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.

Zoom ARQ Aero RhythmTrak

Anyone know anything about these?

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Comments

  • Yes, had one a few days now. A bargain at £174 I got it for. Had it synced to my iPad, it only has USB midi.

  • Yeah I saw they are 1/2 price now hence the question. Does look kind of fun.

  • This is a good set of YouTube vids, about it, from Zoom Europe, in German though, giving you a gist of Version 2 of th OS. It's a Groovebox, with sample internal (built in or via external inputs) and your own via SD card, one shots loops etc. It also has a 3 oscillator synth and can be a looper as well.

    YouTube

  • I got a brand new Zoom ARQ-96 off Amazon UK for £149 and it is incredible. I would strongly recommend you MUST update to the latest version 2 which transforms this machine and gives much improved graphics and user menus. I spent a few days watching YT clips and learning the workflow and this is now in the category of Awesome !!

    I have been running it since Friday using a 10,000 mah USB powerbank which has hardly moved - this thing runs on next to no power. It has sampling, sequencing, full blown synth, loads of FX, pattern and song creation, looping, audio capture and real-time performance. I added a 64GB SD card so can take user samples. Brilliant work by Zoom 🙂

  • Have you tried bluetoothing the ring to iPad?

  • No yet. I had a quick go trying to MIDI to my keyboard which didn’t work but I’m sure it can be done. Can’t stop playing the damn thing.

  • @Trueyorky said:
    I got a brand new Zoom ARQ-96 off Amazon UK for £149 and it is incredible. I would strongly recommend you MUST update to the latest version 2 which transforms this machine and gives much improved graphics and user menus. I spent a few days watching YT clips and learning the workflow and this is now in the category of Awesome !!

    I have been running it since Friday using a 10,000 mah USB powerbank which has hardly moved - this thing runs on next to no power. It has sampling, sequencing, full blown synth, loads of FX, pattern and song creation, looping, audio capture and real-time performance. I added a 64GB SD card so can take user samples. Brilliant work by Zoom 🙂

    What lead are you using to power it off the powerbank?

  • Zoom released a new firmware update.

    https://www.zoom-na.com/products/production-recording/digital-instruments/zoom-arq-ar-96-aero-rhythmtrak#downloads

    changelog:
    Version 2.20
    ・ ・ Released as following bug fix in March 2019
    1. AR-96 sometimes freezes during playback with other MIDI devices.

  • @BiancaNeve said:

    What lead are you using to power it off the powerbank?

    I am using a standard USB to mini USB lead. Plug in to the mini USB socket on the device and it will power the ARQ.

  • Oh dear.... someone please tell me why I shouldnt get one of these...

  • @Jes said:
    Oh dear.... someone please tell me why I shouldnt get one of these...

    Good luck with that ... mine’s arriving Tuesday ... B)

  • @Jes said:
    Oh dear.... someone please tell me why I shouldnt get one of these...

    Just a couple of reasons, if you don’t like MPC style pads for input, you’ll probably not like the ring and also you have to use work-arounds with the USB midi.

  • edited March 2019

    questions for Zoom arq users:
    how big could be the loaded samples? ADSR on samples!? timestretch !? how good are the fx ?
    is this usable for ambient-ish music ? can I prepare a sample bank on computer using its editor and upload it to the machine? (it would be faster I guess)

    thanks big time!

  • @knewspeak said:

    @Jes said:
    Oh dear.... someone please tell me why I shouldnt get one of these...

    Just a couple of reasons, if you don’t like MPC style pads for input, you’ll probably not like the ring and also you have to use work-arounds with the USB midi.

    What work-arounds?

  • @supadom said:

    @knewspeak said:

    @Jes said:
    Oh dear.... someone please tell me why I shouldnt get one of these...

    Just a couple of reasons, if you don’t like MPC style pads for input, you’ll probably not like the ring and also you have to use work-arounds with the USB midi.

    What work-arounds?

    A USB host, Raspberry Pi etc, you can play the internal 16 Midi Parts from an external but unfortunately can’t record that way. Unless they recently changed it. You can connect it via usb to iPad, send Midi clock sync, note, cc data. You can control the Ring sending data to light it up or use it to send various Midi data to the iPad via Bluetooth.

  • edited March 2019

    @waka_x said:
    questions for Zoom arq users:
    how big could be the loaded samples? ADSR on samples!? timestretch !? how good are the fx ?
    is this usable for ambient-ish music ? can I prepare a sample bank on computer using its editor and upload it to the machine? (it would be faster I guess)

    thanks big time!

    Sample size, not exactly sure but it’s about 8 bars for song mode, loop mode, not sure, it streams them from the SD card, 8 stereo or 16 mono, but you can switch in and out samples also use various configurations of mono and stereo.

    Time stretching haven’t tried, you’d have to pre-treat samples then load them on the Arq, then set start, end, loop points and tempo.

    Ambient music certainly, it’s Synth is fairly extensive given it’s simplicity, 3 Osc with possible FM, Sync and Ring Mod, a single filter 12db and 24db LP, HP, BP and a Peak. 16 part simultaneously. 4 insert FX per pattern and 4 master FX of which 2 have sends from each part. Effects range from standard reverbs, delays and mod effects to bit crusher distortion, reverse delay etc. All seem reasonably good quality. But sometimes when switching patterns if you use different effects on the next pattern it can suddenly end the previous effects tail.

    Forgot to say if you use a USB host you can configure each part to send notes and data to 16 external midi channels, so you can sequence external gear.

  • @knewspeak said:

    @supadom said:

    @knewspeak said:

    @Jes said:
    Oh dear.... someone please tell me why I shouldnt get one of these...

    Just a couple of reasons, if you don’t like MPC style pads for input, you’ll probably not like the ring and also you have to use work-arounds with the USB midi.

    What work-arounds?

    A USB host, Raspberry Pi etc, you can play the internal 16 Midi Parts from an external but unfortunately can’t record that way. Unless they recently changed it. You can connect it via usb to iPad, send Midi clock sync, note, cc data. You can control the Ring sending data to light it up or use it to send various Midi data to the iPad via Bluetooth.

    Ah, I get it. No 5 pin midi IO. Seems like a lot in a package, especially if it can be powered by a power bank. Cheers

  • @knewspeak You mention multitimbrality. Are you saying it is 16 part multitimbral, therefore 16 instances (in IOS speak) of the same synth right? If so, that's massive.

  • @supadom said:
    @knewspeak You mention multitimbrality. Are you saying it is 16 part multitimbral, therefore 16 instances (in IOS speak) of the same synth right? If so, that's massive.

    I believe that it is 16 unless you use stereo samples which take up 2 per sample of the maximum polyphony, but you can have 32 parts per pattern as long as only 16 mono play, they can be samples from the internal set, SD card or it’s synth engine, each has its own 2 LFOs, envelopes, velocity and aftertouch mod possibilities along with a filter and possible insert effects (Max 4 per pattern) and 2 send effects per pattern and 2 master effects per pattern. With upto 8 bars per pattern, of 380 possible patterns.

  • edited March 2019

    Cheers @knewspeak...but....

    one more make or break question if you don’t mind. Can the ring be made to play locked scales or will I need to learn it like a hoopflute?

  • @supadom Yes you’ve got just under 40 different scales you can set for each individual part of the pattern along with it’s key.

  • @knewspeak said:
    @supadom Yes you’ve got just under 40 different scales you can set for each individual part of the pattern along with it’s key.

    Massive selling point for live use right here. I’m a bit fed up with tapping stuff on gummy Circuit grid. Thanks for the info.

  • @supadom said:
    Got it!

    Bargain

  • @BiancaNeve said:

    @supadom said:
    Got it!

    Bargain

    Enjoy the power of THE RING oh and upto 6 minutes sample time :)

  • @BiancaNeve said:

    @supadom said:
    Got it!

    Bargain

    Absolutely

    @Trueyorky said:

    @BiancaNeve said:

    @supadom said:
    Got it!

    Bargain

    Enjoy the power of THE RING oh and upto 6 minutes sample time :)

    Indeed, have fun, a lot of people write it off on looks, it’s a powerful beastie.

  • Yo, will do @knewspeak @Trueyorky.

    I have to say that the lights on the ring are a bit of a put off but everything else sounds sweet. Will report back. Thanks for the advice.

  • @supadom said:
    Yo, will do @knewspeak @Trueyorky.

    I have to say that the lights on the ring are a bit of a put off but everything else sounds sweet. Will report back. Thanks for the advice.

    As soon as you said you ordered, based on your videos and the little bit I know about you, I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do with this. I’m also really tempted to get one (although I haven’t found it at quite that price yet).

    Do you still do music therapy? If this is tough enough to stand some playing and carting around, I could envision this being a cool tool in that context too.

  • edited March 2019

    @mrufino1 said:

    @supadom said:
    Yo, will do @knewspeak @Trueyorky.

    I have to say that the lights on the ring are a bit of a put off but everything else sounds sweet. Will report back. Thanks for the advice.

    As soon as you said you ordered, based on your videos and the little bit I know about you, I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do with this. I’m also really tempted to get one (although I haven’t found it at quite that price yet).

    Do you still do music therapy? If this is tough enough to stand some playing and carting around, I could envision this being a cool tool in that context too.

    You’re right, music therapy was what actually tipped me over the edge. I work with many people with limited movement and this detachable ring with locked scales sounds ideal.

    Having said that, I’m looking forward to exploring the performance aspect of the ring. I feel it’s gonna be one of those love it or hate it things but definitely worth a try. :)

  • It’s possible to set the ring to have less notes, ie a larger area to hit to trigger a given sound. So for example you could make the whole ring into a tambourine!

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