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.

Auv3 for recording audio other than 4pockets multitrack?

Are there any alternatives to 4pockets multitrack? Even if they are single channel~ hoping to find something more stable as multitrack seems to crash in AUM quite often

Comments

  • edited October 2020

    Auditor - records and mild looping triggering.
    AUM - itself has sample playback
    Enso - looper recorder
    sEGments - sample trigger and playback

    4 pockets has several apps like the drum sequencer, DigiStix, that can trigger app sample playback at specified timing.

    For instance: set up prerecorded audio in sEGments and have in the drum sequencer trigger on its timeline the start of playback. Rise repeat with several instances of recorded bits sequenced by DigiStix.

  • @annahahn said:
    Are there any alternatives to 4pockets multitrack? Even if they are single channel~ hoping to find something more stable as multitrack seems to crash in AUM quite often

    What are you trying to accomplish? Do you need realtime recording followed by playback -- or is it to playback pre-recorded bits?

  • wimwim
    edited October 2020

    Hi @annahahn. For just recording ... no AU is even needed in AUM. What is the rest of the requirement prompting you to ask this?

  • edited October 2020

    @espiegel123 @wim I love the AUM recording function, you’ve seen my posts for the last year talking about trying to make Zenbeats and Cubasis work well for my purposes but I’ve realized the instability and unpredictability of these are a huge time suck compared to AUM, the last few days I’ve been working on a project in Cubasis that is constantly peaking the cpu to 100% but in a very buggy way, it starts at 40% and then after running for 8 minutes in a completely linear way (no growth, no additional load, no new parts, just a static set of plugs + rozeta collider instances) the project jumps to 70,80, and quickly 100+ cpu consumption resulting in tons of crackling~ the exact same project created in AUM consistently hovers around 30% cpu usage with no crackling at the exact same buffer size

    I’ve just decided that the amount of time I’ve spent trying to wrangle instability in Cubasis and Zenbeats would be better spent trying to make the Xequence + AUM modular daw setup work for me, both pieces of software seem to be extremely stable and reliable although I was initially put off on this believing that I needed the seamless integration + automation afforded by a DAW, now I am thinking for the nature of my projects I am better off working with Xequence + AUM and finding some sort of reliable solution for laying out a couple of audio tracks on a timeline within AUM (I would like to avoid becoming dependent on an IAA solution in case this becomes less reliable as the standard depreciates)

    So basically I am just hoping to find some way of hosting audio on a timeline within AUM, even if this means having multiple instances of the plug and I can’t see tracks in relationship to each other, would just be helpful to be able to set them to trigger on a specific beat count ie the 52nd or 27th beat etc~ if there is a cleaner way to do this than relying on a timeline then I’d love to know

    I would like to be able to record vocal tracks, but also place loops

    What are other methods people like to use for this? Using midi notes in Xequence to trigger loop playback in AUM? Would love any advice about the most elegant/efficient/clean approaches to this, I’m weary of developing a DAWless workflow that is overly complicated

  • Hi @annahahn i totally get what you’re trying to accomplish, been there and sort of still am. Just the other day I was posting about Zenbeats (or BM3) not being able to trigger external hardware or apps via midi plugins. Just an example of things that don’t work right...except in AUM. Everything seems to work in AUM.
    Way I see it... modular daw of sorts in AUM (or Audiobus if you prefer). Your favorite piano roll editors, sequencers, audio recorder, sync them up via a “master” sequencer (xquence or LK sequencer).
    Now the bad news... I’ve failed. You can sort of get it going. Use Multitrack or L7 or whatever, have audio. Midi, some sequencers...the thing is as you start adding up you start getting problems. It’s no more the robust AUM but all the nuances, incompatibilities that you hate in DAWs but even worse. Multitrack somehow starts complaining about audio bitrates and goes out of sync... DigiStix which is otherwise great can’t switch patterns via midi, so on, so on.
    Sticking to your question about audio in AUM... Multitrack seems like the most feature rich, but I wouldn’t rely on it for a painless everyday workflow, also I don’t think it provides midi control. I assume you need to midi control which audio file is playing...
    I believe L7 looper, which has multiple audio files , that’s good, has midi control. But L7 I’ve found to be very unreliable, crashes often.
    As I’m writing this I’m thinking of a possibility I’ve yet to explore... Drambo. It’s super easy to record audio onto the sampler and it’s got a great sequencer. I trust Drambo to not be fiddly or crash. Haven’t had it for long but it feels super profesional, serious and reliable.
    I might give it a try tomorrow!.

  • @annahahn I feel you. What I have done is the Xequence + AUM and I use EG pulse to place all my samples in and use Xequence to trigger them.

  • @annahahn said:
    So basically I am just hoping to find some way of hosting audio on a timeline within AUM...

    Ahh, OK, what I figured, but didn't want to assume since the thread title didn't indicate anything other than recording.

    Unfortunately, MultiTrack Recorder is the only thing I can think of that's very good for timeline based work. You can toggle playback of midi file players in AUM via midi, so you could trigger them from Xequence 2, I suppose.

  • If your audio uses loops, I’d say go with Loopy...not an AU but rock solid and can handle many audio tracks glitch free and all its important controls are available via the Audiobus palette from AUM without needing to switch. But it isn’t a linear audio sequencer. The loops however can be many minutes long. It is one of the most stable and reliable apps there is.

  • @wim said:

    @annahahn said:
    So basically I am just hoping to find some way of hosting audio on a timeline within AUM...

    Ahh, OK, what I figured, but didn't want to assume since the thread title didn't indicate anything other than recording.

    Unfortunately, MultiTrack Recorder is the only thing I can think of that's very good for timeline based work. You can toggle playback of midi file players in AUM via midi, so you could trigger them from Xequence 2, I suppose.

    But MultiTrack Recorder can’t be controlled via midi, right?. To me that seems crucial. Be able to play one sound file or another, mute, etc... If I understand correctly the goal would be to achieve something like Ableton or Zenbeats clip launcher where you could trigger different parts to live-arrange a song, or rather do it from a “master” sequencer like Xequence. Looking at the parameters exposed in AUM, MuktiTrack has mix and stuff like that, which is not useful in that scenario. L7 has “solo” and mute per track which could get you somewhere with some planing.
    Seems to me like 4pockets apps are not making the best use of midi control. You can’t solo a track in MultiTrack, you can’t switch patterns in DigiStix, yet you can remote control the “Reverb Bandwidth”... I think they’re missing the mark.
    Maybe I’m not seeing how it’d work.

  • @annahahn said:

    What are other methods people like to use for this? Using midi notes in Xequence to trigger loop playback in AUM? Would love any advice about the most elegant/efficient/clean approaches to this, I’m weary of developing a DAWless workflow that is overly complicated

    If you're loops aren't too long I would look at using Drambo for playback.

    I get a lot of mileage out of using it with AUM & Enso.

    IIRC Drambo is about to get more Ableton like with clips etc. too?

  • @tahiche said:

    @wim said:

    @annahahn said:
    So basically I am just hoping to find some way of hosting audio on a timeline within AUM...

    Ahh, OK, what I figured, but didn't want to assume since the thread title didn't indicate anything other than recording.

    Unfortunately, MultiTrack Recorder is the only thing I can think of that's very good for timeline based work. You can toggle playback of midi file players in AUM via midi, so you could trigger them from Xequence 2, I suppose.

    But MultiTrack Recorder can’t be controlled via midi, right?. To me that seems crucial. Be able to play one sound file or another, mute, etc... If I understand correctly the goal would be to achieve something like Ableton or Zenbeats clip launcher where you could trigger different parts to live-arrange a song, or rather do it from a “master” sequencer like Xequence. Looking at the parameters exposed in AUM, MuktiTrack has mix and stuff like that, which is not useful in that scenario. L7 has “solo” and mute per track which could get you somewhere with some planing.
    Seems to me like 4pockets apps are not making the best use of midi control. You can’t solo a track in MultiTrack, you can’t switch patterns in DigiStix, yet you can remote control the “Reverb Bandwidth”... I think they’re missing the mark.
    Maybe I’m not seeing how it’d work.

    We're jumbling up a couple of different discussions here. @annahahn asked if there was something that could arrange and play audio along a timeline. MultiTrack can do that. No need to trigger clips via midi because they can be arranged along a timeline. But, she has stability problems with MTR and is looking for an alternative.

    She mentioned Xequence 2. I suggested that AUM file players could be triggered by midi from Xequence 2. @espiegel123 mentioned that Loopy could do the same. With X2, you could place patterns with triggers for audio clips when you need them with either of those approaches.

    @annahahn didn't mention needing something like a Zenbeats clip launcher. But, AUM file player and Loopy, could be used for that since both can be triggered by midi.

    LK, with clips triggering file players or loopy could be used to mickey-mouse together a Zenbeats like clip launching setup, I suppose.

    In my experience, cobbling together a DAWless experience is no less troublesome and no more reliable than just using a DAW. ymmv.

  • @BroCoast said:

    @annahahn said:

    What are other methods people like to use for this? Using midi notes in Xequence to trigger loop playback in AUM? Would love any advice about the most elegant/efficient/clean approaches to this, I’m weary of developing a DAWless workflow that is overly complicated

    If you're loops aren't too long I would look at using Drambo for playback.

    I get a lot of mileage out of using it with AUM & Enso.

    IIRC Drambo is about to get more Ableton like with clips etc. too?

    Would you mind explaining how you do it?. What works for you?.

  • In my experience, cobbling together a DAWless experience is no less troublesome and no more reliable than just using a DAW. ymmv.

    This. The advantage of DAWless for me is if I am using hardware. But if we're talking AUM vs Cubasis or something, trying to accomplish the same end result is just as troublesome both ways.

  • @tahiche said:

    @BroCoast said:

    @annahahn said:

    What are other methods people like to use for this? Using midi notes in Xequence to trigger loop playback in AUM? Would love any advice about the most elegant/efficient/clean approaches to this, I’m weary of developing a DAWless workflow that is overly complicated

    If you're loops aren't too long I would look at using Drambo for playback.

    I get a lot of mileage out of using it with AUM & Enso.

    IIRC Drambo is about to get more Ableton like with clips etc. too?

    Would you mind explaining how you do it?. What works for you?.

    I have Drambo triggering Flexi-Sampler 1 shots with usually 64 step scenes. Enso for capturing loops to load into Flexi Sampler or AUM file player.

    I'm pretty novice at Drambo but this works nicely. It's kind of like the dumbed down but also unrestricted DAW I always wanted.

  • @BroCoast said:
    I have Drambo triggering Flexi-Sampler 1 shots with usually 64 step scenes. Enso for capturing loops to load into Flexi Sampler or AUM file player.

    Flexi is pretty good at capturing loops on its own too.

  • edited October 2020

    @wim said:

    @BroCoast said:
    I have Drambo triggering Flexi-Sampler 1 shots with usually 64 step scenes. Enso for capturing loops to load into Flexi Sampler or AUM file player.

    Flexi is pretty good at capturing loops on its own too.

    👍

    Yep, I'm just using Enso because of overdub/loop degradation.

  • I did a lot of experimenting with using AUM as a DAW. The main drawbacks for me were the lack of a fully functional transport bar, the inability to export a mix down other than in real time..... also, I use digikeys for midi because I need an app that can midi a full song structure but not having a piano roll sucks and multitrack is occasionally buggy. However, I still do it quite a lot as it’s no more painful than using any of the iOS DaWs.

  • edited October 2020

    @onerez said:
    @annahahn I feel you. What I have done is the Xequence + AUM and I use EG pulse to place all my samples in and use Xequence to trigger them.

    This seems like a genius approach, I just got EG pulse and am trying to set it up but am encountering a frustrating issue with setting up loops, I have a 125 bpm sample that it is reading as 124, this causes this awkward pause at the end that throws off the groove~ have you encountered anything like this? Are you aware of any workarounds/fixes? I can’t seem to find a way to manually set the input loop bpm

    EDIT: seems like the sync is working well when the loops are triggered from Xequence targeting EG Pulse, I don’t understand why, but when triggered from within the internal EG pulse sequencer it seems to create the awkward pause I described above

  • @sippy_cup said:

    In my experience, cobbling together a DAWless experience is no less troublesome and no more reliable than just using a DAW. ymmv.

    This. The advantage of DAWless for me is if I am using hardware. But if we're talking AUM vs Cubasis or something, trying to accomplish the same end result is just as troublesome both ways.

    I agree. As I said, AUM is rock solid, but as you start adding plugins and stuff to make it behave like a daw, you encounter all kinds of problems.
    Generally speaking I’d say you are ok if your project is mostly midi based, be it apps or external hardware. And if audio is just a few loops that are not “vital” to the project. If audio is important, like having verse parts, and chorus , if you’re singing and so on, I’d stick with a daw. It’s just too cumbersome and IMO it kills creativity when you have to record in one place, then export to another app and setup some midi control to trigger, etc.
    For example, in audio “heavy” projects using MultiTrack in AUM vs a DAW... you have to arrange the song structure in MultiTrack. Say lay down an intro, verse x2, chorus, verse x 2, and so on. You’d have to replicate that in Xequence or LK or whatever sequencer with song mode you use. Meaning it’s de-centralized. I find little advantage in that vs a DAW.

  • @annahahn said:

    @onerez said:
    @annahahn I feel you. What I have done is the Xequence + AUM and I use EG pulse to place all my samples in and use Xequence to trigger them.

    This seems like a genius approach, I just got EG pulse and am trying to set it up but am encountering a frustrating issue with setting up loops, I have a 125 bpm sample that it is reading as 124, this causes this awkward pause at the end that throws off the groove~ have you encountered anything like this? Are you aware of any workarounds/fixes? I can’t seem to find a way to manually set the input loop bpm

    EDIT: seems like the sync is working well when the loops are triggered from Xequence targeting EG Pulse, I don’t understand why, but when triggered from within the internal EG pulse sequencer it seems to create the awkward pause I described above

    @annahahn I have always used Xequence to trigger them. So sorry I am not used to that. Good Luck!!!!!!!

  • @tahiche said:
    For example, in audio “heavy” projects using MultiTrack in AUM vs a DAW... you have to arrange the song structure in MultiTrack. Say lay down an intro, verse x2, chorus, verse x 2, and so on. You’d have to replicate that in Xequence or LK or whatever sequencer with song mode you use. Meaning it’s de-centralized. I find little advantage in that vs a DAW.

    This is very true. It's also made worse by the fact that AUM, though it has a timeline, doesn't follow Song Position Pointer. So, to play anything back for anywhere other than the beginning, you have to set the playback head manually in MTR to match X2. Its really not worth it.

    So far, I really like the idea of triggering EG Pulse. Used with one-shots and loops, this seems like an approach I want to give a shot, more for interest sake than anything else. I'm currently fine with Zenbeats for the simple stuff that I do.

  • @wim said:

    @tahiche said:
    For example, in audio “heavy” projects using MultiTrack in AUM vs a DAW... you have to arrange the song structure in MultiTrack. Say lay down an intro, verse x2, chorus, verse x 2, and so on. You’d have to replicate that in Xequence or LK or whatever sequencer with song mode you use. Meaning it’s de-centralized. I find little advantage in that vs a DAW.

    This is very true. It's also made worse by the fact that AUM, though it has a timeline, doesn't follow Song Position Pointer. So, to play anything back for anywhere other than the beginning, you have to set the playback head manually in MTR to match X2. Its really not worth it.

    So far, I really like the idea of triggering EG Pulse. Used with one-shots and loops, this seems like an approach I want to give a shot, more for interest sake than anything else. I'm currently fine with Zenbeats for the simple stuff that I do.

    I’m glad you got to the same solution I’ve found.
    I tried with MTR and encountered instability and out of sync.
    EG pulse did stay in sync and I could use itS multi outs.

    I kept on asking Ampify to have multi outs. Maybe they need to hear it over and over again. That would solve a lot of problems.

  • edited October 2020

    Although I have no answer to the timeline request, recording audio tracks with Virsyn AudioLayer has one important advantage: These audio "clips" won't eventually eat up a lot of working memory which can be one reason for instabilities.
    If you work with many and/or longer audio tracks, this can make quite a difference because as far as I know, most other plugins will not stream from disk and rather load the whole audio file into memory.

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