New to Auria

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Frankv3
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New to Auria

Post by Frankv3 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:57 pm

I just started using Auria after being on Pro Tools for years. It’s a great program for IPad but I was led to believe it was very close to a full-size DAW by many reviews and it seems to be short of that in many ways. The manual is very short and I’m feeling that there is a lot left out. Either that or there is a lot you can’t do. Would like some feedback please.

My main question right now is...I don’t see how you record more than one take on a track and then are able to switch them on and off the track as is possible with most DAW’s. Am I missing something? It seems the only way to do this in Auria is to delete the existing file off the track then use Import File to put an old one back on. Really bulky. Anyway,any thoughts would be appreciated. Also any great instructional videos on Auria? Thanks

theconnactic
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Re: New to Auria

Post by theconnactic » Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:47 pm

No, when you record a new take the new region just stays above the old one without overwriting it. You can record as many takes as you want to without losing anything, but to see older ones you have to move the new ones to another track or tracks. No "playlist" function yet, but also no need to do the complicated steps you were trying. Playlists would be a noce addition though.

P.S.: of course, I'm talking about audio takes. MIDI takes either overwrite or are merged wotj older takes, but it's so even in ProTools until 10 (the latest I used).

Frankv3
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Re: New to Auria

Post by Frankv3 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:55 pm

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

Tovokas
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Re: New to Auria

Post by Tovokas » Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:31 pm

While Auria is an extraordinary DAW for iOS, and there are actually things I prefer using it compared to my desktop DAW experience, because of limitations in iOS, screen size, size of development teams, etc, there will always be things it will lack compared to tools like Pro Tools or Studio One. It’s just unavoidable that you will need to modify your workflow to play to Auria’s strengths (portability, touch interface, etc.), or you will likely be beating your head against the wall. For a while I’ve thought we should create a ‘So you’re coming from the desktop...’ collection of tips. Here are the things I would include:

Audio Editing
* Auria is extremely stable and efficient while working with audio. (On my iPad Pro I can't really hit a track limit using the stock effects. I mixed most of my current 'CD' in Auria, and experienced only a handful of crashes over the course of a number of months).
* Auria has robust bus/aux support (as many busses as you want, six dedicated aux sends)
* You can set up to 4 markers to navigate in the track, though you can't name them and there is no region support.
* The stock effects are good, but all the FabFilter and PSP Audioware add-on plugins are fantastic... at ridiculous prices compared to what you'd spend on the desktop. (My PC version of VintageWarmer 2 cost about the same as 6 of my iOS Fabfilter plugins I got on sale). Most of the FabFilter plugins are fairly demanding in terms of CPU, and thus need to be used judiciously on most iPads. (Pro-Q2 can be tossed on everything: it's very lightweight and is simply phenomenal).

Problems/Things I Miss
* You have 4 insert effect slots per track, but you can't drag and drop them around to different slots in the effects chain, or drag them to other tracks.
* Bouncing tracks is a bit more cumbersome: you can bounce in place with a tap, but creating a bounced copy requires soloing the track and mixing down to a new track.
* Clip stretching, transients, and tempo changes are supported, but not as robustly as you would expect on the desktop. You'll want to establish any and all tempo/meter changes before you begin recording, as existing items won't stretch to match changes mid-stream.
* You can't duplicate entire tracks with clips and effects, or save track templates.
* The file management is pretty limited, on par with most things in iOS. (Though things are improving with the Files app support).
* Be aware that you'll often need to do a quick convert in AudioShare from formats like AIF into WAV to successfully put things on the general pasteboard to 'A Paste' into Auria. (Otherwise the paste will fail without any sort of error message).
* If you freeze a track, you can't move it or shift any other track before it in the track order. (This seems very strange to me.)

Midi
* Most tales of regular bugginess are usually related to midi. Until fairly recently, attempting to recreate the VSTi experience of the desktop in Auria lead to frequent hair-pulling and general butt-hurting. In my experience synths and instruments that rely on IAA (inter-app audio) or Audiobus perform miserably: frequent crashes, bizarre behaviors, no state saving, midi control issues, mixdown issues. Blech! Ugh! Begone foul beasts!
* Tip: My opinion is that trying to fill up multiple tracks with IAA instruments in Auria is the road to madness. If you must include an IAA instrument, create the midi part using Lyra (the built in sampler) as a stand-in sound. When the part is ready, copy the midi part to a new track expressly for adding the IAA instrument. As soon as things sound good, save the preset in your IAA instrument, then immediately bounce the track in place in Auria, thus sending the crash-inducing IAA monster back to the depths of hades where it belongs. You can always create a new track later and load up the preset if you need to update the sound. If you leave IAA apps lurking in your instrument slots, they'll strike at the worst moments possible. Beware! (And since they don't save state, it doesn't make much sense to leave them there regardless).
* Auria Pro's built in synths are another matter entirely! FabFilter One, Twin 2, and Lyra are far more reliable: far fewer crashes or strange behavior, and they save state. Twin 2 can be very heavy on CPU, and Lyra is a bit rough around the edges, but they provides a much better experience than IAA!
* AU synths in iOS are really rounding into form. In my experience they are getting quite reliable, and support state saving. Things should only get better, and more synths seem to be added/converted every month.

Frankv3
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Re: New to Auria

Post by Frankv3 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:17 pm

Great, great advice. You’re right about beating my head against the wall. Since I’m new to Auria it’s hard to know if the deficiencies I’m looking at are real or I just don’t know how to accomplish them. But this forum is a great way to get answers and I really appreciate it. You list of pros and cons is a great help.

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