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 StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
A comment about NanoStudio 2
I’ve slowly been moving my workflow over to NanoStudio2 after the announcement from Matthieu about his departure from Intua.
I just want to say that NS2 is amazing. The stability, the feature set and ability to send busses everywhere and anywhere is just killer.
I’ve always been a Clip kind of composer, but the sheer power, stability and gracefulness that NS2 is displaying is just fantastic. Now that I’ve figured out how to import Midi tracks all my needs have been met.
Anyhoo I just wanted to send praises of the app over the internets cause well, it deserves a lot of cheers. 👊🏼™️💕😬
Comments
It is really sweet. Audio tracks will bring me back. AUfx automation and direct AU instrument automation via the AU UI would keep me for a long time.
I too enjoy NS2. I recently downloaded iMPC Pro 2 and have tried it as well. Each have strengths and weaknesses, but both are very strong. They share a weakness on the audio import side but for different reasons. NS2’s weakness (expected to be “fixed” at a later unspecified date) is that audio clips can only be used in Slate because there are no audio tracks yet. iMPC Pro 2’s weakness is Retronym’s clinging to their AudioCopy instead of using the Files app. For my own workflow, whoever fixes this first is where I’ll lean. But TBH, I like working with both.
FWIW, i just add audio samples to a Slate pad and drop it on the timeline where i want it.
As far as AU automation, just add the AU parameter to one of the knobs and go to town. You have 8 assignable knobs to tweak to your delight on any synth (Obsidian or AU) 😬
It is great: amazing workflow, perfect default MIDI routing with enough customization options. The Obsidian synth is ridiculously deep and lightweight. I'm also eagerly waiting for audio tracks and AUfx automation but I can live without them for now.
I've also asked about clip-launching style sequencer and it's "under consideration", that'd be great to have. Same with external transport control and some form of MIDI clock synchronization.
I think @AudioGus was referring to AUfx specifically, which can't be mapped/automated yet. For the instruments themselves I have found that the 8 knobs was all I needed (plus NS2 keeps track of the mapping 😍)
Do you mean the ability to record the AUfx stuff like Fugue Machine, StepPolyArp, etc? If so, the workaround is to use MidiTools routing to another track to capture the midi notes. Not ideal, but the fact that we can route it easily this way is a great thing.
Yah, Slate is OKish for me. I run BM3 in the background and make slate kits. Would rather just export a bunch of bars from BM3 and drop them in, then chop/slice/ fade etc.
I would like to at least be able to assign the AU param to a macro by just doing a ‘macro learn’. tap the button, noodle the knob, macro learned sorta thing. Some AU instruments have a lot of params to go through. But yah it is OKish again.
As for AU fx there is no automation or macro assignment. I can send midi notes to Turnado but that is about it.
This...
Ahhh. Gotcha. Don’t get me wrong, i love BM3, but just getting myself ready for NS2 since iPad OS is just around the corner.
The last thing I did noodle with for NS2 was using it with KRFT which I must say fit it like an amazing silky smooth glove. Amazing fun... why am I not doing it RIGHT NOW??? Oh yah, no track freezing maybe... hehe, excuses excuses, I stink!
...does BM3 turn into a Pumpkin then? Has it had problems in the beta?
Dude, try KRFT!
I’ve been learning it as well; and really loving that I haven’t had a single crash.
How do you host all your external apps for syncstart/ stop?
I only use AU and Obsidian synths with NS2.
Yeah, maybe deliver on some audio tracks and draw-in aufx automation really soon. It's been half a year
It's a really nice stable thing don't get me wrong (that I'm bitching because I'd like to use it more should only confirm that), but ... Come on, it's been half a year.
NS2 is life! It's so stable! All my beat making is currently done in NS2. I'm devoting all my resources to it and developing sound kits for it exclusively too. Can't say enough good things about it......just wish we had note repeat and audio tracks......but it's worth the work arounds.
I didn't know the news about Matthieu though, thats sad to hear, I wonder what that means for the future of BM3.
Iphone first apparently... probably make more money that way... to pay for audio tracks... sure hope we get it this year....
I host NS2 and any external apps I decide to use in Audiobus. Of course then the audio isn’t automatically in NS2, but someday...
Yeah, I would love to have them already, but if they deliver on stability with audio track as well as they did with the original release (current version is 2.0.1!), I can see the wait being worth the while
I seem to recall that track freezing would more or less piggy back audio tracks too.
You can already use the Files App in iMPC pro2 as well as AudioCopy.
I agree with this. The attention to details is absolutely amazing.
yeah this is very much expected but also iPhone version, based on some market research, show spotential of some sales increase cause there is a lot people who want use app on iphone and there is lot less options for complex stable all-in one music making solutions on iPhone ..
Think about fact that iPad version can be used also now for music making, but people without iPad cannot use it currently at all - so it's kind to first satisfy those which cannot use app at all and only then those who are waiting for new feature but do have access to app already ;-)
Plus audio tracks needs significantly more time to finish (at least 3x as much work as is needed for finishing iPhone version), so from many reasons iPhone version before AT is strategically good decision.
It's sad that lot of AU-related issues and very much requested AB-support postponed iPhone and audio tracks planned timeline more than it was expected
Just want to add that iPhone version will be universal, so it will be free update for iPad version owners - which also means all IAP purchases made in iPad version will be automatically available also on iPhone version. iPad users will be no charged twice for ability to use app on iphone
I believe this is very realistic - but of course it's just my belief, not official Blip Interactive statement :-)
I'm pretty sure Matt will be glad to hear such compliment from somebody like you ;-)
"all in one" solution in terms of offering complete synth / sampling / fx / mixing / mastering solution.. in case you don't need record long audio tracks you can very much finish complete track in NS from scratch to final master without even touching any AU plugin - with amazing sound quality, for example NS build-in Reverb is basically almost same as good as Pro-R - just lot more efficient in terms of CPU needs
NS2 supports audio clips, just not audio tracks. A different way to work but if you really want it, there you have it.
On the iPhone we also have Garageband, Audio Evolution (with audio tracks and lots of great editing options), Gadget (records audio clips too), more than enough to make great music today.
Actually - because i use rather short audio recording (like max. few bars long) than long minute+ audio tracks, most probably even after audio tracks will be available, i will still use for audio Obsidian sampler with sample offset automatiom instead of direct audio tracks, because it gives me lot bigger space for experimenting, rearanging and modulating of recorded stuff I'm not singer or guitarist, i look at recorded audio more from perspective of sound designer, that's why i like this approach more than plain audio tracks - i see there lot more creative potential ..
Yes, this! If I had to simply record audio tracks, I'd use Audio Evolution anyway
But I'm aware that everyone has a different workflow, that's why people use different DAWs.
This . I actually can't wait for audio tracks too - not because i want them but because i know how they will work great in NS and how will be people excited having them :-)))