KVR :: Mobile Apps and Hardware » Good iPad audio sequencer. [View Original Topic]
There are 31 posts in this topic.
Dogboy73 - Fri May 04, 2012 3:33 am
A lot of the 'virtual studio' & sequencer Apps I've seen look geared more towards MIDI sequencing. I'd like something that I can use to put together audio as a simple way of putting down ideas & sounds together I've created with other Apps.
I've got loads of music Apps but iSequence is one of the only sequencer Apps I've bought. Great App but I can't really get on with it for this kind of thing. I just want to be able to throw down loop/audio recordings, do basic editing & the ability to slide stuff about freely on each track to sequence. Any recommendations?
DrApostropheX - Fri May 04, 2012 3:53 am
Check out Studio.HD by SoundTrends.
http://www.soundtrends.com/apps/studiohd-1/
It's a lot like the early versions of Sony's ACID software. It does a pretty good job time stretching loops to fit the song's tempo (though it isn't always 100% accurate), it's easy to slide loops and audio around, and the entire interface is contained on one screen (with no tabs, you can still zoom and slide around and stuff). Also, the effects are pretty creative (and up to four effects per track, too!) and sound decent. AND you don't need to pay extra to be able to use all 24-tracks (and each track can have multiple layers, too).
It's got a really clean interface and as long as you don't need a lot of audio editing tools beyond trimming and looping, you might really like it. It's a blast to play with and surprisingly well equipped.
If you need something with a bit more in terms of audio editing, then you'd probably start looking at MultitrackDAW (which is relatively inexpensive) or Meteor (which is not).
Dogboy73 - Fri May 04, 2012 5:02 am
Wow! A couple of those I'd never seen. They look just the ticket. Might have to give one of those a go. Cheers for the reply
DrApostropheX - Fri May 04, 2012 5:46 am
No problem! Studio.HD is definitely the most approachable, colorful, and has the most creative effects of the three. It does its best to determine the original BPM of the imported loops and stretch them to the project tempo, but sometimes I've found much better results by turning Sync mode (in the loop info panel) to "Off" and just using loops I've made in other apps that I know are at the correct project tempo.
MultitrackDAW is pretty essential, and a good value, it's just got that really fugly (some would call it "functional") interface. It does work well, it's just not all that inspirational.
Derek Buddemeyer - Fri May 04, 2012 6:07 am
NanoStudio is really cool too...as well as Music Studio...although Nanostudio let's you import your own samples whereas music studio does not. I'll look into studio HD....give an opinion later!
DrApostropheX - Fri May 04, 2012 6:36 am
I second the recommendation for NanoStudio. It's pretty much essential for anyone with an iPad for it's interface, effects, and routing. If you do a lot of music with loops, and need a lot of creative electronic-music type effects, too, that's where Studio.HD shines.
bronxsound - Fri May 11, 2012 1:26 am
not being ipad user but this one is seriously tempting:
http://auriaapp.com/Products/auria
Dogboy73 - Fri May 11, 2012 1:57 am
bronxsound wrote:
It does look very impressive that one. When will it be released?
bronxsound - Fri May 11, 2012 2:15 am
well i don't know as i don't have the hardware and not following the product. but it would be one of the main reasons to get ip3 for me. so far the best i've seen anyway...
Dogboy73 - Fri May 11, 2012 6:53 am
The end of the video states 1st quarter 2012 for release. They've obviously missed that so who knows when it will appear now. No mention of price either. I imagine it could be a costly App somehow. I'm intrigued to know how it runs VST plug-ins as well (video mentions this & shows the 'Vintage Warmer' plug-in running!!).
bronxsound - Fri May 11, 2012 7:11 am
I think the pricing was about $50 (but I might be seriously wrong). VSTs are actually special versions of VST format from what I recall. So it's not like you copy paste dll into IP and off you go. But nevertheless it seems to be an actual tool to work with. We'll see. Possibly it is worth dropping a line to the dev asking about release date if you are really interested.
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 8:54 am
bronxsound wrote:
well i don't know as i don't have the hardware and not following the product. but it would be one of the main reasons to get ip3 for me. so far the best i've seen anyway...
I was just invited to apply to be a beta tester, so my guess is that they are in the beta/pre-release stage of things. I won't be applying, because I've got too many other things going on right now, but I don't think it will be too long before it is ready to be released.
--Sean
bronxsound - Fri May 11, 2012 8:57 am
that sounds like a progress in our guestimating
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 8:59 am
Dogboy73 wrote:
The end of the video states 1st quarter 2012 for release. They've obviously missed that so who knows when it will appear now. No mention of price either. I imagine it could be a costly App somehow. I'm intrigued to know how it runs VST plug-ins as well (video mentions this & shows the 'Vintage Warmer' plug-in running!!).
From what I understand, the App will be $49, and the VST plugins will be provided as "in-store" add-ons. The VST stuff is a little different with iOS, because of how the apps are sandboxed. I'm not sure if other programs are able to use the VST apps that are provided from one app's in-store add-on (I've read some people say that it can work and others say it can't work, so it will be interesting to see who is right).
Supposedly, the in-store vst addons will cost between $10-$20.
--Sean
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 9:00 am
bronxsound wrote:
I think the pricing was about $50 (but I might be seriously wrong). VSTs are actually special versions of VST format from what I recall. So it's not like you copy paste dll into IP and off you go. But nevertheless it seems to be an actual tool to work with. We'll see. Possibly it is worth dropping a line to the dev asking about release date if you are really interested.
This sounds accurate to me.
--Sean
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 9:00 am
bronxsound wrote:
that sounds like a progress in our guestimating
--Sean
DrApostropheX - Fri May 11, 2012 12:02 pm
Before you get your hopes up TOO high, it might be a good idea to read this old post from Audio Damage's Chris Randall about why the iPad's hardware limitations may not let this app live up to the hype: http://www.analogindustries.com/blog/entry.php?blogid=1326833189677
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 1:26 pm
DrApostropheX wrote:
Before you get your hopes up TOO high, it might be a good idea to read this old post from Audio Damage's Chris Randall about why the iPad's hardware limitations may not let this app live up to the hype: http://www.analogindustries.com/blog/entry.php?blogid=1326833189677
Wow! Sobering commentary.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
--Sean
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 1:31 pm
By the way, does Meteor have any support forum or any place to communicate with the developer? I tried to find a forum but couldn't find one (except for a tiny unofficial forum with a few comments and nothing else. I tried emailing to the developer, but never got any response back.......
--Sean
polaris20 - Fri May 11, 2012 1:37 pm
audiojunkie wrote:
DrApostropheX wrote:
Before you get your hopes up TOO high, it might be a good idea to read this old post from Audio Damage's Chris Randall about why the iPad's hardware limitations may not let this app live up to the hype: http://www.analogindustries.com/blog/entry.php?blogid=1326833189677
Wow! Sobering commentary.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
--Sean
It's not that sobering. We already knew all of that already (that VST's would need to be ported, and reside as in-app purchases). That's the limitation of the iPad. it is what it is.
DrApostropheX - Fri May 11, 2012 2:29 pm
polaris20 wrote:
It's not that sobering. We already knew all of that already (that VST's would need to be ported, and reside as in-app purchases). That's the limitation of the iPad. it is what it is.
Yeah. I thought the point though that you can't really call them VSTs if they're not in the VST format was pretty interesting, too. But if you want a really sobering read, read the Meteor manual. Every other page has helpful tips with ways to reduce CPU cycles and a reminder of how limited the iPad processor really is. But it's good advice. It just seems to me that the Auria guys promised the proverbial moon with their NAMM reveal. It'll be interesting to see what they can deliver. Aside from the 3rd-party support, it seems to me like Meteor is already doing the PC-esque DAW thing about as well as it can be done.
But I would LOVE to be wrong!
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 2:57 pm
DrApostropheX wrote:
polaris20 wrote:
It's not that sobering. We already knew all of that already (that VST's would need to be ported, and reside as in-app purchases). That's the limitation of the iPad. it is what it is.
Yeah. I thought the point though that you can't really call them VSTs if they're not in the VST format was pretty interesting, too. But if you want a really sobering read, read the Meteor manual. Every other page has helpful tips with ways to reduce CPU cycles and a reminder of how limited the iPad processor really is. But it's good advice. It just seems to me that the Auria guys promised the proverbial moon with their NAMM reveal. It'll be interesting to see what they can deliver. Aside from the 3rd-party support, it seems to me like Meteor is already doing the PC-esque DAW thing about as well as it can be done.
But I would LOVE to be wrong!
So, stupid question:
With the built-in Midi sequencer and built-in synth, sampler, and drum machine, would I be able to sequence a few tracks in the midi-sequencer, then render the sequences to an audio track within Meteor to save resources?
--Sean
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 3:04 pm
polaris20 wrote:
audiojunkie wrote:
DrApostropheX wrote:
Before you get your hopes up TOO high, it might be a good idea to read this old post from Audio Damage's Chris Randall about why the iPad's hardware limitations may not let this app live up to the hype: http://www.analogindustries.com/blog/entry.php?blogid=1326833189677
Wow! Sobering commentary.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
--Sean
It's not that sobering. We already knew all of that already (that VST's would need to be ported, and reside as in-app purchases). That's the limitation of the iPad. it is what it is.
The sobering part was that someone actually came out and said that what Auria is promising can't be done, and then gave facts to back things up. That's why I'm saying it will be very interesting to see how Auria plans to back up its claims.
I can imagine getting by with 48 tracks by somehow rendering and playing only a stereo sub-mix of everything that is stored in the 48 tracks (entirely possible). But I don't see how they will be able to back up their claim of the capability of recording such a high simultaneous track count. I wonder to myself if they are building this system with future hardware in mind. It is entirely possible that next year a new iPad could come out with a quad-core or better processor (or in two years a processer that doubles even that processing power)... Follow what I'm saying? They could basically be saying that the system is ready for 48 track recording, and is only waiting for the hardware to catch up...
--Sean
kae - Fri May 11, 2012 3:57 pm
I'm excited about Auria and will probably buy it if its reasonable priced, but I wish there were more Groovebox apps like iElectribe. I'd like to just have fun with beats, synths & sample(r)s when I lay on the couch or sit on the bus. And then transfer the tracks to my Mac when I want to mix it. I want to play with iMC909, iRS7000, iElectribe EMX/ESX etc.
I think thats where the iPads of today are, in terms of HW specs and fun factor.
DrApostropheX - Fri May 11, 2012 5:15 pm
audiojunkie wrote:
So, stupid question:
With the built-in Midi sequencer and built-in synth, sampler, and drum machine, would I be able to sequence a few tracks in the midi-sequencer, then render the sequences to an audio track within Meteor to save resources?
--Sean
With the built-in Midi sequencer and built-in synth, sampler, and drum machine, would I be able to sequence a few tracks in the midi-sequencer, then render the sequences to an audio track within Meteor to save resources?
--Sean
It's actually not a stupid question: if you use the MIDI sequencer (this is within Meteor) with the built in virtual instruments, you can actually do the sequencing in a MIDI track, add insert effects to that tracks, and then freeze the track (which renders the virtual instrument and any effects) so free up resources. If you need to edit the MIDI track, you can unfreeze it, edit the MIDI and refreeze it. You can also bounce it down to an audio track, but since you only get 12 tracks total, it probably makes more sense to freeze it.
You can also freeze audio tracks that you've added insert effects to.
DrApostropheX - Fri May 11, 2012 5:17 pm
kae wrote:
I'm excited about Auria and will probably buy it if its reasonable priced, but I wish there were more Groovebox apps like iElectribe. I'd like to just have fun with beats, synths & sample(r)s when I lay on the couch or sit on the bus. And then transfer the tracks to my Mac when I want to mix it. I want to play with iMC909, iRS7000, iElectribe EMX/ESX etc.
I think thats where the iPads of today are, in terms of HW specs and fun factor.
I think thats where the iPads of today are, in terms of HW specs and fun factor.
Check out Rhythm Studio, which is on sale this weekend for $0.99. It's not completely full featured or anything, but it is a fun way to quickly build up some synthy-sounding tracks. Within the span of a bus ride (or potty visit) you can have a rockin' electro track which you can then AudioCopy (which is nice).
DrApostropheX - Fri May 11, 2012 5:19 pm
audiojunkie wrote:
... I wonder to myself if they are building this system with future hardware in mind. It is entirely possible that next year a new iPad could come out with a quad-core or better processor (or in two years a processer that doubles even that processing power)... Follow what I'm saying? They could basically be saying that the system is ready for 48 track recording, and is only waiting for the hardware to catch up...
I hadn't considered that, and it's very possible. It's pretty cheap to say "Oh yeah, our app can do that... just not on any hardware that currently exists."
So it will be interesting to see what happens if/when this is released.
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 8:04 pm
Agreed!
--Sean
bronxsound - Fri May 11, 2012 9:10 pm
^ I think you guys are right about the "catch". Nevertheless if Auria won't be able to record 48 tracks on IP3/IP2 but will play at least 24 with FXes offering descent editing options it is still an interesting piece of software. Anyway we will see soon i guess.
audiojunkie - Fri May 11, 2012 10:20 pm
bronxsound wrote:
^ I think you guys are right about the "catch". Nevertheless if Auria won't be able to record 48 tracks on IP3/IP2 but will play at least 24 with FXes offering descent editing options it is still an interesting piece of software. Anyway we will see soon i guess.
I agree. It will still be interesting.
Here's the strange thing..... I went back and read the press information about it, and they claimed that with an iPad 2 it would handle 48 tracks, but with an iPad 1, it can only handle 24 tracks. In this particular case, they are talking about existing hardware, but I just don't know how they are going to be able to pull this off. We're talking about convolution Reverbs, multiple tracks of audio, effects on every track, etc. I still wonder if they've found a way to do an on-the-fly bounce-down of available tracks. I know Reaper has found a way to do faster than real-time freezing and playing of tracks, so it's not impossible to fathom.
Let's just assume that they are talking about true 48 track mono / 24 track stereo with all of the effects and such that they are claiming to have. What conceivable way could they pull this off? My only thought would be that they somehow, before the tracks play, do a pre-render of all tracks, and instead of playing all of the tracks, they are playing a single stereo comp of the 48 tracks. This is possible with current technology. In fact, this was possible a decade ago with computer DAWs. So I won't say that what they are promising is impossible. I just don't see how they would be able to do any live automation of control parameters. Have they mentioned anywhere that they offer "Live or realtime" automation? If automation is all done using pre-rendered automation lanes, then everything that they claim is possible--but Meteor is already doing the things I'm mentioning, so........ I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
--Sean
polaris20 - Sat May 12, 2012 7:14 am
audiojunkie wrote:
polaris20 wrote:
audiojunkie wrote:
DrApostropheX wrote:
Before you get your hopes up TOO high, it might be a good idea to read this old post from Audio Damage's Chris Randall about why the iPad's hardware limitations may not let this app live up to the hype: http://www.analogindustries.com/blog/entry.php?blogid=1326833189677
Wow! Sobering commentary.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
--Sean
It's not that sobering. We already knew all of that already (that VST's would need to be ported, and reside as in-app purchases). That's the limitation of the iPad. it is what it is.
The sobering part was that someone actually came out and said that what Auria is promising can't be done, and then gave facts to back things up. That's why I'm saying it will be very interesting to see how Auria plans to back up its claims.
I can imagine getting by with 48 tracks by somehow rendering and playing only a stereo sub-mix of everything that is stored in the 48 tracks (entirely possible). But I don't see how they will be able to back up their claim of the capability of recording such a high simultaneous track count. I wonder to myself if they are building this system with future hardware in mind. It is entirely possible that next year a new iPad could come out with a quad-core or better processor (or in two years a processer that doubles even that processing power)... Follow what I'm saying? They could basically be saying that the system is ready for 48 track recording, and is only waiting for the hardware to catch up...
--Sean
Ah, yeah that's true. I was thinking strictly from the VST standpoint. But you're right; 48 tracks on an iPad? Tall order, not to mention the lack of hardware supporting the 24 simultaneous track thing. All good points.
There are 31 posts in this topic.