USB + audio card on a Mac ... how?

  • I'm a bit getting lost with my audio setup, after the wonderful update that enabled USB Audio.
    Now I can use the profile as an audio card, and get rid of the SPDIF cables that I used with my Focusrite card...
    But is ther a way to use the profiler *AND* the Focusrite card?
    My goal is to have Guitar playing through the KPA, a mic on the Focusrite, and possibly a playalong audio playing on the Mac (Mac Mini/Catalina) ...
    I tried twiddling with compound devices, Virtual cables, etc... in the audio setup, but the more elements I add in the mix, the more confused I am.
    Has anyone a clear idea of what I need to do for a proper configuration?

  • I would think one basic way would be for you to not use your Kemper as your USB audio device. Just hook up your guitar as normal to the Kemper and have the Kemper Main Outs going into your Focusrite which you would use as the audio device. You should then be able (depending on Focusrite model) to attach your microphone to a mic input. On the Mac just make sure you have the Focusrite chosen for your sound output. You should then be able to stream YouTube songs etc... and be able to play and sing along to them. On the other hand the manual states the following to hook up a microphone when using your Profiler as the Audio Output:

    Recording external audio sources

    Additionally, you could use the PROFILER as an audio interface for external signal sources such as a microphone.

    For this application, set Rec. Source to Return Inputson the PROFILER Head and Rack to feed the signals of the

    RETURN to channel USB 1, and the ALTERNATIVE IN to USB 2. Stage users should set either 1+2 Source or 3+4 Source to Return Inputsand feed the signals of RETURN 1 and 2 to their DAW.

  • On a mac you could use something like https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/ to virtually mix your application audio, input from the profiler USB, and mic and send the mix back out to your focusrite outputs for monitoring. It's probably not the simplest, which would be to just send audio from the profiler into your interface as you did before, but it is possible.

  • I am looking at getting a Mac soon. This is one important use case I'd like to make sure will work before buying a Mac. I'd like to use Profiler USB audio as input and my Focusrite 8i6 3rd gen as output. Has anyone successfully achieved this?

  • That's great to hear. Did you require any extra software to do this? Also, I'm using Reaper. Will this work there too?

    No extra software. I use Logic but it should work with any DAW.


    You need to go into the Audio/Midi setup application in Mac OS and create an aggregate device. You then select the aggregate device instead of either individually. This way in Logic I can select any input or output from either interface on a track be track basis or globally.