Need help getting audio out of 2408mkII and DP4.61

[ddclark777]

I have a 2408mkII connected via lightpipe (both A and B) to a RAMSA DA7. I thought that I could route my keyboards through the 2408 so as to make it easy to convert MIDI to D/A, but now I can't get any sound? I'm sure I'm missing something, but please HELP! I have a session this Saturday and need to finish 2 songs by then. Here's my setup:

I am using stereo outs from:
MOTIF ES7
MOTIF Rack
Yamaha CS6x
Akai MPC2000

They are all now connected to the inputs on the back of the 2408. I also connect the outs from the 2408 to the analog inputs on the DA7.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

[Frodo]

Make sure that your Mac's Audio-MIDI settings show output as PCI-324 (or PCI-424, as the case may be). You might also want to go to System Preferences > Sound to route system audio to the PCI card as well, but this is not required...

Please forgive me if this sounds silly, but you are using a PCI card, aren't you? Make sure you have the proper driver installed for the PCI card you are using (324 or 424). This is required. An icon for the 2408 should appear in the MIDI side of the Audio-MIDI window. From there, add all of your synths and make the virtual connections as you have them physically connected to your MIDI interface port for port. Test the connections by clicking on the "Test Setup" icon. Click on each synth. If done properly, a default MIDI signal will be sent, and the corresponding light(s) will flash on your MIDI interface to show that the signal is getting through. Save these settings. If they are not working, try restarting the computer. Sometimes the new settings kick in right away, sometimes they require a restart.

I would plug headphones into each synth just to make sure that the MIDI signal is indeed reaching each synth. This is in case the problem is not MIDI related. If every synth responds to MIDI, then you know that the issue is entirely with your virtual audio settings or physical gain staging.

Open your PCI Console. What are your settings there? At the very least, make Bank 1 analog I/O 1-8 if your synths are routed via the analog jacks.

From there, you should see all of your instruments as you have them setup in Audio-MIDI in each MIDI track output pulldown menu in DP. Here, you must select the instrument and its MIDI channel. To play, of course, you must have the red record indicator button activated on that particular channel.

Make sure that your MIDI routing is accurate and active-- that your synths' RX/TX settings match those assigned in DP's.

Follow every step of your analog routing to make sure that every possible setting is properly set from your synths to the 2408 to the RAMSA to the speakers. This includes cables, mute buttons, faders, synth master volumes, etc.

KEEP YOUR SPEAKERS AT A LOW LEVEL WHILE YOU TROUBLESHOOT!!

I know this is very basic stuff, but all it takes is for one connection to be overlooked to make a difference.

[ddclark777]

Thanks, Frodo. Yes, I am using a PCI card. I updated the drivers for the 324, but I am NOT seeing the 2408 on the MIDI side of the Audio-MIDI setup window. All of my instruments are transmitting and receiving MIDI info, I just can't hear it. I had connected my bass to one of the 2408 inputs and recorded as audio, and I can hear fine, but that's because I can specify in DP where I want the Output to go. With MIDI, as you know, the OUTPUT is the instrument. If this isn't clear, I apologize. I appreciate your help.

[studio16]

Hi dd,

Just a suggestion. Does you digital mixer have analog inputs? Run the audio from your synths into the digital mixer if it has Analog inputs. Then run the main out or 2 channels of the 2408 into 2 channels on your mixer. So your mixer is your Master mixer. Synths and digital audio.

Connect the digital mixer the optical conenctions on the 2408. If you want to record the synth tracks, then bus them to the digital outputs on the digital mixer and record to DP.

I hope you get this working soon!

[ddclark777]

You guys are awesome! I can't wait to get home and try this out! It sounds like a nice fix. I will post later and let you know if it works.

Thanks again!

[Frodo]

Thanks, Frodo. Yes, I am using a PCI card. I updated the drivers for the 324, but I am NOT seeing the 2408 on the MIDI side of the Audio-MIDI setup window. All of my instruments are transmitting and receiving MIDI info, I just can't hear it. I had connected my bass to one of the 2408 inputs and recorded as audio, and I can hear fine, but that's because I can specify in DP where I want the Output to go. With MIDI, as you know, the OUTPUT is the instrument. If this isn't clear, I apologize. I appreciate your help.

I'm sorry, dd. I hope I didn't make it confusing. It's not the 2408 that would appear on the MIDI side-- the MIDI interface and all of the synths you've assigned would appear there. It sounds like MIDI routing is not a problem-- the issue is with the audio.

The option to choose the 2408 as the audio I/O should be available in the Audio side of Audio-MIDI, listed as "PCI-324" in your case. You should see pulldown menus allowing you to select the PCI-324 under Default Input, Default Output, System Output, Properties For, and Clock Source-- all in the Audio side of the Audio-MIDI window.

Repair permissions or run a disk utility in any case, especially if you do not see these options in the Audio-MIDI window.

Good luck and keep us posted...

[ddclark777]

Frodo & Studio16, I took your advice and basically re-did my hook up the way it was before using the DA7 to route of of my analog and I connected the stereo outs on my 2408 to 2 stereo channels on the DA7, as well. I have yet experimented with converting the audio to digital as I am installing MachFive and trying to get that going.

BTW... I noticed since I upgraded to 4.61, I don't see my Audio effects the way that I used to and I can't preview effects. Any thoughts?

[Frodo]

Frodo & Studio16, I took your advice and basically re-did my hook up the way it was before using the DA7 to route of of my analog and I connected the stereo outs on my 2408 to 2 stereo channels on the DA7, as well. I have yet experimented with converting the audio to digital as I am installing MachFive and trying to get that going.

BTW... I noticed since I upgraded to 4.61, I don't see my Audio effects the way that I used to and I can't preview effects. Any thoughts?

You've got me on this one, I confess humbly.

What version of DP were you using before? You say that you don't "see" them the way you used to. Does that mean it just looks different, or does that mean you can't find them at all?

(Congrats on MachFive!)

[ddclark777]

Weirdest thing, dude... I went back to make a screen capture and Voila! It works! Oh, well... thanks for the congrats on the MachFive. I'm having a little trouble as none of the presets are visiblein the MachFive screen nor does my sustain pedal seem to work. I downloaded and installed the "latest" update for MachFive which is supposed to be Tiger-compatible, but it seems strange that the names of the patches aren't showing up. Problems, problems, problems!

[Frodo]

It is odd. In fact, when I first installed 10.4.5, there were a lot of strange things that happened without even opening DP. For one thing, my print settings were all grayed out, including the pdf save feature among many odd things. A couple of additional restarts fixed some things, but a DiskWarrior took caare of most of the issues.

It can happen-- some things just don't "connect". There is no official word about this, but Apple says there's no real difference in the root directory and the user directory except who can access either one. No one else uses my computer, so whenever possible I try to put things on the root directory if it's not working in the user directory. It's always my user directory that misfires.

I don't recommend this as a solution, but I am convinced there is something to this as it relates to silly things in OSX happening, not happening, and then happening again all of a sudden.