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.

Anyone got the Novation Peak or Summit?

I have done a bit of work for novation and now have a hefty discount code to use in their online shop. Does anyone have the Peak or Summit and if so what are your views?

Comments

  • I don’t but just saw this appear on YouTube:

  • I have a Summit but haven't spent enough time on it to really be able to provide any info. I had wanted a Peak since they came out, but waited, and knew I had to have the Summit after it was announced. Honestly, I probably would have preferred a module over yet another keyboard, but that wasn't an option on the Summit, and for basically 50% cost you get a whole additional Peak, plus the added features and keyboard. I really wanted the added polyphony.

    Let me know if there's anything you have questions about, but there are a ton of videos on the Peak covering all the capability and sound, and plenty that cover the differences with the Summit.

  • @Liquidmantis said:
    I have a Summit but haven't spent enough time on it to really be able to provide any info. I had wanted a Peak since they came out, but waited, and knew I had to have the Summit after it was announced. Honestly, I probably would have preferred a module over yet another keyboard, but that wasn't an option on the Summit, and for basically 50% cost you get a whole additional Peak, plus the added features and keyboard. I really wanted the added polyphony.

    Let me know if there's anything you have questions about, but there are a ton of videos on the Peak covering all the capability and sound, and plenty that cover the differences with the Summit.

    Thanks I suppose the main question I have is how it sounds IRL rather than on a YouTube vid. Quite honestly a cheap soft synth and 2 grand hardware all sound the same eon YouTube. ESP since they have digital oscillators and analogue filter. Cheers in advance

  • edited February 2020

    I have a Peak, but that's such an open-ended question and whether you like or dislike a synth is subjective anyway its hard to answer, and I think it very much depends upon the type of music you want to make (if you want to make for example alien landscapes from outer space I wouldn't recommend it). Its not my favorite synth sound wise (not from the quality of the sound, just the type of sounds it lends itself to making), but it does sound very majestic indeed. Like a king.
    For me the physical aspects of a synth as equally important as the sound, and for hands-on knob tweaking, its the absolute best. But I guess not everybody has that as a criteria.
    If your discount is hefty why not get one, and if you don't like it, sell it, with the discount you won't make a loss on it, they keep their price well it seems.

  • @mungbeans said:
    I have a Peak, but that's such an open-ended question and whether you like or dislike a synth is subjective anyway its hard to answer, and I think it very much depends upon the type of music you want to make (if you want to make for example alien landscapes from outer space I wouldn't recommend it). Its not my favorite synth sound wise (not from the quality of the sound, just the type of sounds it lends itself to making), but it does sound very majestic indeed. Like a king.
    For me the physical aspects of a synth as equally important as the sound, and for hands-on knob tweaking, its the absolute best. But I guess not everybody has that as a criteria.
    If your discount is hefty why not get one, and if you don't like it, sell it, with the discount you won't make a loss on it, they keep their price well it seems.

    Alien landscapes from outer space are certainly one of my things unfortunately. I love the bs2 actually but the discount being a hefty one makes more sense to go high

  • @mungbeans knob tweakability is always to be welcomed btw

  • @SpookyZoo has one or both, can't remember.

  • edited February 2020

    @SheffieldBleep said:

    @mungbeans said:

    Alien landscapes from outer space are certainly one of my things unfortunately. I love the bs2 actually but the discount being a hefty one makes more sense to go high

    For those sorts of things (and long slow evolving soundscapes or ambient stuff in gereral, or emulating a random self generating, infinitely changing modular imposter) I don't think its very well suited. For those the Blofeld and the Virus TI blow it out of the park. I think the Peak is probably more suited to bass and lead and conventional pads and conventional things. Not knocking it, it sounds fantastic, and as with most synths it can do a range of things, but the type of sounds I primarily like are not its natural forte imo.
    The actual only reason I keep the Peak is I use it as a controller for my Blofeld. I've gone through lots of dedicated midi controllers, but I actually find the Peak is better than any of them, its amazing as a Midi controller.
    Yes I'm using a $1400 synth as a midi controller for a $400 one, seems a crazy reason to keep it, but they are a perfect match - the esoteric sounds of the Blofeld married with a great knobby midi controller to access those parameters to tweak the Blofeld's esoteric ness.

  • @mungbeans said:

    @SheffieldBleep said:

    @mungbeans said:

    Alien landscapes from outer space are certainly one of my things unfortunately. I love the bs2 actually but the discount being a hefty one makes more sense to go high

    For those sorts of things (and long slow evolving soundscapes or ambient stuff in gereral, or emulating a random self generating, infinitely changing modular imposter) I don't think its very well suited. For those the Blofeld and the Virus TI blow it out of the park. I think the Peak is probably more suited to bass and lead and conventional pads and conventional things. Not knocking it, it sounds fantastic, and as with most synths it can do a range of things, but the type of sounds I primarily like are not its natural forte imo.
    The actual only reason I keep the Peak is I use it as a controller for my Blofeld. I've gone through lots of dedicated midi controllers, but I actually find the Peak is better than any of them, its amazing as a Midi controller.
    Yes I'm using a $1400 synth as a midi controller for a $400 one, seems a crazy reason to keep it, but they are a perfect match - the esoteric sounds of the Blofeld married with a great knobby midi controller to access those parameters to tweak the Blofeld's esoteric ness.

    Do you have examples of types of sound where you think the Blofeld surpasses the Peak? Like I don't know what "alien landscape from outer space" means. :D I could imagine that as ethereal, transcendetalist ambient, or a harsh glitchy sound with ominous bass.

  • Yeah, I have a Peak, which I do love the sound of. Personally I prefer the more melodic side of music, not that there's anything wrong with the landscapes of Alien Worlds in audio form. :)

    I probably couldn't add much more as @mungbeans kinda hit all the important points on the head here...

    @mungbeans said:
    I have a Peak, but that's such an open-ended question and whether you like or dislike a synth is subjective anyway its hard to answer, and I think it very much depends upon the type of music you want to make (if you want to make for example alien landscapes from outer space I wouldn't recommend it). Its not my favorite synth sound wise (not from the quality of the sound, just the type of sounds it lends itself to making), but it does sound very majestic indeed. Like a king.
    For me the physical aspects of a synth as equally important as the sound, and for hands-on knob tweaking, its the absolute best. But I guess not everybody has that as a criteria.
    If your discount is hefty why not get one, and if you don't like it, sell it, with the discount you won't make a loss on it, they keep their price well it seems.

    A couple of things I could add are...

    • the Reverb is amazing. So lush!
    • Novation have a good recent record of updating their products with new firmware and features long after initial release. So I would be confident that there is likely more to come still. I don't think the Peak will be left behind just because the Summit has appeared.
    • The Summit has a few special tricks over the Peak which you're likely aware of, Dual Filters, Layers, more on board controls.

    One thing I do think is a shame about the Summit, is that the keybed is Channel aftertouch only whereas both of the products are capable of Poly Aftertouch. This likely would have increased the cost of the Summit considerably.

    If you have a decent midi controller with PolyAT then maybe the Peak would be enough?

    Out of interest, are you able to say what work you did for Novation?

    Let us know what you go for. Would be great to hear how it turned out for you. :)

  • edited February 2020

    @mungbeans said:

    @SheffieldBleep said:

    @mungbeans said:

    Alien landscapes from outer space are certainly one of my things unfortunately. I love the bs2 actually but the discount being a hefty one makes more sense to go high

    For those sorts of things (and long slow evolving soundscapes or ambient stuff in gereral, or emulating a random self generating, infinitely changing modular imposter) I don't think its very well suited. For those the Blofeld and the Virus TI blow it out of the park. I think the Peak is probably more suited to bass and lead and conventional pads and conventional things. Not knocking it, it sounds fantastic, and as with most synths it can do a range of things, but the type of sounds I primarily like are not its natural forte imo.
    The actual only reason I keep the Peak is I use it as a controller for my Blofeld. I've gone through lots of dedicated midi controllers, but I actually find the Peak is better than any of them, its amazing as a Midi controller.
    Yes I'm using a $1400 synth as a midi controller for a $400 one, seems a crazy reason to keep it, but they are a perfect match - the esoteric sounds of the Blofeld married with a great knobby midi controller to access those parameters to tweak the Blofeld's esoteric ness.

    Interesting, bit of a different take on it. I have a blofeld as well, while I love it, I find I gravitate more to the peak for pads and soundscapy stuff. (even considering selling the blofeld) That's the bulk of what I do these days, and I find the peak to be a great albeit new addition to my setup.

  • Thanks all. Your comments sort of confirm my impresssions from reviews and demos about the peak and summit. Not naturally the kind of stuff I would go for. Still not sure what I will go for. Maybe holding out for a Circuit 2 :-)

  • edited February 2020

    If you don’t like the Peak or summit I would probably look at the SL MK III. If you’re into hardware synths a controller with built in sequencer would be cool and could be the centre of your studio for years to come.

    And a mono station.:-)

    Edit. I’d probably also look at something by Focusrite.

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