bass too

    And there's a couple of nice sample based bass instruments in Thumbjam. Bass Plucked preset is my fav.
    P-bass, Stingray Bass, Bass Slap a few others...

    Not sure what offering there are for jazz guitar

  • @drjazz930 Welcome Doctor. I agree with Mister Storm as regards iFretless Bass.

  • edited July 2016

    iFretless yes. But also check out GarageBand and Apple MusicMemos. The new built-in Drummer and Bass is brilliant. Really decent auto accompaniment. And FREE!

  • edited July 2016

    @drjazz930 said:
    ... What I need to complete this puzzle is a great sounding Acoustic bass and Jazz guitar app. I have Sampletank, but it doesn't cut it for me. I also have sessionband Jazz, but the lack of functionality is frustrating. Until Band in a box is available for iOS, can anyone recommend something?? ....

    Band in a Box is hard to beat in this domain with RealDrums and RealTracks as your virtual buddies

    for those unfamiliar with BiaB: the 'real stuff' consists of recorded tracks, usually 3 to 10 minutes, which are sliced in extreme detail by specific rules so the programm can re-generate single track output according to genre and playing style

    but it's a major investment ($469) as it needs the UltraPlusPak to get full access to the afformentioned track
    (bought in slices it easily may get way more expensive - imho)
    on other hand it's a ton of sampled material, ready to use without programming or other preparation
    you may adjust any instrument/style into 'jazz' playing, which can be a lot of fun
    the content is delivered on a USB harddrive... a transfer to the PC takes about 3 hours

    it can be used remotely from an iPad via various network constellations, but needs the Windows version
    (probably running as a terminal service)
    anyway: a small i5 with SSD (highly recommended for it's massive file tree) is quite affordable
    for simplicity assume that the whole system (BiaB+Mini-PC) is about 1 grand...
    not cheap, but a serious option to consider

    I've abused a jazzy BiaB drummer in this (admittedly strange) track, the bass is a real Fender Precision, the synth comes from the iPad
    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/244999/#Comment_244999
    (just to give an impression of the drum sound)

    cheers, Tom

    ps: for reasons of file content/volume/complexity of soundgeneration an IOS version featuring 'RealDrums/Instruments' is not very likely (imho)

  • You might also try iJ Bass HD. Inexpensive, app which offers different features to the very good iFretless Bass.

  • Madrid is better and more realistic than ifretless bass imho .For jazz guitar : thumbjam, guitarcapo, guitarism, realguitar for solo and the excellent geoshred <3

  • hey any of you guys that have ifretless know what happened to the picture of the acc upright bass?... you know when you're switching through the instruments for some reason the upright bass is blank on mine... still sounds though, and the electric upright is there as all of the other pics.... very weird?

  • I have this bug too..> @kobamoto said:

    hey any of you guys that have ifretless know what happened to the picture of the acc upright bass?... you know when you're switching through the instruments for some reason the upright bass is blank on mine... still sounds though, and the electric upright is there as all of the other pics.... very weird?

  • @drjazz930 said:
    so far I'm enjoying the Module/Ivory piano

    In that case another vote for Gadget + Madrid bass IAP. Gadget is 50% off for a few more days. You might also like the Gladstone acoustic drums gadget. Plus you can use all your Module stuff in there too.

  • edited July 2016

    @R_2 said:

    @drjazz930 said:
    so far I'm enjoying the Module/Ivory piano

    In that case another vote for Gadget + Madrid bass IAP. Gadget is 50% off for a few more days. You might also like the Gladstone acoustic drums gadget. Plus you can use all your Module stuff in there too.

    >

    It does sound good. Just wish they'd included the new modules in their sale. BTW, loving your demo track.

  • edited July 2016

    If it's just for making backing tracks for later playback, I'd just go with Garageband. Lots of good options that'll sound nice in a mix. I think there's actually a clip launch mode in there too, which could be good.

    If you want to control it more for live 'dynamic' performance uses, I'd probably first gravitate towards Modstep controlling Thumbjam. Maybe lightly compress and/or low pass the sample (in AUM) to give a more natural blend.

    Myself, for making natural 'feeling' basses in a mix with a fine tunable capability, I actually use Viking Synth. Of course on it's own it sounds like a synth, but if you choose a clean sounding wave form and tailor the envelope just right, when it's in the mix it blends well and I can get the 'feel' much closer to that of a real double bass. Feel will obviously be much more important than tone in your use case.

    Take into consideration that I'm a professional electric/upright bassist and so have 10+years experience of fine tuning the perfect bass feel. I imagine without suitable experience and without knowing your way intimately around a subtractive synth, it may not be the best choice.

  • @Nkersov said: It does sound good. Just wish they'd included the new modules in their sale. BTW, loving your demo track.

    I'm not sure what you mean by 'new modules' but the IAPs are on sale, 33% - 50% off.
    That demo track is from Korg, not me ;)

  • @R_2 said:

    I'm not sure what you mean by 'new modules' but the IAPs are on sale, 33% - 50% off.

    That demo track is from Korg, not me ;)

    >

    Oh, you know what I mean. :) Madrid, is one of three new IAP's, and unless something changed since I looked yesterday, it is at full price. Older IAP's in Gadget are at sale price, of course, as is the app itself.

    Well done Korg, then, for showing what can be done with Madrid.

  • it's what you may expect from a company with that reputation...

    @OscarSouth said:
    Take into consideration that I'm a professional electric/upright bassist and so have 10+years experience of fine tuning the perfect bass feel. I imagine without suitable experience and without knowing your way intimately around a subtractive synth, it may not be the best choice.

    hit's it perfectly

    cheers, Tom

  • R_2R_2
    edited July 2016

    @Nkersov said:
    Oh, you know what I mean. :) Madrid, is one of three new IAP's, and unless something changed since I looked yesterday, it is at full price. Older IAP's in Gadget are at sale price, of course, as is the app itself.

    The 3 new IAP's are 33% off until 15-7. €9,99 (regular price €14,99)
    http://www.korg.com/us/news/2016/070103/

  • Thumbjam has alot of good sounding instrument for a small amount of money!

    Intresting user interface also...

  • edited July 2016

    @R_2 said:
    The 3 new IAP's are 33% off until 15-7. €9,99 (regular price €14,99)
    http://www.korg.com/us/news/2016/070103/

    >

    My mistake. I sit corrected. ;) I had wrongly assumed that the sale price of all IAP's would be the same.

  • @ErrkaPetti said:
    Thumbjam has alot of good sounding instrument for a small amount of money!

    Intresting user interface also...

    >

    Yes. Long time fan of TJ, and companion app Drum Jam. Superb value, both.

  • @OscarSouth Great tip with Viking synth! Downloaded and tried - it's true: in an ensemble mix it blends in as acoustic bass, perhaps mixed with some Ripplemaker for a slight punch/snarl/attack.
    Reminds me of the fact that some great pop "piano" recordings are in fact no piano at all, but a mix of different synths.

  • edited January 2021

    I know the original question is 4 years old, but for the thing the OP was asking about, jazz accompaniment at a live gig, iRealPro is perfect. I think mapping tonal harmony also does this, but in a slightly different way. IRealPro is like the old kawai session trainer though. Pretty much any standard you can think of is a free download on there.

  • For the record: The Overloud TH-U Amp simulation app is ideal for traditional Jazz Guitar amp tones... I love the Polyphase (PolyTone clone) amp but all the Fenders and boutique amps are represented well. Great internal FX options and pristine audio processing DSP code... you can build massive Rig constructions including multiple amps, cabinets and FX and the noise floor doesn't become an issue. It's also very easy to dial in your preferred levels of saturation and distortion from blues to death metal tones. Great IOS app ported over from the Desktop world... I hope to see more of this in 2021.

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • @Halftone said:
    The new Madrid Gadget bass machine is very nice - has a variety of bass sounds to choose. There's a couple of YouTube demos featuring it if you wanna check out.

    Maybe check out iFretless bass too

    And there's a couple of nice sample based bass instruments in Thumbjam. Bass Plucked preset is my fav.
    P-bass, Stingray Bass, Bass Slap a few others...

    Not sure what offering there are for jazz guitar

    That’s it’s great choices here

    Madrid and iFretless are great

  • heshes
    edited January 2021

    EDIT: ha, I missed that this thread was from 2016! Oh well, still applies if anyone is interested...

    Ifretless is good, but if OP is looking for something like Band in a Box only gets you tiny way there. You still have to play/program the midi parts.

    It seems to me that Lumbeats’ iBassist and Jazz Drummer are what OP is really looking for. They’re something like a much more flexible SessionBand Jazz. You give them a chord progression, tweak a few settings and turn them loose to generate your rhythm section on the fly, and you can tweak them on the fly as well (with a foot pedal, if you want). If the double bass in iBassist doesn’t sound good enough as an instrument, you could direct the iBassist midi out to ifretless Bass, Thumbpad, or something else. But I would guess the iBassist instruments compare fairly well. Same with the drum sounds.

    Here’s a Sound Test Room demo of iBassist and Jazz Drummer generating music together:

    Also see Lumbeats’ own short demo, which includes iBassist sending some chords out to an electric piano:

  • edited January 2021

    @henningz said:
    @OscarSouth Great tip with Viking synth! Downloaded and tried - it's true: in an ensemble mix it blends in as acoustic bass, perhaps mixed with some Ripplemaker for a slight punch/snarl/attack.
    Reminds me of the fact that some great pop "piano" recordings are in fact no piano at all, but a mix of different synths.

    This reminded me about how much I love Viking synth for bass groove! Of all the iOS synths that have come and gone, this is the one that I've come back to again and again. Used to love Model D, but since I have 2 hardware Moogs sitting on my desk, the extra 'authentic' character isn't really necessary. The intuitive tweakability, level of depth and lightweightness of Viking is just exactly what I needed then (to support other instruments in my mix) and now (to support the Moog hardware units with a flexible digital synth).

    One of the first AU synths for iOS and still in my top 3 go-to instruments!

  • @OscarSouth said:

    @henningz said:
    @OscarSouth Great tip with Viking synth! Downloaded and tried - it's true: in an ensemble mix it blends in as acoustic bass, perhaps mixed with some Ripplemaker for a slight punch/snarl/attack.
    Reminds me of the fact that some great pop "piano" recordings are in fact no piano at all, but a mix of different synths.

    This reminded me about how much I love Viking synth for bass groove! Of all the iOS synths that have come and gone, this is the one that I've come back to again and again. Used to love Model D, but since I have 2 hardware Moogs sitting on my desk, the extra 'authentic' character isn't really necessary. The intuitive tweakability, level of depth and lightweightness of Viking is just exactly what I needed then (to support other instruments in my mix) and now (to support the Moog hardware units with a flexible digital synth).

    One of the first AU synths for iOS and still in my top 3 go-to instruments!

    Which presets you dig the most? Or do you roll your own?

  • edited January 2021

    @lukesleepwalker said:

    @OscarSouth said:

    @henningz said:
    @OscarSouth Great tip with Viking synth! Downloaded and tried - it's true: in an ensemble mix it blends in as acoustic bass, perhaps mixed with some Ripplemaker for a slight punch/snarl/attack.
    Reminds me of the fact that some great pop "piano" recordings are in fact no piano at all, but a mix of different synths.

    This reminded me about how much I love Viking synth for bass groove! Of all the iOS synths that have come and gone, this is the one that I've come back to again and again. Used to love Model D, but since I have 2 hardware Moogs sitting on my desk, the extra 'authentic' character isn't really necessary. The intuitive tweakability, level of depth and lightweightness of Viking is just exactly what I needed then (to support other instruments in my mix) and now (to support the Moog hardware units with a flexible digital synth).

    One of the first AU synths for iOS and still in my top 3 go-to instruments!

    Which presets you dig the most? Or do you roll your own?

    Roll my own and there are really only 2 sounds I use -- a smooth lead and an 8th note bass sound that's designed to be used with note repeat. Both are pretty simple "mix supplements" (most specific tweaking is how each responds to modulation) and I usually just dial them in on the fly since Viking can't save its own presets. They're not even as 'interesting' as most of the stock presets (which are many and excellent) but just fill the utility that I need. I particularly like being able to blend between waveforms to get things to fuse nicely.

    I'll see if I can find old Audiobus or BM3 projects with them dialed in and upload it here.

  • edited January 2021

    OMG Viking Synth, where have you been all my life! Fat as heck!!! Thank you @OscarSouth 😁

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