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.

Remember this synth? Whatever became of LayR?

Update badly needed, abandoned already? Very disappointing that more patches were not updated.

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Comments

  • U in a hurry? It'll come...

  • Like released only last month Layr? :

  • I deleted it a week or so ago. Never used it. There are many much better-sounding synths IMO

  • edited April 2017

    Got released buggy af. I wrote an angry review. Still the only review in my region lol. The interface is ugly af.

  • @hexagonsun83 said:
    Got released buggy af. I wrote an angry review. Still the only review in my region lol. The interface is ugly af.

    Damning opinion, but everyone's entitled to one.

    I downloaded it on release day. I'm not entirely enthralled by it, but it's only been a month. I'll be keeping my eye on it for quite a while. It's different to the other synths on my iPad and a lot of work went into it. I'm willing to be patient with this one.

  • I still have it on my iPad but was a bit 'bummed' at some missing features...
    Oh well, since the developer apparently uses it for his own performances I still have some hoper we'll see an update sooner or later :)

  • Jeez, give the guy a chance. It was only released, what, a couple of months ago or so?! It's probably one guy working on it. People need to relax a bit and give indie developers more chance to... develop.

  • I'm just waiting for the apparently in review ableton link support. The dev had said ableton needs to approve it or something.

  • @Tritonman said:
    Update badly needed, abandoned already? Very disappointing that more patches were not updated.

    Shoot, I just posted this comment (below) in the "most powerful..." thread. Didn't see yours until just now! But here's your answer.....


    I've been doing some beta testing with LayR over the past few weeks and I believe some of the new features and the need to test them out are the culprits for the delay. Last I heard it is scheduled to be released next week; dont quote me on that, though.

    That said, there are indeed a number of new performance presets in this upcoming update. I have created a new bank of 100, and Red Sky Lullaby has also created one with 35. We've also created a number of instrument presets to use as building blocks and starter points for individual layers in a performance. I believe there are about 60 of those presets in total.

  • @Hosh said:
    Jeez, give the guy a chance. It was only released, what, a couple of months ago or so?! It's probably one guy working on it. People need to relax a bit and give indie developers more chance to... develop.

    The App is 20 bucks. It's not a charity. If i was in a giving mood, i'd donate to his patreon. For 20 bucks i expect a synth, that doesn't crash on 50% of the presets. Or an actual good interface. You know, simple things.

  • @hexagonsun83 said:

    @Hosh said:
    Jeez, give the guy a chance. It was only released, what, a couple of months ago or so?! It's probably one guy working on it. People need to relax a bit and give indie developers more chance to... develop.

    The App is 20 bucks. It's not a charity. If i was in a giving mood, i'd donate to his patreon. For 20 bucks i expect a synth, that doesn't crash on 50% of the presets. Or an actual good interface. You know, simple things.

    did you even read the post above yours ? @brice just confirmed that a beta exists that fixes a few issues and adds new features. We're even getting presets and building blocks. we just need to wait a few weeks tops.

  • No crashes here using iPad Air 2 iOS 10.3.1 happy to here update is coming but I'm still using this app on a regular basis. I like it :)

  • A delete & reinstall may help with the crashing (did for me). Agree with good things taking their time, curious about the new presets of course, making sounds can be very satisfying with Layr, although you likely need some time and dedication to learn the details. Indeed I appreciate that synth for being deep, surprising and rewarding.

  • @ccs2 said:
    A delete & reinstall may help with the crashing (did for me). Agree with good things taking their time, curious about the new presets of course, making sounds can be very satisfying with Layr, although you likely need some time and dedication to learn the details. Indeed I appreciate that synth for being deep, surprising and rewarding.

    I think you'll be pleased with the new presets. If not repeatedly in a "that's the one I needed for ______!" way then perhaps in a way that inspires you to look at LayR differently than before. That's what happened to me several times while I was making mine. I was intimidated by the arp functionality at first. And only using it to make "arpeggiator" synth-y sort of things. But after a short time simply experimenting with it I realized I was getting results that were nowhere even close to what I typically expect from an arpeggiator. Sometimes with even just 4 notes on the grid. I struggle to even call that thing an arpeggiator at this point.

    I also realized LayR is very capable of being a drum synth. And a rather good one at that. Due to the extensive operations of the envelopes you're able to get some very punchy drums. Bass drums in particular via the sine oscillator / pitch mod. And of course each drum sound can be given its own MIDI channel and audio out. So factor something like Patterning into this equation, with many separate channels of LayR fed through AUM. Things start to get really interesting. And that is not even yet considering that virtually every parameter of every sound can receive modulation from the outside world.

    It's possible to go very deep with LayR I have found. But you are correct, it does take some time to learn the ropes. Once you do though it is a very easy synth to work with.

  • It does have great potential I will agree. Just curious as to the status of the app as it had gone dark after an initial send off. It really does pay to stay in touch I believe . Those who think differently are certainly entitled to their opinions as are those who are now glad to know its status.

  • Oh and I should add a thank you to Brice for taking time to answer. Now back to work. ;)

  • Are you kidding? :# :o I think this synth is massive! Right out of the box. Personally I think the UI is way ahead of its time, its beautifully designed. IMHO, it really needs a bigger screen to be fully enjoyed, but the fact that it's universal and I can enjoy its massive sonic power on my tiny iPhone SE, it's simply amazing!!

    Of course, this is just my humble opinion and I respect yours too. :) <3 o:)

    @hexagonsun83 said:
    Got released buggy af. I wrote an angry review. Still the only review in my region lol. The interface is ugly af.

  • edited April 2017

    I don't relate at all to comments about the synth being buggy, this is likely an issue of hardware- it's a CPU intensive synth, very powerful and deep, and requires iPads Air 2 or newer...and minis 2 or newer...

    Amazing synth actually, but: horses for courses

  • @Littlewoodg said:
    I don't relate at all to comments about the synth being buggy, this may be an issue of hardware- it's a CPU intensive synth, and requires iPads Air 2 or newer...minis 2 or newer...

    No it does not require Air2 or newer actually.

  • edited April 2017

    @Tritonman said:

    @Littlewoodg said:
    I don't relate at all to comments about the synth being buggy, this may be an issue of hardware- it's a CPU intensive synth, and requires iPads Air 2 or newer...minis 2 or newer...

    No it does not require Air2 or newer actually.

    Sorry you're right Air is ok too. Air and Mini 2 are the minimums on iPad

  • Maybe it's just the iPhone version, but it suffers from the crippling disease known as "gadgets disease" whereby knobs are very wonky and cumbersome to turn. Being that the app is built around the turning of knobs, this makes me dislike it.

  • It hasn't crashed once for me. I love the GUI, and the simplicity of it. I love the sounds it enables me to create. I actually don't even miss presets that much, though I do find them interesting for inspirational starting points and for reverse engineering.

    The thing is, as an "instrument" (in LayR terminology) is the combination of many presets (which by themselves can be quite simple in isolation), and which in turn can be a lot more complex when combined into "performances" (LayR terminology again), I'm not sure what people are missing when they say "give me more presets"? Is it more base presets for creating more instruments? Or finished instruments (i.e the combination of presets)? Or finished performances (the combination of instruments)?

    To me that'd be like walking in to someone elses set/rehearsal space, using their kit and (physical) instruments and not adjusting the amplifier/stomp boxes: not that interesting, unless I want to play THEIR songs. I'm more interested in the fact I, me myself and I (who also is not a synthesis wizard), easily and quickly can create a performance for a complete song that I have written myself, with sounds created by me. Of course, if that is not your thing, I understand "give me more instruments/performances" etc, but then I would probably argue Synthmaster, Magellan or some other app would be more suitable. But that is IMHO of course, and I respect anyone elses too.

  • Well said.

    I think from what I'm reading is that the majority of users although intrigued with the ability and potential to tweak sounds and create their own presets, find themselves wishing to just open, select and play. As simple as that. So yes, it seems the majority would like something like Synthmaster player where you do exactly as I just said.

    Me however, I think I belong to both camps. I'm a sucker for presets for instant gratification that comes from selecting an awesome preset and get carried away by the awesomeness of the massive sound engine of LayR.

    I think that's what made all the Korg hardware synths so popular, it was the massive amount of presets to choose from.

    LayR has that potential and more, way more!

    This in my humble opinion is a great income opportunity for the decor anyone wishing to create and sell.

    Anyone interested in buying preset sound packs?

    Hand raised! :) :o <3

    @hellquist said:
    It hasn't crashed once for me. I love the GUI, and the simplicity of it. I love the sounds it enables me to create. I actually don't even miss presets that much, though I do find them interesting for inspirational starting points and for reverse engineering.

    The thing is, as an "instrument" (in LayR terminology) is the combination of many presets (which by themselves can be quite simple in isolation), and which in turn can be a lot more complex when combined into "performances" (LayR terminology again), I'm not sure what people are missing when they say "give me more presets"? Is it more base presets for creating more instruments? Or finished instruments (i.e the combination of presets)? Or finished performances (the combination of instruments)?

    To me that'd be like walking in to someone elses set/rehearsal space, using their kit and (physical) instruments and not adjusting the amplifier/stomp boxes: not that interesting, unless I want to play THEIR songs. I'm more interested in the fact I, me myself and I (who also is not a synthesis wizard), easily and quickly can create a performance for a complete song that I have written myself, with sounds created by me. Of course, if that is not your thing, I understand "give me more instruments/performances" etc, but then I would probably argue Synthmaster, Magellan or some other app would be more suitable. But that is IMHO of course, and I respect anyone elses too.

  • @MusicMan4Christ said:
    Well said.

    I think from what I'm reading is that the majority of users although intrigued with the ability and potential to tweak sounds and create their own presets, find themselves wishing to just open, select and play. As simple as that. So yes, it seems the majority would like something like Synthmaster player where you do exactly as I just said.

    Me however, I think I belong to both camps. I'm a sucker for presets for instant gratification that comes from selecting an awesome preset and get carried away by the awesomeness of the massive sound engine of LayR.

    I think that's what made all the Korg hardware synths so popular, it was the massive amount of presets to choose from.

    LayR has that potential and more, way more!

    This in my humble opinion is a great income opportunity for the decor anyone wishing to create and sell.

    Anyone interested in buying preset sound packs?

    Hand raised! :) :o <3

    @hellquist said:
    It hasn't crashed once for me. I love the GUI, and the simplicity of it. I love the sounds it enables me to create. I actually don't even miss presets that much, though I do find them interesting for inspirational starting points and for reverse engineering.

    The thing is, as an "instrument" (in LayR terminology) is the combination of many presets (which by themselves can be quite simple in isolation), and which in turn can be a lot more complex when combined into "performances" (LayR terminology again), I'm not sure what people are missing when they say "give me more presets"? Is it more base presets for creating more instruments? Or finished instruments (i.e the combination of presets)? Or finished performances (the combination of instruments)?

    To me that'd be like walking in to someone elses set/rehearsal space, using their kit and (physical) instruments and not adjusting the amplifier/stomp boxes: not that interesting, unless I want to play THEIR songs. I'm more interested in the fact I, me myself and I (who also is not a synthesis wizard), easily and quickly can create a performance for a complete song that I have written myself, with sounds created by me. Of course, if that is not your thing, I understand "give me more instruments/performances" etc, but then I would probably argue Synthmaster, Magellan or some other app would be more suitable. But that is IMHO of course, and I respect anyone elses too.

    I'm already 70+ new presets into a new / future bank. All cinematic-inspired patches; tense risers, dirty sequenced synths for car chases and alien shenanigans. Impacts, crashes, textures. Even found I'm able to coax some sounds very reminiscent of large choirs and brass out of LayR's oscillators. Then I've got a number of key-split patches with 3 - 4 zones. Usually something with a lot of bottom end for the low notes. Sometimes a big bass drum hit or sub drop. Then some sort of pad or lead on C3-C5, followed by a textural element or a complimentary lead / pad from C5 up. This is proving to be a really powerful way to create a single performance preset that is capable of covering a lot of sonic ground but each zone can be setup to respond differently to the way you play it. LayR is quite powerful for the curious. Plus there aren't many other synths in my arsenal that allow me to create a JP Super Saw patch with 64 individual detuned sawtooth oscillators. :o

  • Willing to share??? Please? <3 o:) :#

    @brice said:

    @MusicMan4Christ said:
    Well said.

    I think from what I'm reading is that the majority of users although intrigued with the ability and potential to tweak sounds and create their own presets, find themselves wishing to just open, select and play. As simple as that. So yes, it seems the majority would like something like Synthmaster player where you do exactly as I just said.

    Me however, I think I belong to both camps. I'm a sucker for presets for instant gratification that comes from selecting an awesome preset and get carried away by the awesomeness of the massive sound engine of LayR.

    I think that's what made all the Korg hardware synths so popular, it was the massive amount of presets to choose from.

    LayR has that potential and more, way more!

    This in my humble opinion is a great income opportunity for the decor anyone wishing to create and sell.

    Anyone interested in buying preset sound packs?

    Hand raised! :) :o <3

    @hellquist said:
    It hasn't crashed once for me. I love the GUI, and the simplicity of it. I love the sounds it enables me to create. I actually don't even miss presets that much, though I do find them interesting for inspirational starting points and for reverse engineering.

    The thing is, as an "instrument" (in LayR terminology) is the combination of many presets (which by themselves can be quite simple in isolation), and which in turn can be a lot more complex when combined into "performances" (LayR terminology again), I'm not sure what people are missing when they say "give me more presets"? Is it more base presets for creating more instruments? Or finished instruments (i.e the combination of presets)? Or finished performances (the combination of instruments)?

    To me that'd be like walking in to someone elses set/rehearsal space, using their kit and (physical) instruments and not adjusting the amplifier/stomp boxes: not that interesting, unless I want to play THEIR songs. I'm more interested in the fact I, me myself and I (who also is not a synthesis wizard), easily and quickly can create a performance for a complete song that I have written myself, with sounds created by me. Of course, if that is not your thing, I understand "give me more instruments/performances" etc, but then I would probably argue Synthmaster, Magellan or some other app would be more suitable. But that is IMHO of course, and I respect anyone elses too.

    I'm already 70+ new presets into a new / future bank. All cinematic-inspired patches; tense risers, dirty sequenced synths for car chases and alien shenanigans. Impacts, crashes, textures. Even found I'm able to coax some sounds very reminiscent of large choirs and brass out of LayR's oscillators. Then I've got a number of key-split patches with 3 - 4 zones. Usually something with a lot of bottom end for the low notes. Sometimes a big bass drum hit or sub drop. Then some sort of pad or lead on C3-C5, followed by a textural element or a complimentary lead / pad from C5 up. This is proving to be a really powerful way to create a single performance preset that is capable of covering a lot of sonic ground but each zone can be setup to respond differently to the way you play it. LayR is quite powerful for the curious. Plus there aren't many other synths in my arsenal that allow me to create a JP Super Saw patch with 64 individual detuned sawtooth oscillators. :o

  • @hellquist was hoping you'd stop in

  • @MusicMan4Christ said:
    Willing to share??? Please? <3 o:) :#

    @brice said:

    @MusicMan4Christ said:
    Well said.

    I think from what I'm reading is that the majority of users although intrigued with the ability and potential to tweak sounds and create their own presets, find themselves wishing to just open, select and play. As simple as that. So yes, it seems the majority would like something like Synthmaster player where you do exactly as I just said.

    Me however, I think I belong to both camps. I'm a sucker for presets for instant gratification that comes from selecting an awesome preset and get carried away by the awesomeness of the massive sound engine of LayR.

    I think that's what made all the Korg hardware synths so popular, it was the massive amount of presets to choose from.

    LayR has that potential and more, way more!

    This in my humble opinion is a great income opportunity for the decor anyone wishing to create and sell.

    Anyone interested in buying preset sound packs?

    Hand raised! :) :o <3

    @hellquist said:
    It hasn't crashed once for me. I love the GUI, and the simplicity of it. I love the sounds it enables me to create. I actually don't even miss presets that much, though I do find them interesting for inspirational starting points and for reverse engineering.

    The thing is, as an "instrument" (in LayR terminology) is the combination of many presets (which by themselves can be quite simple in isolation), and which in turn can be a lot more complex when combined into "performances" (LayR terminology again), I'm not sure what people are missing when they say "give me more presets"? Is it more base presets for creating more instruments? Or finished instruments (i.e the combination of presets)? Or finished performances (the combination of instruments)?

    To me that'd be like walking in to someone elses set/rehearsal space, using their kit and (physical) instruments and not adjusting the amplifier/stomp boxes: not that interesting, unless I want to play THEIR songs. I'm more interested in the fact I, me myself and I (who also is not a synthesis wizard), easily and quickly can create a performance for a complete song that I have written myself, with sounds created by me. Of course, if that is not your thing, I understand "give me more instruments/performances" etc, but then I would probably argue Synthmaster, Magellan or some other app would be more suitable. But that is IMHO of course, and I respect anyone elses too.

    I'm already 70+ new presets into a new / future bank. All cinematic-inspired patches; tense risers, dirty sequenced synths for car chases and alien shenanigans. Impacts, crashes, textures. Even found I'm able to coax some sounds very reminiscent of large choirs and brass out of LayR's oscillators. Then I've got a number of key-split patches with 3 - 4 zones. Usually something with a lot of bottom end for the low notes. Sometimes a big bass drum hit or sub drop. Then some sort of pad or lead on C3-C5, followed by a textural element or a complimentary lead / pad from C5 up. This is proving to be a really powerful way to create a single performance preset that is capable of covering a lot of sonic ground but each zone can be setup to respond differently to the way you play it. LayR is quite powerful for the curious. Plus there aren't many other synths in my arsenal that allow me to create a JP Super Saw patch with 64 individual detuned sawtooth oscillators. :o

    Most definitely! Once I hit an even 100 I will call this bank complete and either share it on here or possibly in the update that follows this coming one. ;)

  • I want it now!...... now where did I hear this????? :# :D

  • edited April 2017

    Hmm...it rings a bell. Actually it rings a slew of bells. An now I feel inclined to further procrastinate the day away and go make a bell ensemble preset and call it "slew of bells." When inspiration hits you gotta honor it! >

    @MusicMan4Christ said:

    I want it now!...... now where did I hear this????? :# :D

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