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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Xequence midi sequencer ?

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Comments

  • @tja said:
    @SevenSystems That's what I said too.
    Make Xequence the best sequencer first! It's not there yet! Don't let it incomplete.

    @cb1974 said:
    Hi there, i bought the "light"-version a while ago and i like xequence really..but i mostly purchased it to import midi-files (kind of 4 bar loops) to send the midi to individual plugins and apps..somewhere there was stated that it will be possible in the future to import midi-files into the existing project (like beatmaker 2 did for example).. are there any news on that... i dont see a need to upgrade if this is not coming, i really think of deleting the app. i mean , thats "the" feature of a "midi"-sequencer.another thing what is really annoying, that there are no subfolders accepted in the xequence folder..my midi-files for example are categorized in sub folders, but xequence doesnt see subfolders.

    I was now reading some posts above, and from what i read now, it feels like you want to compete with cubasis etc... why that ? xequence for me was ment to be the midi-sequencer and i really dont see the point , why adding auv3 etc... just make it Audiobus 3 compatible and let audiobus do the audiowork first... you can take your time to evolve it later into something "big" .. all this new fancy stuff isnt that fancy if the basics dont work well.. then i can use cubasis ...

    But I fear we are loosing Xequence :(

    thats what im worrying about , too..it was the only chance of a lightweight midi sequencer which could integrate on an iPad (best via audiobus 3).. i think he totally lost his direction... there was a gap he filled and now he`s destroying it himself...if blip will release NS 2 , i think xequence will be burried in the depth of the app-store.. if just the midi-import and the problem with the folders would be solved, i would immediately upgrade to the full-version... but i really delete it like this.

  • tjatja
    edited April 2018

    I already bought all IAP, even if I don't currently use Xequence - I was waiting for AudioBus support to save and reload complete projects.

    I bought them to support the development, even if something like Polyhymnia will never ever be used by me. But it was the first thing that confused me, as I realy expected other things to be added first!

    And there are so many more things missing in Xequence!
    I listed some of them above, also multitrack MIDI recording is missing, IIRC.
    And I also miss that stupid little "Open In" for MIDI files.

    You are right, @cb1974, it seems that @SevenSystems lost the direction, dreaming about Xequence as DAW. This is the wrong way.

    And it is greatly frustrating.

  • @tja said:
    I already bought all IAP, even if I don't currently use Xequence - I was waiting for AudioBus support to save and reload complete projects.

    I bought them to support the development, even if something like Polyhymnia will never ever be used by me. But it was the first thing that confused me, as I realy expected other things to be added first!

    And there are so many more things missing in Xequence!
    I listed some of them above, also multitrack MIDI recording is missing, IIRC.
    And I also miss that stupid little "Open In" for MIDI files.

    You are right, @cb1974, it seems that @SevenSystems lost the direction, dreaming about Xequence as DAW. This is the wrong way.

    And it is greatly frustrating.

    sad somehow, the first step would be to make it complete in MIDI.. then integrate it to Audiobus 3 (I mean thats why xequence gets peoples attention)
    if all this works, the next step would be to integrate audio tracks ..later on with time stretching
    and the last step would be auv3 integration...as this is already possible via audiobus

    well.. wish you a nice sunday

  • @ksound said:
    An elegant universal sequencer with song mode to drive AUM and Audiobus. A place to play and save the midi for entire songs. With state-saving, I could open an Audiobus session with Xequence and AUM and have everything I needed to create, without having to keep track of the settings and saves in multiple apps.

    Thanks for the input, Audiobus integration is still very much on the roadmap, it is a matter of shuffling priorities, and that's sometimes a more difficult task than the actual development :) It isn't always completely clear to me what direction Audiobus is taking, with all the current changes in the iOS music landscape (AUv3, AU MIDI, etc.) -- so I was hesitant to seriously tackle AB integration. But this might be clearing up now.

    @SevenSystems Have you considered making Xequence a MIDI AU that can be hosted inside any AU host? This would be much like the way Bram Bos Rozeta plug-ins work, as MIDI sources for other instruments within the host.

    It will probably be either AB3 or AU MIDI, not both, I have to watch the time resources... AB3 is much more likely though.

    @tja:

    I use Xequence as sequencer, in the same way that I use / used modstep as sequencer - I just don't use any other feature of modstep.
    And AudioBus would allow to put lots of things in between Xequence and any MIDI receiver, which wood be fantastic!

    Yes that's why it has been planned from the start. I'm just asking everyone to be a bit more patient. The app has been released half a year ago, and a tremendous amount of features have been added since then. It simply isn't feasible to develop at a faster pace with essentially a single developer on the project, while keeping the app stable.

    To make it short: I think that AudioBus is by far the more valuable addition to Xequence.

    :sunglasses:

  • tjatja
    edited April 2018

    Please stay concentrated on the sequencer.
    I hope this soooo much :)

    The UNIX way to do things:

    Build a tool that can do ONE thing, but this one thing as good as possible.

  • edited April 2018

    @cb1974 said:
    somewhere there was stated that it will be possible in the future to import midi-files into the existing project (like beatmaker 2 did for example).. are there any news on that...

    Hi, that's still planned to be done... the main problem is coming up with a good user interface for that, not so much a technical problem. Until then please copy and paste the parts from the imported MIDI file into the target project.

    another thing what is really annoying, that there are no subfolders accepted in the xequence folder..my midi-files for example are categorized in sub folders, but xequence doesnt see subfolders.

    Adding folder support is planned for the next update.

    I was now reading some posts above, and from what i read now, it feels like you want to compete with cubasis etc... why that ?

    I still think that having absolutely everything in a single app is the most efficient way to produce music -- app switching, no matter in what form, is an absolute productivity killer for me. Switch between different user interface metaphors, the delay in switching, instability due to various apps involved...

    all this new fancy stuff isnt that fancy if the basics dont work well.. then i can use cubasis ...

    OK, of course it also depends on your point of view what's considered basic. For example, Cubasis (as you drew the comparison) lacks a large amount of stuff that I personally would consider extremely basic. Linked parts, part looping, being able to use undo while playing, being able to edit note velocities while playing, several lanes per instrument, etc... this is all basic for me and hasn't been added in Cubasis for years (Xequence is only 6 months old!), so, could I just ask you for a bit of patience, I'm sure we'll be getting there! :) I very much do appreciate your input anyway because that gives me a better idea how to proceed.

  • @tja said:
    Please stay concentrated on the sequencer.
    I hope this soooo much :)

    The UNIX way to do things:

    Build a tool that can do ONE thing, but this one thing as good as possible.

    If only the cooperation between music apps on iOS were as stable as the communication between UNIX tools... :)

  • @SevenSystems said:

    @cb1974 said:
    somewhere there was stated that it will be possible in the future to import midi-files into the existing project (like beatmaker 2 did for example).. are there any news on that...

    Hi, that's still planned to be done... the main problem is coming up with a good user interface for that, not so much a technical problem. Until then please copy and paste the parts from the imported MIDI file into the target project.

    another thing what is really annoying, that there are no subfolders accepted in the xequence folder..my midi-files for example are categorized in sub folders, but xequence doesnt see subfolders.

    Adding folder support is planned for the next update.

    I was now reading some posts above, and from what i read now, it feels like you want to compete with cubasis etc... why that ?

    I still think that having absolutely everything in a single app is the most efficient way to produce music -- app switching, no matter in what form, is an absolute productivity killer for me. Switch between different user interface metaphors, the delay in switching, instability due to various apps involved...

    all this new fancy stuff isnt that fancy if the basics dont work well.. then i can use cubasis ...

    OK, of course it also depends on your point of view what's considered basic. For example, Cubasis (as you drew the comparison) lacks a large amount of stuff that I personally would consider extremely basic. Linked parts, part looping, being able to use undo while playing, being able to edit note velocities while playing, several lanes per instrument, etc... this is all basic for me and hasn't been added in Cubasis for years (Xequence is only 6 months old!), so, could I just ask you for a bit of patience, I'm sure we'll be getting there! :) I very much do appreciate your input anyway because that gives me a better idea how to proceed.

    thanks for your [email protected] still sitting on my pc.. maybe it sounded bit harsh, but im not angry or so..lol .. its just that I've seen a big potential in xequence regarding MIDI-editing etc.. and it would be sad to loose it. I'm not a big fan of cubasis and BM3 as all-in-one means also to get nailed to all-in-one and I know that xequence is quite new.
    How did you mean copy and paste MIDI into the target project?.. If i have a project for example with bassline and chord-progression... and i want to import a 4 bar MIDI-file as Drum-Loop into this project, it simply closes the project and opens the MIDI-File as new project. maybe i could copy that midi-section and open the other project again..didn't try it out, but honestly, as i'm working with a lot of MIDI-Files i wouldn't like to do that all the time. Maybe it's a solution if you just need to import one or two files..but i just can speak for myself.

    kind regards

    carsten

  • @cb1974 said:
    How did you mean copy and paste MIDI into the target project?.. If i have a project for example with bassline and chord-progression... and i want to import a 4 bar MIDI-file as Drum-Loop into this project, it simply closes the project and opens the MIDI-File as new project. maybe i could copy that midi-section and open the other project again..didn't try it out, but honestly, as i'm working with a lot of MIDI-Files i wouldn't like to do that all the time. Maybe it's a solution if you just need to import one or two files..but i just can speak for myself.

    Hey Carsten. Yes, this is currently the way to do it: Load the MIDI file (it loads as a new project), then select the parts you want, hit the "+" menu at the bottom left and choose "Copy", then re-open your previous project and "Paste" where you want the parts to be. Maybe to explain why it has been designed this way: A MIDI file potentially contains a lot of information, tracks etc. that need to be dealt with correctly on import. The goal in Xequence was to have very robust and complete MIDI file import, mainly for working with large MIDI files, not so much as a means to import MIDI files as loops etc.. I think Xequence currently does this extremely well compared to other apps, but yes you're right, for the "import loops" use case, it is not optimal. I'm still investigating on how to implement a "Import MIDI loop at current song position" option in an efficient and usable way. Until then, the clipboard is your friend! :) (of course you can also copy and paste individual notes or phrases from inside the pianoroll editor, which has a separate clipboard and which also works between projects).

  • ok i see, thank you... what i really often do, is working with different MIDI-parts and combining them together..especially for drums.. i know that there are different types of MIDI-files 0 and 1 ..but i wonder how BM 2 did it..it was quite easy to import any MIDI-file into a created empty part..and the strange thing is, it ignored the empty MIDI tracks and imported just the right one into that clip..maybe you can have a look at BM 2.

    wish you a nice sunday

  • @cb1974, will have a look at it for sure. You're not alone with your request, there's many people using MIDI just for loops and here's an official, unaltered screenshot from the roadmap to reassure you it'll be done ;)

    Nice Sunday to you too, (un)fortunately I'm full at work today :|

  • :) oh ok , then nice working day... maybe you can get some input regarding the UI-Problem from BM 2 ..So if the MIDI-Clip is opened and the file-menu will be opened (i mean the 3 dots) from there, the MIDI-import will automatically just happen into the selected empty clip. just an idea..

    but now i am off for today :D

  • @SevenSystems your app, your vision. Do your thing! I’m enjoying this development ride and have faith. It is interesting that hosting AUv3 came top of your survey feedback. Looking forward to it!

  • @tja said:
    I already bought all IAP, even if I don't currently use Xequence - I was waiting for AudioBus support to save and reload complete projects.

    I bought them to support the development, even if something like Polyhymnia will never ever be used by me. But it was the first thing that confused me, as I realy expected other things to be added first!

    And there are so many more things missing in Xequence!
    I listed some of them above, also multitrack MIDI recording is missing, IIRC.
    And I also miss that stupid little "Open In" for MIDI files.

    You are right, @cb1974, it seems that @SevenSystems lost the direction, dreaming about Xequence as DAW. This is the wrong way.

    And it is greatly frustrating.

    In my opinion, as an iPhone not iPad user, you're wrong. It's greatly frustrating not having a DAW except Gadget for the iPhone. Switching back and forth between apps is a serious damper on creativity and discourages me from using anything outside of Gadget (even though I bought the full Xequence app and several synths - how could I not?). Yes, there supposedly will be another universal DAW out at some point, and even Cubase could make their app universal at some point.

    I think a hosting add-on IAP by the end of the year would be great. That'd also give time to continue strengthening the rest of it for the way people who currently use purely as as sequencer need it.

  • Interesting discussion, albeit a bit melodramatic. For what it's worth, I'm quite happy with Xequence currently, but I'm not looking for a full featured DAW on my phone. I just needed a quick and intuitive universal linear sequencer with MIDI, and it sounds like that was your original mission. Good luck juggling the newfound demands and expectations.

  • edited April 2018

    @aaronpc yes that was the original mission... of course the closer you get to some kind of "Mission accomplished" moment, the more you think about what the future can bring :) Of course different users will always disagree about what makes a product "complete". So there's bound to be some lively discussion.

    @SpookyZoo PolyHymnia is great for drum tracks... the best approach is to assign a drum map to the instrument, and only create pads for those drums that you intend to use in the generated pattern. Then, in the pianoroll editor, you'll only have those drums, and accordingly PolyHymnia will only generate notes for those (you can of course further limit the note (or in this case, drum) range as usual by zooming). You can of course also zoom in vertically so that only a single key is selected for generation, if you only want to generate a single drum (say, a hihat). When using PH for drums, the "Velocity" tab becomes particularly interesting, while the "Length" tab can be ignored (both min and max set to a very small value) if all your drum sounds are one-shots.

  • @SevenSystems said:

    @SpookyZoo PolyHymnia is great for drum tracks... the best approach is to assign a drum map to the instrument, and only create pads for those drums that you intend to use in the generated pattern. Then, in the pianoroll editor, you'll only have those drums, and accordingly PolyHymnia will only generate notes for those (you can of course further limit the note (or in this case, drum) range as usual by zooming). You can of course also zoom in vertically so that only a single key is selected for generation, if you only want to generate a single drum (say, a hihat). When using PH for drums, the "Velocity" tab becomes particularly interesting, while the "Length" tab can be ignored (both min and max set to a very small value) if all your drum sounds are one-shots.

    Thanks for the tips Alexander. Cool stuff!

  • Just picked up the Drum Map IAP the other day so I could try PolyHymnia on drums. :)

  • Actually I should probably emphasize this better in the manual... thanks for the reminder :)

  • Cool tip on PolyHymnia and drums. I will have to try that out. Actually, I tried to buy the drum map IAP a few days ago, but got some kind of error message. Probably a one-time thing, I will try again assuming it's cleared up by now. Generative drum features are interesting because a lot of us come from some type of musical background but that doesn't necessarily cross over to understanding how to program an innovative drum part.

  • @StormJH1 yes Apple’s IAP system is often flak(e)y, especially after adding a new IAP... if you still have problems just PM me. And yeah, you often get the best grooves with the least “expected” patterns, so generative stuff is really well suited for drums.

  • edited April 2018

    Lot of passion, perhaps too much!!
    As said, @SevenSystems this is your app so it’s your vision, you’re Xequence’s creator and it’s your intelectual property. I think most of us can be kind of « iOS frustrated » as a music platform sometimes, so we can fear that we lost some good apps during their development evolution.
    That being said, some people don’t use midi alone, it’s my case so Xequence is for me a great sequencer tool and a nice midi controller I use it mainly with AUM. But WE still need a complete DAW IMO on iPhone and even on iPad. I find Xequence which is a young app has huge potential and needs to consolidate. What I really need is multi midi recording and chord mode, I know they’re on the map. AU and AB state saving could be very interesting too. But without audio tracks/recording I will still go elsewhere by need. Xequence can evolve, or it can have little brothers apps like AU « studio » or full daw. I prefer iaps, and I’m almost sure it’s less work to go that way than doing whole new apps. I think @SevenSystems perhaps don’t want to be « mister midi sequencer » for its whole life lol, have respect for his devs dreams I think he has nice visions and is also able to listen. Not all devs are opened to dialog that way on forums, so we should take care of that.

  • sorry if this is off topic, but while reading some of the comments here, an idea sprung to mind: a Xequence Auv3 extension that gives basic control to trigger things etc. sort of like audiobus remote. I think the big issues is that most users prefer to do everything in one app, right? So for my purposes, I'd rather compose in Xequence and then perform in AUM with a little window to control the app from. Not even sure if something like this is possible, but one can dream, right?

    I agree with some here that AUM is already a such a solid host. I think Xequence's strength is in its simplicity - it's not bogged down with too many bells and whistles. Powerful, yet simple. I had such high hopes for Modstep, but ultimately found it to be too counterintuitive for it to do what I wanted it to and they just added a bunch of stuff I didn't need without fixing the workflow issues along the way. Xequence offers a much more fluid workflow for me. The piano roll is nearly perfect and getting around it is a breeze.

    I for one love PolyHymnia - I'm a big fan of polyrhythms, and few sequencers can do them in an intuitive manner. I trust @SevenSystems vision - so far this is a superb sequencer. If they wanna add hosting, then by all means, go for it. I'll personally probably stick with using AUM because of the awesome routing and mixer capabilites, and the ease of mapping to external hardware.

    (I have a Squarp Pyramid and I still find myself drawn to Xequence, that's how good this thing is! - keep up the good work)

  • edited April 2018

    @SevenSystems Argghh, no support for bank select in a program change? And it appears I can’t even hack it together via CC 0/32 as you don’t allow for CC0 in a controller lane?

    Huge bummer... I finally purchased Xequence after being on the fence, and this makes it unusable for my purposes. Is bank select something that could be added to the PC event without too much difficulty? Worst case perhaps you could just add 2 additional text boxes to the PC popup for the 00/32 values?

    Besides this issue, the app seems to do most of what I was hoping for (linked parts and part looping especially, the lack of which drive me crazy in Cubasis!)

  • @busker: When implementing Program Changes, I was on the fence to add Bank Select, however I wasn't sure if PCs would be used much at all, much less Bank Select. Now that I'm seeing that users actually need it, I can assure that Bank Select will be in the next update :) (there will be a second field in the popup where you can enter the bank number from 1 to 16384).

  • @SevenSystems said:
    @busker: When implementing Program Changes, I was on the fence to add Bank Select, however I wasn't sure if PCs would be used much at all, much less Bank Select. Now that I'm seeing that users actually need it, I can assure that Bank Select will be in the next update :) (there will be a second field in the popup where you can enter the bank number from 1 to 16384).

    Awesome, great to hear!

    I guess that number will be split internally into MSB/LSB? For example the SoundCanvas app uses CC00 for PC variation and CC32 for device map.

  • @busker: I could of course add two separate number fields for LSB and MSB... not sure which is more useful (single field for all 14 bits, or the separate fields for each 7 bit half)... can anyone else chime in on this?

  • @SevenSystems said:
    @busker: I could of course add two separate number fields for LSB and MSB... not sure which is more useful (single field for all 14 bits, or the separate fields for each 7 bit half)... can anyone else chime in on this?

    Could you make some sort of setting/preference to allow users to switch depending on their hardware requirements?

  • @SevenSystems said:
    @busker: I could of course add two separate number fields for LSB and MSB... not sure which is more useful (single field for all 14 bits, or the separate fields for each 7 bit half)... can anyone else chime in on this?

    I know that Korg & Yamaha have used 2 separate numbers for some of their devices with banks, but as it’s undefined by the MIDI spec it’s possible that others use a simpler combined value.

  • OK then, I have an idea there. Everyone will be happy ;)

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