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.

Audiobus 3 launches Monday, April 3rd!

Update from March 23rd

Because one of our launch partners is having some issues with some of their apps not passing App Review in time we're going to delay the launch for a few days. We know it's not a permanent issue, but we'd like to launch together with them.
We're going to use the time to improve the quality of the user experience, which will make me personally quite happy.


Audiobus 3 is ready and we're launching on a day that Gadget is not launching (+ maybe 1 or 2 days for the media to calm down about Gadget again). I'll announce the actual day as soon as we decide it for sure.

Here are the main features that are going to be interesting for existing Audiobus 2 users:

  1. A totally new way to set up MIDI connections between compatible apps. All IAA instruments that are compatible with Audiobus will be usable as MIDI destinations. MIDI controllers will need to update to the newest SDK and support Audiobus 3's MIDI system. We're launching with a few of the best MIDI controller apps for that. And of course MIDI filters are a whole new category of apps, of which there will be a handful when we launch, made by Johannes Dörr, the creator of midiFlow
  2. Support for Audio Unit Extensions.
  3. A basic input mixer to adjust volumes of all sound generators
  4. Apps with the new Audiobus 3 SDK will launch into the background. All MIDI controllers and filters with the new Audiobus MIDI system will support this. Combined with Audio Unit Extensions and the new Audiobus MIDI system this turns Audiobus 3 into a really amazing place to set up your whole workflow, save it as an Audiobus preset and then restore it later on.
  5. Support for split view and slide-over on compatible devices so that you can adjust the volume without having to switch apps - just slide in the side panel and use the Audiobus mixer in that. It's handy.

We've worked on this for more than 2 years now and the main focus of it was to save our users time and present them with a platform that is fun and inspiring to use. More making music, less thinking about how to do it.

Cheers.

«13456713

Comments

  • Sounds good looking forward to it!

  • Makes business sense, Blur vs Oasis has already been done. ;)

  • @TheVimFuego said:
    Makes business sense, Blur vs Oasis has already been done. ;)

    Can we be Blur though?

  • @Sebastian said:

    @TheVimFuego said:
    Makes business sense, Blur vs Oasis has already been done. ;)

    Can we be Blur though?

    You'd like to win the battle but lose the war? You want to be remembered as Country House and the woeful accompanying video that Benny Hill would disown? Think carefully.

    It would appear that you are Pulp, musically superior (and way cooler) but less hyped.

    From hereforth I will no longer see you as Sebastian but Jarvis instead.

    Forgive me, I am running on empty late into the night after a big Paddys Day and we are in the middle of a storm-inflicted blackout running on phone hotspot and dual core candle power.

  • Javis. I like it.

  • Sounds good Mister S. I really hope there are one or two (one would do :)) really straightforward 'feature/benefit/advantage/this is how you do it' video(s) for this when it hits the streets.

  • Does AB3 sdk automatically make apps supporting save state feature ?
    Are there any plans on supporting OSC or midi for app switching?
    Any chance for integrated streaming audio feature between iOS devices wirelessly?
    Last question :
    Is there s new preset management ( fav, resent, by date, find app included , category tag etc.....)

  • I know there will be much conversation around the mixer and AUs and other cool features. But I am exultant for the simple and easy MIDI routing. How much of my life has been spent setting preferences in apps and then troubleshooting when it doesn't work? Too many!

  • edited March 2017

    Hmm, I don't quite see the competition between Gadget and AB3 apart from the media attention. I would think they would both be covered extensively even if they went live in the same hour. Both are just that huge a deal. And everybody's eagerly awaiting both.

  • @Sebastian I'm feeling much gratitude for AB. Even as is, I couldn't imagine enjoying music making with multiple apps. It's easy for me to take AB for granted, and I frequently forget AB is the reason this awesome forum exists.

  • edited March 2017

    I think it's a good time to release AB3 around the same time as Gadget updates especially if you are now able to record audio into Gadget. I would say get it out before Gadget if you are able, not after :)

    I wonder if AB3 supports multiple outputs for audio interfaces natively?

  • @Munibeast said:
    Hmm, I don't quite see the competition between Gadget and AB3 apart from the media attention. I would think they would both be covered extensively even if they went live in the same hour. Both are just that huge a deal. And everybody's eagerly awaiting both.

    I agree.

  • edited March 2017

    @Munibeast said:
    Hmm, I don't quite see the competition between Gadget and AB3 apart from the media attention. I would think they would both be covered extensively even if they went live in the same hour. Both are just that huge a deal. And everybody's eagerly awaiting both.

    Totally agree. There's actually no competition between both. Actually I see Gadget postponed again. So the extra wait will only mean postponing AB3 launch. What I read in the other thread. Just release it when it's ready. AB3 and Gadget are totally different things. And both will get enough media attention even if released on the same day.
    Besides that I'm very curious about the pricetag. Special introduction price? :)
    Anyway I'm very excited!

  • If I buy AB3, will I be able to keep AB2, or will it be an update path?

    I'd like to get the new version (I'm not really buying apps at the moment but have factored in AB3) but I use Audiobus Remote too much to sacrifice it for a length of time.

  • @greengrocer said:

    @Munibeast said:
    Hmm, I don't quite see the competition between Gadget and AB3 apart from the media attention. I would think they would both be covered extensively even if they went live in the same hour. Both are just that huge a deal. And everybody's eagerly awaiting both.

    Totally agree. There's actually no competition between both. Actually I see Gadget postponed again. So the extra wait will only mean postponing AB3 launch. What I read in the other thread. Just release it when it's ready. AB3 and Gadget are totally different things. And both will get enough media attention even if released on the same day.
    Besides that I'm very curious about the pricetag. Special introduction price? :)
    Anyway I'm very excited!

    As a pessimist I'm not positive around a march realease of Korg Gadget...
    Don't be sorry if the release is late april instead...

    Audiobus 3.x should come before Gadget... Be smart there...

  • Kinda liked the bootleg thread.

  • @supadom said:
    Kinda liked the bootleg thread.

    +1 bootleg thread

  • @Sebastian said:
    Audiobus 3 is ready and we're launching in late March on a day that Gadget is not launching (+ maybe 1 or 2 days for the media to calm down about Gadget again).

    Thanks a lot for confirming!
    Like others, not sure why AB3 has to ship after Gadget instead of before, but you probably have your reasons.

    An issue, for several of us, might be with budget. For one thing, the new modules in Gadget for iOS might be IAP. For another, Gadget for Mac is quite expensive (my hope is that they’ll offer a significant discount for current owners of iOS Gadget). Then there’s the price of these new MIDI filters. After all is set and done, the paid apps released later are the ones which may require a rethink, for those of us with tight budgets.

    @Sebastian also said:
    Here are the main features that are going to be interesting for existing Audiobus 2 users:

    Really neat list!

    MIDI support is likely to be the biggest thing, for me. Been working more and more with one app controlling another (say, AC Sabre driving Animoog). Works well as is, but it’d be great to add MIDI effects, like chorders and scale modifiers. Pretty intrigued by what Johannes will release.

    Might even try creating something with libPd, despite the fact that my coding skills are sorely lacking.

    Have yet to use AUs on iOS. There’s a fair number of AUv3 apps on the App Store, but none of them has been a “must-have”, for me.
    The situation is made worse by the fact my third generation iPad can only run iOS 9, and GarageBand requires iOS 10 for the version which supports AUv3. If AB3 allows me to use Audio Units on my iPad, it might convince me to buy a couple (once the late March expenses have gone through).

    and then, @Sebastian said:
    We've worked on this for more than 2 years now and the main focus of it was to save our users time and present them with a platform that is fun and inspiring to use. More making music, less thinking about how to do it.

    We’re so caught up in this whole universe that we may have a hard time getting a broad sense of what has been going on, in the past few years. After the dust has settled a bit, it’d be neat if someone like Ashley could do a kind of retrospective of iOS musicking. Been thinking about some writeups on parts of that story, for a new project of mine.

    From the average age of forum members, it sounds like many of us have been at this whole digital music making thing for a while, including pre-iOS tools and approaches. But it’s inspiring to imagine someone who’s just getting started making music, discovering the iOS music ecosystem for the first time.

    At any rate, a significant chapter of the iOS musicking story will start in a matter of days. AB3 is a key part of it. Gadget 3 and BM3 will matter, whenever they’re released. But their effects on the whole ecosystem isn’t the same as a tool to integrate so many apps and tools.

  • More making music, less messing around getting apps to work together. I'm excited to see it.

  • @JohnnyGoodyear said:
    Sounds good Mister S. I really hope there are one or two (one would do :)) really straightforward 'feature/benefit/advantage/this is how you do it' video(s) for this when it hits the streets.

    There will be. I'm Working on that with Jakob Haq right now.

    @OscarSouth said:
    If I buy AB3, will I be able to keep AB2, or will it be an update path?

    I'd like to get the new version (I'm not really buying apps at the moment but have factored in AB3) but I use Audiobus Remote too much to sacrifice it for a length of time.

    You'll be able to keep Audiobus 2.

    Audiobus 3 is a new app and does not replace Audiobus 2.

    @Carnbot said:
    I think it's a good time to release AB3 around the same time as Gadget updates especially if you are now able to record audio into Gadget. I would say get it out before Gadget if you are able, not after :)

    They're going to be out at a similar time. Not sure if it's important for either to be first.

    I wonder if AB3 supports multiple outputs for audio interfaces natively?

    No, not in the 3.0 release. But it's high on the 3.1 feature list.

  • Excellent news. This will definitely reduce a lot of complexities in my current setup. Can't wait!

  • edited March 2017

    Thanks for explaining the features @Sebastian and congratulations on its upcoming launch with all the hard work you put into it. I'm looking forward to getting AB3 and using it.

  • edited March 2017

    Still what I ask myself. Why is every body waiting? Something special happening at the end of the month? Deal with Apple new iPads or release of iOS 10.3? Also is Gadget 3 for iOS a paid upgrade? And is there alrady some info about Korg Gadget 3 for iOS. Just curious if somebody has some or the answers.

  • @greengrocer said:
    Still what I ask myself. Why is every body waiting? Something special happening at the end of the month? Deal with Apple new iPads or release of iOS 10.3? Also is Gadget 3 for iOS a paid upgrade? And is there alrady some info about Korg Gadget 3 for iOS. Just curious if somebody has some or the answers.

    Nobody is waiting. We're all just finishing the last bits of work.

  • Is there a kind of global input for midi hardware?
    I mean can i connect f.e.my Seaboard Rise to Audiobus 3 and than trigger different apps via different midi channels.
    Or would i need another app between this set-up to get that work (which would be no problem too i think).
    Sorry if this questions bothers you but Audiobus 3 seems to be one of rare apps i want to buy!
    Well, i will stop asking stupid things and just wait. I think Gadget and Audiobus are both big weights in the iOS world. Of course it would help if Apple put it into spotlights (or even on stage).

  • I don't know if the Seaboard shows up as a regular USB MIDI hardware device - if so, then yes, you can use it.
    It'd actually be very cool, since the midiFlow Splitter app should work nicely with it.

    We're going to support Bluetooth MIDI in version 3.1 I think.

  • @Sebastian said:

    @greengrocer said:
    Still what I ask myself. Why is every body waiting? Something special happening at the end of the month? Deal with Apple new iPads or release of iOS 10.3? Also is Gadget 3 for iOS a paid upgrade? And is there alrady some info about Korg Gadget 3 for iOS. Just curious if somebody has some or the answers.

    Nobody is waiting. We're all just finishing the last bits of work.

    Thanks for clearing that. Somehow got the feeling that... Clearly totally unjustified feeling.

  • @TheVimFuego said:

    @Sebastian said:

    @TheVimFuego said:
    Makes business sense, Blur vs Oasis has already been done. ;)

    Can we be Blur though?

    You'd like to win the battle but lose the war? You want to be remembered as Country House and the woeful accompanying video that Benny Hill would disown? Think carefully.

    It would appear that you are Pulp, musically superior (and way cooler) but less hyped.

    From hereforth I will no longer see you as Sebastian but Jarvis instead.

    Nailed it. Jarvis it is. Though, Damon has what might reasonably be considered deep iOS roots. So respect for that.

  • Not a marketer but there's probably an argument for releasing on the same day if possible. Don't think existing customers would be any more or less excited about either as they both are solidly in the 'genuinely big deal' category. Both on the same day could work do increase the perceived bigdealedness. And while AB might be the biggest of deals in our little community, there's a wider music tech loving community for whom KORG anything is a giant deal. Releasing AB3 on the same day (and getting media coverage on the same day) could serve as a way to introduce a lot of non-iOS music tech lovers to the music/tech possibilities afforded by iOS and AB3.

  • @Korakios said:
    Does AB3 sdk automatically make apps supporting save state feature ?

    I don't think so but man oh man would I love to see this.

    I very much appreciate the benefits of the "can't charge for AudioBus" rule but I would very very happily fork over IAP cash for state saving for a few apps if that incentive helped make it something doable for developers.

Sign In or Register to comment.