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What's the difference between AUM and Audiobus?
Hi,
I've been using Audiobus for hosting my AUv3s and connecting to midi devices and basically all my inter-connectivity needs on iPad. It's worked great and I've not really had any issues with it for the kind of fun jamming/exploratory stuff I normally use it for.
For some reason most YouTube demos of new music apps for the iPad show them using AUM, not Audiobus, but to my eyes they seem to be very, very similar. Is the main difference the UI design and interaction model? I see how AUM lets you have multiple AU windows open at once whereas Audiobus pushes you to switch between them, and I've seen a couple of demos where performers have two AU windows open side by side (say a synth and an effect) and interact with both of them simultaneously via touch, which I guess Audiobus doesn't offer. But you can do it with a properly-mapped midi controller. And Audiobus seems to have much better support for saving your entire setup as a patch compared to AUM (but I don't own AUM so can't confirm this).
Is that the main difference? Were they very different in the sets of features they offered when they first launched, compared to now? Am I missing out on any other neat features by not owning AUM?
Thanks!
Oliver
Comments
AUM has audio and MIDI busses, audio sends, and easy multiple routing for both audio and MIDI. It supports multi-out audio AUv3. It lets you construct arbitrary MIDI chains with fan-in and fan-out. The GUI features you mention are nice to have, but are essentially trivial compared to the routing features. I personally began using AUM when I could no longer do what I wanted in Audiobus.
AUM does allow saving a complete session as a "patch". You can create folders to keep them organized.
Take a look at the AUM User's Guide for full details.
Edit: I believe historically Audiobus can first, and was unique at the time. AUM came later, and started with a broader concept and a focus on AUv3.
Edit: It looks like AB MIDI routing has been improved (fan-in) since I last used it, but the absence of audio busses and sends is still a limitation.
I think I’m right in saying that AUM didn’t support IAA apps at the start, and even now doesn’t support IAA state saving - it was designed for AUv3s from the start. So if you use a lot of IAA apps, Audiobus will save projects better as long as the apps in question support state saving (the apps have to do this). So that’s probably why you’re thinking Audiobus saves you complete setup better. If you’re only using AUv3s, AUM’s project saving is just as comprehensive.
I think the real plus is the user interface in AUM. It’s very quick to set up, and much easier to rearrange nodes. I never did much MIDI routing in Audiobus, but AUM’s MIDI matrix is fantastic, too. I’m also not sure whether Audiobus supports multi in/out AUv3s, which AUM does.
The other big plus is recording - AUM can record stems for each channel, or you can bus things together and record sub mixes or the whole thing depending how you set things up. So for some users (eg me) you can do the whole job in AUM, or record stems which you can later import into a DAW for finishing.
One down side to AUM is lack of MIDI clock in. It does Ableton Link fine, and sends MIDI clock, but won’t sync via MIDI to an external clock. It’s on the dev’s roadmap, but not there yet.
I found I was having some visual glitches in Audiobus that prompted me to switch (overlapping channels in mixer view IIRC), and AUM is in more active development, I think.
So there are pluses and minuses to both. I found myself being way more productive in AUM, but your mileage may vary, particularly if you’re an Audiobus power user or use a lot of IAA apps.
I find the AudioBus UI better suited for live jamming. Plugin UIs are almost full screen with very little screen estate lost to the host (AudioBus). And it is still possible to switch tracks and plugins with just one tap. AB has a rock solid sync implementation that can convert between MIDI clock in/out and Ableton Link without problems.
Thanks to the MIDI routing matrix AUM is on the other hand my favourite for easy experimentation.
So for me both apps have their applications.
Audiobus can display double the size of channels on a screen compared to AUM.
In this regard AUM UI could be optimized. Too much side scrolling.
Audiobus has a straightforward architecture. It doesn't have busses or support side-chaining and multiple-in/out AUv3. Loopy Pro is in some ways a successor to Audiobus as as a mixer. It supports more complex routing than Audiobus though it does not yet support side-chain and multi-in out audio AUv3 [which i believe is planned for the future].
If one uses, standalone apps that support Audiobus state-saving, Audiobus preserves and restores the state of those apps.
Yes, AudioBus was first by a long way (a few years?).
When AB came out there was only a handfull of apps that worked with it. Most devs didn't even know AB existed.
Many of us would email devs asking them to add AB functionality to their apps. When they did add it there was a big announcement that such-and-such an app was now "on the bus".
We have come a long way since then...
Just a small clarification on this point. IAA doesn't have state saving at all. Audiobus provides a library, that if implemented in an IAA app, enables its state to be saved in Audiobus only. It would not work in AUM.
(Side note: AUM implements Audiobus state saving for itself. So, if you load AUM in Audiobus, AUM's state can be restored - though not any IAA plugins hosted in it, those would have to be hosted in Audiobus and support Audiobus state saving.)
Thanks for that clarification, @wim .
Thanks so much, all! AUM's busses, sends and matrix routing do all sound very useful. I guess Audiobus is unlikely to get these any time soon if Loopy Pro is the main focus of development currently.
Loopy Pro may essentially be the successor to Audiobus.
Great explanation, thanks..Guess I’d better learn Audiobus if I’m gonna use SampleTank
Not sure if that's a logical conclusion. AUM does support IAA apps. Sometimes they need to be opened first, but that's likely due to recent iOS changes. I suspect Audiobus has similar limitations.
And state saving is not an IAA feature. It's an Audiobus feature that an IAA can support by using an SDK supplied by Audiobus. Apps with this capability usually include Audiobus support in their list of features. The AppStore description of SampleTank does not mention Audiobus, so it probably does not support Audiobus state saving.
AUM is no less good than Audiobus at supporting IAA apps.
It would be absolutely the best thing ever if it had a built in midi time line, that captures the midi as simply as it does audio, and then allowing for further editing and arrangement.
Sure there are other apps for this but having a screen just pull up from the bottom similar to Logic Pro or another daw… chefs kiss of all kisses
Thank you Win, I finally understand why people load AUM in Audiobus.
Too bad because I have no use for a looping software. But a lot of use for Audiobus.
I'm glad it helped. Just to be clear though: Audiobus can only state save for IAA apps that specifically implement that feature. Just being "Audiobus Capable" doesn't necessarily mean an app has State Saving.
You can check https://audiob.us/apps/ and select "State Saving" in the filters to find apps that do. Take it with a bit of a grain of salt though because some of these apps haven't been updated in a long time, and a few of them may have spotty support.
Whenever relying on State Saving in the past, I always tried to remember to save presets, sessions, etc. separately, with reference to the name of the Audiobus Session, just in case. For instance, there was a period of time where state saving wasn't always reliable with Xequence 2. The developer doggedly pursued fixing that, and I believe was successful. Nevertheless, the habit is a good thing to observe.
Even though Loopy Pro has 'loop' in the name, it is very capable just as a host. As a host, Loopy Pro is a more capable in most regards than Audiobus. It has a much more flexible mixer and the ability to create your own work surface and controls. It isn't quite as rich as AUM yet in terms of routing but has other areas where it has features AUM lacks. It is a quite capable host. And when it comes to recording, it isn't just a looper, it is also a general purpose multitrack audio recorded.
People tell me that but when I tried the demo I did not really see how it is more than a looper. I saw a multi track looper. I probably completely missed the point.
It can do many things. Yes, Looping is its main focus, but you don't have to use the looping part. Why would you use a looper app as a host/mixer? You probably wouldn't if that's your only focus. But, if you, for instance, wanted to add a custom control interface for mixing and app control, or trigger audio clips at certain points on a timeline, transpose clips, reverse them, adapt to tempo changes ... a lot of things, too many to list.
I think @espiegel123's point is there's more to Loopy than might meet the eye, and if one runs into certain needs that AUM doesn't necessarily meet, then Loopy is worth looking into as a host, even if one has no need for a looper.
I use it as my host most of the time now. AUM is easier for me to just set something up very quick for a test or a jam, or to keep from getting distracted. But I like the open-open-endedness of Loopy. I start from an empty canvas, add some apps, and add clips (loops), etc as I go. But to start with, I don't have a single loop. 😉
Others have built streamlined or mind bendingly complex (to me) specialized project templates. It's nice that anyone can pick their desired workflow.
I don’t own AUM. I know sacrilege 😱 It took me a very long time to even find a use for Audiobus.
Audiobus is a wonderful host! If it meets your needs then there's no need to complicate your life with AUM, AudioBus, or any other host. 😎
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
If you only used templates that came with loopy and didn’t learn about its architecture, you would probably only see it as a looper.
Its mixer is much more capable and flexible than Audiobus . Even if one did no recording, it would be an upgrade from Audiobus.
Half the time, I am using loopy pro primarily as a mixer/pedalboard. Conveniently it had a recorder built-in. And I have it set up so that anytime I am playing, even if I am not recording , I can capture audio that just happened even if I wasn’t recording.
Very true! Thank you @wim and @espiegel123. If I ever get to the point we're I need more I know what to get. 🙂
GOLD
To clarify, Audiobus can only save state of apps that implement Audiobus the state-saving protocol — which is not all IAA apps.