Easiest simplest app to record multiple usb stereo audio tracks simultaneously (ideally auto start)

pogodance

I have lots of fun hardware audio jams with multiple devices (and sometimes multiple people...) playing through the TE tx6.

Generally I record just the stereo mix. This is over stereo line out from tx6 into a high end dictaphone; or over stereo usb out from the tx6 into iphone then recording audio and video in the iPhone camera app.

I'd love to record multitrack, generally 2 to 6 stereo tracks, to have the stems later for mixing. This is especially to have room mic sounds separate.

The tx6 happily sends 6 stereo tracks out over usb.

I've looked at the options on iOS for multitrack recording and they all look very unspontaneous and very unfun.

... I can do it by setting up template projects and using logic. But that's a spaceship to crack a nut.

... I can load a host app, then load the very simple "MultiTrack Recorder Plugin" as auv, then configure each channel to send to a different input on that but that's palaver.

... I guess aum has recording but it's a lot of config again.

My dream is ... and somebody might just say "oh easy just use 8trackarchive that app is made for this"...

1. A standalone app
2. It remembers the last used config when you open it
3. You press one button after it opens and it starts recording a stereo track for every incoming channel straightaway with no other work needed
4. Ideally it can be configured so that it auto starts recording if it detects any input on a specified channel

I realise it's a long shot but.... Any ideas?

I feel like in the old days this would have been the one really easy job. Press record on the tape.

espiegel123

Loopy Pro maybe

RonnieOmelettes

@espiegel123 said:
Loopy Pro maybe

Definitely. I save a template that I open each time from a shortcut with all my channels and effects already set up.

tom_ward

I use AUM for a very similar workflow. I realize you've already said it is a lot of config, but:

• You can one-press load the last session you worked on
• You can save defaults (templates) that can be loaded quickly from the main screen, although you may have to browse your defaults folder a bit if you have multiple templates there
• You can easily record your stems plus the mix-down, although you will need to hit record ARM on each track you want to capture, so there are more button presses before you hit record

It's probably not as spontaneous as you're asking for, but I've found that with a bit of intentional prior work to build template(s) it can be very quick to get a recording running on the spot.

wim

AUM seems like the most straightforward to me. Set it up once and save it as a template. Open the template, save the project as a different name to get everything nicely in a folder, arm all tracks, and press record. That doesn't seem too bad to me.

Loopy Pro could be set up to work even easier, but there's more to getting all the settings 'n stuff right. It does have the advantage of being able to start recording from input threshold. I've never tried Loopy for this kind of use-case though. I think of it as more of a looper.

I doubt there's anything easier than that on iOS.

I don't see why it's a problem to use "a spaceship to crack a nut". If Logic Pro does the job and you already have it then what's the difference? The extra capabilities and under the hood complexity makes no difference if they don't get in your way in any practical sense.

espiegel123

There isn't very much to getting the settings set up in Loopy Pro -- in my opinion, the workflow is easier than in AUM because once you have recorded the tracks, they are right there to listen back to -- whereas in AUM you have to go to additional steps to play them back.

I use it as a straight simple linear recorder as often as I use it as a looper.

pogodance

Oh wow didn't realise loopy pro might do it, and with threshold too. Great I will dig into that first. Thanks all!

espiegel123

@pogodance said:
Oh wow didn't realise loopy pro might do it, and with threshold too. Great I will dig into that first. Thanks all!

Btw, if you want to record and not playback, set the after record action to stop in the global clip settings. You will need to turn on simultaneous recording in clip settings.

pogodance

Ok just tried this in Loopy Pro (which I like for other purposes!).

But the max record length for a clip is 512 bars. That's not enough to archive a one hour jam.

Is there a way round that limit?

pogodance

I guess I'll run at aum unless there's a better option. It's pretty cramped on iPhone but that's ok! Wish there was a simple recorder!

espiegel123

@pogodance said:
Ok just tried this in Loopy Pro (which I like for other purposes!).

But the max record length for a clip is 512 bars. That's not enough to archive a one hour jam.

Is there a way round that limit?

What gave you the impression that there is a 512 bar recording limit?

You can start a clip recording and leave it recording till you press stop or trigger ending some other way.

espiegel123

@pogodance said:
Ok just tried this in Loopy Pro (which I like for other purposes!).

But the max record length for a clip is 512 bars. That's not enough to archive a one hour jam.

Is there a way round that limit?

When I read your post, I start a clip recording in Loopy Pro and I manually stopped it just now. It is 96 minutes long. I am confident that it would have recorded as long as there was disc space free -- now when using an audio interface (and this is probably true of any app) you really really really want to make sure there is not even a temporary interruption of the interface as that might terminate recording.

rs2000

I would look at a linear DAW like Audio Evolution or Cubasis for two reasons:

• You see what's recorded and you can do fine grained edits on the timeline
• You can record multiple MIDI tracks with the audio so it's easy to replace an instrument later

I've used Cubasis 2 for this exact purpose (hardware jams) a while ago.