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.

Most stable iOS production environments

Just curious what you all have found to be the most stable DAW(s) on iOS? I've mostly used iOS as a song-starter, transfering to PC to expand and (hopefully) complete, though I'd love to get to the point where I do most of the work start-to-finish on iPad. The biggest thing holding me back so far is app instability , far too many crashes, especially dealing with AU hosts.

Haven't tried BM3 since the latest update, so maybe it's improved there ... Stagelight would be ideal, but I've already had too many crashes right out the gate with Synthmaster One and a couple others, so hopefully the bugs will be addressed soon.

Would love to hear what you find to be the most rock-solid stable experience , especially w/ AU hosts.
Gadget would probably be the frontrunner for me for non-AU, AUM for AU.

«13

Comments

  • BM3 / Synthmaster One / ProQ2 / FAC plugins / Perforator / Egoist / Discord4 / Kleverb has been fantastic this past week. Used it for about five or six hours on a couple different tracks with only one seemingly random crash.

  • Gadget. Garageband too when I need to inject some realism into a track. ;) Beathawk as well, and soon, Nanostudio 2.

  • Stagelight.

  • Flavor of the week app, brand new shiny stuff, latest and best, it’s super!
    Try it out!

  • Audiobus3/Xequence/Aum
    Korg Gadget

  • edited November 2018

    MultitrackStudio, BM3, Cubasis all stable for me

  • Lot of Gadget mentions . . I've been amazed how solid it is, I rarely have software on PC go so long without a single crash. I used to wish it had AU support, but I'd be afraid that would upset the balance of the force ;) ..

    I'm surprised BM3 mentioned as much ..I really need to give it a fair shake, kinda gave up on it after running into some issues early on.

    re: AudioGus: Impressive :) Last I used it, I couldn't make it 30-mins. I need to dive in and get my head around the workflow peculiarities. It's one of the few apps that's still got some mystery left for me to uncover.

  • Cubasis + SynthMaster One

  • For stable session I started with an AU host and add App's until something breaks. I save the state/configuration frequently.

    I've been using AUM and apeMatrix to make complex "rigs" and both can record and easily upload to SoundCloud (usually through AudioShare to "normalize" the results) and have a clearly labeled audio file to Finalize with more tools later after listening to the SoundCloud (which has degraded quality usually).

    This seems the most producing and stable approach vs the "freeze" tracks pattern with Cubasis.

    I'd like to use Xequence and record the MIDI performances of the AUM Channels to be able to go back and fix bad notes but I haven't got there yet. I've been recording sub-channel mixes and using the "file player" feature to do a type of multi-tracking in AUM.

    Very stable and highly productive as a workflow but only for an experimental process where you play with apps and learn new ways of making things fit together. Which is really fun by the way compared to layering perfect performances on differents tracks which is a lot more pre-meditated and not so open to serendipity.

  • @anickt said:
    Caustic

    Yep

  • @jwmmakerofmusic said:
    and soon, Nanostudio 2.

    THIS !

  • Audiobus 3/Loopy/Turnado/ToneStack/Samplr

  • @McDtracy said:
    For stable session I started with an AU host and add App's until something breaks. I save the state/configuration frequently.

    Very stable and highly productive as a workflow but only for an experimental process where you play with apps and learn new ways of making things fit together. Which is really fun by the way compared to layering perfect performances on differents tracks which is a lot more pre-meditated and not so open to serendipity.

    This is excellent and how I look at things on iOS too. My environment now is either standalone apps, or ApeMatrix. While I wait for NS2. The improvised enviro = ApeMatrix. The linear environment = NS2.

    I’m also working on ModStep.

  • edited November 2018

    @ZenKier said:
    Lot of Gadget mentions . . I've been amazed how solid it is, I rarely have software on PC go so long without a single crash. I used to wish it had AU support, but I'd be afraid that would upset the balance of the force ;) ..

    I'm surprised BM3 mentioned as much ..I really need to give it a fair shake, kinda gave up on it after running into some issues early on.

    re: AudioGus: Impressive :) Last I used it, I couldn't make it 30-mins. I need to dive in and get my head around the workflow peculiarities. It's one of the few apps that's still got some mystery left for me to uncover.

    I have all the DAWS at this point and I find them all to be more or less stable acording to which AUs are plugged in. None of them seem to go wrong on me if I am only recording audio and using built in instruments, but they all get twitchy when outside apps enter the fray. Hosts like AB3 and AUM seem to handle a larger variety of AUs without falling down.

  • edited November 2018

    I think the most important to consider are those things:

    • do you will need to work with audio sources, or only midi?

    • complex midi tracks, complex arrangements?

    • live/improvisation song creation or more usual DAW production?

    • will you use lot of instruments/fxs?

    • what musical genres are your oriented for your creations?

    • what kind of GUI do you prefer, what kind of workflow?

    That will leads to choose a set of apps accordingly to those needs.

    It’s important to be at your ease with an app workflow, and even with how it looks, how you interfere with it.

    Here are some of my workflows depending on my needs with stable and reliable only apps:

    • AUM with AU effects and file players/IAA apps for saxophone everyday practice/quick recordings.

    • AUM with AB and Loopy with BlueBoard for saxophone live looping.

    • AUM, apeMatrix or AB for sound design / sound creation.

    • GarageBand which is the only reliable DAW with AU at this day if you use lot of AU instruments and fxs. You can merge/freeze tracks when needed, and use AB, apeMatrix, AUM/midi link sync, Blocs wave, Gadget, BeatHawk (not reliable as AU) as synced IAA GarageBand inputs to create your sound material too. There are some bugs here and there but much less than other iOS DAWs, some features misses too like AU midi (AB/apeMatrix workaround however) midi out (there is still RouteMIDIApp AU), but I can do complex finished tracks using all my apps in an integrated workflow. However it’s GUI is definitely not for everyone.

    If you use lot of different AU, you will have some issues from time to time with other DAWs, unfortunately.

    Blocswave as an input for AB has become unreliable.

    StageLight can change things when/if it will become more mature.

    The most important is to being able to finish a track without being restricted by overcomplicated multi apps workflows with permanent import/export so producing in real-time is the way to go IMO, and without using precious time only trying to find bugs workarounds... making music is the goal.

  • @Janosax said:

    • GarageBand which is the only reliable DAW with AU at this day if you use lot of AU instruments and fxs.

    I wish that was true, but alas. There is no other host out there which requires me to implemented as many workarounds for weird inconsistencies and deviations from Apple’s own specs, ironically. A proper reference host it is not, unfortunately.

    AUM takes those credits as far as I’m concerned.

  • Auria Pro - if you only use the internal instruments (all awesome) and plug-ins (except for THM, currently). Absolutely crash proof when used this way.

  • edited November 2018

    @brambos said:

    @Janosax said:

    • GarageBand which is the only reliable DAW with AU at this day if you use lot of AU instruments and fxs.

    I wish that was true, but alas. There is no other host out there which requires me to implemented as many workarounds for weird inconsistencies and deviations from Apple’s own specs, ironically. A proper reference host it is not, unfortunately.

    AUM takes those credits as far as I’m concerned.

    As an user I find it reliable enough to make music with AU/IAA without being blocked in full middle of a track creation because of a bug/rendering issue. As a dev I suppose with Apple’s opacity everything must be overcomplicated :/

    I wish it however to have a more pro GUI, both in graphics and user interaction.

    AUM/AB/apeMatrix is often the best way to go as doing everything real-time makes things really stable, this is also why I also use them to record their output straight to GB. This allow to do some arrangement for more complex tracks too. On iOS I find working with audio the most efficient way of doing things. Only all in one apps like Gadget allow to avoid that, but you loose AU sound quality, and I can’t produce without Audio Damage DDMF FAC Perforator ... also I use a lot Rozeta in ApeM IAA >> GB.

    iOS music making is truly a maze for users!!! Finding your own right workflow is an obstacle course :o

  • @theconnactic said:
    Auria Pro - if you only use the internal instruments (all awesome) and plug-ins (except for THM, currently). Absolutely crash proof when used this way.

    I constantly crash loading the Auria versions of Fabfilter.

  • @johnfromberkeley said:

    @theconnactic said:
    Auria Pro - if you only use the internal instruments (all awesome) and plug-ins (except for THM, currently). Absolutely crash proof when used this way.

    I constantly crash loading the Auria versions of Fabfilter.

    Please report the crashes to the devs over on the Auria Pro forum. The dev doesn't keep up with discussions over here but does read the bug reports on their forum. I believe that he is about to start tackling the bugs that didn't make it into the last update (which seems to have vastly improved MIDI and MIDI AU stuff).

  • Most stable from my experience... Doesn't mean they are all my preference, but this is the order of stability imo.

    *Cubasis, never had a crash however the editing and file management needs work.
    *Gadget, runs flawless every time, limited to gadgets tho and no actual audio tracks but there's ways to bent in audio.
    *AUM, minor crashes have occurred with AUM during my use. It is a work horse and my preferred way, however it isn't really good for song arrangement as there is no sequencer to arrange your parts, changes, arrangements
    *Ab3, minor crashes, work horse, no sequencer
    *Stagelight, if you use the internal instruments And effects you'll barley ever see a problem, works great with auv3 as well but I've had issues with some projects not loading after a while of not loading them. Also I get crashes when adjusting the volume of the audition for presets.
    *modstep, if you host everything in AUM and use modstep as the sequencer /clip launcher it runs great never had an issue, but since it has crashes hosting it can't be at the top, this and AUM are where I mostly find myself.
    *xequence , I've never had any issues with this one and stability, seems to always work however I struggle to really grasp the workflow of it so I haven't used it as much as I'd like so I can't vouch for it as much as I'd like. But I will say it is a great product and a great developer behind it.
    * Groovebox, always stable, only a couple crashed but extremely limited, could be the best if they would put in that work however I don't think what it would take to do so is in the devs vision for their product and I've learned to respect that, but still hopeful too see it become more

    These are my favs and imo the most stable under most situations, cubasis and gadget take the stability trophy from my experience, however I mostly route AUM too ableton or modstep to AUM

  • I haven't mastered it but I think the "AB3 and AUM" combo is where I need to invest time
    to be an IOS creator. I'm still dabbling and not really finishing projects. But I think
    that could change if I can master a stable workflow. So, many promising approaches just
    frustrated me.

    NOTE: NanoStudio 2 still needs a fair investigation to see how Obsidian can become
    my preferred Sample-based Synth. By the time I figure it out "audio" might be there too.
    I'll race the developer for reaching the finish line. @ScottVanZandt's work with NS2 made me
    realize I was missing a significant platform for making film music. I had a similar idea using
    AudioLayer but the DAW's can't run 30-40 copies of AudioLayer so it's a dead end.

    BACK TO AB3&AUM or "Ab3auM"

    AB3 is essential for clock sync and transport controls for the apps I use most:

    LUMBeats (drums and bass)
    Loopy HD (haven't done my work here yet
    Xequence (need a MIDI composing tool but I will probably pick up more to see if they are easy to grok)

    AB3 also solves the IAA screen flipping issues effectively by always having some controls on the screen to
    re-open apps.

    I think AudioBus will always have some feature that other "plumbing" and DAW apps will be requested to add since @Michael doesn't follow innovations. He makes them.

    I think @espiegel123 is working through some videos to help me master this approach. I also think there's a thread in the Forum that has a lot of great details to make this approach work.

  • BM2 (not 3) and Caustic had zero crashes ,but now they are very old apps.

    Stagelight is 99% solid ,but there are some few bugs left (one is crashing the app but the devs are working on it)

    GarageBand is unusable for me due to localization so haven’t tested it enough.

    The modular DAWs AB3,AUM,ApeMatrix are solid

  • edited July 2019

    Gadget gets my vote for most stable environment. Downside is closed sandbox as mentioned. Not a big deal for me...I love it.

    Honorable mention GB and Stagelight which both would receive my vote for fun UI...Gb so easy to get going and Logic sync keep it at the core of my workflow. Stagelight is just dope. Drum track, clip launching so fun.

    BM3 my all around favorite DAW ever period any platform but its not stable, causes rages from project losing crashes that could get violent so I don’t use as much anymore. Piss poor and shameful support hints at no fix in sight so I don’t recommend it anymore. Sad shit really. The gross negligence of Bm3 is damn near criminal mischief.smh

    *Update 7/1: Vincent (Intua Dev) appeared on their forum to assure BM3 is alive and will be updated and ported to other platforms. Cautiously optimistic 🥴

  • AUM has been very stable for me in live performance a few times. It's also about the plugins though. Audio Damage have proved very stable and CPU efficient.

  • edited June 2019

    AUM has been most stable for me by far. I don’t recall ever having a crash. Some plugins have crashed within AUM (in my experience usually IAA apps) but AUM handles this better than any other DAW I think.

    GarageBand has been good. Rarely if ever crashes.

    Ns2 always locks up on me frequently, usually requires rebooting as If i quit it from app selector and reload it just locks up again. Very Frustrating. Probably au related but NS2 doesn’t handle this situation as cleanly AUM. Once a project starts misbehaving in NS2 it becomes a complete pain and often I can’t seem to rescue it.

    BM3 pissed me off once to often and is the only DAW i own that I’ve actually deleted. It used to be good but the last update or two ruined it.

    Auria Pro crashes a lot, just goes straight to springboard. Relaunching seems to be reasonably successful though. Saves snapshots which is nice.

    AUM is also the only app I have that works with every kind of auv3 I can throw at it. All of the other daws have issues, don’t support certain features, especially with au midi processors.

    As an example, stepbud is broken in NS2, isn’t supported in GarageBand at all and only half works in Auria.

    For context; I have an iPad Air 2. My guess is that the newer models will have slightly fewer issues, especially the ones with more RAM.

Sign In or Register to comment.