For Mac users who are doing any audio or video work, Loopback is a useful app that can turn your Mac into a patch panel. Are you creating a screencast, podcast or just recording an audio or video?
Loopback lets you route audio to and from
multiple apps or audio devices you may have connected to your Mac. In addition
to routing audio signals, Loopback can combine multiple sources, and even
reassign audio channels.
It's
not so much an audio processor or mixer, although it does mix multiple sources
together; it's more of a patch panel, where you basically plug one component
into another to build up an audio processing system that meets your needs.
Loopbackfrom Rogue Amoeba includes an easy-to-use interface and the ability to create
very complex audio processes with just a few clicks.
Pros
·
Easy-to-use interface.
·
Easily build custom Loopback Audio
devices.
·
Combine audio output from multiple
apps into one device you can use anywhere on your Mac.
Con
·
Strictly an audio patching device; no
audio processing built-in.
Installing Loopback
The first time you launch Loopback, the app will need to install audio handling
components. After the audio components are installed, you’re ready to use Loopback to create your first
audio device.
One
may have concerns when an app installs components deep within Mac’s operating system, but in this case, it
doesn't cause any issues. If you decide not to use Loopback, it includes a
built-in uninstaller that will leave your Mac just as it was before you started
using the app.
Creating Your First Loopback Audio Device
The first time you use Loopback, it will walk you through creating your first
Loopback devise.
Although you may wish to dash through this process so you can
get to the fun of using Loopback, it’s
important to take your time and see what Loopback is doing.
After all, you’re going to be creating many different
Loopback devices over time.
The first device created is the default
Loopback Audio.
This simple virtual audio device allows you to pipe the
audio output from one app into the audio input of another.
A simple example
would be taking the output of iTunes and sending it to FaceTime, so the person
you're video chatting with can listen to the music you're playing in the
background.
Loopback
handles combining devices, including mixing multiple devices together, however,
it lacks its own mixer; that is, Loopback can't set the volume for each device
that is combined in a Loopback Audio device.
You'll
need to set the volume of each device in the source app or hardware device,
independent of Loopback, to set the balance or mix heard as the output of the
Loopback Audio device you're using.
Using Loopback
Loopback’s user interface is clean and straightforward,
with standard Mac interface elements.
It won’t
take long for an average user to figure out how to create custom Loopback
devices, or even discover the advanced channel mapping features that can help
create a complex audio workflow.
For
the basics, you simply create a new Loopback Audio device (don’t forget to give it a descriptive name), and
then add one or more audio sources to the device.
Audio sources can be any
audio device recognized by your Mac, or any app running on your Mac that
contains audio information.
Using a Loopback Device
Once
you've created a Loopback device, you'll likely want to use its output with
some other apps or audio output devices. Using the Loopback Audio device is as
simple as selecting it as the input within the app.
In
the case of sending the output of a Loopback device to an external audio
device, you can do so in the Sound preference pane; you can also do it by
option-clicking the Sound menu bar icon, and selecting the Loopback device from
the list of available devices.
Loopback
is $99.00. A demo is available.
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