If you are connecting your audio interface to your computer for the first time, there are a few preliminary steps that you should take.
1. Download and install any necessary drivers or software.
Most audio interfaces require a driver or other piece of software to function on your machine. For example, audio interfaces made by Focusrite require the Focusrite Control software to use all of the interface's capabilities. To find the specific software required to use your audio interface, you can refer to any product manuals supplied when you purchased your interface. Alternatively, you can navigate to the manufacturer's website, where a “Downloads” section that contains any necessary software downloads is typically present.
Keep in mind, not all audio interfaces require drivers or software; for example, class-compliant USB interfaces do not require any extra software.
2. Connect your audio interface to your machine.
Connect your interface to your machine using the hardware interface connection present on your audio interface. Most interfaces use USB or Thunderbolt to connect your computer, but some can also use FireWire, DigiLink, Dante, or various other kinds of hardware interface.
It is a best practice to connect your audio interface directly to your machine; connecting an audio interface through a USB or Thunderbolt hub could cause performance issues, especially with bus-powered audio interfaces.
3. Select your interface as your audio device in your system or desired software.
Once connected, you should be able to set your audio interface as the audio device in your system settings, as well as any DAW or notation software you are using. This is often found in the Preferences menu of any given software, but each specific location can be found below.
System (Mac)
The audio device can be selected by clicking the Apple icon > System Settings, clicking Sound in the sidebar. You can then set both the Input and Output to your audio interface.
System (Windows)
The audio device can be selected by clicking the speaker icon at the bottom of your screen, then selecting your Playback Devices. You can then set both the Playback Device and Recording Device to your audio interface.
Pro Tools
The audio device is referred to as Playback Engine in Pro Tools, and can be selected in Setup > Playback Engine.
Logic Pro
The audio device settings can be found in Logic > Preferences > Audio. You can set both the Audio Input Device and Audio Output Device to your audio interface in this menu.
GarageBand
The audio device settings can be found in Garageband > Preferences > Audio. You can set both the Audio Input Device and Audio Output Device to your audio interface in this menu.
Ableton Live
The audio device settings can be found in Live > Preferences > Audio on macOS, and Options > Preferences > Audio on Windows. You can set both the Audio Input Device and Audio Output Device to your audio interface in this menu.
Cubase
The audio device can be selected in Devices > Device Setup > VST Audio System under ASIO Driver.
Sibelius
The audio device can be selected in Play > Setup > Playback Devices > Audio Engine Options under Interface.
Finale
The audio device settings can be found in Audio/MIDI > Device Setup > Audio Setup. You can set both the Mic Source and Output Source to your audio interface in this menu.
MuseScore
The audio device can be selected in MuseScore > Preferences > I/O under Audio Device.
