LOOPY HD: VARYING BEHAVIOR with or without AUDIOBUS
Hi all, I create loops with beatboxing and harmonicas, and have been using Loopy for a while in a simple way - first with the iRig headphone input and more recently with the Zoom U-24 audio interface. In this direct audio setup I can stop and start the whole loop session instantly with the pause/play symbol on the bar. That's great - I use this a lot to get the 'shots' effect.
Now I want to add a MIDI harmonica to my sound and have the ability to record it in Loopy (I'm using wind synth patches in Thor). The only way is linking Thor with Loopy via Audiobus. But then my live audio input from the Zoom U-24 is disabled... No problem: I just select the Zoom in the System Audio Input in Audiobus, and now the mics and MIDI harmonica can all be recorded in Loopy.
BUT now the instant start-stop looping effect that always used in the past doesn't work... After stopping the whole loop session on the Bar, when I hit Play, I have to wait till the rotating symbol reaches the top. How can I deactivate this and return to instant start while using Audiobus? I've disabled MIDI sync and tried every Track Management option I can think of. To me the 'shots' effect is a basic function of any looper, so I hope it's still possible using Audiobus. Thanks for your help!
Comments
Hey @BeePee - you'll need to disable Ableton Link in Loopy's settings. Then it should work!
Thanks Michael! Yes, it works :-) One more question if you don't mind:
I find the microphone sounds better with the direct input to Loopy compared to routing via AB3. It's punchier, fatter, and very immediate: there is no latency, or nothing I am aware of. When I route via AB3 the sound is slightly thinner and there is the hint of a lag. Still workable, but I'd prefer to stay with the direct sound.
Is there a way to keep my direct sound with Loopy on the mics coming in from the Zoom via USB/ Lightning connector at the same time as have Thor routing to Loopy via AB3? At present, as soon as I make Loopy the destination with any app in AB3, the direct connection with the mics via the U-24 is lost.
Can Thor be piped in via AB3 MIDI so it doesn't conflict with the audio LR channels from the Zoom audio interface?
Yes, I experience exactly the same, I get an 'off phase' 'mini chorus' effect. I'm using a Zoom U44, when I have AB3 running alongside Loopy, I think there is latency somewhere in the system.
Yes, the latency with AB3/Loopy is tiny but perceptible compared to the immediacy of the direct sound. That plus the thinner tone of my mics in AB3 gives me an incentive to keep them supplying Loopy direct - because it just sounds better and more 'real'.
I'm still hoping there is some way to bring another sound feed into Loopy (via MIDI or AB3) whilst keeping my two mics' direct connection with the Zoom. Can anyone here tell me if that's possible and, if so, how to do it?
I'd love to try an AUM/Loopy connection for comparison, but at present it doesn't seem possible without going via a convoluted path starting in Audiobus:
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/32020/loopy-aum-ab3-great-looping-setup
That would seem to defeat the purpose for my needs, as logically it should add even more processing and lag to the signal, but perhaps I'm wrong. Has anyone found a way to go directly from AUM to Loopy, or is that simply impossible?
Hmm, this is interesting - that really shouldn't be happening, so I'd really like to solve that! I'll take a look at it shortly.
Any chance you could make a recording comparing the two, with your setup - the mic input direct in loopy, and via AB?
Thanks - will do later today.
OK, I recorded a sound file (MP3), but can't attach it here - it says "File Type not Allowed". Any suggestions on how to upload it?
Okay, try now, I've just added mp3 as a valid file extension.
Thanks Michael! I attach a recording made with a Shure SM58 via my Zoom U-24 via USB hub and CCK and then into Loopy. Just done on my phone, not super HiFi but it does the job. The sounds are mouth percussion.
The Zoom has a monitor knob that can switch between zero latency Direct Monitoring to Playback, and anything in between. Direct Monitor is the sound passing straight through the Zoom to the amp, Playback is the signal after it has passed through the iPad. The first test has Loopy in Audiobus, and I'm flicking between Direct Monitor and Playback to show the difference. You can hear the slight 'flam' in the Playback mode. I was attributing this to Audiobus.
However at the end I did a test where Audiobus is not used: the mic/Zoom is plugged direct into Loopy, so the LR channel options are shown (I chose the middle LR). Here I also switch between Direct Monitor and Playback. Surprisingly (to me) I can hear a different sounding but similar length of latency/lag in this configuration too.
So... This seems to show that Audiobus is not causing the latency I can hear, as I'd suggested earlier in the thread. It may add a tiny bit of colour to the sound, but the latency itself seems to come from the sound going into and out of the iPad. (Mine is an iPad Mini 4 running IOS 12.2. Not the latest, but still decent).
I've tried plugging the Zoom direct into the CCK connector but it doesn't change anything. If anyone has any suggestions about how to eliminate/reduce the latency, let me know. One workaround I've found is to record the loops with Direct Monitor (so I don't get put off by the latency), then listen/jam along with Playback turned up.
I final note: I think both Loopy and Audiobus are absolutely fabulous apps! Thanks to Michael for creating them, and for being so reactive to comments/suggestions from us.