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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My first music share here

edited June 2018 in Creations

I was not sure if I should, and I hope I may not regret it later, but I thought I would share this improvised piece from a few days ago. I have been teaching myself music only for a few years, and I have never shared any music here before.

I had just gotten apeMatrix and this came from just improvising on either the app’s virtual keyboard or ThumbJam feeding MIDI in. The apps I used included apeMatrix itself and the AUs Synthmaster One, iSymphonic, Eos 2 for reverb, and maybe frekvens was in there, too, but I actually forget now. I get lost in the moment and later find it hard to remember what led to what.

The only processing I did after recording was to edit out a part where there was a glitch (a loud buzz, not sure what generated it) and adding further Eos 2 reverb to tie things together. Speaking of glitches, the strange looping sound in the background happened by accident, and I forget now how, but I felt it was a happy one and that it seemed to fit well, in its way, this piece that reminds me of some of the music from one of my lifelong musical heroes, Vangelis.

But my mastering skills are limited at best and I hope this is not too painful for anyone kind enough to give it a listen. Thanks to anyone who may do so. :smile:

P.S. All the music in the videos on my YouTube channel I created solely on iOS. The video too. This one I did with the wonderful LumaFusion. (Post edited for accuracy. I recalled I had remembered some details wrong.)

Comments

  • I really enjoyed this. Has a sort of underwater vibe for me. You should share more. :)

    How did you go about recording this? Did you record separate tracks and mix them after, or did you capture a stereo mix and work with that?

    You shouldn’t worry about your mixing/mastering prowess. Your track sounds fine, pretty good actually. You could probably improve it, and make it sound really awesome, but that takes time and effort. Seems you like to improvise, so you would probably not want to spend too much time producing, because playing is so much more fun (as for myself, this is true). If that is the case, don’t worry. Your track sounds totally presentable as it is.

  • Thanks a lot for listening and for the kind comments, @CracklePot! :)

    Usually I've recorded in Cubasis using apeMatrix's two audio outs, having one recording without effects and the other with the effects. But I didn't get right away that apeMatrix also has the Instrument output, so in the future I'll try having one dry signal and two ones with effects.

    The reason I use Cubasis for the recording is so I can also record the MIDI of what I play. (Still hoping someone will soon release an AU MIDI recorder/player with folders and everything!)

    But looks like for this I actually used AUM for the recording, capturing the full audio mix from apeMatrix. Just apeMatrix in an instrument slot. (I think I was experimenting with some existing sound files playing at the same time using AUM's file player.) It was sounding like a good mix, so I decided to just record it that way.

    So this was just one take with layered instruments: I had selected the instruments so that they created a nice mix by having a sharp quick sound from Synthmaster One for every key press and then a slow orchestral patch from iSymphonic growing louder the longer you hold down a key.

  • Thank you for that detailed breakdown of some of your processes and workflow. You definitely have the technical skills to navigate the many iOS pathways. Your artistic sensibilities are evident from your share. You are in a very good , enviable place, being strong in both areas.

    There is a lot of discussion on the forum lately discussing various strategies to capture live improvisational jams on iOS. Your insight would be very valuable and helpful in these discussions. I don’t know how much time you spend on the forum, but if you are visiting and come across one of these discussions, please weigh in if you have a moment. You have insights that would help others, of this I am sure.

    If that’s not your thing, at least I hope you keep sharing your creations. Again, I really enjoyed your first share. :)

  • edited June 2018

    Thanks again for these kind and welcoming comments, @CracklePot. I've been dabbling with iOS music in isolation and I've felt unsure I have anything useful to contribute, with so many more experienced musicians and/or coders here. I hope to comment and share more in the future.

  • @Simo I have made weird instrumentals & soundtrack like music and admit it took me a few times of people saying “I can hear that in a video game, movie, tv show, etc” before I was comfortable with it.

    You may not have any weirdness about it but I admit I was and probably still am very precious about my music and hearing someone not love it on it’s own merits would admittedly bother me. I really strive to not take that approach because it really is shortsighted.

    That said, this piece is so damn atmospheric that I immediately thought of different games or scenes it could work under. A seal out in the water, an underground Metroid type of game, etc.
    So please don’t take that negatively man, I mean it with all praise intended.

    This left me wanting to hear more brother, it’s cool...

  • Thank you, @JRSIV! That’s honestly wonderful to hear, because I often aim for a dreaminess evoking things the way you talked about. I grew up loving many soundtracks and music by Vangelis and others (e.g. game composers Pierre Estève and Stéphane Picq), so to me it’s natural if a piece of music suggests or could go well with scenes from a film or game.

    Also, my favorite director is David Lynch, and of course he not only loves going for dreamy moods but is also an amazing sound designer and sometime musician (and writer of lyrics).

    But I understand what you mean about it usually being preferable to comment on something without comparing it to something else. Having said that, I didn’t mind it at all in this case, because I had similar feelings about this piece while making it and listening to it. Your comparisons just felt great! I’d love to be involved in creating a soundtrack for something one day. Things other than just my own videos, I mean.

    This was really an awesome reaction to read and made my day. Thanks again!

  • Hey Simo, check out some of the collaborative work by Harold Budd and Brian Eno, if you never heard it before. Some of the most beautiful, dreamy music I have ever heard.

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