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.

Can the Ipad do what Waldorf Quantum/Iridium can do?

I’m curious!

Is there a IOS synth or a combination of synths which can produce Sounds the Waldorf Quantum or Iridium can do? That’s a serious question...

IMO the Iridium sounds amazing and the possibilities In Sounddesign seems endless. The downside, the Iridium is quite costly compared to iPad Apps. The question is, is it worth spending 2K€ in a Hardware like the Iridium or can I create similar Ambient Patches just with iPad apps?

Here are two videos created by CO5MA.
In the first one he plays just one custom patch while tweaking around.
The second Video is a showcase for a sound bank he created.

Do you think we can create something similar with our iPads?
If so, which Apps you would use?

I have the Iridium on my table and a few days left to return it. I have to decide to keep the synth or not. That’s why I’ve started this thread.

Thanks a lot for your opinions! 🙏

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Comments

  • edited August 2020

    try layr and maybe yonac kaspar

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  • When thinking about these evolving sounds Layr, Factory, Infinite and Nave comes in my mind.
    But I’m afraid can the CPU handle such Soundscapes if I layering different apps?
    And what about the sonically territory? Can the iPad create such immensely huge sound?

    I didn’t tried it yet...

  • edited August 2020

    Hi @chandroji 🤗
    It's very much possible indeed, and we have more than enough synths to do it already.
    I would create such "immensely huge" sounds inside KORG Gadget, using multiple instances of iWavestation and a few (very CPU efficient) factory synths, but you can use other great synths in AUM or in your favorite DAW and layer them there.
    The question is not really if it's possible but rather if you're willing to spend some time to find great sound combinations and do a few sound tweaks and add an EQ here and there.

  • edited August 2020

    I’m aware of the CPU limitations in the iPad. Even with my iPad Pro.

    That’s the reason why I’m willing to use also hardware to save iPad CPU for other things.
    The Iridium can handle 3 Oscillators, 5 different Synthesis, 6 LFOs, 6 Envelopes, a lot of FX and more whiteout affecting the iPad.

    Anyway, I’m really impressed by the Iridium and I love this synth so far but I would be also happy when I can avoid to spend so much money when there are serious alternatives.

    I hope the community will give me some pro and cons and opinions to keep or not to keep.

    I would be happy if you can talk me out to keep it! 😎

  • edited August 2020

    @rs2000 said:
    Hi @chandroji 🤗
    It's very much possible indeed, and we have more than enough synths to do it already.
    I would create such "immensely huge" sounds inside KORG Gadget, using multiple instances of iWavestation and a few (very CPU efficient) factory synths, but you can use other great synths in AUM or in your favorite DAW and layer them there.
    The question is not really if it's possible but rather if you're willing to spend some time to find great sound combinations and do a few sound tweaks and add an EQ here and there.

    Thanks a lot for your response my friend!
    Oops! I never thought to use Gadget for huge Soundscapes! 😎
    But that’s an idea! 👍

    iWavestation is capable to do interesting stuff indeed. And Factory can do Soundscapes, sure.
    But how complicated it will be to tweak everything together? It needs time and there is a learning curve to handle iWavestation and Factory. Both apps seems to be not easy to handle them in an intuitive way.

    But I agree with you, it can be possible to create something huge with these apps.

    One thing I’m thinking about is also the workflow while tweaking in Sounddesign. It’s really very different you can tweak on a good Hardware UI with all the knobs and Buttons or on an iPad screen. I really enjoy to have dedicated knobs for this and that. I know i could use my NanoKontrolStudio with some midi learn... 😊

  • edited August 2020

    By the way...

    Can you please post some examples of great sounding iPad only performances?
    Here I’m only interested in envolving Ambient Soundscapes, Drones but also in Berlin School type of music.

    I like to compare the sonically differences between iPad and hardware. I know many hardware performances which I really love and I would love to hear something similar just made with an iPad... 😊

    YouTube, Bandcamp or SoundCloud links are most welcome! 🙏

  • Imho Synthscaper and Aparillo are great for soundscapes/drones too. At least from the factory patches. I am not a big soundscape or drone Sounddesigner but the shipped patches sound pretty damn cool.

    Mifi racks ... only sky is the limit (or your iPad specs).

  • @WTK said:
    Imho Synthscaper and Aparillo are great for soundscapes/drones too. At least from the factory patches. I am not a big soundscape or drone Sounddesigner but the shipped patches sound pretty damn cool.

    Mifi racks ... only sky is the limit (or your iPad specs).

    Thanks a lot for the reminder! 👍
    I’ve almost forgotten that I have Aparillo and SynthScaper on my iPad. Yes, they are great for Soundscapes. But both are not so easy to handle, especially Aparillo.

    One thing what I like on the Iridium is the UI. It’s quite intuitive to handle the synth. Iridium is not as simple but I can understand how things work. You can create complex Sounds but it isn’t so complicated as I expected in the beginning.

    I’m also impressed by the huge modmatrix in the Iridium. There are 40 slots to bring things to move around. That’s why a patch can be so impressive. Using Modmatrix, Aftertouch and Wheel can change the sound dramatically.

    Anyway, I’m open and appreciate any suggestions and recommendations.

    I have 3 Days left to return the Iridium...

  • Wavestorm app maybe ?

  • Don’t underestimate the actual hardware side of this. Having integrated MIDI, audio I/O, etc, is huge. Yes, technically an ipad can do most if not all the synthesis functions, but having to cobble together connections with hubs and and dongles is a real bummer.

  • @chandroji Another option is to set up a synth collection in AUM and use your favorite hardware controller to map the knobs.

    What is it that you like the most with the hardware?
    Have you also considered a cheap laptop and Native Instruments Maschine Mk3?
    I don't own it myself but a lot of people love the user interface both for synths and for composition. You can have all that for under 800 bucks. Maybe an option for you?

  • @Apex said:
    Don’t underestimate the actual hardware side of this. Having integrated MIDI, audio I/O, etc, is huge. Yes, technically an ipad can do most if not all the synthesis functions, but having to cobble together connections with hubs and and dongles is a real bummer.

    I agree! 😊
    That’s one of the reasons why I feel in love with the Iridium. There are 5 easy accessible Synthese forms I can mix together within 3 Oscillators (with no hustle). Everything is just one knob away when tweaking around in the patch. The Iridium works so nicely! I never had this impression with any hardware/software Synthesizer before... 👍

    To do, what I can do with the Iridium just with an iPad seems much more complicated.

    I really love my iPad Studio Environment but I’ve learned that dedicated hardware can give me something I really miss in IOS...

    The problem is: As good as Iridium is, it’s quite costly... 😎

  • You’ve got one of the few polyphonic granular synthesizers ever created (Tasty Chips GR-1 being the only other) which can process live audio. (plenty of mono granulars in euroland, I’m well aware).

    The advantage of hardware granular synthesis of live audio is that you can integrate it more easily with the rest of your hardware setup with minimal latency.
    iOS has a couple fantastic polyphonic granular synths (FRMS and iPulsaret.. and to a degree, iDensity). No problems getting audio into the iPad and processing it there, but if you wanna send that signal back out to the real world latency is not gonna be good.

    I would keep the Iridium for that feature alone. The CV inputs are utterly unique too. Maybe only The River and Moog One offer similar connection, as far as polysynths go.

  • edited August 2020

    @rs2000 said:
    @chandroji Another option is to set up a synth collection in AUM and use your favorite hardware controller to map the knobs.

    That’s a good idea!
    I can use a Prophet Keyboard for this. There are knobs for almost everything.. 😊

    What is it that you like the most with the hardware?

    First the easy accessible UI with all the knobs and buttons.
    I want to go away from presets and design my own patches. I believe a good and Intuitive UI is the most important part in Sounddesign.

    And I love the Sound what is coming from the Audio Out! 👍

    Have you also considered a cheap laptop and Native Instruments Maschine Mk3?
    I don't own it myself but a lot of people love the user interface both for synths and for composition. You can have all that for under 800 bucks. Maybe an option for you?

    No, this is not an option!
    I already have a computer with very good software on it. Ableton, NI Ultimate, Omnisphere, East West and so on.

    But I didn’t used my music computer since two years. I use Computer all day in my IT job and I don’t want to boot up Ableton to make music.

    And honestly, I don’t like NI Machine! It’s not my cup of tea!

    That’s why I switched to the IPad Anno 2018...😊
    The iPad is the only computer I will accept for making music these days... 👍

  • edited August 2020

    @aleyas said:
    You’ve got one of the few polyphonic granular synthesizers ever created (Tasty Chips GR-1 being the only other) which can process live audio. (plenty of mono granulars in euroland, I’m well aware).

    The advantage of hardware granular synthesis of live audio is that you can integrate it more easily with the rest of your hardware setup with minimal latency.
    iOS has a couple fantastic polyphonic granular synths (FRMS and iPulsaret.. and to a degree, iDensity). No problems getting audio into the iPad and processing it there, but if you wanna send that signal back out to the real world latency is not gonna be good.

    I would keep the Iridium for that feature alone. The CV inputs are utterly unique too. Maybe only The River and Moog One offer similar connection, as far as polysynths go.

    Thanks a lot for your good comment @aleyas ! Very appreciated! 🙏

    When I compare the Iridium with my other Synths I can see, feel and hear that it is a real Gem in the synth world. It’s a unique Synthesizer and capable to create sounds we never heard before.

    I was always interested in the Quantum but I had never the money and the space for it. When Iridium was announced I placed a preorder because it’s a Desktop and quite cheap compared with the Quantum. Luckily I was the first one in my City and the Store got just only one Iridium so they called me it’s ready to pickup. Up to now, the Iridium is not available in Germany.

    After 3 weeks, I’m really impressed and I enjoy this Synthesizer a lot! But now, I have to decide to keep or not.

    I’m a friend of “Less Is More”, that’s why I love to make music with an iPad. It’s always astonishing what the iPad is capable for. It’s great device for musicians. To go also the high end hardware route is a tough decision for me... 😎

  • edited August 2020

    @chandroji i'm a big iOS proponent for more than 10 years - but in my opinion there is still no available iOS synth even remotely comparable in terms of sound quality to monster HW synths like Quantum, Iridium or things like Modal Argon, Hydrasynth and stuff like that. Those HW wonders are simply unbeatet by any iOsS synth available to the date. No chance.

  • Waldorf Nave would cover maybe 5% of what this beast of a synth can do, Though it is probably the most authentic iOS app for replicating some of the sounds, as the Quantum engine includes several Nave filters and can actually load Nave presets.

  • The Iridium will also hold its value and is unlikely to one day just up and disappear (hello Wolfgang Palm...).

  • edited August 2020
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  • edited August 2020

    @dendy said:
    @chandroji i'm a big iOS proponent for more than 10 years - but in my opinion there is still no available iOS synth even remotely comparable in terms of sound quality to monster HW synths like Quantum, Iridium or things like Modal Argon, Hydrasynth and stuff like that. Those HW wonders are simply unbeatet by any iOsS synth available to the date. No chance.

    Thanks @dendy ! 👍
    This year I’ve learned a lot about hardware Synthesizer and I would agree with your statement!
    My ears was trained for years listening VST and IOS synths and many of them sounded great in my opinion. But when I’ve starting to compare IOS- and HW-Synths there is some noticeable difference in the overall sound. In the meantime I have experiences with some Sequential/DSI, KORG, Roland and Waldorf Synthesizer. They are all different to my IOS synths and yes, I don’t think that any IOS synth can enter the sonically territory of e.g. a Prophet 12, Rev2 or Iridium.

    The question is, do I need to enter this (costly) sonically territory as a hobby musician? Or can I be happy just with the cheap IOS synths?

    A good question... 😎

    @Eschatone said:
    Waldorf Nave would cover maybe 5% of what this beast of a synth can do, Though it is probably the most authentic iOS app for replicating some of the sounds, as the Quantum engine includes several Nave filters and can actually load Nave presets.

    Could be true! 😊
    Thanks a lot for your feedback! 🙏

    @Philandering_Bastard said:
    The Iridium will also hold its value and is unlikely to one day just up and disappear (hello Wolfgang Palm...).

    A good comment! Thanks for this!

    😊

  • edited August 2020

    The question is, do I need to enter this (costly) sonically territory as a hobby musician? Or can I be happy just with the cheap IOS synths?
    A good question...

    this is actually simple to answer... enter any teritorry accessible for you based on your budget :-) it's hobby, it's all about having fun without any expectations of delivering some "result"... it's jut for fun, so use anything possible allowed by your bank account, to have fun :-))

  • edited August 2020

    @dendy said:

    The question is, do I need to enter this (costly) sonically territory as a hobby musician? Or can I be happy just with the cheap IOS synths?
    A good question...

    this is actually simple to answer... enter any teritorry accessible for you based on your budget :-) it's hobby, it's all about having fun without any expectations of delivering some "result"... it's jut for fun, so use anything possible allowed by your bank account, to have fun :-))

    👍
    Oh, I will survive, even with an Iridium on my table... 😎
    Possible I will sell my Prophet 12 Keyboard for this Synth

    And yes, to have fun is most important!
    In the moment I’m very interested in own Sounddesi, creating tracks is not my main priority.

    I believe the Iridium could be the perfect Synthesizer to go deeper in the secrets of creating Sounds.
    I really love the visual Feedbacks of this synth. I can not only hear the sound, I also can see what will happen when I tweak this or that Parameter. This helps me a lot to understand what is going on in the Synth.

    As I said, I have a lot of fun with this Synthesizer! 😊

  • edited August 2020

    Wow, those sound stunning. I imagine we are only 25+ years away from doing that on mobile devices.

  • edited August 2020

    @AudioGus said:
    Wow, those sound stunning. I imagine we are only 25+ years away from doing that on mobile devices.

    Seriously? Or are you kidding, joking? 😎
    Im curious!

  • @chandroji said:

    @AudioGus said:
    Wow, those sound stunning. I imagine we are only 25+ years away from doing that on mobile devices.

    Seriously? Or are you kidding, joking? 😎
    Im curious!

    I am no expert. If someone were to ask me what hardware mobile is capable of fully emulating now... I would bet it is around 25 years old, so... armchair non-synth guy ball-parking...

  • Hi @chandroji ! I was wondering not too long ago how you were and am glad you’ve landed here again.

    I can offer no real advice in the current Waldorf dilemma. I wonder how many other “top tier” synths you have? I am a big proponent of getting exactly (or close to it) what you want every once in awhile, if you can afford it.

    In my case, when I skimp or don’t get something I have set my heart set on, I still always want the thing I’ve held back on. Human nature or at least my nature.

    I have looked at both the Quantum and the Iridium, only on paper, but man, if I was ever going to get a forever synth I think one of them would be on that list. I’d need to add on to the studio though as I too am out of room.

    Best of luck with the decision!

  • edited August 2020

    I'd say less. Considering for one, synths like Synthmaster run same code on desktop and iOS, same with TAL UNO LX.

    Hardware emulations we have now are close. Can you run lots of instances of them? No. Remember, that hardware has limits. So, run your iPad through audio interface with a single synth and it'll sound 10x, maybe more, than with headphones or built in speakers.

    Wavestate uses a Raspberry PI at core, but it's A/D conversion, keys, that make a difference. Iridium probably uses Linux too.

  • @AudioGus said:
    Wow, those sound stunning. I imagine we are only 25+ years away from doing that on mobile devices.

    Just like fusion energy 😏

  • @AudioGus said:

    @chandroji said:

    @AudioGus said:
    Wow, those sound stunning. I imagine we are only 25+ years away from doing that on mobile devices.

    Seriously? Or are you kidding, joking? 😎
    Im curious!

    I am no expert. If someone were to ask me what hardware mobile is capable of fully emulating now... I would bet it is around 25 years old, so... armchair non-synth guy ball-parking...

    i got the yoke part but actually yeah, i don't see realistic such level of quality and polyphony on iPad anytime soon, at least not in next 5 years, because Iridium is runningon FPGA chip which means it has huge computing power for making all DSP code (especially oscillators, filters and audio rate modulations) at the level which is technically impossible with mobile CPUs..

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