Settings for Bluetooth Headset/Microphone?

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Aggie
Posts: 659
Joined: 18 Aug 2015
Location: England

15 Oct 2019

Hello!

I have been using Reason 8 for more years than I care to remember - but I have never been able to get any microphone working with this DAW. I have followed many YouTube tutorials but my software steadfastly refuses to provide me with any option to add in a microphone in the Track element.

Reason 8.3.2.d7 (build 6323)
Windows 10
Sennheiser MBPro Bluetooth Headset/Dongle

I've attached a screenshot of Preferences Audio - I can select the MBPro Headset and I get myself a green tick. This should mean Input and Output, since it is not the headphones - but a headset (???):


Preferences_Audio.png
Preferences_Audio.png (194.56 KiB) Viewed 786 times


Then I add an Audio Track and try to select my Headset - see second screenshot - it's just not there. Never has been, no matter what settings I chose:


Audio_Track_Input.png
Audio_Track_Input.png (83.59 KiB) Viewed 786 times


I am pretty sure I am doing something fundamentally wrong and I have tried to get my head around the "ASIO4ALL" driver (has also never worked for me) and I have never been able to work it out, after about 5 years of trying.

I'd really appreciate your help!

Thanks so much,
Adam
Adam Gill | BandLab

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pushedbutton
Posts: 1538
Joined: 16 Jan 2015
Location: Lancashire, UK
Contact:

15 Oct 2019

you might have some luck with www.asio4all.com
but bluetooth and usb mics generally don't make for great input devices.
ASIO is the key to making stuff work.
For ASIO4all to work your device will need WDM drivers to begin with.

From the FAQ:
"Q: Any hints on using ASIO4ALL with USB devices?

A: After some initial troubles with earlier revisions, the driver now appears to work just fine with numerous USB devices. one thing to not do, I mean: not ever! is to check the DMA box with USB devices. If you do not need all the additional software gizmos like EAX, EQ, Fake3D-Whatever... it is recommended that you _not_ install the drivers shipped with your USB audio interface. Windows has a built-in generic USB audio driver that works with most devices. Thus, if you want to have honest, no-nonsense, low-latency audio playback/recording with your USB audio interface - by all means: stick with the Windows driver! This is especially true for consumer grade stuff, where you can be assured that the drivers shipped with it are most likely 'consumer grade' as well."
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

User avatar
chimp_spanner
Posts: 2908
Joined: 06 Mar 2015

16 Oct 2019

Aggie wrote:
15 Oct 2019
Hello!

I have been using Reason 8 for more years than I care to remember - but I have never been able to get any microphone working with this DAW. I have followed many YouTube tutorials but my software steadfastly refuses to provide me with any option to add in a microphone in the Track element.

Reason 8.3.2.d7 (build 6323)
Windows 10
Sennheiser MBPro Bluetooth Headset/Dongle

I've attached a screenshot of Preferences Audio - I can select the MBPro Headset and I get myself a green tick. This should mean Input and Output, since it is not the headphones - but a headset (???):



Preferences_Audio.png



Then I add an Audio Track and try to select my Headset - see second screenshot - it's just not there. Never has been, no matter what settings I chose:



Audio_Track_Input.png



I am pretty sure I am doing something fundamentally wrong and I have tried to get my head around the "ASIO4ALL" driver (has also never worked for me) and I have never been able to work it out, after about 5 years of trying.

I'd really appreciate your help!

Thanks so much,
Adam
The biggest issue here is that if you choose your headset (or any other mic source) as your audio driver, then Reason will try and do *everything* through that device. So on Windows, to access the input from a USB mic you have to use that device as your interface, meaning you can't use the drivers for your actual soundcard/interface for audio output. You can, in theory, use something like ASIO4ALL to build a single virtual device that mixes the inputs from your mic with the outputs of another device but I never managed to get that kinda thing going before I switched over to Mac.

My recommendation will always be to not try to make music using DX or MME drivers. I know that's not the most helpful suggestion! But if you've spent 5 years of trying, it seems uneconomical to *not* invest in an audio interface that will do what you want it to right out of the box. Past a certain point, your time (and potential creativity) are worth more than the cost of the hardware ya know. I have one of these as a secondary interface:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Komplete-Aud ... SwPuVdlMwh

And it's killer. Really low latency, enough ins and outs for a small project studio, great build quality. This + almost any kind of mic with an XLR connection (I have this and it's great for the money https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Behringer-C- ... SwvT5dTTuB ) will get you exactly to where you need to be.

**Edit: there are cheaper interfaces too, obviously! Like down to the 30-40 buck mark but, I can't vouch for their quality and *some* will just end up using ASIO4ALL anyway. Spend a bit more and you get dedicated audio drivers for the hardware that will avoid all kinds of headaches.

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