External studio sound cards(audio interfaces) are more focused not so much on listening to music as on its creation, not to mention a wider range of applications, including simple music listening functions, applications for games, movies, voice telephony, etc. The main characteristic of such an audio interface is the transfer and playback of audio recordings in their original form without processing, overtones and “improvements”. This is exactly what you need for studio work, but ordinary users can also appreciate this sound. Thanks to a separate case, the external sound card is maximally isolated from interference and interference, which are inevitable when connected internally. Connection to a computer is usually made using USB (2.0 or 3) or FireWire, many support advanced control using external MIDI devices and have a full MIDI interface.
Since the external audio interface is more intended for sound recording, this is its priority: the case usually has from one to dozens (and even hundreds!) of inputs, and there are not only professional studio XLR and TRS connectors (often combined), but also household " 3.5 mm minijacks (1/8” TRS), and popular RCA (so-called “tulips”), not to mention digital inputs and outputs. An external sound card can also have from one stereo pair to dozens of analog inputs and outputs, and usually these are RCA and / or 1/4 "TS / TRS Jack. Models of the middle and higher price segments almost always have digital inputs and outputs on board. The quality of the internal converters on these audio interfaces typically range today from 16-bit/44.1kHz (but very rare) to 24-bit/192kHz. studio, but also everything else listed above.Multi-channel recording and playback are not deprived: a modern audio interface with multiple outputs can usually connect several speakers with channel separation for surround sound systems.Finally, professional external sound cards offer a large number of external controllers: volume control with sound level indicators, input type switches, separate headphone outputs with their own control knobs, etc.
By the way, if you want to buy an external sound card, then we warn you against buying very old devices: this is associated both with the risk of ending support for this product by the manufacturer and releasing new drivers for new operating systems, and with not quite comfortable using them, taking into account the increased requirements of users and technology in general today. In our catalog you will find a large number of current audio interfaces from well-known and respected manufacturers of various price categories.
A step-by-step guide on how to twist together 2 different audio interfaces into one under MAC OS X without a soldering iron and additional wires. I think it will be useful for disc jockeys and sympathizers.
**If the introduction is not interesting, you can immediately scroll to the 2nd picture.
A certain amount of time ago I decided to try making music. And as a child of the era of computerization and a macbook in one bottle, the first thing I thought was that this should be done in the right software. How the subject was chosen by Ableton (although this is completely irrelevant). But it became clear that one audio output would not be enough. In the correct scenario, 2 channels (stereo) go to the master output (the one in the “hall”), two to headphones (so that you can listen to the track or instrument before mixing). Of course, one could not bother, unsolder a regular mini-jack into two mono channels and practice in mono. But this idea did not take root, because, firstly, it was not comme il faut, and secondly, then I did not want to solder at all. I thought that you can just buy a cheap USB audio card and get all the missing goodies for some 350-600 re. Then only set up Ableton so that the master outputs it through the built-in sound, and already connect the headphones to an external card and reduce-reduce-reduce (including crazy neighbors).
But how annoying it was when it turned out that in the settings of all sequencers you can select no more than one device.
Therefore, it turned out that, behind the seeming simplicity and obviousness, the idea quickly burned out, and therefore was abandoned. Then a few years passed, work changed and it was already possible to get an expensive (professional) interface (which was later sold as unnecessary), without bothering with witchcraft over usb. Nevertheless, not everyone has the desire and even the opportunity to part with their hard-earned 3500+ rubles.
Not so long ago I bought myself a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD card. Only in order not to inadvertently turn the head of the standard 3.5 mm connector on the beech (you never know what can happen, it will be a pity). It is cute, with good characteristics and works without firewood (except for the lack of the ability to use all sorts of improvers that are available from under Windows using the bundled software). Using her example, I’ll tell you how, having spent a little of your time and money, you can get the opportunity to use 2 different audio interfaces simultaneously under MAC OS X (using OS X 10.7 as an example).
So, for the focus, you need a poppy, an external card, 5 minutes of time.
First, we cut the map to the computer. Next, go to /Applications/Utilities. There you will need an audio and midi setup utility.
If the card is connected correctly, then after starting the utility it will be displayed in the list of available audio devices. In my case it is USB Sound Blaster HD.
At the bottom of the list are the menu buttons. You need to click on the plus and create an Aggregate Device (I don’t know how it will be in Rux localization, but there shouldn’t be any problems).
After that, “Aggregate Device” appears in the list of devices with an icon in the form of a large positive electron. In the menu on the right, you need to select the devices that you want to combine. I decided not to trifle and combine all the linear inputs and outputs. You can rename the Aggregate Device if you wish. Which is what was done.
Ready! Now you can run the program and see that it is possible to select a freshly created interface from the list.
Pros:
- Low cost
- Easy to set up
Minuses:
- The only "BUT", with such a combination of devices, the total sampling rate and bit depth of the output signal is limited to the smallest of the devices. In the case of inexpensive cards, this is 44,100 Hz, 16 bit.
It's no secret that the Mac platform throughout the civilized world is considered one of the most reliable and easy to use, there is a lot of evidence for this. I am one of many happy Macintosh owners and users. Since my life is connected with sound and music, this article will focus on the specialized use of the Mac as a music workstation. And we will start, perhaps, with the interface of Mac OS X.
So, the desktop and its appearance (Fig. 1).
The interface is slightly different from the usual "Windows". Above is the menu bar, which, as it were, is universal for programs. That is, if the program is active, then the buttons at the top correspond to this particular program. The apple in the upper left corner performs the same function as the start button in Windows. At the bottom of the picture you can see a lot of beautiful icons, this is a dock - we can put shortcuts to frequently used programs in it. The dock can be placed in any of the three planes of the screen - left, right, bottom. It can also be customized for you.
A lot has been said about the fact that virus attacks are practically not terrible for this OS. In order to "pick up" the virus, you need to try very hard. Disk defragmentation, registry cleaning, programs freezing or unstable - all this can be almost forgotten on Mac OS X. That's why professionals from all over the world prefer the Macintosh.
Now let's move on to the sound part of the computer. The factory delivery includes integrated sound, which, by the way, is quite high quality compared to a PC. You can visually view the sound settings through the System Settings utility (Fig. 2 and 3).
Here we can adjust the audio input and output, check the signal level through the microphone and adjust the sound effects.
Integrated sound is good, of course, but we are professionals, and we work on professional sound equipment. How to set up a professional sound card in Mac OS X? Everything is very simple - if your card is external, and connected via USB or FireWire, then just connect the device, install the software, if any, and the card is installed. I have an M-Box2Pro card, and in "System Settings" it is displayed as in Fig.4.
The card also appears in the audio input/output device selection list (Fig. 5).
Installing the software is quite simple and easy. Mac OS X provides two installation methods: this is the traditional one (Fig. 6)
and by means of the function "picked up and dragged" (drag and drop) Fig.7.
All installed programs are located in the "Programs" folder on the system drive (Fig. 8).
If you moved the program shortcut to the desktop, then there is nothing to worry about, the program will be operational and nothing will change in this situation, it’s just that this shortcut will no longer be in the Programs folder. But if you delete the shortcut to the trash and then empty it, then in this case the program has already been permanently removed from the system, and you will need to reinstall it. This is the simple way to uninstall software in Mac OS X.
Plugins and codecs are located in the "Libraries" folder (Fig. 9).
Perhaps, let's go directly to the use of programs for creating and processing music. On the Macintosh platform, I use two main programs, these are Logic Pro 8 and Pro Tools LE 7.4 (Fig. 10, 11).
A little about the features of setting up a sound card in these programs. The fact is that in Mac OS X there is no such thing as ASIO drivers and dll files. There is an opinion that the output sound quality on Macs is better than on Windows PCs. I am not a programmer, and I will argue from the point of view of logic. Everyone knows perfectly well that for the normal operation of a sound card on a PC, you need to install drivers, and what quality the output sound will be depends largely on the supplied drivers. There are standard WDM drivers and professional ASIOs. The latter provide comfortable and professional work with sound under Windows OS. As a result, this is still a link, which can degrade the sound quality. If I'm wrong, please correct me.
In Logic Pro 8, sound devices are displayed in this way (Fig. 12):
As you can see, there is no information about latency in milliseconds and ASIO drivers. We can conclude that the card is hardwired to the system without any middleware, and there is no delay at all. I can give you a practical example to prove it. I am a member of a jazz band, I play keyboards and my MacBook in conjunction with M-Box2Pro is both a synthesizer, compressor and processing for guitar and saxophone based on the MainStage program, which is included in the Logic Pro 8 package (Fig. 13).
So, during the game, there is no delay at all, there are no freezes and glitches typical for the Windows OS, while the guitar and saxophone are also recorded in Pro Tools along the way.
I will briefly describe the features of working with programs in Mac OS X. I work on two video monitors, which is very convenient when working with Logic and Pro Tools. On one screen is the editor window, and on the other is the mixer. If in Windows the program and the modules attached to it were a single whole, then in Mac OS X, as it were, the program consists of modules independent of each other (Fig. 14,15).
This is very convenient when you need to place additional program windows, or when two or three audio programs are used at the same time.
I want to note one more advantage of Mac OS X. When working in Pro Tools on a PC, it is almost impossible to work in parallel, for the reason that Pro Tools completely intercepts the priority for using a sound card and Cubase remains completely incapacitated. You have to close one program, then open another, and this is time, nerves and inhibition of the creative process. Mac OS X users don't have these inconveniences. I can easily record parts in Logic with Pro Tools open, then convert the tracks to wave and then edit them in Pro Tools. Programs do not interfere with each other at all.
In this article, I have only highlighted some of the benefits of using Mac OS X in the area of music. I want to wish everyone to feel the convenience and ease when working on the Macintosh platform.
Comments (30)
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egormidi - Stupid! Who runs ESI Julia under MAC OSX??? (PCI card)
I've been catching sound for a week now...although it comes with a disc with software for Mac....
I would appreciate any advice [email protected]
SlayerDUDE - VGM, busy, and I'm looking at you and laughing) one is, like, smart, and the other is stupidly stalking) since you are both smart, can you share your mind with us, ordinary lamers? Or are you not smart enough to do it? sorry I didn't ask this 2 years ago...
As for the article, everything is described here rather superficially, which means that it is not very informative, just to get acquainted with the work in the poppy in general terms ...
Vlad, you drive yourself) no one here compares anything with fruit, don’t be stupid, bro, in order to transfer individual cube windows to another monitor, the very main shape of the cube will also have to be stretched, don’t forget that there is a cube in the poppy and that’s the difference - the poppy does not have the main form, which means, as it was said in the article - all the window modules that make up the program do not depend on any common window ... by the way, Photoshop is a clear example of the main form that limits the location of the modules - run it on PiSyuk and on a Mac, and I don't think I have to explain anything else)
Nikita - Friends, I need advice! Please tell me which external sound cards (suitable for recording guitars and other musical instruments) are compatible with MAC OS X LION. There is no desire to downgrade the OS version, and my Emu 0404 usb does not have drivers to work with the lion. There is a way to reboot a mac in 32-bit mode, but I would like to have a sound card that would work without such shenanigans... Any help would be greatly appreciated! [email protected]
Sergey - there is no delay only when you play an instrument without processing. it’s worth hanging up the tool for reception in the side chain beads and here it is, as it is here. The poppy hangs well when using professional equipment, for example, with power core. In the logik, the tools bar is absolutely ill-conceived compared to cubase. the sound cannot be better by definition. yes, there are many nuances. for example, there is no support for uad. he wins IMHO with strip chanels. due to the calculated presets, the sound does not fall apart already at the beginning of the arrangement. it is worth throwing them away and that's it! I spat on the cube, now I mother Logic. and only the beloved samplitude does not cause complaints.
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This awkward feeling...
As a musician, I've heard many times that Apple computers are the best for audio work. As a key argument, a famous musician is often cited with an Apple laptop. But to the question: “Why is a Mac better than a PC?” - almost no one can give a clear reasoned answer.
Creative people do not tend to delve into the principles of the functioning of their equipment, they just use it. Often this serves as a breeding ground for all sorts of prejudices and delusions. I will try to dispel at least some of them.
At the moment, in terms of the number of professional music software, the leader is the Mac, and somewhere behind, hopelessly lagging behind Linux. Therefore, in reality, the choice is only between two platforms. Both have a lot of supporters and opponents. Moreover, opponents, basically, are such only from the desire to justify their own choice and not seem fooled, because only a few delve into the fundamental differences in sound processing by these systems.
Delays
Why are delays critical? If you're just playing an audio file, then a 20 millisecond audio delay doesn't matter, but if you need software monitoring while recording or processing audio, it's "death". The musician simply loses touch with the instrument (or voice) and ceases to feel it. Mac OS has a wonderful technology called Core Audio, which makes it possible not only to deliver sound from a sound card directly to an application (with minimal delays), but also to use one audio channel in several applications and synchronize audio streams. On Windows, things are much worse. It is impossible to achieve an acceptable sound delay by built-in means. For this, there is a technology called ASIO from Steinberg. This is a third-party driver that is not built into the system (a kind of "crutch" bypassing the standard audio stack architecture), and it works far from being as stable as native technology. In addition, ASIO works on a limited number of sound cards. 
Work stability
Once we accumulated material in one of the studios. All work was carried out on a computer with MS Windows (XP) and Pro Tools installed. Everything sounded very good (no wonder Pro Tools is considered almost the standard for working with sound). We wrote game after game and, as they say, nothing foreshadowed trouble ...
But then it came to the vocals and, with bated breath, we started recording. The vocalist made an excellent double from the very first time. What is called, revealed to the fullest! And what was our surprise when, by clicking on the "play", we heard only silence. The sequencer showed the recorded track, but there was no sound. The problem was cured by a reboot, but the sediment remained. We were upset not so much by the fact that we paid the studio for the time of work and as a result simply lost money, but by the fact that we did not succeed in the second such vocal part. Yes, we rewrote the vocals, but it was already “not right”. By the way, this has never happened to me on a Mac, although I recorded many more tracks. All the problems that I had were due solely to the performance of the iron itself. For example, lack of RAM. At the same time, I do not give away my precious resources to various antiviruses, firewalls, etc.
The negligent brainchild of Bill Gates presented us with unpleasant surprises on stage, during performances. In our music, in addition to "live" instruments and vocals, we used electronics. Everything was played from a laptop running MS Windows (7) through the Ableton program. It seemed, what problems can arise during the normal playback of a minus? But it was not there…
Sometimes the sound suddenly cuts out during the performance of a song. It was treated, you guessed it, with a reboot, but I don’t think it’s worth explaining how it looked from the outside ... The impression of the performance was blurred. In addition, Windows does not overload very quickly, and we had to fill in the pauses with impromptu songs. Of course, I persuaded our "electronics" to change the platform, but unfortunately, I did not succeed in this. He did not understand technical subtleties, and on an emotional level, I was not convincing enough for him.
Epilogue
Summing up, I want to say that Apple computers are not common in our country mainly because of the relatively high price. Professional musical equipment is expensive, and our compatriots are trying to save at least something. But, as the saying goes: "The miser pays twice."
There is also a category of people who see only so-called show-offs in Apple technology and, purely out of principle, do not want “to have anything to do with it.” I feel sorry for these people the most. Not only do they lock themselves in the cage of their prejudices, they also tirelessly try to teach others by imposing their point of view on them. As for me, I gave up using Windows in my musical activity a long time ago and have never regretted it. At the moment I'm experimenting musically with iOS devices, but that's another story.
Komissarov Vitaly
