Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan & Audacity not working

[BonitaN]

Hi there,

I upgraded my Mac OS to OS X 10.11 El Capitan recently and since then, when I record audio with Audacity the sound is clicking and almost stuttering. I'm using it with a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB interface with a Sennheiser MK4 mic and recording onto my Macbook Pro.

I uninstalled Audacity and reinstalled 2.1.1 version. Then downloaded the DMG driver again from your site.
I've gone into Audacity preferences and in 'recording', changed the audio to buffer from 100 to 0 and then changed it up in 10 millisecond increments to see if it would work based on a previous post I saw. But it hasn't worked.
Settings are also on 44100 hz, 16-bit.

Is there anyone who can assist with this please? I've got so much work to record and now can't because of this...

Thanks so much!!
Bonita

[kozikowski]

I upgraded my Mac OS to OS X 10.11 El Capitan.....

I've got so much work to record and now can't because of this...

Can you roll the machine back? Your Time Machine should let you do that.

Koz

[BonitaN]

Unfortunately not, I don't use Time Machine..... But surely it shouldn't be a problem - I wonder why this is happening?? It doesn't make sense...

[kozikowski]

I don't use Time Machine

You may decide to start after this. If we can't resolve the problem in software and settings, you have no jobs.

Installing Audacity doesn't reset Audacity. Audacity keeps its preferences and settings in a separate folder so upgrading is less painful. Unfortunately, that also means damaged settings stick around like a sunburn. I don't know that's what your problem is, but it's worth a shot.

Close Audacity.

Go (top of your desktop) > Go To Folder.

Type in this location (attach 1).

Once there, drag audacity.cfg to the trash (Attach 2).

Close everything and start Audacity. Make a test recording.

Koz

[BonitaN]

Thanks so much Koz!
I did that but it's still not working. I also downloaded Reaper 64-bit, but it's doing the same thing when I attempt recording (
Panicking a little cos I have work to get out... Any other suggestions please...?

[kozikowski]

If your work is in mono (one blue wave), drag-select ten seconds of typical stuttering and File > Export Selected Audio. Use WAV (Microsoft). Post it here. Scroll down from a forum text window > Upload Attachment > Browse or Select.

If you produce in stereo (two blue waves), drag-select five seconds instead of ten.

Maybe that will tell us something.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Make a test recording with your MBP built-in microphone. See attached. Your little microphone symbol should say Built-In Microphone instead of Built-In Input. (I'm typing on a Mini; no natural microphone).

The only other moves I can think of is close stuff. I used to regularly get a work supervisor out of trouble by closing all his applications. He would leave them all running but sleeping in the Dock and they eventually choked the machine. Disconnect the network cable if you have one. Turn off WiFi (fan symbol, top of desktop). Restart the machine and leave all your applications off except Audacity. Even if it doesn't magically fix the problem, I'm interested if the damage changes.

Newer Macs have very heavy power management tools and tricks and they can create problems with applications that don't ever pause or take a breath.

I see the not so great news that El Capitan fixes many stuttering problems from Yosemite.

From a Google Search:

But... while my upgrade went smoothly, yours may not. So before I say another word about El Capitan, here’s my advice (which is the same advice I give you every year): You might want to wait for the inevitable point release (i.e. version 10.11.01), just in case. I have not heard of any major issues with the first release, but if history has shown us anything, it's that:

El Capitan version 10.11.01 will be along RealSoonNow™.

and

​El Capitan version 10.11.01 will squash at least a few bugs.

Moving right along, when you do decide to upgrade, you should first make two complete backups of your boot disk. Next, test the disks before you upgrade, just in case. Finally, remember to leave plenty of time for troubleshooting, (say it with me), just in case.

Koz

[kozikowski]

There is one other possibility. No operating system upgrade ever got smaller. If you were on the edge of running out of drive space, you may now actually be out.

Go (top of desktop) > Computer. Control-Click your system drive (illustration 1) > Get INFO (illustration 2)

I would have no trouble doing extensive production and recording in 99GB. What does your number say?

Your comment of "I have tons of work to do" suggests you've already been doing tons of work. If you don't have Time Machine, it's also possible you have no external hard drive to put things to get them out of the way. So it's a good bet you filled up your machine.

Koz

[kozikowski]

While 250GB hard drive seems like a toy compared to modern drives, it's a Solid State Drive and it's the same one I have in my MBP. It's non-magnetic, highly shock resistant and very, very fast.

Koz

[cyrano]

Check Focusrite:

http://global.focusrite.com/answerbase/ ... el-capitan

The Saffire 6 USB 2 works. The Saffire 6 USB 1.1 doesn't.

Points of note: If you are unsure whether your unit is the USB 1.1 or 2.0 version please check the serial number shown on the bottom of the device. If the serial number starts 'S2' it's a Saffire 6 USB 2.0, if it starts 'SU', it's a Saffire 6 USB 1.1.