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
Just make sure each synth is on its own midi channel.
Example:
Synth one channel 3
Synth two channel 5
They can be any arbitrary channels as long as they are different
Also, one of the controllers needs to support midi thru, and it needs to be enabled. It isn't always enabled by default.
Some more detail about the devices you have, and the midi interface you're using to the iOS device would be helpful in providing more detailed answers.
Thanks guys, so it would go midi out from first controller to midi in of second and midi thru from second to interface?
Question, which piece of gear has what midi in out and thru?
In general if the piece of gear you have doesn’t have thru, don’t put it on the end.
Restricting what channels a synth “listens” to determines whether a note plays but not whether a note gets passed down the chain.
If your interface has two midi ports just plug one synth into each port.
And then once OP has the MIDI into the iPad, how to split the MIDI stream and direct it as desired will depend on the hosts used. AUM has convenient MIDI filters built-in but not all hosts do.
I think they both have all 3. I'm asking for a friend so I'm completely sure.
You will either need two separate MIDI interfaces or a MIDI merger, using the thru ports will usually not work because Thru doesn't include both streams.
Some hardware boxes have a MIDI Out port that can be configured to forward incoming MIDI messages as well, kind of an internal merge function.
But some MIDI interfaces can do this, like for example the M-Audio Midisport 2x2 anniversary edition:
Also, MIDI interfaces with two input ports should work.
I don't think in ipad is in this particular equation. Probably going into a Mac and Logic Pro.
What if it went thru on first device to input on second and then out of second into interface?
Like I wrote, if the second device can merge incoming MIDI messages with its own message stream and send both to its output port then yes. It's often called "soft merge", sometimes "soft thru".
Do the controllers support usb ?
If not does your friend have a midi interface ?
Neither have usb, he has a focusrite clarett I believe and it just has midi in and out of the 5 pin connections.
They both have thru but I'm not sure about soft merge. I'll have to look up manuals online. One of them is a Casio mz2000 and the other is some sort of ensoniq 76 weighted keys, not sure on the model yet. I know the Casio has a local midi switch.