What is Audiobus? — Audiobus isan award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you useyour other music apps together. Chain effects on your favouritesynth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app likeGarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface outputfor each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive asynth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDIkeyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear.And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
As you learn about developing audio units, you may find the following information and tools helpful: The coreaudio-api mailing list, a very active discussion forum hosted by Apple that covers all aspects of audio unit design and development. Audio Unit framework API documentation (preliminary), available from the Audio Topic page on Apple’s developer website. For a free plugin, this stereo controller offers great versatility and functionality. And there you have it! These are 25 of the best Mac free plugins, and we haven’t even mentioned all the free instrument plugins for Mac yet. Still, this list should keep you Mac users busy for a while. Studio Devil British Valve Custom is a FREE guitar amp modeling and audio effects plug-in for use with VST, Audio Units, and Pro Tools RTAS compatible hosts running on both Mac and Windows platforms. British High-Gain Amp emulation based on Marshall stack! Power Amp Drive Control to adjust natural power amp compression.
- This squeeze box and free reed wind instrument is suitable for different musical styles, be it traditional, popular or classical. Available as plugin in VST 32 bit and 64 bit and VST3 64 bit versions for Windows as well as in Audio Unit, VST and VST3 for macOS.
- Download free Pitch Shifter VST,VSTi,AU,RTAS music software plugins & Instruments. Audio utilities and DAWs. The original unit was available as an expensive.
Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
I've been playing around with moving my workflow to my laptop, trying out Ableton & Bitwig. I always have a huge problem discovering good effects and instruments to start sketching stuff out, and this seems way worse on desktop.
On iOS my workhorses are Zeeon, Redshrike (and the other Icegear plugins to a lesser extent) and Model D. But I don't know anything about synth sound design, so I'm not looking for 'an analog modelling synth, an FM synth, a Minimoog clone'. I'm looking for 'rich and complex, noisy and abrasive, warm and fuzzy'. A good set of presets is an absolute must; I need to be able to dive in and make anything that sounds good otherwise I just lose interest.
I don't mind paying for plugins (you should see my App Store bills..) but on the other hand I can't justify dropping £hundreds on one.
Any thoughts/ideas?
Comments
- edited April 2018
There's a huge variety on desktop but one good way is to get one which is available on both ipad and desktop so have a look at DRC which sounds great if you're after an analogue sound but is available on both platforms and can share presets. They often have discounts too.
or try PPG infinite. Both platforms... and very complex sounds possible
I'll definitely check out DRC, it's been on my list to try on iOS for a while. As for the others, they look great, but they're out of my price range right now. I'm really just looking for something cheap (free to $20ish) that sounds good enough that I can try out desktop workflows.
(I know these have free trials but time limits and lack of state saving are a dealbreaker)
Use your iPhone/iPad as a sound source via USB cable?
- edited April 2018
@quarterto said:
I've been playing around with moving my workflow to my laptop, trying out Ableton & Bitwig. I always have a huge problem discovering good effects and instruments to start sketching stuff out, and this seems way worse on desktop.On iOS my workhorses are Zeeon, Redshrike (and the other Icegear plugins to a lesser extent) and Model D. But I don't know anything about synth sound design, so I'm not looking for 'an analog modelling synth, an FM synth, a Minimoog clone'. I'm looking for 'rich and complex, noisy and abrasive, warm and fuzzy'. A good set of presets is an absolute must; I need to be able to dive in and make anything that sounds good otherwise I just lose interest.
I don't mind paying for plugins (you should see my App Store bills..) but on the other hand I can't justify dropping £hundreds on one.
Any thoughts/ideas?
Did you see this article?
Apple's project 'Marzipan' will let iOS apps run on the Mac in 2018 - report
Edit.. Think I will have to get a Mac.
@Jocphone said:
Use your iPhone/iPad as a sound source via USB cable?Yes, this. Studiomux works for some (I haven’t tried).
If you spend a bit of time with Simpler or Sampler, you can make Ableton instruments using your favourite iOS sounds and keep that warm fuzz going.
If you’re just after presets and not really interested in crafting your own sounds, then maybe just hunt around for Ableton Live packs? It’s not something I do, so I can’t really say where’s best for this, but I’ll point you at Sonic Bloom anyway:
http://sonicbloom.net/en/category/freebies/U-he makes fine softsynths (but yes, money).
- edited April 2018
You could just buy Logic and you have more synths and presets and FX and and and you ever will get for a grand on iOS even.
But i also think Abelton and Bitwig stock tools already should cover a lot ground.
So no need really to buy anything else if you learn your tools.
Since you didn´t search for a specific synth/tool you can go quite far with free tools (and f.e. U-he free synths are amazing and you get tons of presets for it).
If you search for the Zeeon sound Dagger get you there (and in terms of filters even better). It´s mono but there are ways to make mono synths polyphonic as well.
DRC has iOS and mac versions. Infinite has a Pro version for mac as well.
Model D is hard to cover for cheap or free. The free minimonster is quite nice.
There are tons of options but you might already covered. - edited April 2018
@RajahP said:
@quarterto said:
I've been playing around with moving my workflow to my laptop, trying out Ableton & Bitwig. I always have a huge problem discovering good effects and instruments to start sketching stuff out, and this seems way worse on desktop.On iOS my workhorses are Zeeon, Redshrike (and the other Icegear plugins to a lesser extent) and Model D. But I don't know anything about synth sound design, so I'm not looking for 'an analog modelling synth, an FM synth, a Minimoog clone'. I'm looking for 'rich and complex, noisy and abrasive, warm and fuzzy'. A good set of presets is an absolute must; I need to be able to dive in and make anything that sounds good otherwise I just lose interest.
I don't mind paying for plugins (you should see my App Store bills..) but on the other hand I can't justify dropping £hundreds on one.
Any thoughts/ideas?
Did you see this article?
Apple's project 'Marzipan' will let iOS apps run on the Mac in 2018 - report
Edit.. Think I will have to get a Mac.
I wish i could believe that but it all sounds more like someone looked into the crystal ball.
- The user and all related content has been deleted.
- edited April 2018
@Cib said:
You could just buy Logic and you have more synths and presets and FX and and and you ever will get for a grand on iOS even.Confirmed 100%
But i also think Abelton and Bitwig stock tools already should cover a lot ground.
So no need really to buy anything else if you learn your tools.I don't know Bitwig, on Ableton it depends what version you have. Ableton Suite is very powerful, including Analog (a good virtual analog synth), Operator (FM synth), Electric (electric piano model) and a few other physical models and a good selection of effects.
Model D is hard to cover for cheap or free. The free minimonster is quite nice.
There are tons of options but you might already covered.You can start with Steinberg's free 'VST Classics Volume 1' from https://www.steinberg.net/en/support/unsupported_products/vst_classics_vol_1.html
Not really an authentic Minimoog emulation, but all the authentic ones I know aren't free.On the other hand, as you've described the sound you're after, there are many fantastic freeware synths worth trying, like:
U-he TyrellN6 + Zebralette + TripleCheese, TAL BassLine + NoiseMaker, Dexed, Tunefish 4 (or Sprike), Datsounds OBXD, buchty SQ8L, and most synths from www.fullbucket.de. @Dawdles said:
@RajahP said:
@quarterto said:
I've been playing around with moving my workflow to my laptop, trying out Ableton & Bitwig. I always have a huge problem discovering good effects and instruments to start sketching stuff out, and this seems way worse on desktop.On iOS my workhorses are Zeeon, Redshrike (and the other Icegear plugins to a lesser extent) and Model D. But I don't know anything about synth sound design, so I'm not looking for 'an analog modelling synth, an FM synth, a Minimoog clone'. I'm looking for 'rich and complex, noisy and abrasive, warm and fuzzy'. A good set of presets is an absolute must; I need to be able to dive in and make anything that sounds good otherwise I just lose interest.
I don't mind paying for plugins (you should see my App Store bills..) but on the other hand I can't justify dropping £hundreds on one.
Any thoughts/ideas?
Did you see this article?
Apple's project 'Marzipan' will let iOS apps run on the Mac in 2018 - report
Edit.. Think I will have to get a Mac.
So if/when this happens will there be 'mac version' IAP or something? If not it'll be a really confusing situation for pricing. Either -
- People with macs getting super cheap desktop apps ported from ios (dunno how Fabfilter etc will feel about that?)
- People without macs paying a lot more for some currently 'cheap' ipad apps (If devs start to charge equivalent desktop software prices)
- Some kind of universal reshifting of software pricing evaluation in general to somewhere inbetween current ios vs desktop prices.
Seems like it'll probably be bad news for at least one sector of devs or users? Though considering that things like Reaper, VCVRack (+ now Sonar on Windows) and so on are basically free, maybe it'll have no effect at all in practise and just carry on as things are.
I think it would depends on how this integrates. So if you could run iOS AUv3 as plug-ins in Logic or other DAW´s it could kill a market for some developers maybe. If you need to record them as audio stream and lost the DAW integration you have with plug-ins it doesn´t change much.
But i still doubt iOS apps on mac happen anytime soon.
It all has pro and contra. IOS and mac store apps let you load all licenses on all your devices. Not possible with most desktop plug-ins. But i prefer to buy from developers there instead of the app store.
We will see how it goes. One for sure..windows users are doomed anywayThis synth kind of reminds me what I love about ios, great for experimenting.
Also viking synth on ios has a desktop counterpart that is donationware.
Reaktor is a good option too as it's modular, you can roll your own hybrid monster synth or fx beasty, can also download loads of synths and fx from the user library for free, some have great presets, others leave you to find your own way noodling.
- edited April 2018The user and all related content has been deleted.
- The user and all related content has been deleted.
Wow, thanks for all the suggestions folks. Google chrome 10.7 5. Lots for me to try out this evening!
- The user and all related content has been deleted.
First, I would do some searches for best free or cheap VST/AU instruments available. Particularly on YouTube, so you can get see demonstrations. There are hundreds, but do check out:
Free Oberheim Clone - http://www.discodsp.com/obxd/
Syntronik Free
All U-he free synths
The Synthmaster Free Player has 500 presets. The paid one (now $14, often $ 9) has 1250. There are also free demo versions of Synthmaster and Synthmaster One.
Free Kontakt Player.I recommend buying a copy of Computer Music magazine on your iPad for $5. You will then get access to a ton of first-class instruments (including Alchemy Player), drum machines, effects, and utilities.
Also, don't neglect the free and cheap effects.
I highly recommend Black Cat Audio and Klanghelm (3 great freebies), AudioThing Filterjam, Softube Saturation knob, and Valhalla FreqEcho
I use the Black Cat Gain Suite all day long, every day.If you ever reach the point when you are ready to spend money, IMHO the absolute best purchase you can make is to get full Kontakt. First, it comes with a lot of great synth, drum and acoustic sounds, enough to keep you busy for years. Then it allows you to get hundreds of amazing instruments free all year round and even more during brief offers, particularly during the holidays. The only limit to the free stuff with Full Kontakt is how big your hard drive is, and how much time you spend finding out about freebies.
You can save money on Kontakt by upgrading from the free library Sennheiser Drumica, and then cut that price in half during one of their sales. Usually, there is one during the summer and one at Black Friday. The best deal is to get it with Komplete, but that sounds too rich for your taste.
@Dawdles it's a 3-4 year old i7 Macbook Pro, it should handle things just fine. Sonar looks great but I am on macOS, thanks anyway.
Although if anyone has DAW suggestions for Mac I'm all ears. Bitwig and Ableton look closest to what I'm looking for so far, but I'd prefer something simple with a really solid workflow to something with the depth and complexity of those two. The only absolute must-have is a session view/clip launcher that can record clips to tracks.
- edited April 2018
If you don't mind using Soundflower: nothing beats https://www.apple.com/mainstage/
You'll get all of the Logic goodness excluding the DAW / sequencer for 30 bucks.
I'm using it as an 'external' 'sound module' in Live.
@quarterto said:
@Dawdles it's a 3-4 year old i7 Macbook Pro, it should handle things just fine. Sonar looks great but I am on macOS, thanks anyway.Although if anyone has DAW suggestions for Mac I'm all ears. Bitwig and Ableton look closest to what I'm looking for so far, but I'd prefer something simple with a really solid workflow to something with the depth and complexity of those two. The only absolute must-have is a session view/clip launcher that can record clips to tracks.
Speaking as a Bitwig user, it sounds like it has all you need; a reasonably simple interface, with a clip launcher/recorder, and a huge library of built-in instruments, effects and samples.
It does have some very complex features, but you don’t have to use them all.@quarterto said:
@Dawdles it's a 3-4 year old i7 Macbook Pro, it should handle things just fine. Sonar looks great but I am on macOS, thanks anyway.Although if anyone has DAW suggestions for Mac I'm all ears. Bitwig and Ableton look closest to what I'm looking for so far, but I'd prefer something simple with a really solid workflow to something with the depth and complexity of those two. The only absolute must-have is a session view/clip launcher that can record clips to tracks.
I also use a macbook i7 from 2013 and it can handle still a lot. Synths like Repro are really next generation stuff but mostly you can turn HQ mode off and also they offer multi-core support which helps a lot.
Repro is really not cheap (i got for €69 Repro-1at intro and got the free update with Repro-5) so it was a very very good value for me). U-he synths are all just great from sound to GUI to workflow to options like microtuning etc.
Better not try them..or you want themThe Legend is a Moog clone and is $100. Rob Papen Predator 2 is $150. D-16 Lush 101 is $150. Sonic Academy ANA 2 is $140. Hard to get 'really good, really cheap'.
Here's a site that might be helpful https://bedroomproducersblog.com/
Also KVR https://kvraudio.com/plugins/windows/macosx/vst-plugins/vst3-plugins/audio-units/aax-plugins/rack-extensions/instruments/paid/most-popular
Which version of OS are you using? iOS 11 and High Sierra (and I believe iOS 10 and Sierra) support InterDevice Audio/MIDI, or IDAM. This effectively turns your iOS device into a fully-integrated sound module. Plug your iPad into a free USB port, open up Audio MIDI Setup on your Mac, and click “Enable” on the iPad icon. After this, just set your audio ins and MIDI outs and you’re good to go.
If you want native AUs, I’m a big fan of Sinevibes. They’re well-designed, affordable, quirky, and CPU efficient. I don’t use very many of their instrument plugins but their effects are top-notch.
Korg Gadget for Mac also nets you nearly 40 plugins. It’s pricy up front but there are no in app purchases and seriously — you get roughly 40 instruments and effects, all of which sound good and most of which sound great.
- edited April 2018
I'll say it again: nothing beats https://www.apple.com/mainstage/plugins-and-sounds/
Really good. Really cheap. Mac only though.
Acustica Audio has released Coffee The PUn, a freeware Pultec-style parametric equalizer plugin for digital audio workstation software on PC and Mac.
Mac Free Antivirus
Coffee The PUn is a characterful equalizer effect modeled after the classic Pultec EQ design. The software is based on Acustica Audio’s Acqua Engine Core. Coffee The PUn is available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for compatible host applications on PC and Mac.
The plugin emulates a certain Pultec-style analog equalizer. The information on the product page isn’t very exact, but users who are familiar with boutique studio gear will probably be able to guess what hardware EQ is being modeled here. According to Acustica Audio, their new freeware EQ plugin has an aggressive sound character.
In a world of vintage ‘Purple-style’ units (well, if we just consider the AA world), the time has come to give you a real ‘Punisher’, a vigilante that specializes in characterful clean-ups in the digital domain. Meet Coffee The PUn, a FREE plugin resolver with a big sound and aggressive character, but who can also treat your source with respect, awaking its inner potential.
To download your free copy of Coffee The PUn, sign up for a free Acustica Audio user account and download the Aquarius license manager. Once logged in, click on the Purchased tab to see the available freeware plugins. Coffee The PUn should be listed on the page. Simply click the Install button to complete the installation process. Being that Acustica Audio’s plugins are based on convolution technology, Coffee The PUn is a rather large 769 MB download.
Mac Audio Software
Please note that the 32-bit plugin installer is hidden by default. You will have to enable this option manually in the settings in order to install the 32-bit version of the plugin (more info available in the manual). On a related note, Acustica Audio is currently running a #mixfromhome special sale with 50% OFF in discounts on its best-selling plugins.
More info:Coffee The PUn(769 MB download size, EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/VST3/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & macOS)
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