'Importing' Audio files into iPad apps - Any way to avoid this??

[mostlyjustj]

So I'm just getting into making music on the iPad and the most striking difference I'm finding between DAWS and music programs in the PC world vs. the iPad world is that with apps on the iPad I'm finding it impossible to use any of the audio files on the iPad's file system without individually 'importing' it into that app first.

I have a bunch of loop and sample libraries, pre-fab and recorded myself, and since the first days of using Sonic Foundry ACID (back in the **90's**) one of my song building go-to's is about auditioning loops over top of a song section as it plays in my DAW and when I find something interesting, I throw the audio onto a new audio track and start editing and messing around.

I just bought an iPad with 256GB so it would have room for a number of my favourite loop/sample libraries, and have used the Audioshare app to import them into the iPad browser - but before I can audition *anything* using Beatmaker or Cubasis or Blocs Wave, etc. it seems i have to 'import' each individual file into that app's proprietary file system first.

Am I missing something?

Or is there *any* existing app I could use that can just see and use audio files directly from the iPad's file system?

This is problem is mind boggling to me and solving it would be a total game changer.... any help would be appreciated!! Thanks!

[mindnoise]

Apple iOS File system IS shit, there is no way to put it nice.

Only thing you might be missing is Folders-App that is part of iOS and AudioShare and AudioCopy apps that.

AudioShare is effectively a must for interchanging files between apps.
https://itunes.apple.com/app/audioshare ... 59300?mt=8

Your other best bet is to use iCloud. Strangely enough if you put the files on iCould they are no longer locked inside an apps specific files system which is totally stupid to first put stuff from your iPad in into the cloud to import it back to the same device. Apple really pushes you towards the cloud and the 1$/mo 50GB subscription.

Yes, system wide filesystem would be a total game changer.

[Multicellular]

So I'm just getting into making music on the iPad and the most striking difference I'm finding between DAWS and music programs in the PC world vs. the iPad world is that with apps on the iPad I'm finding it impossible to use any of the audio files on the iPad's file system without individually 'importing' it into that app first.

I have a bunch of loop and sample libraries, pre-fab and recorded myself, and since the first days of using Sonic Foundry ACID (back in the **90's**) one of my song building go-to's is about auditioning loops over top of a song section as it plays in my DAW and when I find something interesting, I throw the audio onto a new audio track and start editing and messing around.

I just bought an iPad with 256GB so it would have room for a number of my favourite loop/sample libraries, and have used the Audioshare app to import them into the iPad browser - but before I can audition *anything* using Beatmaker or Cubasis or Blocs Wave, etc. it seems i have to 'import' each individual file into that app's proprietary file system first.

Am I missing something?

Or is there *any* existing app I could use that can just see and use audio files directly from the iPad's file system?

This is problem is mind boggling to me and solving it would be a total game changer.... any help would be appreciated!! Thanks!

No it mostly sucks.

If you were to rename your samples before import, apparently Virsyn Audiolayer will auto assign samples using their naming convention
see http://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comme ... ent_529743

Another alternative, if you use old Soundfont or DLS formats, BS-16i can play those. http://www.bismark.jp/bs-16i

If you don't already have those formats, there are desktop apps to make them, but then you are getting almost as labor intensive as the iPad.

[bungle]

Audioshare is completely pointless since IOS 11 for audio file sharing, use the files app.
It takes a slightly different workflow to what you are currently used to from the desktop, but it is a mobile device and you have to live with that to have such power in your hand.

1 Put all your audio files in the sub foldered structure straight in to Beatmaker 3s file structure, now you can just open its browser and they are all there.
2 If you now want to use them in Cubasis, go to the files app and select the folder containing all your files and long press it and use the move command to move them to Cubasis file structure and they will all be available in Cubasis.
3 If you want to do this with blocswave, contact Novation (Or whatever name they are using this week) and tell them that you need a real browser and IOS 11 files support, not just a marketplace for buying their content, great app seriously let down by the IAP content mentality (Users are obviously just as much to blame for that)

Yes it is a bit of a PITA to have to do the move thing, but like i said, deal with it for so much power in your hands.

DO NOT DO THIS WITH AUDIOSHARE.
the developer of audioshare isn't happy about IOS 11 files eating his market for Audioshare and has decided that he would bust everybodies balls who wants to use the vastly superior file system in IOS 11 (Shame because he was my favourite developer previous to this) and refuses to support the move command, so when you try to move in or out of the Audioshare folder it makes copies (Hows that for being a sticky muppet of a developer) contact him about it, he makes some vague excuse about move not working in files app (Utter nonsense as shown above) and then ignores any further correspondence.

[mostlyjustj]

Audioshare is completely pointless since IOS 11 for audio file sharing, use the files app.
It takes a slightly different workflow to what you are currently used to from the desktop, but it is a mobile device and you have to live with that to have such power in your hand.

1 Put all your audio files in the sub foldered structure straight in to Beatmaker 3s file structure, now you can just open its browser and they are all there.
2 If you now want to use them in Cubasis, go to the files app and select the folder containing all your files and long press it and use the move command to move them to Cubasis file structure and they will all be available in Cubasis.
3 If you want to do this with blocswave, contact Novation (Or whatever name they are using this week) and tell them that you need a real browser and IOS 11 files support, not just a marketplace for buying their content, great app seriously let down by the IAP content mentality (Users are obviously just as much to blame for that)

Yes it is a bit of a PITA to have to do the move thing, but like i said, deal with it for so much power in your hands.

DO NOT DO THIS WITH AUDIOSHARE.
the developer of audioshare isn't happy about IOS 11 files eating his market for Audioshare and has decided that he would bust everybodies balls who wants to use the vastly superior file system in IOS 11 (Shame because he was my favourite developer previous to this) and refuses to support the move command, so when you try to move in or out of the Audioshare folder it makes copies (Hows that for being a sticky muppet of a developer) contact him about it, he makes some vague excuse about move not working in files app (Utter nonsense as shown above) and then ignores any further correspondence.

Wow, thank you! I *finally* understand the lay of the land, and yes I agree it's totally worth the effort to have both cubasis and beatmaker working off the file system - it's not that hard a move, it eliminates wasted space, and makes it worth it to transfer a real loop library onto my iPad finally.

I'm thinking that since both of these daws just use a regular, accessable folder that with the new iOS browser that both those DAWs *must* be capable of letting us choose other folders to look at from inside the app in a future incremental upgrade. Haha... just the name 'Imports' for the BM3 folder shows the weird/isolated app mentality of the iOS world - nice to be jumping in just as this seems to be changing.

I can see how the blocswave ppl's business model might benefit from steering users away from using their own files... disappointing but at least I've found that being able to importing zip files makes it at least usable - but I'm not ready to duplicate my whole loop library just yet haha.

[geissls7]

almost two years ago ... do I understand it right: MOVING folders (including soundfiles) from app-file-structure to app-file-structure makes them available for all these applications (!?!)