Loopy Pro: Create music, your way.
What is Loopy Pro? — Loopy Pro is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive live looper, sampler, clip launcher and DAW for iPhone and iPad. At its core, it allows you to record and layer sounds in real-time to create complex musical arrangements. But it doesn’t stop there—Loopy Pro offers advanced tools to customize your workflow, build dynamic performance setups, and create a seamless connection between instruments, effects, and external gear.
Use it for live looping, sequencing, arranging, mixing, and much more. Whether you're a live performer, a producer, or just experimenting with sound, Loopy Pro helps you take control of your creative process.
Download on the App StoreLoopy Pro is your all-in-one musical toolkit. Try it for free today.
Sync play/stop/pause across apps?
Hi! Forgive me if it's an obvious question but I haven't managed to figure this out yet.
Is there a way to make tracks sync between different apps, not in terms of tempo like with Ableton Link but in terms of stopping, starting and pausing them all at the same time or in sync?
Say for example you have several apps synced with Link and playing together at the same tempo but you want to:
a) pause them all and unpause them at the same time
b) or stop and restart them all at once to the beginning of the song
c) or pause one or more of them and have it unpause back in sync to the start of the next measure even if you press a bit earlier?
A bit like within a sequencer (for a and b), or (for c) like Launchpad or Blocs Wave do but between apps rather than within one app?
Hope this makes sense.
I've tried using MIDI and mapping the same button press to the same thing on each app, but most apps I use don't let you map transport control messages or they make the same cc message handle both play and stop, or both play and pause together, or each separately so that the mappings can't match across apps. Maybe AUM/AB have such a function somewhere? If so I haven't found it.
Help!
Thanks!
(Apologies, I posted this before but somehow the thread disappeared when I tried to move it to Support so I'm putting it back in General again)
Comments
You can do that via Audiobus transport I think.
I’d use it but it isn’t midi assignable to external controllers. This is one reason why I don’t use Link. I need instant stop!
Thanks! Audiobus transport? Mm, is it an AB3 feature? Sadly I have to stick to AB2 because my iPad is too old for iOS10.2. My version doesn't seem to have this.
It seems like this may be added to Link in the future. This function was added to Live 10 beta very recently (you can enable it in settings) but the app needs to access a transport bar. Model 15 has Link 2 I think but it has no play/stop controls.
Yes it is not included in AB2. Your best bet is probably to just turn off Link and use IAA sync. Some people say Link is the best sync on IOS but I’ve heard it is based on IAA anyway so you should be ok. Just slave all to one app with midi mappeable transport and you’re good to go.
Do you mean the MIDI clock? Or is there another way to sync with IAA?
Yes, I have been told that IAA sync is better than Link, especially if you want synced transport controls. I look for that feature now more than Link.
Interesting, thanks! I don't know anything about IAA sync though, where can I find it and how do I use it?
I quite like Link otherwise because it's very straightforward to use and just works. Fingers crossed they do add this feature like BlueGreenSpiral says
All you need is to disable link in all apps, choose your master app (you’ll need to go to settings/midi/sync/destinations and tick apps you want to send ticks to) the in slave apps you will need to go to settings and choose the app you want them to receive ticks from. You should find a list of apps in midi settings of each of the apps.
Out of curiosity what apps are you wanting to sync?
Mm, I thought this was the MIDI clock? I tried this between Vatanator and Fugue Machine as master resp. slave and vice versa. The tempo worked but I couldn't sync the starts nor get the master to stop/start/pause the slave.
I'm trying to sync Group The Loop, Fugue Machine, Vatanator, Funk Box and Genome.
I'll try it with other apps as master and see how it goes, maybe it's just these two that happen to not be great at that.
I really wish I could use AB3 but I don't want to have to buy a new iPad either when this one works just fine in all other ways.
I am still new to this IAA sync thingy, but I believe it is used by the host to sync hosted apps. AUM and Audiobus support this and is how they are able to start/stop apps hosted within them. And I think the method @supadom is describing is in fact Midi clock sync, which has been around as long as Midi itself, and is the one most users curse as terrible. Oldest to newest, and probably worst to best: Midi clock sync, Ableton Link, IAA host sync. I thought Midi clock sync and IAA sync were different names for the same thing, but I was mistaken. I may still be mistaken about some of the things I have just stated, but as far as I understand, this is the current state of sync on iOS.
Hopefully someone with greater knowledge and experience will chime in and set us all straight.
I can confirm, it's a feature that's coming.
Well I’m not a midi buff so won’t engage. Worst or best, mr OP judge for yourself. Find below a track made with 6 entities
Loopy HD
Samplr
Turnado
ToneStack
Novation Circuit
Akai Mpk mini arp
synced via method I described earlier. If it sounds tight enough for you, you’ll know the answer.
@supadom I did not mean to disparage your advice, I was just trying to add my take on the situation. And now that I see your video, I can say that is a way more technical Midi setup than anything I have ever attempted. I too have used the ol' Midi clock sync successfully, but I know many people bash it regularly in favor of Link, which may or may not be justified. I don't have enough experience to say if it is or not. Anyway, my apologies if I came off like a jerk.
@supadom thanks for the video, great stuff! And very tight indeed. I need to give this method another go.
@CracklePot do you mean that it's possible to do this inside AUM?
@Tarekith that's great news. Any idea when that would be?
(it's Ms OP btw, not Mr
)
@Ribbon It is, but on a case by case basis as I understand it. AUM has the ability, but it depends on all of the separate developers to add the IAA host sync implementation.
Audiobus remote?
@CracklePot Cool, thanks. Sorry, where in the settings is that feature? I can't find it.
@audiblevideo I only have one device I'm afraid. Or can you run AB remote on the same device?
Thanks!
Well it says remote but I think I've used it on the same device - check the website or manual?
Oh you're right! Downloading it right now and will test it in a minute.
It's supposed to be included with Live 10, which is due to be released in Q1, 2018. No idea if that functionality will roll out to iOS apps sooner. I would guess so since that's how it happened when Link was first implemented, but that's just a guess.
Let me know how it goes. Very interested. I never got Remote because of only one device, but now...
Hurray! Works like a charm, all supertight. That was exactly what I needed. Thank you so much!
TFW you wish you could do something with your iOS device and app developers discretely spy inside your brain to find out, code the thing exactly the way you want it to work, and then they go back in time to release it months if not years before you even realised you'd ever need it haha. Well done Audiobus, now get out of my head please, this is freaking me out hehe.
Cool, not too long a wait
Thanks for the results of your test. Looks like I will have to axe something from my list this week so I can get AB Remote instead. And I am happy to hear you were successful in wrangling your setup.
Actually I just realised something while playing around with AB Remote and AUM. If you send all the apps to AUM (for various reasons) via Audiobus and you open the AB sidebar in AUM with the controls open for each apps, you can also do that from there, ie pause/stop/play apps globally or individually in sync. In AUM all the apps are visible in the sidebar as opposed to the non-front apps (or what do you call it) in the other apps.
You get more control inside Remote though, like on the level of individual heads in Fugue Machine for example, and lots of other good things from within the apps. And the buttons are easier to press. Nicely pairs with AUM but it would be nice to control Remote via a MIDI controller, to avoid switching screens back and forth.
In any case, Remote is totally be a part of my setup from now on. Wicked!
Thanks, happy too that it might help others. Thanks @audiblevideo !
Yay, I helped
IAA sync is not the same as MIDI clock, but the "standard" way for IAA apps and plugins to sync to their host and follow their transport state (stopped/playing). It's been on the desktop for decades, and has been part of IAA from the start.
Many apps implements it, some do not. Some needs to have Link turned off. When implemented and enabled, you just host the apps in a host with transport (AUM, AB3, Cubasis, Auria, etc) and press play and it "just works". (UPDATE: Sorry, I just tested and it seems AB3 does not send host sync)