Problem using motu ultralite?

Hi hayessi, and a warm welcome to the forums! 🙂

Sorry, I don't have that Software or Hardware, but from my investigation it seems a common problem, & not limited to 10.4.x, nor Macs, nor Live, nor Motu...

http://code.google.com/p/soundflower/issues/detail?id=24

Have you done any OS or Disk Maintenance lately?

If not I think you should get Applejack...

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19596

After installing, reboot holding down CMD+s, (+s), then when the DOS like prompt shows, type in...

applejack AUTO

Then let it do all 5 of it's things.

At least it'll eliminate some questions if it doesn't fix it.

The 6 things it does are...

Correct any Disk problems.
Repair Permissions.
Clear out Cache Files.
Repair/check several plist files.
Dump the VM files for a fresh start.
Trash old Log files.

Hmmm, next time it happens, open Audio MIDI Setup.app in Applications>Utilities, see if what KHz it is set to.

I think so, really the APP that changes it from 44.1KHz should put it back when it's done using it.

You could probably write a little script to do it.

Hi guys, I thought I'd join in this discussion as I'm experiencing the same issue (or at least a very similar one). Sorry for the length of this post but I'll try to give you as many details as I can.

I have an Ultralite Mk3 which I bought September 2008. I used it with my MacBook running OS 10.4.11 for several months with no problems (using Ableton Live, Logic 8 and Mainstage). Then around April 2009 I started getting this audio drop-out. Sometimes there was a high-pitched squeal followed by silence, and sometimes I think it just went silent. It normally happened after working for around 20 minutes but sometimes I'd get lucky and be able to work for longer! When the problem occurred, I was using Mainstage or Logic. Neither program crashed as a result of the problem - I just had to disconnect and reconnect the firewire cable and relaunch Core Audio to get it working again.

I didn't have the time to look into the problem until around last August or September. By that point I'd upgraded to OS 10.6 and Logic 9. The problem still occurred and I contacted MOTU, who suggested several things to try. Here's what I tried:

Re-install and update all MOTU drivers
Change Firewire cable
Power the Ultralite using the power supply, rather than bus power
Remove 3rd party plug-ins
Boot from a disk containing a fresh install of OSX, Logic Studio and the latest drivers, with nothing else

Having failed to solve the problem, I forgot about it for a while as I didn't do any gigs and use a different computer in my studio. Then I got a gig which I needed to use my laptop for, and I REALLY needed it to not crash. In the end I borrowed my mate's MacBook, which I put my hard drive in. It worked absolutely fine and I did 2 weeks of rehearsals and gigs with absolutely no problems.

So.... with the set-up that worked, the only thing I changed was the MacBook itself. I used my hard drive, so the drivers, software versions etc were exactly the same. That lead me to believe that I had an issue with the firewire on my MacBook. However, I took it to an Apple Store (I have one week of Applecare left!) and they checked it out and couldn't find any problems. They advised me that it must be an incompatibility issue between the Ultralite and my MacBook, even though it worked fine for 6 months when I first got it, and still works fine with my friend's MacBook!

So at this point I'm not sure what to do. The only thing that solves the problem is to not use my MacBook, but I really want to find out what the problem is with my MacBook! If there's no problems with my Firewire (according to Apple's tests), I wonder what it could be? What could've changed/broken in my MacBook?

I forgot to say, I work at 44.1kHz - next time it crashes I'll see if that has changed of its own accord.

Ok, here's an update. I left my iTunes playing for a while, and sure enough, the Ultralite stopped working. The meters on the display didn't represent any audio any more, and in fact the CueMix software also didn't show any movement on the meters. I went to my MacBook's Audio MIDI setup and checked the sample rate - it hadn't changed. However, when I changed it from 44.1 to 48, the sound returned. I set it to 44.1 again, and it is now working. So now I'm really confused as to what might be happening!

Hi,

I have the very same problem using PRESONUS FIREBOX on firewire.

I manage to put it back online by changing the clock source from MAC to DEVICE in audio preferences everytime it crashes on Snow Leopard.

That however doesn't solve it at all especially when you're playing a live gig for a large audience who is raving out like a bunch of animals not caring for your audio dropouts.

It seems like a PROBLEM WITH CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION with the computer via firewire...

The built in output provides 44.1 Khz clock by default so that's why the crashes do not occur that much...

And by the way - I was about to buy motu ultralite but thanks to looking at this forum it is clear to me now that it isn't any better than presonus in his regard.

ANY SOLUTIONS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED.

Best

Message was edited by: John Kowalski