New Audio iApp?

[MacRumors]

According to a previous reliable report -- Apple is working on a completely new Application that may be due as early as MacWorld San Francisco.

A new report claims that this new application will come in the form of a consumer audio application. The new app is said to also include a large library of audio clips (~3gb altogether). The exact details of the new application are unclear.

[Squire]

I wonder if the audio clips will be the same ones available from Freeplay that have been offered to .Mac subscribers?

Squire

[awulf]

A cut down version of Sound Track? So you can make your own music for iMovie and iDVD.

[dukemeiser]

Maybe this is iWrite. iWrite my own music? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but neither does "iPod."

I think I'm probably the first person to place iWrite in audio. Everyone else has placed it with text/PDA/pen.

[Squire]

Originally posted by dukemeiser
Maybe this is iWrite. iWrite my own music? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but neither does "iPod."

I think I'm probably the first person to place iWrite in audio. Everyone else has placed it with text/PDA/pen.

That would be cool. Maybe they know how many people are tired of waiting for Finale 2004 for OS X.

Squire

[k2k koos]

perhaps it'll be called iTrack.

joking aside, i do not see much sense in an app like this, being a musician myself.
Perhaps Apple's answer to fruity loops etc, but still, i think programs like Logic, reason etc are far more suitable to compose music.
Then again, we'll see, it's only a page 2 rumor...

[tny]

Originally posted by k2k koos
perhaps it'll be called iTrack.

joking aside, i do not see much sense in an app like this, being a musician myself.
Perhaps Apple's answer to fruity loops etc, but still, i think programs like Logic, reason etc are far more suitable to compose music.
Then again, we'll see, it's only a page 2 rumor...

I doubt this is a composition program. More likely, if the rumor is true, this is something in the same niche as Amadeus II.

[stingerman]

Probably a limited Soundtrack feature for the next iMovie version.

Apple really needs a Video Jukebox more than anything else that links in to a DVR. So an iBox with an Video Jukebox to keep and burn broadcast TV would be awesome. It's time to do for Video what Apple has done for Audio. Maybe we'll get a 30" TV as well.

[Wonder Boy]

a soundtrack type program for g3's would be hot. i was going to buy live 3.0 or phazer, but i'll wait now.

[jeffy.dee-lux]

i want something like bias deck. except uhhh... not as expensive, that's right, i want all the same features just less cost. it'll work out somehow.
but yeah, forget the library of samples and all that, i just want multi track recording in a nicely itunes integrated package. Is that what you were talking about with iTrack thing?

[autrefois]

Originally posted by jeffy.dee-lux
i want something like bias deck. except uhhh... not as expensive, that's right, i want all the same features just less cost. it'll work out somehow.
but yeah, forget the library of samples and all that, i just want multi track recording in a nicely itunes integrated package. Is that what you were talking about with iTrack thing?

I really like Deck. But it's true that a less expensive option that offers fewer features but is better integrated with the iApps would be welcome, especially if it's done by Apple.

The name for this new music application? iBach!

[dukemeiser]

If you're a consumer (non-professional) and you want to make a movie, you use iMovie. But what if you're a consumer, and you want to make music (haha, not that kind you sicko...), then what do you use? Well, nothing. Logic is way too expensive (and feature laden) to be used by your average Joe.

This would fit right in with Apple's current music grove. This would also fit in with the "completely new app" rumors. As far as I know, there really isn't a consumer level audio app.

[Squire]

Originally posted by dukemeiser
If you're a consumer (non-professional) and you want to make a movie, you use iMovie. But what if you're a consumer, and you want to make music (haha, not that kind you sicko...), then what do you use? Well, nothing. Logic is way too expensive (and feature laden) to be used by your average Joe.

This would fit right in with Apple's current music grove. This would also fit in with the "completely new app" rumors. As far as I know, there really isn't a consumer level audio app.

I totally agree. I'd love to buy Logic but I wouldn't want to spend that kind of dough and then decide, after the novelty wore off, that it wasn't worth it. Originally, I thought Soundtrack was supposed to fit into this area. A stripped-down Logic would be quite cool. So how much?

Final Cut Pro= $999
Final Cut Express= $299

Logic Platinum 6= $699
New Audio iApp= $210

Hmmm...too expensive for the average Joe interested in making music?

Squire

<edit: I just realized the iMovie comparison. That would make this Audio iApp free, wouldn't it?>

[awulf]

Originally posted by Squire


<edit: I just realized the iMovie comparison. That would make this Audio iApp free, wouldn't it?>

Yes, all iApps but iDVD are free and I would expect this new iApp, what ever it may be to be free too.

The reasons why iDVD isn't free is because or some licensing issue with some part of iDVD and the fact it would be a huge download.

[jeffy.dee-lux]

am i crazy or do some new macs come with sound studio built in? or is it just the 14 day trial that i keep reinstalling... i mean uhh, remembering.
anyways, something like that guy would be cool with me, a bit more refined though...
and how hard would it be to include some realy multi track recording?

for those of you that do use your mac to record music, what do you record through, do you have an external mic plugged in through some kind of device? i just use the built in mic, its great, i can tell whether something i recorded was before or after i got my hard drive replaced, this one's a lot quieter.

[jholzner]

Originally posted by jeffy.dee-lux
am i crazy or do some new macs come with sound studio built in? or is it just the 14 day trial that i keep reinstalling... i mean uhh, remembering.
anyways, something like that guy would be cool with me, a bit more refined though...
and how hard would it be to include some realy multi track recording?

for those of you that do use your mac to record music, what do you record through, do you have an external mic plugged in through some kind of device? i just use the built in mic, its great, i can tell whether something i recorded was before or after i got my hard drive replaced, this one's a lot quieter.

Yep, new macs do come with soundstudio.

[nuckinfutz]

I think the new iApp will be iMusic.

This will be a simple app that allows for 4 track 16/44.1k Audio synced with 16 or 32 channels of midi.

The reason why Apple will be developing this app is twofold.

1. Entertainment- simply plug in a USB keyboard and you have softsynths and effects at your disposal for music making thanks to Core Audio.

2. Linking this App to the iLife group would mean that you could compose much better tracks to use in iDVD or iPhoto or iMovie.

Imagine sending an iMovie with decent sounding midi tracks embedded that would play back correctly on any Mac that has the current iLife installed. Cool.

[inkswamp]

I'm a musician and I have to say that I've been extremely frustrated with the offerings out there as far as multitrack software goes, so I hope Apple is looking into a multitrack iApp. I've been seeking a way to replace my aging multitrack machine with a simple way to get my tracks recorded direct to disk and do simple editing there. Now, there are a few packages out there, but none cater to the musician who just wants multitracking and nothing else, probably because the average musician (non-keyboardist) is very low-tech, so most software contains oodles of cool MIDI and keyboard interfacing elements, drum beat generating software, looping, effects, etc. Nothing I've found so far has been a simple multitrack interface. All I need is the ability to record it, then cut and paste bits and pieces around if I want, and then mix it down. Everything out there either has more features than I need (and is outrageously expensive) or it's a share-/freeware app that does too little. There is a void there for a simple multitrack iApp and I hope Apple decides to fill it.

[AlanAudio]

Apple always prides itself on catering for creative users. An iApp targeted at people who want to create music ( iPerform ? ) would be an appropriate extension to the iApp family and would mesh very effectively with iMovie, iDVD, iTunes & the iPod.

If it were to offer something like 8 track audio, elementary MIDI and a stripped down version of SoundTrack, it would offer the means for novice musicians, together with those who merely aspire to musical creativity, to create stuff themselves.

Apple have a fantastic track record for taking concepts like that and coming at them in a fresh way, so that the process is great fun and offers impressive results with minimal complexity.

Almost anybody would be able to build a backing track and then record vocals and instrumentals over it using a bog standard Mac with no external hardware ( some Macs will need something like iMic for audio input ).

In the past, Mac users were able to use Digidesign's Pro Tools free, but that is only available for OS 9. Digidesign is reluctant to offer a version for OS X, despite having the full version of Pro Tools working very well on OS X and PT free being available for all modern incarnations of Windows.

Digidesign is owned by Avid, their fortunes have not been improved by Apple's success with Final Cut Pro. I'm not suggesting that Digidesign's new-found disinterest in wholeheartedly supporting the Mac platform is in any way connected to Avid feeling peeved with Apple, but the bottom line is that the lack of Pro Tools Free for OS X leaves a vacuum.

Somebody needs to fill that vacuum and who better than Apple ?

With rumours of a forthcoming Apple audio hardware device nearing completion, it would be a perfect time to launch iPerformer ( or whatever it may be called ) in order to get customers creative juices flowing.

As always, once people start getting pleasing results with the iApp, they will be looking for higher end solutions and will inevitably gravitate towards the new Apple audio hardware device, SoundTrack and Logic. Apple could also generate further income by using the iTMS to sell audio samples to be used as building blocks.

The whole idea could work very well, generating a new market, new customers, new exposure and new income streams for Apple. It would also be a sharp prod in the ribs to a company who had previously been very Mac positive, but are currently less so.

[Nermal]

Wow, that was a very long first post. Welcome!

[FlamDrag]

Do let me know what could be stripped out of Soundtrack in order to make it free or nearly free? From my POV it's pretty bare bones as it is!

My only ideas:
1. Significantly fewer included loops
2. Significantly fewer tracks
3. Less control over dynamics of individual tracks.

That's not much really. I confess that I'm not a Soundtrack expert so it's possible that I'm missing several features that could be removed. However, I'd like to know what they might be.

[mr.iso]

Originally posted by Squire
I totally agree. I'd love to buy Logic but I wouldn't want to spend that kind of dough and then decide, after the novelty wore off, that it wasn't worth it. Originally, I thought Soundtrack was supposed to fit into this area. A stripped-down Logic would be quite cool. So how much?

Final Cut Pro= $999
Final Cut Express= $299

Logic Platinum 6= $699
New Audio iApp= $210

Hmmm...too expensive for the average Joe interested in making music?

You can get the Logic Audio 6 Big Box for $230 from zzounds.com
http://www.zzounds.com/item--EMABIGBOX

i don't see that happening. Perhaps a rebranding of emagic? but not a new product.

[Kingsnapped]

Apple managed to make a "stripped down" version of Final Cut Pro for the less financally inclined. I, personally haven't noticed any major changes. It's quite feasable for them to do the same thing with soundstudio.

And for the record, Soundstudio did not come with my two week old Mac, but it is included with all of my scnool's eMacs. Logical?

[AlanAudio]

FlamDrag asked "Do let me know what could be stripped out of Soundtrack in order to make it free or nearly free?"

I've no idea, but it seems to me that if you want non-musical people to be able to make some form of music, in a similar manner to how non-video people make iMovies, then using looped samples is the most productive way to go.

As Apple already has SoundTrack, it would make perfect sense to re-use that technology. Maybe if SoundTrack can't be stripped down as part of an iApp, they will just have to give it away, but charge for the large library of samples.

The only other way I could imagine Apple going would be to use intelligent synthesised instruments. The best example I can think of was 'Band in a Box', which allowed the user to specify a style to accompany the users own keyboard efforts, but I dismissed that, as not everybody can play a keyboard and Apple would surely want a more universal appeal for an iApp.

As one who has used Deck since version 1.0, a feature I always liked, but seldom saw elsewhere was their way of performing crossfades.

When you have virtual faders, the idea is that you click on a fader to move it. However a very common operation is the need to ride two faders simultaneously, perhaps to balance speech against music.

In Deck 1.0, they introduced a feature where you had two linked faders. Moving the mouse up & down faded them both up and down. Moving it left & right made one go up while the other went down. Moving diagonally made more complex fades possible.

It was very elegant and very intuitive.

I hope Apple come up with a similar way of allowing crossfades.

[ExoticFish]

soundtrack is just a multitrack, if apple were to come out with an audio app i would think it would be some sort of editor like peak or logic, just limited in ability. (although i'm hoping for a cheaper soundtrack cause i just bought peak le!)