Hi all!
I just bought a new Macbook Pro (M1 Pro). I’d like to ask your experiences to use Digitone as audio interface (playing anything from Mac to Digi outputs). Is this setup stable? I am a professional musician and I cannot afford a system which is not liable.
Reason I am asking this is that with my earlier 2014 MBP I had some audio drop out issues and that time I gave up the idea.
Thanx!
P
Just my personal opinion, I use the DT as audio interface with a MacBook Pro 2013, no issues at all. Main use case is listening to YouTube videos while playing around with the DT.
Very stable. It’s an excellent audio interface as long as you don’t need preamps. I really appreciate the output ‘colour’, quite different from my Audient id14.
Hey could you possibly go into more detail about latency differences between devices, if any exist? I’ve been looking to get an interface to pair with Ableton but I’d rather invest in an Elektron device to at least have the benefit of everything they are vs. just a nice interface.
It won’t be scientific at all, sorry. The Audient is more transparent than the Digitone, the latter is maybe darker but in a very pleasing way to my ears. You can’t notice that difference if you don’t A/B though. Regarding latency the iD14 isn’t very good, but not bad either. It won’t compete with RME. That said I don’t mind in most cases (but recording guitar where latency is an issue for me). The DN is very comparable in this domain : I don’t notice any annoying latency and you can record external instruments without issue, if you’re not too picky with latency. I think the DN is a great-all-in-one solution.
It’s important to note that this is a synthesizer that CAN function as an interface as such it is not optimized to be an interface. Performance and latency will reflect that.
I wouldn’t say so. It’s definitely an advanced audio interface with OB. The internal effects usable on the inputs make it superior to a lot of average ‘pure’ interfaces. The way it splits internal and external streams into a DAW is quite stunning. One can use it in parallel with another audio interface to record the DN and for instance two external mono synths like a charm. I also really appreciate its ability to dialog with iOS devices. The only point I dislike is the OB software which is to me a bit convoluted.
Is there any concern about screen burn-in or other wear out when using it as an interface all day? Just a thought. I don’t know the answer.
I’ve used the Digitone (and Digitakt) as an audio interface. I’ve also bridged it to another audio interface using the device aggregation feature in macOS. It was fine in both scenarios, but I didn’t do this as a permanent setup. I can’t remember latency numbers, but I don’t think it was noteworthy.
Hi and thx for replies!
After these positive comments I did my own test: started use it as a (usb) audio interface with Logic. But unfortunately bad thing happened after about 30 minutes of usage: output sound went suddenly silent. This was exactly similar issue which I had earlier with my 2014 MBP. So it’s not about the mac, it’s about Digitone. Any idea what might be the cause of this audio drop out? I did not have time do further testing but I remember that you need to reset Digitone and perhaps choose it again as output device in Logic to make work again. But anyway this is not stable setup for me….
So it’s not about the mac, it’s about Digitone
Or it’s about the workflow 
I don’t see any reason why, offhand, this should have extreme dropouts, but it really depends on what’s being attempted.
Hopefully something can be isolated!
All good man, thanks for the honest answer 
If it works for your intended purpose then more power to you!
@PLaine I’m not sure if Mac has the same issues as windows cutting off power to USB devices, or if there is a similar task manager type thing where you can grant real-time priority/select cpu cores for the DN/OB/Logic over other running applications? Those two things helped me dramatically on windows.
I wouldn’t put all the blame on DN just yet.
Few answers:
Does all this implicate that I may have a bad Digitone? Two macs with different setups, OSs, and different applications still have this same issue with my Digi. In fact I have tested similar stuff with my A4 as audio interface and never have had any dropouts? (To be honest I haven’t used it that much but it seems to be stable or at least better than Digi)
Unfortunately, everyone has their own unique environments and setups that cause their own unique circumstances, so it’s difficult to pinpoint what the cause is. You can also try to get as close as you can get to a similar test with your A4 to see if that gets the same results in terms of dropouts. If A4 works well then maybe you have discovered a bug and should open a support ticket on the Elektron site. I’m doubting that is the case though and I’m putting my money on MBP causing the dropouts through latency settings in Logic. And I don’t own any apple products (yet)… just wasted countless hours trying to figure out the same issues on windows.
ive seen someone here having problems (dropouts) with mac + digi, they ended up changing some setting on mac (to run in in some different mode or something), and it fixed their issues. Cant find the topic tho.
check your cables - hopefully you can add a noise remover on the cable as well. Soooo many times cables are faulty. I had my Model:Cycles audio in the USB the cable quality change drastically what I was hearing on the computer side.
There’s always this-
Also @PLaine have you tried uninstalling Overbridge, rebooting, then ensuring you’ve got the latest build of OB installer and drivers?
As said earlier my Digi has latest firmware. And with this brand new mac I installed the latest OB (there was no history of any Elektron stuff). Cables are Elektron’s own and same cables work flawlessly with any other setting. With my long experience with audio interfaces sometimes you need to do couple of things to computer to recognize them but usually after that they work. My Digi as an audio interface is different: Mac sees it immediately but suddenly (say after 15-40 minutes) it drops out. I am quite convinced that exactly same setup with A4 as audio interface works perfect or at least much more better.
Is it possible that another audio device ‘steals focus’, like the microphone on a pair of bluetooth headphones becoming the audio-in temporarily? Haven’t checked if this is how macOS handles it, but might be worth having Bluetooth off when you test.
This thread solved a problem for me. Usually I use a Mac for music stuff, so it is hooked up to my K-Mix. But sometimes I want to use my iPad, either to sample with Koala, or for outboard effects.
Usually I struggle with an iConnect box, or other clunky workaround. Then I realized I can use the Digitone.
It’s already hooked up to the K-Mix, so all I do is connect the Digitone to the iPad via usb. Latency is way less than trying to aggregate a second interface on the Mac. Yes, the signal goes through two DACs in each direction, but who cares? It’s the same as using a digital pedal as a send effect.
