No sound with Guitar Combos on Mac

As a previous user posted, i'm having issues getting any sound to come through the software when my guitar is plugged into the USB interface. My problem is slightly different in the fact that i'm on a Mac OsX, and have no idea if perhaps the systems sound settings need to be changed separately from the setting within the guitar combos software itself.
So far i've tried everything I can think of by following the instruction manuals for iAxe and guitar combos to the letter, and making sure all the settings mentioned for Mac are where they should be. There are no separate speaker systems plugged into the system, all sound is run through the built-in speakers. Plugging headphones into either the system or the USB interface does nothing to help, and the only sound I can hear when running the software is the metronome beeping.
I dont know if its relevant, but when the program was first run after being installed, with the default sound settings it was issuing a constant, high-pitched squeal. If i selected anything else as the output device the squealing noise would stop, but no matter which device I choose for input/output, there's still no sound from my guitar. Even the volume indicator isnt lighting up to show that it's registering any kind of frequency when I play.
If anyone else has had issues using this on a Mac and has a solution, i'd much apprectiate hearing it. At the moment, i'm visiting at my mum's house and using her computer for the next two weeks and didn't bring my amp, so this software is the only way I have to practice with any effects. At home the software works fine on my on computer, but i'm using a surround speaker system that I run the sound directly through when playing, so the situation is very different. Also, my own computer is a PC, not a mac, so the issues I had with it on my own computer were of a different nature (ASIO settings were wrong) and don't apply here since the drivers cant be installed on a Mac.

 

What are you using for an audio interface?
I'll be able to help you!

 

I'm not sure what you mean by what i'm using for an audio interface. The mac i'm on is a G5 and i'm running all sound through the built-in speakers since this computer doesn't have a separate speaker system plugged in.
The only audio settings i've played around with were the ones within guitar combos itself, and i set them up as listed in the instruction manual for mac systems but there's still no sound coming from my guitar, only the metronome when i play it.
When it comes to Mac, i have a lot of trouble finding my way around the operating system since i only use this computer for a couple of weeks during the year while i'm visiting my mum. The rest of the year i spend on my own PC and i sorted out the setup issues on that the day i bought the software.

 

Are you using the iAxe with teh USB port, or a Behringer USB interface?
I'm just not sure what you have.
You will need to set Guitar Rig Combos to use the USB interface by installing, and selecting the ASIO driver in the Audio/MIDI prefs.

 

I'm just using the Behringer USB interface with a regular guitar plugged into it.
As for the ASIO drivers, they're not the issue. I can't even access the drivers on the disc at this computer, the drivers aren't compatible with Mac. The ASIO setting were the cause of the same problem on my PC at home, but that's been fixed. Now i'm using a Mac while i'm here visiting my mum and those drivers cant be installed or used, so something else is stopping the guitar from playing through the Guitar Combos software. I'm confused as all hell and getting real frustrated with trying to get it to work properly, and it's starting to seem like by the time i figure out what's wrong i'll be going home anyway, but i'd like to get it fixed before I leave so i can use it next time and won't have to travel with my amp (it's bloody heavy equipment to carry interstate).

 

I don't know if this helps, but I thought i'd mention it just in case. I've been playing around with the sound settings on this Mac and discovered something interesting. If I select anything other than the built-in audio for the output I don't even get the sound of the metronome in guitar combos. So I'm going to assume the built-in audio needs to be selected for the default OUTPUT. For the INPUT however, built-in audio doesn't work, and just causes a high pitched whine because that's choosing the built-in microphone for input. Choosing the Behringer USB device from the list tells me there is no support for the device at all, and choosing USB audio codec for input brings up the normal volume sliders and such, but they're all greyed out and cant be moved. The master control slider is set at muted and can't be changed because it's greyed out, so would I be correct in assuming the choosing the USB audio codec for INPUT is the correct option, and the reason I can't hear anything coming from my guitar but I can hear the metronome is because there's currently no way to turn the volume on the device up?

 

I'd try creating an aggregate device and see if that works:

http://www.nativeinstruments.de/forum_us/showthread.php?t=46137

ew

 

I think i'm just going to give up and bring my amp with me from now on. This is beyond the point of ridiculous, nothing is working to get any sound from my guitar. Clearly, Behringer's hardware and/or software is not as Mac-compatible as they claim.

 

I'm sorry that you feel very frustrated, but I know that this absolutely works, so please don't give up yet. Maybe you should contact technical support by telephone, and have them walk you through the steps.

 

I've already contacted tech support via email and received the same cut-and-paste responses I expected to get, telling me to try all the things I've already tried (and even told them i'd tried in the emails i sent). I only have 3 more days left here before i go home now, and I don't think i'm going to get this probem solved before I leave, so it looks like next time I'm just going to have to deal with lugging my amp around through the airports rather than spending another holiday swearing at my mum's Mac for being a piece of junk that doesn't want to run anything properly. Not my idea of fun, and I've now missed over a week's worth of practice because of it.

 

OK. Why don't you do this: Please tell me the exact steps that you've tried, which computer, which OS, and I will personally help you.

 

As it turns out, I got tired of not being able to get any decent practice in, so I spent 5 hours last night changing around sound settings on the computer until I found the right combination that got it going. Guitar Combos is now working reasonably well on the Mac, though there seems to be an excessive amount of sound distortion and cutting in and out if I play too hard or too fast.
I guess if there's no real way to figure out why its doing this or to fix it, it will have to do just to get my daily practice done. I don't need this computer to sound like an AC/DC concert or anything, just get enough sound from it to hear what i'm playing with distortion effects.
Oh, and to answer your question, the Mac i'm on is a G4 or G5 (i'm not entirely sure and neither is my mum) and the OS is the new Leopard one. As for the steps I took to finally get it working (sort of) I wouldn't even know where to begin as I fiddled with so many settings over the last few days. As it stands now, I have changed things in the audio/midi setup so that an aggregate device is the default input, and the built-in audio is the default output. Within guitar combos itself, the aggregate device i created is the default input and everything else set itself once i selected it.

 

The more information you can give me, the more I can help you.
Please go to "System Profiler" in you Applications/Utilities folder, and let me know what kind of processor you have, and how much RAM you have.

Your patience is very much appreciated.

M

 

Processor: PowerPC G5 (3.1)
RAM: 512mb DDR

Hope that helps

 

Now, one last question: What version of Max OSX?

You will absolutley need more than 512mb of RAM. OSX needs at least 1gb these days, and I'd advise you to upgrade to 2gb through www.crucial.com, you will thank me, and Guitar Rig will perform better as well.

 

In that case, i'm just going to have to put up with crap sound on this computer I guess, since for one thing it's not mine, and for another there's no way my mum is going to upgrade her computer just so I can play guitar on it.
Looks like the old practice amp is getting pulled out of moth balls next trip.

 

Same Problem

For the record, I'm having exactly the same problem.

System specs:
Intel iMac (2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo)
Mac OS 10.4.11
3GB RAM

USB Interface:
iAxe 393

No audio in or out of the Guitar Combos software. Audacity is working correctly, which leads me to believe that my USB audio is set up correctly.

According to the manual, Mac OS 10.4 and newer should see a "BEHRINGER USB Audio Device" option in the Output Device pop-up menu inside the Audio Setup window. I don't see this "BEHRINGER USB Audio Device" option, only the generic "USB Audio Device" option. Two of them, actually.

If I select the second "USB Audio Device" option the application will crash. I can send a crash log if you like.

I'm going to try the Aggregate Device option now. I'll let you know how that works.


-Andrew

 

I would like it if you contacted support about this issue.