Hi Audacity community. First time here and just want to say to the Audacity developers a big thank you for making this fantastic audio editing software. I’ve used it for years. I had a roommate in college who helped develop it in the early years.
Anyways, I am trying to record a live DJ mix using my turn tables, mixer, digital vinyl system (Denon DJ DS1), and a 13 inch MacBook Pro 2017 running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4. Apple decided to get rid of the Line In hardware in their new models because they think not enough people use it; what a dumb decision. I was able to use my old 2009 MacBook Pro running on Snow Leopard and a USB microphone/headphone adapter (external soundcard) to record my mixes using Audacity with an outdated M-Audio Torq Conectiv audio interface but now that the OS is El Capitan, Torq is no longer usable. Likewise with High Sierra. The Line In is not shown in my audio preferences “In” tab when I plug in the RCA cable into the laptop’s headphone/speaker jack. It still uses the internal microphone or headphone if I plug one in. I’m also unable to hear any sound coming out of the computer speakers with or without plugging in an external computer speaker. I tried to use Soundflower following instructions shown on Audacity wiki page but that failed.
Has anyone else come across this problem with recording? Has Soundflower worked for you? What sort of plug(s) or adapters do I need?
I’m going to try using a third splitter cable as a bridge between my laptop and mixer to “convince” the computer to use the Line In option but I doubt it will work. Another option is to use the iMic USB adapter made by Griffin Technology. I’ve asked compatibility questions on Amazon’s sale page for this device which gave me mixed answers.
I’ve been using the Behringer UCA-202 to restore the Stereo Line-In and Stereo Line-Out and the Zero Latency headphone connection.
I have two.
Koz
No, I don’t recommend earbuds for mixing. They were available for the photo and looked pretty.
Koz
Thanks for the reply Koz.
I saw that product and wasn’t sure how it would be used with my set up. I usually connect the RCA-3.5 mm Y-splitter cable from the Gemini 3 channel DJ mixer (Rec output) to the laptop’s headphone jack. I then go into Preferences and switch the Input setting to “Line In”. There was another feature in the old MacBook Pro that had an additional drop-down option on the bottom that said “Use Audio port for” either the Sound Input or Sound Output.
Could I plug in my RCA cable into the Behringer UCA-202 headphone jack as substitute for the laptop’s headphone jack?
Oh, I just realized after posting the first reply that I could just use an ordinary RCA cable to connect this Behringer UCA-202 into the Input jacks and then the Rec Output jacks into the Gemini mixer. That should do the trick right?
There was another feature in the old MacBook Pro that had an additional drop-down option on the bottom that said “Use Audio port for” either the Sound Input or Sound Output.
That’s because you had a 13" MBP. The 15" and 17" had two different connections and didn’t need that option.
The UCA-202 solves a lot of problems.
Koz
An adapter by Audio Technica also works (https://www.soundprofessionals.com/mas_assets/full/ATR3350iS-ADAPTER.jpg). Although I had to install a free software called LineIn and click on the Pass Through. In the MacBook, the Input and Output is set to External Microphone and Headphone. Audacity does the same job as LineIn. I found a local shop in town that sold it for $13.
There is a latency with what I’m hearing out of the computer speakers and through the monitor headphones from the mixer and turntables. I don’t know if this latency can be reduced or not but it makes mixing a little challenging. I’m going to record a mix today and review the sound quality.
