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.

Beatmaker 3: What is your genius workflow for importing and managing samples and kits?

I am starting from the ground up with this app since I picked up an iPad with actual memory to handle what I am doing.

I think BM3 is great, but really wanted to start on the right foot with importing samples in an organized way. I have made mistakes with other apps (like importing every loop I had into an app like Sector and Samplr years ago, then realizing I should not have done that)

Every sample I have is in Audioshare (I have a massive library of samples), and I want to make BM3 my go-to for drums and such... Loops are fairly happy in other apps, but should I import my nice drum loops to cut apart too? How do YOU manage sample import efficiently? And in BM3, how do you organize them?

Huge thank you in advance in learning from your mistakes and successes...

Comments

  • Considering that all the files in BM3 can accessed using Files.app it would make sense to 'move' the files from AudioShare to BM3 to avoid duplicates...

    This is personal preference. I store most of my Samples in BM3 and export directly to a folder in BM3 from other apps that have support for the standard iOS Document Picker and do not provide a folder under Files.app (for Gadget I keep Gadget Exports in the Gadget folder as an example, and Cubasis 3 files stay in the Cubasis 3 folder).

    if BM3 ever gets an update with improved iOS Filing support (such as in-line browsing of 'On My iPad'(including USB and SMB sources which can be done!) I'd keep my samples in a 'My Samples' folder at the top level of 'On My iPad' and/or a Flash Drive...

    Once the files are in BM3 other apps that need access to the samples can easily access them and as long as they are 'On My iPad' only virtual copies will be made. while if the other apps need files from AudioShare real copies are made since AudioShare is a 'Document Provider' it keeps is own files as 'hostages' in it's own storage container...

    For me personally AudioShare is no longer an 'super essential' app on iOS as it once was.
    I keep it around to access recordings made with AUM...

    Hopefully iOS/iPadOS14 will bring some further File-Management improvements.
    On 22nd of June we'll know as WWDC'20 kicks-off.

    But hey, this is just me so take it with grain of salt or something :)

  • @Samu said:
    Considering that all the files in BM3 can accessed using Files.app it would make sense to 'move' the files from AudioShare to BM3 to avoid duplicates...

    This is personal preference. I store most of my Samples in BM3 and export directly to a folder in BM3 from other apps that have support for the standard iOS Document Picker and do not provide a folder under Files.app (for Gadget I keep Gadget Exports in the Gadget folder as an example, and Cubasis 3 files stay in the Cubasis 3 folder).

    if BM3 ever gets an update with improved iOS Filing support (such as in-line browsing of 'On My iPad'(including USB and SMB sources which can be done!) I'd keep my samples in a 'My Samples' folder at the top level of 'On My iPad' and/or a Flash Drive...

    Once the files are in BM3 other apps that need access to the samples can easily access them and as long as they are 'On My iPad' only virtual copies will be made. while if the other apps need files from AudioShare real copies are made since AudioShare is a 'Document Provider' it keeps is own files as 'hostages' in it's own storage container...

    For me personally AudioShare is no longer an 'super essential' app on iOS as it once was.
    I keep it around to access recordings made with AUM...

    Hopefully iOS/iPadOS14 will bring some further File-Management improvements.
    On 22nd of June we'll know as WWDC'20 kicks-off.

    But hey, this is just me so take it with grain of salt or something :)

    This filing strategy seems like it will allow me to save a huge amount of space. A clerical day today....

  • @Samu said:
    ... while if the other apps need files from AudioShare real copies are made since AudioShare is a 'Document Provider' it keeps is own files as 'hostages' in it's own storage container...

    You could be wrong about this, though.

    I think it was @mistercharlie who wrote this one: https://www.cultofmac.com/649268/duplicate-files-sizes-ios-file-providers/
    In which copying between file providers and copying on the same native volume gave the same end results. Also note the part about fast copying using file providers (indicating cloning without extra space used), and compare it with this section from https://eclecticlight.co/2020/04/14/copy-move-and-clone-files-in-apfs-a-primer/ (which is about Catalina):

    "Determining whether a file has been truly copied or cloned is extremely difficult using standard tools. Both the Finder and Terminal’s ls command claim that cloned files occupy the same amount of storage space as true copies. Often the only way to tell is how long the copy/duplicate process takes, and that only works for very large files"

  • I have organized my stuff in Audioshare, and I'm sticking to it unless this cloning business is proven to not work there:) Benefits of Audioshare storing: easy access in apps like Borderlands and Sector, plus the nice "add as fileplayer channel in AUM" that came with a recent update.

  • @bleep said:

    "Determining whether a file has been truly copied or cloned is extremely difficult using standard tools. Both the Finder and Terminal’s ls command claim that cloned files occupy the same amount of storage space as true copies. Often the only way to tell is how long the copy/duplicate process takes, and that only works for very large files"

    Yeah, iOS/IPadOS is bad at calculating the storage used by apps but I've noticed in a few cases that when I import ~1GB of files into BM3 from 'another' app under 'On My iPad' the storage used by BM3 doesn't 'grow' but when I dump the same 1GB of files from AudioShare to BM3 it 'Grows'...(I don't 'import' using the apps, I just 'copy/move' using the Files.app).

    So yeah iOS is a buggy but I try to avoid additional storage providers as long as I can to keep the benefits of APFS.
    (I do most sample editing 'in place' ie. open a file from BM3 in Auditor and save it back to BM3 and overwrite the original).

    I'm looking forward to iOS/iPadOS14, if not for else if it drops support for my iPad Air 2 I'll get an excuse to get a new iPad :)

    Who knows maybe AudioShare will get an update with in-line browsing of SMB-Shares, USB devices and device content as long as it's 'On My iDevice'.

  • @bleep said:
    I have organized my stuff in Audioshare, and I'm sticking to it unless this cloning business is proven to not work there:) Benefits of Audioshare storing: easy access in apps like Borderlands and Sector, plus the nice "add as fileplayer channel in AUM" that came with a recent update.

    Plus it's a cosy and comfy place and loyalty also etc :)

  • Should my files be organized into, say, 64 samples in a folder? Will the folder system be intact when importing? Or will it be a jumbled alphabetical mess like some apps (Patterning for example, which you have to import by kit or it just puts them all together in "User") ? Asking because I don't mind the duplicates for now, I just want them to be easily searchable. Like folder hierarchies, for example....

    Again, thanks in advance....

  • @FlightManual said:
    Should my files be organized into, say, 64 samples in a folder? Will the folder system be intact when importing? Or will it be a jumbled alphabetical mess like some apps (Patterning for example, which you have to import by kit or it just puts them all together in "User") ? Asking because I don't mind the duplicates for now, I just want them to be easily searchable. Like folder hierarchies, for example....

    Again, thanks in advance....

    If you drop the files & folders into BM3 using Files.app the folder structure will stay intact.
    For ZIP archives they will be extracted to a folder with the name of the zip-archive but again, the structure stays intact.

    Some apps have a flat file structure and that causes a mess most of the time, especially if it lacks any filter or search functions.

    Try with a few folders first and see how it works.

  • @Samu said:

    @FlightManual said:
    Should my files be organized into, say, 64 samples in a folder? Will the folder system be intact when importing? Or will it be a jumbled alphabetical mess like some apps (Patterning for example, which you have to import by kit or it just puts them all together in "User") ? Asking because I don't mind the duplicates for now, I just want them to be easily searchable. Like folder hierarchies, for example....

    Again, thanks in advance....

    If you drop the files & folders into BM3 using Files.app the folder structure will stay intact.
    For ZIP archives they will be extracted to a folder with the name of the zip-archive but again, the structure stays intact.

    Some apps have a flat file structure and that causes a mess most of the time, especially if it lacks any filter or search functions.

    Try with a few folders first and see how it works.

    Thank you.

  • @FlightManual Here's a couple of great videos from @winconway on good housekeeping in BM3. They were before the last update but still relevant.


  • @Samu said:
    Considering that all the files in BM3 can accessed using Files.app it would make sense to 'move' the files from AudioShare to BM3 to avoid duplicates...

    This is personal preference. I store most of my Samples in BM3 and export directly to a folder in BM3 from other apps that have support for the standard iOS Document Picker and do not provide a folder under Files.app (for Gadget I keep Gadget Exports in the Gadget folder as an example, and Cubasis 3 files stay in the Cubasis 3 folder).

    New to BM3 and glad I found this thread. I have folders of loops and samples on iCloud Drive. Can I copy those folders directly into BM3? Would I move them to BM3’s “Import” folder or somewhere else? Thanks...

  • @Schmotown said:

    New to BM3 and glad I found this thread. I have folders of loops and samples on iCloud Drive. Can I copy those folders directly into BM3? Would I move them to BM3’s “Import” folder or somewhere else? Thanks...

    You can actually put them in any of the BeatMaker 3 folders you can see in Files.app.
    I'd create sub-folders in the BM3/Samples folder to keep things somewhat organized.

    I keep all my stuff organized in the 'Samples' folder in a bunch of sub-folders.

    Often it takes a bit of time to find a good procedure but since it's very easy to move stuff around it shouldn't take too long.

  • edited April 2021

    @Schmotown said:

    @Samu said:
    Considering that all the files in BM3 can accessed using Files.app it would make sense to 'move' the files from AudioShare to BM3 to avoid duplicates...

    This is personal preference. I store most of my Samples in BM3 and export directly to a folder in BM3 from other apps that have support for the standard iOS Document Picker and do not provide a folder under Files.app (for Gadget I keep Gadget Exports in the Gadget folder as an example, and Cubasis 3 files stay in the Cubasis 3 folder).

    New to BM3 and glad I found this thread. I have folders of loops and samples on iCloud Drive. Can I copy those folders directly into BM3? Would I move them to BM3’s “Import” folder or somewhere else? Thanks...

    Inside the Files app, you can select files inside the iCloud folder and move into BM3 (in the section called “On My iPad”. I usually drop them into the “Samples” file.

  • @Littlewoodg said:

    @Schmotown said:
    New to BM3 and glad I found this thread. I have folders of loops and samples on iCloud Drive. Can I copy those folders directly into BM3? Would I move them to BM3’s “Import” folder or somewhere else? Thanks...

    Inside the Files app, you can select files inside the iCloud folder and move into BM3 (in the section called “On My iPad”. I usually drop them into the “Samples” file.

    Thanks @Littlewoodg. Can I maintain the folder structure within the Samples folder?

  • @Schmotown said:
    Can I maintain the folder structure within the Samples folder?

    Yepp! That is possible, if the ZIP file you extract in BM3 has sub-folders they will be maintaned.
    (Likewise if you copy a folder-structure from iCloud Drive it will carry over as well).

  • @Samu said:

    @Schmotown said:
    Can I maintain the folder structure within the Samples folder?

    Yepp! That is possible, if the ZIP file you extract in BM3 has sub-folders they will be maintaned.
    (Likewise if you copy a folder-structure from iCloud Drive it will carry over as well).

    Perfect! So far, I’m thoroughly impressed by Beatmaker.

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