It’s a bit ironic, don’t you think? Part of the original appeal of the iPad was focusing on running one app at a time. But it has become clear that in some instances, you want the focus of one app, but with tools combined in a meaningful way. (Linux users will sigh and note that they had argued for something similar for years – but the usability experience I would say has progressed radically on iPad beyond what developers were doing with Linux.)

In a new video, you can at last see this in action, with three applications mixed together at the same time, live – thanks to our friends at iOS Musician for producing this terrific vid.

(Rather than “ménage a trois,” mélanger de trois?)

The magic is all possible with Audiobus, the app we’ve been covering in recent weeks that allows you to pipe audio between iOS apps in real time. The results are an excellent argument for splurging for the iPad 4 (or at least the iPad “3” from earlier this year); added horsepower makes this possible.

Some readers have expressed frustration with Audiobus, once they have found it doesn’t work with the apps they want to use. It’s absolutely crucial to understand that each app you want to use must separately provide support for the technology. But this video is a good illustration of where things are going once that support becomes available, which I expect will accelerate early next year. There’s a lot coming once the floodgates open. In this video:

BeatMaker 2 (beat machine) [beta – an example of an app that’s coming]
Sunrizer synth
Funkbox