HELP... Brand new dm3200 cubase 7 iMac

[NSTHESIA]

Hello ... I am new to this forum...and literally ready to cry as an adult!. I purchased a brand new dm3200 with cubase 7 and a new Apple 27" iMac Quad-Core Intel Core i7 3.4GHz, 16GB RAM, 3TB Fusion Drive, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX graphics processor with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, Two Thunderbolt ports, Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse, OS X Mountain Lion (Z0MS-34163FD680MWLMM)
I ran it for 2 days and then when I turned on board I had stop and play functions but no sound... Can't see meter readings....can't fast forward or rewind...can't play anything online as well (YouTube etc) ...if I uninstall the driver and reinstall it it works fine until I shut down ... Then same thing happens ... The built in audio mac driver works everytime with the board... driver cd does not ....Tascam says they'd like a computer w a firecard insert ... On this iMac I have to have a thunderbolt to FireWire adaptor and an apple cable for it to work ....no firecard port on new ones ...company where I bought it says it should work fine....I've had this a week and am ready to just get a refund .... Very frustrating to say the least....anyone that could help would be greatly appreciated ... Tascam and company I bought it from have no answers... They r sending me a new adaptor and cable and then it's refund time....

 

[captdan]

Welcome to the Forum; if you decided to keep your setup, I think you're going to need us.

Quite frankly, you've bit off a huge slice of the audio pie, and it's not certain you were prepared for the challenge ahead. There are several issues that need to be addressed, and from the tone of your message, you seem harried and confused.
That's understandible; you've purchased a complex mixer, new Mac, and DAW software that you may not be at all familiar with.

So - some basic questions:

1. What do you intend to do with your setup?
2. Do you have any background in audio, specifically, digital audio production?
3. How much time are you willing to devote to learning the wonderous array of gear you have?
4. Would you be better served with a simpler system - say an all-in-one recorder/mixer, etc?

After we get a sense of what your goals and motivation are, we'll try to lend some help to sort all this out. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to familiarize yourself with the specifics by reading manuals and, perhaps, perusing this forum.

CaptDan

 

[Arjan P]

On this iMac I have to have a thunderbolt to FireWire adaptor and an apple cable for it to work ....no firecard port on new ones ...company where I bought it says it should work fine...

I think the gear you bought isn't matched, and such a company can say 'should' 300 times a day, that won't make it actually work. IMO, the IFFW interface is rather picky in who to work with, and it seems thunderbolt with an Apple cable is not amongst this limited group. If there's no new Macs with firewire anymore you might consider going PC with Windows 7. Very reliable, as many here can testify. And certainly no less in performance (to put it mildly).

 

[Gravity Jim]

RedBus stated that the FW card was working fine with FW-to-Thunderbolt converters with a Mac, so let's not start blaming the salesman yet... it should, in fact, work fine.

I'm with the Capt: this sounds like an operator who has taken on too many set-up challenges at once. New computer, new DAW, new interface and the admittedly daunting routing of a DM series mixer... It's a huge leap to be taken in one jump.

Take a deep breath, set up each stage of the chain, and then look for problems. Te OP is still at a point where he or she can't really even describe the problem in trouble-shooting terms.

Let me ask: does the phrase "I ran it for two days" mean that it all worked perfectly for two days?

 

[NSTHESIA]

guys...thx so much for the replies...yes im a new user with this system....I ran a roland vs2480 for 12 years and when it started to go I wanted to take the step....I record my own music in my studio with my buddies for fun....dont run it as a business..im willing to do whatever it takes to learn...I will put in as much time as necessary....I have a buddy who is very educated and helps me along..hes coming over tomm to take a look.....I guess I was just surprised that this early in I have a problem that no one seems to be able to figure out...Ive realized in a hurry that these things will happen often and need to learn...I have been studying youtube videos and manuals for a few weeks now ......I understand this will take a long time but Im willing to do whatever it takes....thx again for the response...have a great day

anthony

 

[Gravity Jim]

NSTHESIA - Was the system working properly for two days, or did you mean you've been putting it together for two days and it never worked?

 

[NSTHESIA]

It worked perfectly for 2 days .... Company sent me new adaptor and cable and had me set sleep mode on iMac to never .... Well see how that goes tonight

 

[Gravity Jim]

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Regardless of what interface I might be using, I've never let my computer sleep, especially not the hard drives, when I'm working.

 

[NSTHESIA]

It worked once then when I shut it down overnight didn't work again .....

 

[captdan]

I'll second the never-sleep notion. In fact - and this is PC specific (not very familiar with Mac) - virtually every 'default' option MicroSoft suggests has been cleared from my machine. Anyone who uses a 'stock' PC for audio knows what I mean; it's about turning a Swiss Army knife appliance into a rock solid digital tape recorder.

From what I gather, the Mac is more initially audio-friendly, but there are still drivers, buffers, and other particulars needing attention. It's just part of the setup process.

Re: VS2480: having that background will serve you well with the DM mixer. I used an AW4416 for 11 years and it provided me a strong digital audio learning platform. However, my workflow and desire to seek better sonic performance lead me to the DM3200. Haven't regretted it for a second.

CaptDan

 

[NSTHESIA]

Appreciate the input boys .... Really do ... My friend came over today and got me going ... He said he's been on this forum many times ... Gary from sonic house post