Hi,
Bought a new mac M2 and now my old audio interface or tascam dr-05x are not working anymore to get sounds from my modular into Ableton.
So looking for a new audio interface. Like it to be compact, preferably 4 ins (but 2 is also okay). What are your favorites?
My favorite audio interface is the Merging Anubis, now also from Neumann. I use the Merging Horus for years and now additionally together the Anubis. I‘ve tested all high end interfaces and result for me are the Merging interfaces.
Why is your DR-05x no longer working?
MOUT M series: basic, with an emphasis on sound quality.
Another vote for the little MOTU, have an M4 that works beautifully with M1/2 Mac and has DC coupled IO, and are very reasonably priced. Also crazy low latency.
Yeah, this is odd. I have the DR-05x and an M2 MBA and it works fine with Bitwig. Maybe an Ableton Live setting needs tweaking?
As for suggestions, I’d be looking at the Expert Sleepers modular interfaces (if you have the space/cash) to get things going back and forth between the modular and Live.
Well, it recognizes the device (it pops up in my audio preferences) but I see no sound coming in on the channel. +10 years of using Live, so I figure I’ve tried every option I could think of.
Still works fine on my MBP 2015.
I’ve updated the tascam to the latest firmware, when I got the M2.
MOTU Ultralite Mk5 is dc coupled and can do over +/-5v which is pretty handy.
Hey @craig could you please tell me if your tascam is updated to the latest firmware? My other interface, Akai IEI, also shows up in Ableton but also gives no sound on the armed channel when chosen in audio preferences.
Should I maybe try to make an aggregate device on mac, to see if that works?
I use an Apogee Element 24, there’s only 2 INs, but damn what a fantastic interface with pristine audio quality. They can be had for cheap too, for less than $200.
Have those of you having trouble with Ableton Live and interfaces tried other software on the Mac (Audacity, etc) to possibly eliminate the hardware/OS as the issue?
Gonna try that tomorrow, clever tip!
not into modular, but i’m currently using an audient id44 with M1 mbp. quite happy about it regarding price/quality ratio. Audio chips have come a long way. (i remember switching from motu 828mk2 to metric halo long ago and the difference was night and day)
Another vote for MOTU M2/M4. They are DC-coupled as well. Class-compliant, ultra low latency, extremely useful loopback option … best bang for the buck.
What is the advantage of DC-coupled?(honestly I do not know the difference between AC or DC-coupled)
DC Coupled means that the interface can output a steady voltage other an 0v. This allows you to use the interface to directly CV modular gear without having to buy a separate Expert Sleepers (or similar) module.
MOTU interface are typically DC coupled - my 828 mk2 was, the M4 is, and it seems the Ultralights are as well.
Ah. Thanks!
Okay, I think I have discovered a solution. You have to give permission to apps to use the microphone before you can use the mic OR an audio interface.
When trying in Garageband to get things going (thanks @plragde !) I got a popup that mentioned I had to give permission in the security preferences. There I saw that Live was not given that permission. Once that was done, audio was flowing into Live. Very happy!
So, now first gonna try my old Akai interface, before splurging a couple of hundreds on a new one.
Here is a good explanation:
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004966139-CV-Tools-Overview-Technical-FAQ