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.
Comments
PSP is really useful for its wide range of really good sounds. Sure there are better pianos, e-pianos, etc, but these are all good enough for me for sure. Space is huge, but I’m considering removing BeatHawk at this point as I was mainly keeping it for its really nice piano. I’m not the kinda guy that needs the utmost realistic piano. So the space tradeoff isn’t that bad.
CPU hit can be steep. Especially if the convolution reverb is involved. Often switching over to the algorithmic one helps a lot. Don’t expect to get more than two instances of the AU going at once consistently. It’s got a fair selection of presets.
I imagine bs-16i to be both more CPU efficient and flexible about storage space. But I don’t have it, so can’t say.
@wim Thanks for the input.
The in-built sounds in BS-16i don’t even come close to those in PSP. There are lots of great, free soundfonts out there, but PSP is an app that you’ll come back to time after time after time, and is incredibly powerful in its ability to layer up to 4 sounds and edit each sound very precisely, plus the built in FX are superb.
Please can you tell me the sizes of the 2 Rhodes, I'm short of IPad space and I cannot read in their description. Thanks
I really like the random patch creator in PSP too.... buy the time I download a bunch of sound fonts bs will probably end up taking a decent amount of space anyways... I’m leaning towards PSP but gotta make some room.
I have Groove Rider GR-16 and like it... but as someone who doesn't really do "beats" or music really... I don't use it much. I do keep it handy because you can tweak things to make very interesting sound strangeness if wanted as well.
I know most everyone here loves Pure Acid... and with AUv3 and VERY intrigued. However, if you're not really into acid, beats, or dance stuff... is there anything in Pure Acid to appeal to sound tweakers who just like to make weird sound compositions that are rarely musical at all?
Or, is this really not the droid I'm looking for?
I’ve taken to “offloading” apps that take up a lot of storage but I don’t use often. In Settings > General > Storage you can see a list of apps and how much space they take up. If you tap on an app you can see App Size and Documents and Data size. The documents and data size won’t be affected, but the app size will be recovered.
When you go to use an app after offloading it, iOS re-downloads and installs it. The only hitch is plugins still show up in hosts as if they’re available, but they don’t automatically download when used in a host. You just get nothing happening or an error. That one has thrown me off. A few times.
It only makes sense to do this for hand-picked apps. You don’t want to enable the global “Offload Unused Apps” and have Apple deciding which to offload for you.
It’s also always a good idea to flush out the “Recently Deleted” folders in photos and the files app. A surprising amount of stuff can collect in there.
I find that setting to be ideal for my purchasing habits. IOS just keeps making tough choices for me and deleting rarely used apps. Sometimes I reach into the vault for something (via the AUM interface, since it things all these apps are still loaded) and have to re-load it from the App store. That's a small penalty versus the complex decision processes of choosing them manually.
It seems to be the least painful option for an App Addict like me. You just keeping pulling from the App "purchased" inventory as needed. It's also fun to review that list and revisit a classic like "Smood" or "Chrystaline" or "TC-11" or...
I need to buy something to celebrate the day. Maybe ShapeSynth since @MrBlaschke gives excellent advice and has a good ear for unique sonic qualities.
One of them is around 900MB. I don’t remember the other. Probably similar.
Thank you, I presumed they were huge, nevermind. Best
The thing that got me with Pure Acid was the sound.. that was the very first thing that caught my ear.. that bass man.. tweaked to YOUR ear in a completely different style of groove.. call it whatever you want but that bass will speak in that track (that is, if you want it to).. you combine that with even a simple funky groove and you've got the foundations of something VERY earcatching + body-moving.. I don't care what it's called but my body will be movin' + groovin'.. It's just good for the soul.. man..
That being said, I now own both and I think for sound exploration, GR-16 may be a more adventurous journey.. so much to tweak in there.. Poison 202 sounds built in.. it's a beast.. of a different kind compared to Pure Acid.. I'm thrilled that I have both at my disposal and depending on moods (mine or the song itself
), I'll pick the best fit (soundwise) for the track..
Can one drive other instruments via midi out from PA?
Would Pure Acid be useful for lots of other kinds of sound experimenting that NOT trying to be any style or "groove" that's intended to be "earcatching and body-moving"?
Just trying to evaluate if I'd get use out of it before the sale is over. I pretty much love anything that makes great sound... but my personal use rarely (if ever) is very musical or beat oriented tracks.
I'm also wondering about the learning curve. I'm not so familiar with these sorts of beat machines. GR-16 still sends me back to the manual if I haven't used it in awhile. How about Pure Acid with regard to intuitively figuring out how to use it? Does it require a good deal of demo video watching and manual reference? Or, is it pretty easy to figure out on your own?
When is the sale over?
I found Pure Acid really easy to get into - Jakob’s vids worth a watch first though. In contrast, like you I have to check the manual each time I go back to GR-16.
It does specialise in dance/acid styles (very good it is at it too), but you can coax Krautrock/motorik-esque stuff out of it with a bit of tweaking. The built-in fx are good too.
I’ll definitely get some use from it as I have a couple of dancey projects it’ll fit, but even if I hadn’t I’d still be happy, as it definitely has the ‘fun factor’.
It’s a lot of app for a tenner, proper quality.
I bought the WaveTable creator, or what it's called.
Any recommendation for the wavetable / textures IAP?
@MonzoPro and @royor ! Ended up getting more iTunes stocking stuffers than I'd anticipated. The fact it's AUv3 now and that I like to funnel sweet sounds into a bunch of weird effects combinations... sounds like it could be fun indeed... even if I'm not interested in anything dance-y. Thanks for the feedback!
Why the performer and not the full tc-11? I thought Performer was just a preset bowser for the 11.
Thinking about this too.
I would be very interested in doing this kind of things out of a simple App like PA, but cannot pull out nothing similar.
BTW if it happens you have some video to kindly share would be great. I need to learn LOL
Thanks
If you dial back the envelope and resonance on the filter, you can lose the acid ‘squelch’ for a flatter synth bass. The fx are good too - I found a few sweet spots on the looper, used in conjunction with the delay which produced a proper driving beat.
I don’t do vids, but I’ll reckon I’ll get a track out of it and online at some point.
Jakob’s vid helped me a lot:
>
Thanks for the input: I will play more with Env and Reso knobs and also I need to watch again Jacob video too. I'm going deeper in the filters section where as you say there is lot of potential.
When you'll online the track I'll enjoy listening at it.
Best and wishes
I went for the TC-Performer because that was
the first app that I had had from that developer.
I also am thinking about the TC-11.
If the sales continue until the end of the
month I'll go for that one as well.
I’m still exploring to be honest, just had 15 minutes of absolute joy with it.
There’s a couple of presets which are less ‘acidy’, try those as starting points and jam around with them. You can also control the bass filter, decay etc. via the right hand x/y pad - really nice for dropping in live changes to the length of the notes.
Yes, me too I'm just experimenting a lot with PA. I have to say that I quit using all the other Apps since I had PA...it's so fun that I cannot leave it. And the fun is huge, so simple to have great sounds from it, sometime randomly without know how they come ;-)
Great instrument to learn for whom not a real musician like me.
Thanks @wim Yea I don’t use the offload thing. I typically keep a close eye on storage and there’s a bunch of apps I never use... so im gonna make some space and grab it soon. All midiculous apps on sale until 1/1/20 so gotta couple days...
If you offload individual apps rather than deleting them, then you don’t lose presets, etc.
Just in case that wasn’t clear.
Group The Loop -- just went on sale, 25-Dec
Oh hell! I’m converted. Pure Acid is really fun! Watched Jacobs video to get started as suggested. No idea what I’m doing but messing around and sending it through Sparkle... just killed an hour just like that.
This forum is great for weighing the pros + cons of an app that you’re on the fence with.. It seems the more I research an app, the higher the probability is that I’ll more than likely pick it up.. if not immediately, then it will land at the top of a short list..
It’s cool that you’ve found a connection with it.. that bass sequencer is a ton of fun.. as Jakob clearly demonstrates in his excellent demo. The sounds that emanate from this thing are something else.. there’s no in between.. you either love it or not.. I love it! And clearly a bunch of others here do as well.. Enjoy the noise..
@wim I missed that particular point. Thanks.