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 StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Aum or modstep and why?
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Title self explanatory
Need help deciding please 
Comments
I use em both together. Since combined they're the closest to ableton you can get on iOS. Modstep purely for midi sequencing with Aum doing all the audio shennaigans like panning, bussing and sends etc.
AUM for Audio and Mainstagestation setups.
Modstep for midi clip secuences triggering.
Two different beasts. AUM is an AU/IAA host audio mixer with bells and whistles and Modstep is a midi sequencer with bells and whistles.
Yeah, not comparible at all. I'd say AUM though because Modstep without AUM is a lesser product than Modstep with AUM
He doesn't own a sequencer yet though. Just garage band. So he definitely needs infinite looper, modstep, midisteps etc to play the synths hosted inside AUM. I still say get em both but at minimum you should AUM at least. And a sequencer of your choice. Preferably with ableton link since having link just makes everything better.
Definitely both if you can, ModStep to make your synths make the right noise at the right time, and AUM to deal with that noise.....
If you can only get one then it depends on your priority, it is a bit chicken and egg....ModStep can and does host IAA and AUv3 so if you really want the sequencing side (making the right noise at the right time) this would be a better bet as coming first, and then add AUM at a later date....
AUM on its own will not help you with making the noises, only mixing them. If you are already getting your synths to make the noises then this would make a better first choice.
Yeah, depends if the focus is performance or sequencing
While AUM is a lovely app, it's not essential if you're not performing. I bought it at release and i barely use it because AB3 (and 2 before it) fits much better in my workflow and i have no real need for the mixing capabilities of AUM
Modstep, on the other hand, is hands down the best midi sequencer on iOS with the caveat that it's got a bit of a learning curve. Once you get past that though, you have the best piano roll, a good sampler, a decent built in synth, the ability to host AU, export/import of midi files, templates etc.
So if you're a live performer you should probably get both but if you're not, then i'd say Modstep is the obvious choice
I'm assuming you use a daw for your final productions ? There are a few of us like me that actually use modstep+Aum to completely replace a daw. Hence the requirements for bussing etc.
Love that line. My kind of simple.
This question gets asked a lot on here, so I thought a different approach to the answer was needed
I agree. Nice pithy and accurate description.
Yes, good point. I use Auria Pro for final production or send it to Logic
That where our workflow differs. Aum cuts up all the layers into perfectly tempo synced bar length loops when link is enabled. so its perfect for importing into ableton for final mastering. and record enabling every layer even before bussing means i get both "dry" and "wet" loops. for some reason if i think the compression needs changing or an effect needs to be different i just redo it in ableton later
I also use AUM as a multi out to Ableton directly using my Ica4+. i currently have it setup to send 8 stereo channels or 16 mono channels (or anything inbetween) to Ableton. so that means i can use the ipad exclusively as a sound module for all the delicious Aux and IAA synths while still doing all the automation etc in Ableton. Link keeps everything perfectly tempo locked
Ab3 currently only supports a single stereo out so its severely lacking in the 2nd use case for me. Auria Pro does have multi outs but without link AUM still wins over it.
Usually i was 100 percent gadget but these days I'm trying GarageBand. I own the others like Cuba sis and auria but GB is straightforward lol
For now it's gonna be aum because modstep doesn't have iPhone version.
I have iPad mini retina but my my iPhone 7 is obviously a lot faster lol
But I'm wondering what exactly is the difference between aum and AB3 because the latter now has a mixer despite not having on board fx and filters
Thank you all for your advice
i added a bit extra to my earlier post. the biggest difference is that AUM has support for multiple hardware outputs. and even virtual hardware outputs between devices as the Ica4+ has. meanwhile AB3 only outputs a single stereo channel to hardware. just scroll up and see how many outputs i have sending to my pc from my ipad. Also Ab3 does not have mix buses. Aum also exposes every single AUx parameter to midi learn. even effects AUx. something that cubasis, ab3 and modstep do not do. (but with the combo of modstep+aum you can control the parameters via midi cc from modstep.)
That's a slick setup. Thanks for sharing the details.
As someone who almost exclusively compose in midi i have yet to see link as anything but an annoyance
link is important when syncing multiple systems. midi clock is just waaaaay too finicky for me.
with link its literally just a few clicks to get both my desktop daw and my ipad apps to be all in perfect time.
Yup but i have no need for syncing multiple systems so it's useless to me. On the other hand Auria Pro has Fabfilters which blows everything else on iOS out of the water. Not trying to make this a versus thing but since you stated AUM had Auria beat because of link i thought i'd offer a different perspective
Keep in mind I have fabfilters in my ableton and also in Auria. I just need link when using my iPad exclusively as a sound source. If Auria pro allowed itself to be a clock slave I probably would not need AUM. Alas it does not
btw. I actually route audio between Aum and auria Pro using Audiobus. So I actually use pro c2, microwarmer etc in Aum this way lol.
Me personally...both at once. Now if only Modstep can become a universal app.
a good workaround for not having modstep on a phone is actually infinite looper + Aum.
Beathawk is another alternative for the phone. I'm in flux between whether I prefer Infinite Looper or Beathawk as my iPhone sequencer at this point.
@jn2002dk actually. i'm curious about something. can you get modstep to sync to Auria ? pretty much the only reason i dont use auria much when using just my ipad is i don't particularly like its piano roll. if i could get modstep to work well as a slave i might use it a lot more often.... i've tried sending clock with no avail...
Dangnamit, I guess I gotta splurge for Infinite Looper then.
A lot of folks said it's the best you can get on iPhone, but I kinda held off due to the $19.99 USD price tag.
Aleph looper is only $9.99 and is exactly the same except only for the phone. You only need Infinite Looper if you want to use it on the iPad as well. There's a bundle available, so that $9.99 effectively counts toward IL if you decide you need it.
Would love to see what this looks like exactly. I'm doing OK with Model 15, SPA, Patterning with midi learn, and a couple of built-in synths and drum machines running in Modstep. Some stuck notes, some wackiness occasionally. But wouldn't that happen in AUM also, plus I'd have yet another app open? The panning is nice, but I can achieve that with zMors EQ in Modstep. What am I missing?
I haven't tried it. I usually just export composed midi as a midi file from Modstep. I'm on an old air 1 so i try to limit cpu usage as best i can which is easier with track freezing in Auria