The Mac OS X Audio/MIDI Setup utility is responsible for all Audio and MIDI data coming to and from your Mac, which makes it a valuable troubleshooting tool. The MIDI Setup in particular can come in handy if you begin to experience limited or no response from your MIDI device or if the device is not recognized at all. This guide will demonstrate how to create a new configuration to refresh and clean up your MIDI Setup.
Since it's inception, the USB protocol has gone through three major revisions: USB 1, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0/3.1. The USB 3.0 spec requires that it be fully backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices. However, not all USB 3.0 ports or the computers they're connected to will achieve this USB 2.0 backwards compatibility properly. Here are some ways to identify and troubleshoot USB 3.0 related issues.
A MIDI Monitor is a useful tool to quickly test if a MIDI device is properly communicating with the software. This may be useful if a MIDI keyboard or interface is either communicating intermittently (i.e. a few keys on the keyboard have stopped working) or not at all. This guide discusses one way to quickly set up and test the device.
Many computers running the Windows 7 operating system have power saving features which may attempt to disable the computer's USB ports. For those connecting USB audio and MIDI devices, this can mean pops/clicks/glitches that randomly occur in the audio, or a sudden loss of connection all together. This article walks through steps to minimize the possibility of these symptoms.
Having trouble receiving emails? Unsure of why emails don't get filtered to your inbox? In this article we'll provide an overview of spam filtering, including an explanation of spam filter types.
Sometimes certain products may share similar drivers. This could lead to what is known as a driver conflict. These driver conflicts quite often affect the way one or more of the devices connected to the computer work.
Here is a great guide on how to re-install your USB Audio Codec drivers back to factory specs.
All DAWS need to be cleaned out once in a while. Luckily, there's an easy way to fix most cryptic error messages that may arise in Pro Tools, including Pro Tools Express Akai Professional/M-Audio Edition. This guide will walk you through deleting your Pro Tools preferences on both PC and Mac.
This guide covers basic troubleshooting steps to determine whether your USB MIDI device is recognized, and working properly on a Mac computer.
Most USB audio and MIDI computer peripherals are "Class Compliant" devices. This means that to communicate with the computer, they use drivers that are built right into the host computer’s operating system. These drivers are written by Microsoft (or Apple for Mac OS X), and come pre-installed on all computers. In some cases, these devices may have trouble connecting due to software settings, changes to the operating system, out-of-date system drivers and even hardware problems.
This guide discusses some common troubleshooting steps to determine the cause of these issues and provide some potential solutions.
Having trouble installing an application you downloaded from the internet? The installer won't launch or displays and error?
Mac OS X 10.8, 10.9, 10.10 and up (Mountain Lion, Lion, Yosemite) only allow apps that are downloaded directly from the Apple app store to launch. Apple calls this new security feature Gatekeeper. In this article we'll provide an overview of Gatekeeper, including a walkthrough on how to bypass it to install software or drivers you've downloaded outside the Apple App Store.
When installing a major Mac OS update over an existing one (not using a clean install), or when using Apple's Migration Assistant to transfer files and preferences from one Mac to another, you will often run into trouble with drivers not working properly, authorizations being lost or corrupted etc. When files are mixed between systems, or are transferred to a system they weren't specifically intended or created for, difficulty is always a possibility.
So you bought an audio recording interface, followed all the instructions, and set everything up. Now what?
A typical PC or Mac recording setup may contain software and hardware products from a dozen or more companies. i.e. Dell, Microsoft, Belkin, Steinberg, Syncrosoft, Waves, Universal Audio, Arturia, FXpansion, Native Instruments, Akai Pro, Alesis, M-Audio.
Even with a minimalist setup, getting all the separate hardware and software components to work together smoothly can be tricky. One component’s manual might not pick up exactly where the other one left off, and there are very few manuals which will discuss how to optimize your system over-all for the best performance.
In this article, will cover some measures you can take to optimize your system for maximum recording performance, prevent audio-dropouts and manage latency.