# Macbook Pro Issue



## marktreadwell (Dec 20, 2012)

Morning Everyone,

Brand new to REW and struggling to get set up correctly, please help.

Equipment list...

2012 MacBook Pro 15" Retina
Soundblaster X-Fi USB 5.1 Soundcard
RadioShack Analog SPL Meter

I have everything linked up and my mac sound and midi settings are correct. Output is through the soundcard correctly ( I can play music through it ) input is also registering correctly I can see the levels moving in the sound settings. 

Problem is that although REW is set to default device for input and output, it is only picking up the internal mic?

When I try and calibrate the soundcard with a loop back connection I can see the input from the sound card registering on its volume and when I move the output volume up and down this is reflected in the inputs volume in the sound menu, however REW is just registering rom ambient noise from my internal mic.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

If not could someone tell me the best external sound card and mic to use with my MacBook? I purchased the Soundblaster card specifically for REW so I would rather return it and buy something that works if I need to.

I have searched these forums for an answer and can't find anything, please be gentle with me.

Mark


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

marktreadwell said:


> Morning Everyone,
> 
> Brand new to REW and struggling to get set up correctly, please help.
> 
> ...


Hi Mark,

- I doubt that anyone could get that card to work properly with REW .

- I would return that card ( & since Creative omits mention of any support for the Mac OS in the usual places // that should of been a hint of impending problems ) .

- IOW; I don't understand why you would buy a soundcard that does not explicitly advertise OSX support ( maybe it was printed on the box ? ) .
- Look * here * &  *here*  to understand what I'm saying ( there's simply no mention of the Mac OSX ) .



- Anyhow ( morning "finger-wag" over ), to run REW on the Mac OS, the soundcard needs to be *USB based* , with only a single pair of input & output channels .



- Currently the hot ticket for use with REW is the *UMIK-1 mic/preamp * . The mic is an "all-in-one" mic/preamp combo that plugs into your USB port ( no extra hardware required ). 
- One uses the computers builtin soundcard for output ( for which it is quite sufficient ) . 
- Currently this product appears to be unavailable till the end of the month .

- A very good alternative is  *the Dayton UMM-6 from CSL *. Same specs, same operating principal and ( unfortunately ) also back-ordered till the end of the month .

:sn:


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## marktreadwell (Dec 20, 2012)

Thanks for that, the card works fine with the MacBook. I bought it because it had good reviews.

The problem is that REW can't pick up its input, I thought the problem would be between REW and Mac OSX, not REW and the soundcard. 

Can I ask what hardware you are using, do you run REW on a MacBook?


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

Hi,



Mark said:


> Can I ask what hardware you are using, do you run REW on a MacBook?


- I still run Windows XP Pro on a Dell 2510 lap-top . 

- I mostly use a *Focusrite 2i2*  with a  *Dayton EMM-6 mic from CSL.* 

- I won't recommend the 2i2 ( to novices ) since I find it has flakey drivers that need constant massaging ( hence my earlier recommendation , which is directed at novices ) .



> Thanks for that, the card works fine with the MacBook. I bought it because it had good reviews.


- It is recommended that a person research first before buying, so you can't be faulted for that .



> The problem is that REW can't pick up its input, I thought the problem would be between REW and Mac OSX, not REW and the soundcard.


- It's a three-way dance ( between the hardware, REW & the Mac OS ) and one of the three "is out of step" .
- If you truly believe that your card ought to work with REW then I guess you should hold on to it and keep plugging away .

:sn:


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## JohnM (Apr 11, 2006)

Unfortunately Apple's Java runtime has a bug that prevents Java applications accessing the inputs of multichannel soundcards - a soundcard that has both analog and digital inputs, for example, falls foul of this. Not sure whether Oracle's runtime has fixed this. If your Macbook Pro is the 15 inch it has on-board line in and out that will work fine with REW, if it only has the headphone out connection then a basic 2-ch USB soundcard or a USB mic will be needed.

P.S. You could also try running the Windows version of REW under Bootcamp, Parallels or VMWare.


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## marktreadwell (Dec 20, 2012)

I have access to a windows 7 based net book so i will try and get REW working on that with this soundcard.

I would appreciate it if someone who uses a MacBook could tell me what soundcard and mic they use though.

Also, will I get better results using a microphone rather than my RadioShack SPL as an input?

Thanks

Mark


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## marktreadwell (Dec 20, 2012)

Ah, ok so it's a java issue then, so what is the latest soundcard and mic recommendation for mac OSX?

I have a parallels installation of windows 7 on my mac as well as the aforementioned netbook so ill try both.

Thanks


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## bamabum (Dec 7, 2012)

Mac os here. I struggled at first as well. 

I have a USB sound blaster and the standard 140 mic recommended in rew help. 

Are you using the midi app to control inputs. I use this and a simple sound source switcher app. 

I also have to restart rew after changing inputs.


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## matte (Jul 14, 2010)

I've had success, but not great success, with a lexicon alpha and umik-1 with my MacBook Pro in OSX. It still gives me an occasional error. That interface doesn't have phantom power either. So take that into consideration. But it requires no drivers. It's USB class compliant. So is the umik. 

I also have boot camp running windows xp on my MBP and like it better. Mostly because I can use the umik as a spl meter. I've also just picked up a tascam us-144 and a earthworks m30bx. So I'm gonna play around with combos until I see what I like best. It may take a bit though as I don't have much free time these days lol.


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## beezar (Jan 7, 2013)

Your Macbook version (15") should have the audio line-in and audio line-out ports using the internal soundcard, and like JohnM said, that works. I started using REW (yesterday!) with the internal soundcard on a 2008 Macbook Pro and it works great--I took a bunch of measurements yesterday and today. No need for an external soundcard. I use the Behringer Xenyx 502 preamp

Anyway, back to your issue: you might want to check out this thread starting on page 2:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...al-soundcard-work-progress.html#axzz2EcBCz8Ac

It appears to be the same issue you may be having; in Audio MIDI setup, you have to move the microphone icon to the input device you want. I have an older OS X so I can't tell you for sure.


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## marktreadwell (Dec 20, 2012)

Ok guys, 

So I have now got this working, it was simply a case of using the toggle switch on the left of the preferences menu to switch from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz and changing the MIDI settings on the mac from 6 channel/96 kHz to 2 channel/48 kHz. Then the soundblaster card showed up on the input list and REW then picked that up when trying to calibrate.

However, the problem now is that the input volume is 10dB lower than the output and because the soundblaster card does not have an input gain adjust and the card does not allow the mac os to change the input volume, there is no way to fix this.

I am going to return the card and get my money back.

I am looking at buying the ART USB Dual Pre and a Behringer ECM8000 microphone, then I can use my macs internal sound card. Can anyone give me a thumbs up on these to use with REW or are there other microphone/usb pre amps that are worth considering?

Before anyone mentions the on board line input, the macbook pro with retina does not have a line input and the headphone socket is not switchable. 

Thanks for all your help so far guys!

Mark


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

marktreadwell said:


> Ok guys,
> 
> So I have now got this working, it was simply a case of using the toggle switch on the left of the preferences menu to switch from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz and changing the MIDI settings on the mac from 6 channel/96 kHz to 2 channel/48 kHz. Then the soundblaster card showed up on the input list and REW then picked that up when trying to calibrate.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the report Mark ,( too bad about that 10db drop ) . What you've detailed about signal routing is "great-to-know" , for the next time this comes up .

*ART USB Dual Pre* ?

- SAC ( who really knew his stuff ) liked the ART soundcard for it's "cheap & cheerful" entry-level price point . He felt it was more than adequate (spec wise) for this sort of work ( even-though it doesn't have pre-amps that sport the highest gain available /// meaning , one might need to compensate by running the AVR louder to make up any short-fall at the head-amp of the ART ) . 

- I would buy the *Dayton EMM-6 calibrated by Herb at CSL* before using the Behringer model ( along with its' generic calibration file ) . 

:sn:


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## matte (Jul 14, 2010)

Fwiw I have a umik-1 I'm considering selling. You can read about them here. They plug in directly via usb. No interface needed. They come with a calibration file you can download from miniDSP's website. I am only thinking about it because I found a great deal on a earthworks m30bx. No reason in having two calibration mics IMO. 

And I was just reading the classified section rules and I don't have enough posts to be eligible to post there. So I hope I'm not breaking any rules. I'll probably put it on eBay soon. I have well over 80 feedback with 100% positive. Let me know if you're interested. Not sure my email is available on here. It's edmonds dot matthew at gmail dot com. 

If I have broken any rules please let me know and I'll edit/delete ASAP.


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