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.

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Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

VST v iOS Latency / Update

So, after much struggle and with help from @wim and @rs2000, I installed VI Labs True Keys Italian on my newly acquired HP PC. It sounds great, but the latency is a disaster. Even with the buffer set to 64!.

Now, my trusty RC275 has no such issues. Why is that and can I fix it?? Otherwise, my brief foray into desktop will be just that... brief! Thanks.

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Comments

  • edited September 2020

    I just found this article... looks like I need an audio interface. Any recommendations as to which would help most in the latency department?

    https://brianli.com/how-to-reduce-vst-latency/

    And this is what SweetWater has to say...

    https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/where-can-i-download-the-driver-for-my-interface/

  • First step regarding Audio interface for the PC is obviously to try the one you’ve already got for the iPad. If it works get another one.

    I’m switching my UR-242 between my iPad Air and and Mac Mini and don’t notice any major difference with latency other than that I can use even smaller buffers with Logic Pro X.

    Then again I’m not too familiar with ASIO on the PC wich seems like it’s almost mandatory for low latency audio since the Windows audio drivers are less than optimal for low latency audio.

    Don’t know of the ASIO drivers also work with built-in audio devices but it’s worth a shot.
    (Windows users might be able to assist here).

    Hope you get it sorted out, laggy audio can drive anyone nuts!

  • Thanks @Samu. I left my Steinberg UR22mkii in Istanbul, unfortunately. Starting from scratch.

  • wimwim
    edited September 2020

    There is a free program called Asio4All. Properly configured, this should enable much lower latency even with the onboard sound card. Might be enough, might not.

  • edited September 2020

    @wim said:
    There is a free program called Asio4All. Properly configured, this should enable much lower latency even with the onboard sound card. Might be enough, might not.

    Exactly. After installing it, make sure you also select the new driver as an audio output. It should appear as an additional audio device and it requires that your software supports ASIO.
    UVI and Savihost both support them.
    Also, check the Asio4All driver panel, you can adjust the latency there. Reduce it to 256 samples, play huge chords and make sure there's no crackling. Increase if there is.

  • edited September 2020

    Thanks @wim and @rs2000. I will give that a try tomorrow! Your help is much appreciated.

    But why is latency not a problem on iPads? ASIO drivers?

  • Apple always had low latency audio right within the OS, while in Windoze it‘s an add-on.

  • @LinearLineman said:
    Thanks @wim and @rs2000. I will give that a try tomorrow! Your help is much appreciated.

    But why is latency not a problem on iPads? ASIO drivers?

    iDevices and Macs come with software developed for standardized hardware, with most Windows machines you have to rely on third-party driver developers who usually don't care much about latency. Also, it's safe to say that Apple had a stronger focus on quality audio and MIDI working well for musicians than Microsoft.
    This only makes a difference for on-board sound though.
    When purchasing an external audio interface, it's a good idea to read enough reviews to make sure the available driver software works well on both platforms, Win and Mac.
    The best hardware is worth nothing without good drivers.

  • @rs2000 said:

    @LinearLineman said:
    Thanks @wim and @rs2000. I will give that a try tomorrow! Your help is much appreciated.

    But why is latency not a problem on iPads? ASIO drivers?

    iDevices and Macs come with software developed for standardized hardware, with most Windows machines you have to rely on third-party driver developers who usually don't care much about latency. Also, it's safe to say that Apple had a stronger focus on quality audio and MIDI working well for musicians than Microsoft.
    This only makes a difference for on-board sound though.
    When purchasing an external audio interface, it's a good idea to read enough reviews to make sure the available driver software works well on both platforms, Win and Mac.
    The best hardware is worth nothing without good drivers.

    ASIO are windows drivers specification created by Steinberg to have lower latency between audio Interface and PC.

    There are audio interface that can both do iOS and PC. Do you don't need to buy 2. Steinberg UR22mkii is one example.

  • Asio4all will work, but whichever interface you get/use will come with an ASIO driver that will work much better.

  • edited September 2020

    sry missed prev posts

  • edited September 2020

    @wim @rs2000, I installed ASIO and that solved my latency problems totally. 🥳

    There are occasional dropouts. I adjusted the buffer to 128. Any other advice for this?
    The sound is very good, more clarity, I believe than RC275. Do you think it will improve by adding an AI like Steinberg UR12?

    PCs are a bit complex, but with your help and a little persistence to worked out well.

    Now, dig this, thanks to the generosity of a forum member ( many, many thanks!) I should finally be getting a large 2012 MacBook Pro and I will switch to that. What do you think my experience will be? Should I hold off on getting an AI to get the best sound possible?

  • edited September 2020

    mac? np at all with coreaudio, sry late to the show, i leave you with the wizards B)

  • @noob... do you mean I should not need an AI? What is core audio, please?

  • edited September 2020

    @LinearLineman said:
    @noob... do you mean I should not need an AI? What is core audio, please?

    CoreAudio is Apple's code in MacOS and iOS to handle audio input/output. It doesn't have the issues that native, non-ASIO Windows drivers usually have so you don't need the "ASIO4all hack".
    The audio quality of the Mac's headphone output is very good so if you don't need recording then I would say there's no point in getting an audio interface.
    You don't even need one to record sound from your Casio either because it has USB audio out that you can use as an audio input on the Mac too.

  • This little side trip into the terrible world of Windows for realtime helps me remember why
    I still hate Microsoft after 30 years of frustrations. Linux saved many of my systems from a total write off. But music production on Linux never quite hit the mark either.

    Apple engineered for artists and creatives. A bit of a niche that keeps growing exponentially
    with everyone having a music and art studio in their pockets. And every kid making beats to
    rap over. It's really a great leveling. Talent will out.

  • @McD to be fair, things have evolved and since Windows 7, if you use audio interfaces with halfway decent drivers on a halfway modern i5/i7 or later, latency is not an issue anymore.
    It's just much more work to hack Windows into a usable OS, especially since Windows 10.

  • wimwim
    edited September 2020

    @rs2000 said:

    @LinearLineman said:
    @noob... do you mean I should not need an AI? What is core audio, please?

    CoreAudio is Apple's code in MacOS and iOS to handle audio input/output. It doesn't have the issues that native, non-ASIO Windows drivers usually have so you don't need the "ASIO4all hack".
    The audio quality of the Mac's headphone output is very good so if you don't need recording then I would say there's no point in getting an audio interface.
    You don't even need one to record sound from your Casio either because it has USB audio out that you can use as an audio input on the Mac too.

    Casio? I thought @LinearLineman was hooking up a Kawaii ES8, which is midi only out the USB port. Maybe we're talking about more than one keyboard here though.

  • I agree, @McD, although I needed help and am fortunate to have knowledgeable friends. But all the problems were solved. No latency, runs swell. Still, I am looking forward to the MBP.

  • @wim Oops, I must have mixed it up with another keyboard, it was the USB storage support in the ES8.

  • edited September 2020

    @rs2000, I do have a Casio PXS3000... then got the ES8.btw, check out the JoyceRoads thread.

  • An audio interface will drop your noise floor down a couple storeys and get rid of the small but noticeable distortion and colouring that you get from the headphone out. Not essential if you’re on a very tight budget but it would be my first purchase when money appears.

  • @Stiksi said:
    An audio interface will drop your noise floor down a couple storeys and get rid of the small but noticeable distortion and colouring that you get from the headphone out. Not essential if you’re on a very tight budget but it would be my first purchase when money appears.

    I agree with the benefit of a audio interface. I just wanted to say that I found out last night that CB3 as a setting to minimize audio processing from iOS, it applies since @LinearLineman is a CB3 user.

  • @ecou, I saw that. What exactly is that? When does one minimize the audio processing? When using an AI?

  • edited September 2020

    @LinearLineman said:
    @ecou, I saw that. What exactly is that? When does one minimize the audio processing? When using an AI?

    Going on what the CB3 doc says. iOS process the sound in certain ways. Most likely to make it more pleasing to the ears and louder. It does warn that the volume level will be lower with the Studio setting. We are talking on the headphone jack of the iPad.

    The studio quality setting in CB3 will disable many of those audio processing.

    It as been noted many time in this forum that the sound out of AI is better. For one better digital to analog audio converter than the output Jack of the ipad. And probably audio processing is not present.

    One thing I need to try, is the studio quality button available with a AI plugged in.

    This Setting did not exist in CB2. Here is the said text from CB3 doc.

    Studio Quality
    On iOS, enabling this mode minimizes all input and output signal processing that is normally applied by iOS. This can significantly reduce the output volume.

  • @ecou... so what is the advantage of engaging it?

  • edited September 2020

    @LinearLineman said:
    @ecou... so what is the advantage of engaging it?

    The advantage would be to hear (from the headphone jack) a sound closer to the pure sound produced from CB3 and not a version tainted by iOS.

    When you do a mixdown you get the untainted sound of CB3. If you were to move the file to another device that doed not color the sound on playback you would get different sound.

    In mixing that is the worst situation because you need to know that what you are hearing is accurate to make a proper eq decisions.

    Now we could get in the debate whether such a device that does not color the sound even exist and the influence of the room on what you hear. But we would need some whiskey for that. 😉

  • wimwim
    edited September 2020

    That setting applies only to built in input and output (device microphone and speakers). It has no affect on plugins.

  • @wim said:
    That setting applies only to built in input and output (device microphone and speakers). It has no affect on plugins.

    Agreed. Did I say that somewhere?

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