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Comments
I’ve already worked with the VirSyn developer on my issues, I believe they’ve been as helpful as they can be with trying to resolve my issues. Unfortunately sometimes developers get stuck between Apple and their users and can end up spinning their wheels on a problem that arises from an iOS or iPadOS source. It’s my opinion based upon the erase and restore versus the erase and clean install that this is an iPadOS issue and I let VirSyn know this was the case before posting here.
Clearly there’s some sort of data associated with an app or apps on my iPadOS install that I erased that associates SFZ files with audio files and added the SFZ synthesizer association too. These associations seem to be what was preventing iPadOS from being able to launch or import SFZ files on the buggy iPadOS installation I erased. If this is the case, presumably I could do a restore of the iPad Air 3 again and then keep deleting apps and their data to see if this would also eliminate the SFZ file association that was preventing AudioLayer from being able to use SFZ files. If I were up for such a tedious task and was able to successfully locate the troublesome app, I could then contact that developer, file a feedback complaint with Apple, and forward the information onto the VirSyn developer.
Given Apple’s long standing sandbox strategy for both security and user convenience, I believe what I’ve been experiencing with iPadOS and SFZ AudioLayer imports represents a breakdown of the sandbox wall as an app shouldn’t be able to block another app from being able to import files as users don’t have a way in the closed iPadOS/iOS system to over ride or even check these file to app associations.
Furthermore, my buggy iPadOS install started to have multiple files of different random types associated with them when I long pressed on an app which had nothing to do with that particular app. Sometimes there’d be hundreds of these files. Clearly that’s not an intended or desirable behavior as the whole purpose of long pressing on the app was to have the option to do an open in operation.
I can’t help but wonder if there are other sandbox glitches that Apple has overlooked in their rush to pump out iPadOS?
On an open OS, I could track down these sorts of file and app associations but on Apple’s mobile devices you have to rely upon Apple developers, the App Store approval process, and app developers to get this right. I personally believe Apple should shoulder the vast majority of the responsibility here as they’re the ones driving OS development and verify whether or not apps meet their standards for release on their App Store while app developers try to conform to their standards.
I was able to trace my AudioLayer SFZ bug to Roland Zenbeats. Below is a copy of the message I sent using the form on the Roland website.
Roland Zenbeats SFZ Bug
I can not import sfZ files into the VirSyn AudioLayer app on an iPad Air 3 nor an iPad Air 2 running iPadOS 13.3.1 because the Roland Zenbeats app causes sfz files to be recognized as an audio file which prevents iPadOS from being able to recognize sfz files as a file type extension that can launch AudioLayer. The moment I delete Roland Zenbeats and its data from my iPad the problem goes away. When I download Roland Zenbeats from the App Store, the sfz problem immediately returns without even having to open Roland Zenbeats.
Tracking down this problem involved multiple iPad resets and erasures plus restores from iTunes backup before I was able to isolate the source of the problem to Roland Zenbeats. Furthermore, the VirSyn developer wasted their time coding beta versions of their AudioLayer app caused by a problem which had nothing to do with AudioLayer.
I hope you notify your users of this bug and are able to track down the source of the problem within Roland Zenbeats.
Wow. That is a weird bug. Seems like something the OS shouldn’t allow. It might be worth notifying Apple, too.
Apple user support has been a big waste of time for me. I’ve never gotten any feedback responses from them via their website. When I spent several hours on the phone with them yesterday they couldn’t blame the AudioLayer app developer fast enough despite all of my evidence to the contrary. I would have tracked down the problem hours sooner if I hadn’t been wasting my time with their support system.
I’ve notified both Roland and VirSyn of my problem so hopefully Apple will pay more attention to their concerns than they have to mine.
The Roland Zenbeats developer is already looking into resolving this file type conflict.
@info check - Thank you for your service... a credit to your name and the ABF community.
Thank you, I give all of the credit to my cranky inner child that kicks in when inscrutable problems like this arise.
@espiegel123 I ended up listening to you and the small tiny voice of my inner adult so I submitted an Apple Feedback report on this topic because you can’t complain about how Apple does things if you don’t let them know and I certainly enjoy complaining with the best of them.
Thanks -- even if the people one speaks to don't listen and one doesn't hear back from leaving feedback -- it sometimes (and sometimes only after a maddeningly long time and lots of others sharing the same experience) has an impact.
As poor as customer support and technical support people can sometimes be, it is worth keeping in mind that the overwhelming majority of calls they get are from people that really are being clueless. So, a lot of support people become jaded and forget that some people really are experiencing a problem and not just being idiots.
You also would never get someone with @InfoCheck's considerable intellect to do that type of job and run down the root cause of something like this that's new to the IOS universe of bugs without a clear owner. We all assume the issue might get handed off and run to ground in a complex lab with all the right products but staffing and provisioning that Lab is beyond the resources of almost any company. It takes a village and that's why what @infocheck did her was so significant and he tends towards mastery of technology in general and a well stated thank you. Sometimes even the thank seem to be more than he's willing to accept.
He's unique as a trouble shooter... very clever.
You will be glad to know that @VirSyn seems to be on it and will have a fix.
🙏🏼
Rant Start
To be honest, I think Apple set a high bar with its closed OS relative to open operating systems. (I’m surprised there aren’t more significant problems.) It’s a black box where you rely on Apple and app developers to get it right.
iPadOS grows more complex while becoming more opaque. iTunes backups are exclusively data based now. I live in an area with super slow internet so quickly exhausting my trouble shooting options and resorting to erase and restore followed by app downloads is a tedious all day affair.
I’m no iPadOS wizard so when I consistently have interactions over the phone, or in the App Store where it’s clear I have more insight into the problem than they do, it’s disconcerting.
The most reliable sources are places like this forum or other sites rather than Apple support. They simply don’t seem to have enough training and operate from a script rather than having sufficient knowledge to listen and respond to what you have to say.
I waited 5 years before buying a new iPad due to all of the iPad Pro audio glitches. It didn’t perform as well as my iPad Air 2 (14 day trial period return 3 years ago). The battery in the iPad Air 2 went bad so I had to swap it out. My iPad 2 was seriously crippled when it got stuck on iOS 9 and I wish I could have left it on iOS 8. Then of course there were the IAA ghost bug years. Yes it’s an evolving platform, I put up with these problems because there are so many wonderful app developers. Hopefully at some point it will mature more so we’ll have significantly longer periods of OS stability. I’d like to move beyond checking with the sacrificial lambs here or elsewhere online before updating or use a test device to double check.
It bothers me when app developers work on user problems due to the side effects of OS changes or problems caused by other apps which aren’t anything they’ve caused or should be responsible for.
Rant End
I am not always the friendliest or reasonable poster. Sometimes I fail to curb my baser impulses. Despite the challenges of a large Internet forum, many people here do a good job of navigating it all. A few have super human levels of patience when advocating for their point of view.
@InfoCheck - I feel your pain.
Apple manages a huge stack of software across a huge number of target devices. On the whole, they outperform all the other options for me. Linux is great but the open source model just doesn't provide a revenue stream to organize large teams and support models
and they accept the challenge to support thousands of hardware combinations that are selected by the user for NIC's, monitors, graphics cards... most of the revenue comes from excellent hardware designs from Dell, Invidia, Intel, AMD, etc.
Tradeoffs. But for music you want something with a small set of controlled options to insure great performance at scale without an excess of support headaches like this one.
Thanks for the root cause and the well phrased rant... I'be been there and ready to just swear off apple forever but they keep providing great solutions to keep me pitching into their kitty.
AudioLayer fix is in, now the AU can visualise the midi input
Huzzah!
The Benefits of AudioLayer’s Sample Instruments
Working all of the kinks out of AudioLayer will be great especially with SFZ support as it will enable us to create and share more expressive sample instruments. SynthJacker will be a really nice tool to use in conjunction with this process particularly for one shot or percussive sounds where you don’t need to create sustain loops. AudioLayer’s built in sample compression allows for instruments with large sample libraries. Having devices with larger storage capacities along with external media storage options allows you to go all in on instrument creation in a way that wasn’t possible before.
In the coming months I hope to dive into learning how to create sample instruments. What SFZ options does AudioLayer support? Delve into sample instrument creation strategies and techniques.
General iOS/iPadOS Music Creation
@McD yes, for me I haven’t really found an alternative to iPadOS that I prefer for music creation. I can also say that Apple could do better if they wanted to, but because it’s a business driven by shareholders there’s a limit to how much they’re willing to invest in any particular part of their business as well as whether or not what their competitors are doing will change how Apple does things.
I agree the App Store, a relatively small range of mobile hardware products, and their separation into iOS and iPadOS makes it easier for music app developers versus Android where there’s a much wider range of hardware and components as well as more pirating of apps. It’s also why the music creation app offerings on Android aren’t as extensive.
Apple provides infrastructure developers can use like core MIDI, IAA, AUv3, Swift, and metal which developers can build their music apps upon. This can fuel the innovation of the developers who use these tools. I don’t have insight into how easy it is for developers to use these tools, but the maturation of the AUv3 apps has brought a lot of stability and functionality to integrated multi-app music setups. Hopefully more standardized approaches will result in an easier and more functional user experience, especially with things like presets and templates plus how AUv3 apps function in different AUV3 host apps.
I hope the development of the Files app for iOS/iPadOS continues to be a priority as well as its integration with cloud services and external storage devices so we can have more flexibility and control over how we manage music media resources.
@InfoCheck : I think the EXS and SFZ features (opcodes in sfz-speak) are the ones that correspond to features built into AudioLayer.
I’ll have to import a variety of complex SFZ files and compare them with what’s going on in AudioLayer’s various screen settings so I can develop a reference for what the different opcodes correspond to in AudioLayer. Presumably some of these mappings will be more obvious, some SFZ options might be missing, and there could be functionality in AudioLayer that can’t be coded into SFZ.
The AudioLayer manual just details the SFZ and EXS import process without giving any details on which features of each it supports. It’s been quite awhile since I created and imported an EXS instrument but I do recall it wasn’t always smooth as AudioLayer wasn’t always able to import and have them work the way they did in MainStage. I’ll have to revisit this as well.
@VirSyn Love AudioLayer, can we please have MIDI CC parameter available for automation? For things like pitch, filter parameters etc.?
I recommend emailing him if you haven't already and not just posting here (same advice for most devs).
I just tried it out. The pitch adjustment when editing layers is fixed.
@VirSyn hi there, hope you are doing well.
Is there any chance you could implement drag and drop to AudioLayer, that would make things soo easier and quicker even If it comes with upgrade fee pleaseee 😊
The new update seems to have ironed out the bug with translator !!!
many thanks Virsyn!
Already on my list😊
( and will come without fee )
I should remind people that AudioLayer can:
and save a custom instrument without leaving the app. Open another instance in the generator slot
and play/record it in AUM. An amazingly versatile workflow for some really unusual tracks:
Hi there, how did you chop the samples in AudioLayer? Would love to know
Wow.pleaseee🤣🤣
@McD you are making this very difficult to resist..
Just a thing guys. Someone can answer this very difficult question: can I sample any VST, AU for my use? Let's suppose I have a Kontakt library, and I want to sample a preset for my iPad because I want to use it in a track. Can I? Please, try to answer as simple as possible since I have read a lot of pages but no clear answer.
Yes
For that I would recommend SynthJacker (another iOs App).
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/synthjacker/id1445018791
I sampled various M1 presets from my iPad and it should work the same way with VSTs.
Eg. notes from C1 - A8 (either each note or every nth-note), three velocity layers or more (eg. 64, 90, 120) and the note duration you wanna have. Synthjacker creates a Midi file with those parameters which then can be exported and loaded into your desktop DAW of choice. Load the VST you wanna get sampled, play / record / bounce the preset of your choice with that midi file and import the rendered audio file together with the midi file back into synthjacker. Define some parameters for the file name batch processing ( eg. Name - Note - Velocity) and synthjacker is doing the rest for you.
Then you will have a sampled VST with single samples for each note from C1 - A8, each of them with three velocity layers. Eg. Piano C1 Vel 60, Piano C1 Vel 90 and Piano C1 Vel 120 etc.
Import into AudioLayer and have fun.
Pretty straightforward, fast and convenient once you have setup a midi file which then can be used for every VST you need to sample.
The easiest way is to:
1. load the source app into a DAW. AUM is my DAW for the most effective GUI to get stuff done with audio
2. set the app to respond to a MIDI controller (but any sound it makes for any reason can be captured)
3. it's worth noting that any audio into the DAW would also be recorded so I played a video on my iPhone and cable the headphone out into my iPad and recorded samples that way. Works for anything I can play on the input device: desktop, phone, external hardware, etc).
4. load AudioLayer into an AUv3 FX slot on that input track
5. open the AudioLayer GUI
6. use the menu to + a new instrument and give it a name
7. tough the football field part of AudioLayer
8. it will offer 3 options: load samples, record samples, import sound set
9. tough record samples
10. AudioLayer will self-arm and start recording if any input sound is detected or use start/stop buttons
11. you may now clip the audio and use a "detect pitch" and other options like loop, one-shot, reverse
12. that sample can be assigned to a range of notes with the default being the whole 1-127 MIDI possibilities
13. SAVE YOUR NEW INSTRUMENT
14. open another AudioLayer instance in the Instrument slot of the same DAW on another track
15. configure it with a midi controller like the DAW's virtual keyboard
16. load your saved instrument in AudioLayer
17. play new instrument
A lot of steps but this is just so much fun and it's easy to build a massive sample based collection.
The time invested will save you $25 in additional purchasing if your a bungeeing buyer always looking for the cool toys to add to your arsenal of art supplies.
LIKE ANY AMAZINGLY GREAT SOUNDTOOL YOU NEED TO LEARN THE APP AND IT"S HARD. Seek video tutorials for the easiest path to better utilization. The sequence above will be like the map to buried treasure and some of the steps will read like obscure clues into you do the work. The documentation is embedded in the app too. More time spent... less time buying more disposable apps that get a hour of play and never get opened much thereafter.
It's scratches a lot of itches and really teaches you more about how the guts of BeatHawk, ThumbJam, iSymphonic were actually made from recordings.