Hi,
I just purchased an Allen&Heath zedi10 that has an audio interface in it. Now I want to use it to digitalize some MCs from my cassette player using Audacity (3.0.0). I have a stereo phono cable to stereo jack cable that goes from the cassette player into the mixer - into the L/R stereo channel. I’ve plugged the USB from the mixer directly into my mac (Big Sur 11.3) (no hub). In the Zedi10 I use the L/R USB output as I’m supposed to when using the stereo channels. With this setup, I get signal (sound) into my mac both when I check the mac audio settings and when I use garage band.
However, in Audacity, there’s no sound input, i.e. in the device toolbar I am able to select Zedi10 as both input and output, so it registers the interface. But when I record in Audactiy there’s simply no sound signal.
I am able, however, to get a signal through to Audacity when I use the line mono channels, but I cannot figure out why it doesn’t work with the stereo channel.
BTW - The exact same things happen when using the same setup with my piano.
Could it be that this setup is simply not an option with a zedi10 and Audacity?
Can anyone help /guide me?
I’m not familiar with that mixer. The overview on the A+H site says it has a 4-in / 4-out USB interface, at 24-bit / 96 kHz.
When you select the mixer as the Recording Device in Audacity’s Device toolbar, what do you see for number of channels? What happens if you select the Mac’s internal speakers as output instead of the mixer?
The overview on the A+H site says it has a 4-in / 4-out USB interface, at 24-bit / 96 kHz - yes, that’s right
In Audacity’s Device toolbar I am able to choose 1 channel (mono), 2 channels (stereo), and then 3 and 4. I choose the stereo option. But I’ve tried the other ones as well, it didn’t help.
Regarding the output, it seems that in order to get any signal at all into the mac and in GarageBand I need to select the Zedi10 both as audio input and output. Anyway, I just tried to change the output in Audacity to the internal speakers as you suggested, but it didn’t help either
The ZEDi-10 (and ZEDi-10FX) USB interface has 4 inputs and 4 outputs.
The inputs coming from the computer are fixed/hardwired, going from USB channels 1&2 to the ST2 channel and USB channels 3&4 to the ST3 channel. To send something from the computer to the mixer then, you would simply send stereo signals from, say Logic, to USB channels 1&2 and/or 3&4. They can then be added into the main mix or sent to the Aux out using the pots on the ST2 and ST3 channels.
The outputs going from the mixer are slightly different as you can choose what is on the second pair of channels (3&4) using the USB OUT switches as follows:
M1-M2-M3-M4 (no switches pressed) = USB channels 1 to 4 are sourced directly from the preamps of the 4 mono channels.
M1-M2-AUX-FX = USB channels 1&2 are sourced directly from the preamps of M1 and M2 then USB channel 3 is a copy of the AUX send output socket and USB channel 4 is a copy of the FX send output socket.
M1-M2-L-R = USB channels 1&2 are sourced directly from the preamps of M1 and M2 then USB channels 3&4 are the stereo main LR mix.
(note that if both switches are pressed, M1-M2-L-R is active)
When using the ZEDi with Windows (and the Windows ASIO/WDM driver), you can see the inputs and outputs as two stereo devices, as well as four mono options for the four ZEDi outputs.
With a mac however, the ZEDi runs as a class compliant device and so you would use routing in whatever application you are running to select the channels you want to use.
This is quite simple in any pro audio program (Logic for example), but I think the problem you are having here is that the macOS system and most browsers are only geared up for stereo inputs, and may only be picking up the first two USB channels. This is why, even if you were to pick the M1-M2-L-R option, you might only be getting the first two mono channels to facebook.
There are a few ways you could achieve what you want to here however:
Switch around the Windows and Mac computers, this would give you the option of selecting USB channels 3&4 in the Windows managed ‘layer’. Then select M1-M2-L-R and you will be sending the main mix out to facebook live.
Use the ZEDi as the mic input for Logic by selecting it as the interface and using channel 1 or 2 as the input (wherever you connected your mic). The output from Logic could then go back to the ST2 (1&2) or ST3 (3&4) channel on the ZEDi to be mixed with the ST1 and/or the ‘dry’ unaffected mic signal. Now you can reuse your focusrite interface by connecting the ZEDi main LR outputs to it (with XLRF to TRS Jack cables so you don’t accidentally send phantom power back into the ZEDi!) and selecting the focusrite as your facebook input device.
Use XLRF to Jack cables to loop the ZEDi main outputs back into M1 and M2 channels (again to prevent accidentally sending 48v phantom power into the outputs and damaging them). This way, by selecting M1-M2-L-R, you would actually end up with L-R-L-R on the ZEDi USB outputs (because M1 and M2 are now physically coming from the LR outputs). This does mean you cannot use those inputs for other things however…
Install something like ‘Loopback’ (> Rogue Amoeba | Loopback: Cable-Free Audio Routing> ), which I think would give you the ability to re-wire USB channels 3&4 wherever you need using software.
Again, can you post the results of Help > Diagnostics > Audio Device Info ?
HI,
yes, that the cable i’m using: Hosa CPR-201 Dual 1/4" TS to Dual RCA Stereo Interconnect Cable. I’ve tried out both St1 and St2 in the Zedi10 and I’m for the usb out I’ve selected M1-M1-L-R which is the option to use when using the stereo channels (that goes into the main mix - L - R), but it didn’t make any difference.
Here’s the results of Help > Diagnostics > Audio Device Info:
Thanks for posting this information. Steve or someone else with MAC experience may be able to correct me on this (I’m a Windows guy), but it appears that you have 4 channels available to record.
I believe you can select 1 channel (mono), 2 channels (stereo), 3 channels (mono), or 4 channels (mono).
If you make a 4-channel recording, (and you have that M1-M2-L-R button pushed), you should be getting the main L & R channels coming in on mono tracks 3 and 4. So after you make this 4-channel recording, you will want to throw away the first two tracks - “x” in the track control panel; you will have two mono tracks left. In the upper-most track, click the down pointing triangle, then select Make Stereo Track.
You can make it a little easier on yourself by plugging into M1 and M2, and then just make a stereo recording to begin with, but you already know this, and I am sure you have a perfectly valid reason for not wanting to do it this way.
Yes, ok, thanks a lot for your help - that’s probably the way I’m gonna do it then (using M1 and M2). I was just very confused (and annoyed) about not being able to use the stereo channel directly and could not figure out if this was on me, the mixer, Audacity, or simply a combination!
