I have no real computer access although I do have an A4 mk1 , OT mk1, and a TR-6s
and am trying to figure out which iPhone app will best serve me . It seems non are total package type DAWs so thus far AUM looks cool but I’m really new to using the iPhone for music apps.
Any suggestions?
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How are you planning to sequence your songs? Via the iPad or via one of your bits of gear?
What sound card do you have also?
@ZDS brings up a good point, you’re going to want some kind of interface for all that gear. Depending on how you wanna sequence things it will change what you use too.
On the iPhone, AUM is a bit of a hassle. It doesn’t have a timeline, it does record audio (very nicely to AudioShare). Using various other apps with it (on the phone) is a bit of a UI nightmare. If you’re only looking to record stems from your gear, and depending on your audio interface, this might be totally viable. If you’re looking to sequence that gear from the phone, this is not a great solution since there’s no time line and you’d need third party apps for pumping midi out to the boxes you’ve got (which some people dig! I find it not the most appealing workflow).
As far as DAW type apps that work well on the phone I can only really recommend Cubasis 3 and Nanostudio 2. NS2 doesn’t have audio tracks unfortunately, so if you’re sequencing the gear only that’s a pretty darn good app. If you’re looking to record the audio from the Elektron boxes then C3 is the way to go (supposing you need an app with a proper timeline, maybe the ability to host other apps etc).
I’d check into Jakob Haq’s videos, maybe Gaz Williams. They’ll give you an idea of what the apps can do and maybe give you an idea of which would fit your workflow. There’s a treasure trove of info over at the AudioBus forum as well. Good luck! I think iOS in general is an excellent complement to hardware. I find myself mostly sampling the hardware and sequencing in iOS, but there’s definitely no hard and fast rule…
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It really depends which clock u want to use:
- one external gear just jamming: aum
- sync different gears: Audiobus with aum
- real recording: Cubasis with that as clock
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AUM is good for jams, but not always great for writing out and recording full songs in one go. I use it for pretty much everything I do on the iPad, but it all ends up going into FLStudio on my computer, or Beatmaker 3 on my iPad if I NEED to arrange and mix on the tablet (though BM3 always has stability issues for me). It can send clock, but not receive it, but there are apps that you can use and link via Ableton Link (you don’t need Ableton to use this) that will let your hardware control the BPM of AUM. If you sequence and arrange everything on your hardware, and only want to record stereo tracks or multitracks, AUM, for me, is my choice. It’s simple enough to use upfront, but can be super complex and deep if you dive into it more.
If you are looking for a more linear DAW, look into Auria Pro or Cubasis 3. NanoStudio 2 is great, but there’s no audio recording or timeline (though there’s been rumor of it for years). I’ve only used NS2, but I’ve heard good things about the others.
You’re also going to need a camera connection kit and audio interface if you want to be able to record all that gear at once. I don’t believe the A4 is class compliant like the DN/DT for use with the iPad.
In the end, there is no end-all-be-all of DAWs on iOS, they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. I’d suggest reading about them, maybe read the manuals, and watch a ton of videos. Also visit the Audiobus forums - Audiobus Forum
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Unfortunately bm3 isn’t running on iPhone.
Don’t know about ns2.
…aum, cubasis, garageband…and that’s about it, i’m afraid…
aum is great for everything to catch on the fly…but final arrangement tweaks won’t do here…
and u will always need some class compliant audio interface with many inputs to catch all that swedish gear…
u might consider a fieldrecorder, some zoom thing, to catch ur ot main outs and remain proper mixing upfront…
Thinking on it, I reckon you would be best sequencing from one of your bits of gear (I am not familiar enough with them to suggest which) and recording the master out to your phone.
Roland’s Zenbeats (nee Stagelight) is also an option. Although it’s "same interface on all platforms” design leads to a few “least common denominator” decisions on the iPhone, on the plus side you probably already have a license (or can get one for free by registering that TR-6s to a Roland Cloud account).
AUM is king, though I stopped using it because I didn’t want the added complexity. But its not really a DAW, more just a AUv3 router-host.
I’d recommend standalone Drambo as a groovebox-y DAW & AUv3 host, but for that its missing a few features you’d maybe want (clock input/output, more than 1 stereo audio input, verbose song mode). Right now you have to accept the limitations to work with it, but its great to work with.
Good info, thanks. I guess I’d really like to use the iPhone to add some of iPhones really crazy looking and experimental FX processors. I was previously constantly trying to joblessly save up for guitar FX pedals till I discovered apps.
So on that note I guess the ability to record since I don’t have computer record and post lewd recordings onto like zip drive or something.
What would you suggest as the most affordable usb audio/midi thing to facilitate this?
I bought this but not sure if I still need a camera kit though
Drambo is excellent if you like elektron style sequencing and it’s modular design mean it can be really deep
Zenbeats is very easy to use and I enjoy it over cubasis, ns2 and others
It seems like the app scene is a bit more ‘modular’ in thinking anyway.
Perhaps keeping things cheap and small design each thing to be missing other options which you pay for but they tend to work well across the platform with other brands so I was thinking if I had AUM or Drambo or ApeMatrix etc I would just fill in the gaps w other apps?
And what about Garageband[quote=“quartzite, post:11, topic:145299, full:true”]
AUM is king, though I stopped using it because I didn’t want the added complexity. But its not really a DAW, more just a AUv3 router-host.
I’d recommend standalone Drambo as a groovebox-y DAW & AUv3 host, but for that its missing a few features you’d maybe want (clock input/output, more than 1 stereo audio input, verbose song mode). Right now you have to accept the limitations to work with it, but its great to work with.
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AUM is brilliant for jamming with a bunch of apps but is not a DAW. Think of it as a digital mixer and recorder. You can mix hardware and iOS apps on it and add effects and sequencers etc. You will need an interface with lots of inputs to use all of your hardware and ensure the interface has direct monitoring or you will notice latency between apps and hardware. The Roland rubix is iOS compatible and the most expensive one has 4 inputs.
Cubasis 3 is probably the closest you’ll get to a desktop DAW on iOS.
iPhone or iPad? What is available for one is not always available for the other.
What are you goals? Tracking? Arrangement? Processing? Sequencing of external equipment?
What will you be using for an audio interface? MIDI interface?
Edit : Seeing your replies now (long work day. not reading thing thoroughly).
Yea pretty much. If you don’t have any AUv3s already I’d even more heavily recommend Drambo. It has so much built into it that you don’t really need to buy a lot of plugins. And its only $20. I mostly just use Saturn 2 for analog-y distortions, a few reverbs and maybe a synth plugin.
I’m admittedly a bit of fanboy for it but I think its the best iOS music app out there at this point. But its limitations may mean it doesn’t work for everyone.
Edit: See my comment below about iPhone considerations.
There are at least 3 that feel rather complete to me
and there are probably more.
AUM seems to be everyone’s default though because it feels less like a DAW and more like a jam session nexus.
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Ok I did re-read over your post and saw that you are looking specifically for iPhone. I’m not sure I’d recommend Drambo as strongly for that. It definitely works on there, but Drambo really works best with a wide screen to interact with your modular chain. I wouldn’t recommend AUM on iPhone either for what its worth.
There aren’t THAT many great iPhone synth apps imo. I use to use Elastic Drum a lot when I was riding the bus, made some rad things there. Its more straightforward which helps with a phone. More experimental, but Borderlands is coming to iPhone at some point and that’ll be amazing.
You may actually be better served with Gadget (I haven’t used Nanostudio or Cubasis), it can’t do AUv3s but I think the UI is more polished which may help with the smaller screen.