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.

Xequence midi sequencer ?

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Comments

  • @Telstar5 said:
    ****The inevitable comparison.. This to modstep.. I just downloaded it.. There are @hint “ buttons but no written manual to speak of?

    There is a manual. Go to the settings page and scroll to the bottom. It is under the”Help” section.

  • @SevenSystems Congrats on the release. Have put it in the 'Buy when Link' folder...

  • Bought now. It's the weekend!

  • @syrupcore said:

    @gusgranite said:
    I want to see Quantum first before buying another MIDI sequencer.

    This is a completely different type of sequencer from Quantum. This one is linear.

    Thanks. So Quantum is more changing patterns on the fly and Xequence more for arranging/composition?

  • Ok what exactly does Arranger mean here? Like Arranger keyboards where Midi patterns follow what ever chord you're playing?

    @audiblevideo said:
    @JohnnyGoodyear arrange your Xynth for one.

  • You can implement Link and have it where like all @brambos apps auto disable midi clock sync if Ableton Link is enabled. Prevents user error.

    @SevenSystems said:

    @Processaurus said:
    @SevenSystems, will your (very welcome) app sync to MIDI clock, as a slave? Most audio DAW's, and anything that plays audio tracks, doesn't like to be the slave, because any jitter, or perceived slow down of the clock stream makes them have to go crazy trying to time compress the audio in tiny amounts.

    We've pondered this, but MIDI Clock Slave is, as you already mentioned, much more problematic to implement than Master, so we've skipped that for now. However, the setup "Xequence Master" -> "Beatmaker 2 Slave" worked very well in my tests, and there's probably a few other DAWs that can slave (didn't check them all)...

    BTW, the MIDI clock that Xequence sends should be absolutely and utterly rock solid, I don't think you'll see any jitter. If you do, let me know so I can fix it! :smiley:

  • @MusicMan4Christ nah, just that you can "arrange" a song linearly like ABAB - Bridge - (where's that confounded bridge?) etc...

  • This is awesome. A super lightweight, fast and intuitive midi sequencer that works just as well on the phone! Great job

    One request or maybe it's already there and i just missed it - a metronome would be nice

  • edited September 2017

    @Telstar5 said:
    ****The inevitable comparison.. This to modstep..

    Modstep is a pattern/loop based sequencer, this is linear. The whole song is laid out on a single horizontal timeline from start to end. Tracks are stacked vertically. Like a traditional DAW... without the A.

    Modstep has a step sequencer as well as the piano roll. This has a piano roll.

    Modstep does midi, AU, and IAA, this is all midi.

    Modstep has a very loud built-in metronome, this has a very quiet built-in metronome... :D

  • edited September 2017

    @SevenSystems I had to register just to post here that this app seems to be awesome. For ambient-y music a linear sequencer like this works better (for me!) than the popular pattern based options, so this is exactly what I've been looking for exactly for the right price. I love it that there's no audio generation of any kind in the app itself, and the download size was less than 3 megs. Please keep it this way instead of adding some internal dull run-of-the-mill sawtooth synth.

    For the hour or so I've messed with it it hasn't crashed once with IAAs unlike other sequencers I've tried and I find the UI intuitive and very fast to use. Can't wait to hook it up to external MIDI instruments once I get home!

    As for additional features, I'd like to see Ableton Link support and more than three CCs (btw what if I use an external device to record more than three CCs for a track?)

    Now if only audio app creators would make MIDI in source configurable like in say Animoog instead of listening to omni from every MIDI source...

  • can a control surface be used, any midi learn or is it all on screen? no mention of it in the description on itunes. wonder if this is planned

  • edited September 2017

    @SevenSystems

    Ok, just bought this and the upgrade. Seems nice.

    But I can't find how to import a midi file?

    Using open in from Audioshare to import the midi and Xequence isn't one of the options?

    Please tell me my £14 hasn't been wasted?

    Is this feature hiding somewhere? Coming in the next update? ;)

    Cheers and congrats on the release.

    **EDIT: I see the App Store states these are coming in the update. Great! Happy now. :) **

    How close are we?

  • @Audiojunkie said:

    @Telstar5 said:
    ****The inevitable comparison.. This to modstep.. I just downloaded it.. There are @hint “ buttons but no written manual to speak of?

    There is a manual. Go to the settings page and scroll to the bottom. It is under the”Help” section.

  • edited September 2017

    @Telstar5 said:
    @SevenSystems : Is there an owner’s manual for this anywhere?

    The manual is in the works and will be available tomorrow or on Monday as PDF and possibly online. Working extra shifts here :o

  • edited September 2017

    To all who asked: Yes, Xequence does have a metronome!

    @jn2002dk said:
    One request or maybe it's already there and i just missed it - a metronome would be nice

    @TheMediocritist said:

    Modstep has a very loud built-in metronome, this has a very quiet built-in metronome... :dizzy:

    As we wanted to keep Xequence completely free from audio code to make it more lightweight, it uses MIDI to use an external synth for the metronome click.

    So, just launch some very light-weight minimal synth app, configure a "metronome-like sound" in it (like a short pulse wave), and then assign it as the Metronome Destination (and corresponding MIDI channel if desired) in Settings (the "..." menu at the top left).
    Then, you can just toggle the metronome in the BPM menu at the top center!

    Of course you only have to do this once. Anytime you launch Xequence and the "metronome synth" is online, the metronome will just work as normal.

    We'll put this in the forthcoming manual as well...

  • One thing that I wanted to mention as some seem to have doubts:

    Xequence obviously remembers all MIDI connections for each project, and restores them either when loading the project, or as soon as the respective synth (MIDI destination) becomes available.

    So, you don't have to re-assign anything when you load a project, all MIDI destinations are automatically restored, even without support for Audiobus MIDI (as of yet)...

  • edited September 2017

    @memelord said:
    For the hour or so I've messed with it it hasn't crashed once with IAAs unlike other sequencers I've tried and I find the UI intuitive and very fast to use. Can't wait to hook it up to external MIDI instruments once I get home!

    Thank you. Yes, getting a usable UI, especially on a phone, has been a priority for us. Let us know how working with external MIDI gear goes, we haven't tested this thoroughly yet and I'm interested in any news.

    As for additional features, I'd like to see Ableton Link support and more than three CCs (btw what if I use an external device to record more than three CCs for a track?)

    Nice try! ;) Xequence will be arrogant enough to just completely ignore any CCs that are not configured for the instrument of the track that is being recorded to. So, if you have configured CC 1, 7 and 74, but there's incoming data for CC 75, it will simply be dumped. But no worries! Support for more controllers per instrument will be in the very next update.

    Now if only audio app creators would make MIDI in source configurable like in say Animoog instead of listening to omni from every MIDI source...

    If you use app that "misbehave" in that regard, one solution is to limit each of those apps to a specific MIDI channel. Most "listen-to-everything" apps at least have a "MIDI In Channel" or "Channel filter" option so you can, say, place Animoog on Channel 1, another misbehaved app on Channel 2, etc...

  • @mrcanister said:
    can a control surface be used, any midi learn or is it all on screen? no mention of it in the description on itunes. wonder if this is planned

    Currently, there is only support for notes and controllers (CCs). So, say if you have an external controller with a knob that sends CC 7 (Volume), you can just configure CC 7 (Volume) for one of the instruments in Xequence, turn on MIDI In and MIDI Thru in Settings (the "..." menu), and when you assign a track to that instrument and select it, moving your external knob should forward that movement to whatever synth is selected for that instrument, and it will also be recorded. Just note the CC number that your external controller sends and be sure to configure that in the Xequence instrument "Controllers" section...

  • edited September 2017

    @SpookyZoo said:
    Cheers and congrats on the release.
    **EDIT: I see the App Store states these are coming in the update. Great! Happy now. :) **
    How close are we?

    Thanks! Tthe first release has just gone live yesterday, so it will take a short while. The first update, probably out in a matter of 2-3 weeks, will focus on critical bug fixes (there seem to be none yet! o:) ), and will add more controllers per instrument, and a vastly smoother Arranger editing experience (while zooming / moving stuff around).

  • Looks nice will keep an eye on this but definitely needs Link for syncing, it's essential now in all sequencer apps. Also an integrated step sequencer and drum sequencer, that's why Modstep stands out from the crowd. Piano rolls are pretty uninspiring to me but are useful for recording into.

  • @SevenSystems said:

    @SpookyZoo said:
    Cheers and congrats on the release.
    **EDIT: I see the App Store states these are coming in the update. Great! Happy now. :) **
    How close are we?

    Thanks! Tthe first release has just gone live yesterday, so it will take a short while. The first update, probably out in a matter of 2-3 weeks, will focus on critical bug fixes (there seem to be none yet! o:) ), and will add more controllers per instrument, and a vastly smoother Arranger editing experience (while zooming / moving stuff around).

    eek! :/

    Sounds like it could be a while until it's fully useful for me.

    Thanks for letting us know.

    I look forward to the midi import / export / Open-in functionalities.

    The rest of the app looks nicely done, so I'm hopeful.

  • edited September 2017

    @Carnbot said:
    Looks nice will keep an eye on this but definitely needs Link for syncing, it's essential now in all sequencer apps. Also an integrated step sequencer and drum sequencer, that's why Modstep stands out from the crowd. Piano rolls are pretty uninspiring to me but are useful for recording into.

    Thanks, Link is high on the todo list. As for the step sequencer, you might be able to get a similar experience when zooming in closely in the Pianoroll and turning on "Draw" mode. Worth a try!

  • edited September 2017

    @SevenSystems said:

    @Carnbot said:
    Looks nice will keep an eye on this but definitely needs Link for syncing, it's essential now in all sequencer apps. Also an integrated step sequencer and drum sequencer, that's why Modstep stands out from the crowd. Piano rolls are pretty uninspiring to me but are useful for recording into.

    Thanks, Link is high on the todo list. As for the step sequencer, you might be able to get a similar experience when zooming in closely in the Pianoroll and turning on "Draw" mode. Worth a try!

    Yes that is a nice option, I'd recommend a "fold" option too and I see it's scale aware, so you can restrict the piano roll to scales? Can you use custom scales?

  • edited September 2017

    @Carnbot said:
    Yes that is a nice option, I'd recommend a "fold" option too and I see it's scale aware, so you can restrict the piano roll to scales? Can you use custom scales?

    Yes, you can restrict both the keyboard and Pianoroll editor to one of the 16 included scales, which can be selected per instrument in the Keyboard screen. Custom scales are in consideration for an update (ideally we would probably implement this as a "Make Scale from currently selected notes" button of sorts.)

  • No video demos yet?

  • @ExAsperis99 said:
    No video demos yet?

    No, but we're working on the manual, which should be out on Monday!

  • edited September 2017

    @SevenSystems : I bought the app and looking forward to the manual. However don’t rush it.. Speaking for myself, I’d rather wait a week or two and have a more detailed and complete one. Please take your time on that .. After that, some videos of and when you get a chance. Just my 2c.

  • I like this app a lot. You are right about the niche it fills for the iPhone. It's also a very well done app, and I like that it's focused on doing one thing and doing it well.

    The only thing I'm struggling with a bit is readability on the small screen. Those fonts are tiny, and the contrast of things like the grid lines is very slight (to me). I had a really tough time last night seeing where the grid lines were.

    Not a complaint .... just some feedback from an old tired-eyed geezer.

  • Thanks bro! I wonder if this is too much for me if I already have KRFT and I'm not that advanced in Midi. But if say I wanted to record a midi performance I did on LayR would layr be recorded as midi in this sequencer? Can you loop a section while recording a different track that goes beyond the looped points?

    @audiblevideo said:
    @MusicMan4Christ nah, just that you can "arrange" a song linearly like ABAB - Bridge - (where's that confounded bridge?) etc...

  • It's really cool it is a linear timeline. The tools influence the music, and pattern based sequencers lend themselves to pattern based music- where the natural way of working is on finding a really good, tight loop, and adding other looped elements. Nothing wrong, at all, but what is convenient with a piece of software, undoubtedly influences the artist using it. Here, I could see variations, and song structure that doesn't fall into evenly lengthed blocks of loops, being easy.

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