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.

Visual Synth public beta

New app dropping shortly -- in open beta right now. Give it a spin, if you want to tweak video using a MIDI controller (you want to do that, right?).

I've got to beef up the documentation, do some demo videos, and stuff like that, but the app is pretty much done (I hope), and should be available for real shortly. Here's a link to the TestFlight if you want to check it out: https://testflight.apple.com/join/fRV1JcqM

And also, a little video capture -- I used an old Popeye cartoon (now in pubic domain) to show what you can do. The app plays nice in split-screen on an iPad, so you can tweak the video using things like Sidecar or Infinite Looper. You can drive the app using a conventional MIDI controller too.

Comments

  • Wow awesome! I've been wanting a video synth for iOS for while.

  • edited January 2020

    Oh cool, I look forward to playing!

  • Is there an app that will let us convert note velocity to a mici CC value?

    (Ps would be nice to set rotation and scale etc to react to a notes velocity.)

  • @AudioGus said:
    Is there an app that will let us convert note velocity to a mici CC value?

    mfxConvert for super simple. StreamByter or Mosaic for simple-ish.

  • Well this looks very interesting! Will give it a try ASAP.

  • edited January 2020

    I’ve been playing with it for a couple hours, I’m liking it so far. I’ve been using for making vj fodder currently. I also agree with @AudioGus. An option to record the output within the app would be cool too

  • edited January 2020

    If we could tile the video (with an alternating mirror option too) that would be nice.

  • A few questions for folks messing with the app --

    • Any trouble getting things working? For people who have never done anything with MIDI, I expect they'll be lost -- but folks here understand MIDI, so I'm hoping it's not a big hassle getting it going.
    • MIDI CC values OK, or do you need MIDI learn? I'm thinking of staying away from having the controls be learnable, as it complicates the code, and also complicates using the app. I envision endless support emails from people who have screwed up the CC bindings, and can't sort it out....

    I'll add in some controls so that note velocity can impact transparency, scaling, rotation -- it should make it easier to pulse images and video with note on/off messages, and might be a fun effect to have.

    Long term - I'm thinking of having multiple layers of graphics. Screen-saver sort of visuals, controllable by MIDI... there are 16 different MIDI channels, so maybe 16 different layers. Text overlays are easy to do too -- maybe load in a text file, with the lines numbered, and then MIDI not X displays line of text X on the screen.

    Screen recording, tiling... all stuff I'd like to add in. Just need to get some coffee (and maybe sell a few copies of the app -- if there's a market for it, the development time will be easier to justify).

  • Custom MIDI CC values would ideal, because let's say you are using this one on one iPad and AUM with synths and utilities like Rozeta LFO on another. You are using one LFO to control a synth parameter, you could use the same parameter on iPad B and then send the same LFO to iPad A to a visual synth parameter mapped to the same midi cc value.

    Multiple layers would be awesome and being able to blend them with effects like blends, morphs, or color changes.

  • interesting :) Will it have video out? Not just the ipad screen.

  • @SecretBaseDesign I can’t really recall any issues. The play/pause button seemed to not be corresponding with what the video was doing, it would be paused but show play but I also had X0X sequencing the video and was constantly running so that may have caused it and it wasn’t really causing a problem. MIDI learn would be cool but it’s not a big deal. I’ll be messing with it a lot today as well so I’ll post any issues I find but I’ve only never had any problems with any of your apps

  • First 20 minutes with the app: really enjoying it. This fills a need that I've expressed here on the forum a couple of times. It worked as expected across the board! Would be nice to have a reset for the CC controls if you can swing it sometime. I really like the idea of multiple layers--would certainly add to the visual interest possible. But I'd generally keep it simple and keep the price down. I would also vote for MIDI learn but heck, if it's a lot of work and support, I can find work arounds with other MIDI tools. I'm in favor of a "starting place" rather than a pro market feature dump. I do think video out, mirroring, etc will be oft requested.

    Overall, excited about this one!

  • BTW, don’t know how wedded to the name and branding but I think “synth” will be misleading to your market segments. I think you mean “visual midi controller”, yes? You could do some clever contractions like MIDIviz or something. Highlighting MIDI will weed out buyers who don’t know what they are getting into.

  • Personally, I like the name. The target audience will know what this is. It's a video synth like LZX modules or Critter & Guitari ETC.

  • wimwim
    edited January 2020

    I totally misunderstood what the app was about based on the name. I was thinking something like Virtual ANS - a synth operated by visuals. Visual MIDI Controller would be equally confusing to me. I would think it was a way of controlling things using visuals rather than the other way around.

    It seems to me like the nouns and adjectives used to describe the noun are reversed in role.

    That said ... I don't have any suggestions! :D

  • @auxmux said:
    Personally, I like the name. The target audience will know what this is. It's a video synth like LZX modules or Critter & Guitari ETC.

    LOL, I have no idea what those things are... I must not be in the target audience! 🙂

    @wim said:
    I totally misunderstood what the app was about based on the name. I was thinking something like Virtual ANS - a synth operated by visuals. Visual MIDI Controller would be equally confusing to me. I would think it was a way of controlling things using visuals rather than the other way around.

    It seems to me like the nouns and adjectives used to describe the noun are reversed in role.

    That said ... I don't have any suggestions! :D

    Huh. I hadn't considered it that way but I can see that way of looking at it, too.

    Just call it "shut up and dance" and be done with it. 😉

  • @SecretBaseDesign said:
    … (now in pubic domain) …

  • @u0421793 said:

    @SecretBaseDesign said:
    … (now in pubic domain) …

    Gaaahhh.. gotta be a little more careful on the typing - that's a completely different web site!

    https://archive.org/details/popeye_taxi-turvey

  • Would it work with Mididesigner? I personally would prefer midi learn but could live without. As a graphic designer I would love multipule layers with different transparencies. In its basic form of only 1 video on screen and not layers I doubt I would buy it. Crossfade between 2 videos however would perhaps persuade me.

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