Core Audio Follies

[gtomassetti]

See my signature for system specs.

OK, for years my default interface has been a Metric Halo ULN-2. Everything goes through that, and I switch over to my Avid OMNI when I'm using Pro Tools. My old Ensoniq TS-12 synth is connected via MIDI to a MOTU 8pre, and that's how I've done note entry in Finale for probably 10 years.

Unfortunately, the MH has developed some serious issues and is on its way to the factory, with an anticipated 8–10 weeks (!) turnaround time. This has required me to switch to the Mac's digital output, and route everything through my Pro Tools HD card. It works fine for computer audio, but now Finale is utterly FUBAR.

When I try to open Finale, in a matter of seconds, Avid's Core Audio manager (which always opened before when I had Finale open), pops up and gives me a crash message. There's nothing for it but to cmd-opt-Escape and force-quit Finale.

As an experiment, I tried to open Finale while Pro Tools was running. This worked, but the strangest thing happened: When I have Use MIDI Device For Input checked, whether in Speedy or Simple, my notes get entered, along with an extra note about 15 ledger lines below. No matter the note value, and if I just play a single note on the MIDI keyboard and then press 5 to enter a quarter note, I get a chord with the entered note and the extra one way below.

I have changed no program settings; this is all somehow related to the fact that Avid still hasn't come up with a Core Audio Manager that functions properly with Mac OS (I'm on 10.10.5).

I've created a .txt file of the crash report, but I can't post it here.

The only workaround I've come up with is that to use Finale, I have to remove the Avid CoreAudio.plugin from Library > Audio > Plug-Ins > HAL to an unused folder. And this is a hassle because you can't just move the file; moving it copies it. After I drag the file to a different folder (and enter my admin password), I have to actually delete the file. Once I do that, I can use Finale normally again. But the downside is that all my computer playback is messed up. If I replace the plugin into the HAL folder, audio is fine again, but Finale is messed up.

I doubt that there's a fix for this — I think I'm just blowing off steam, and will have to use my laptop until I get my Metric Halo back, hopefully before Christmas. But if anyone has any insight into this WTF mess, I'd be open to hearing it!