Technical Support

Hey Beckett, 
Can you share any more about what's happening? 

Like does it crash when you hit play? Or does it happen mid playback? Or during programming etc?

I've been using Emu with Logic Pro for 2 years now (started on Intel and moved to M3 Max chip) and I haven't run into any serious issues like this. If you see my post above yours this may help you, as it sounds like the feedback loop bug might be causing you issues. 

If you want to chat feel free to message me on insta - 

@admeezydrums

Emu is extremely unstable when connecting to a DAW on both Mac and PC. Unlike DMXIS, which operates as a reliable VST instrument, Emu relies on external software like IPMIDI, leading to frequent crashes. This instability makes programming a light show nearly impossible, as crashes result in lost progress. It’s disappointing that Enttec replaced the rock-solid DMXIS with such an unreliable tool. At this point, it’s hard to see any hope for Emu without significant improvements.

Hey Ben, 

I can confirm EMU does work with Logic Pro X, though granted I am using a last gen Intel Macbook Pro. 

One thing I saw in this forum which was a game changer, was to actually mute/disable the AU plug-in in both the bank and program channels, otherwise this will cause a feedback loop within your usb dmx dongle. 

In the attached screenshot look over to the left side of the screen. I have left the IAC driver enabled, but the EMU AU plug in is disabled. This will still send dmx without causing a feedback loop. 

You can see on the right side of the screen my vis is still receiving dmx. 

I have a feeling this may be the reason you're experiencing crashes so hopefully this helps! 

Any updates to this situation? I'm doing the following:

• Create a track in Logic Pro.
• Use the "External Instrument"  device
• Select the IAC virtual MIDI device as my external instrument
• Create a loop with some MIDI controller changes
• Open EMU
• Select IAC as the MIDI input

month and don't (I was in a hurry)

Completely dead when muted no info can be sent out...I do'nt have the premium version however as my moth is up. not sure if the free version has MIDI capabilities...

It means the same thing in Logic, thats what is so strange about it. 
Give it a crack in Cubase and let us know hey?

I'm using IAC driver bus 1 with zero issues. 

Honestly, from everything you've said it sounds like you're running into feedback loop issues. Hopefully this fixes it! 

I think I understand...but in Cubase mute means the info will not be sent so Emu wouldnt receive a signal.. What MIDI outs are you using? I have IAC driver which seems to cause a lot of issues.

Nooooo, only mute the audio from the tracks that have Emu loaded on them. 

Treat it like Emu is making a sound, mute that sound.  

Hopefully the screenshot helps - 

So as you can see channel 1 (midi ch15 for banks) and channel 2 (ch16 for programs) are both muted as if they were making sound. 

Over on the left hand side I have EMU AU loaded as a plugin but it is disabled. This still sends midi data to the USB Pro and triggers lights. 

This won't affect your ability to program lights to songs at all. 

Thanks for the reply…

I program my lights to run in time with the multitrack recording - then remove the instruments we will be playing live (basically everything is removed other than the keyboards). I need to hear the tracks when programming so I couldn’t possibly mute them whilst programming the lights. This is where for me DMXIS was amazing being a VST instrument. I really don’t understand why this was not done with Emu… 3rd party software for PC is unstable and also caused issues with my MacBook. im a bit gutted as I actually liked the layout and workflow of Emu but I feel it’s far from ready. I use DMXIS live and it works well, I tried to test Emu live (before the show started) and it crashed the PC and also would not allow me to activate it…

Hi Andy, 

I'll try to explain it as best as I can. 

So with Logic Pro I have actually muted the tracks audio output, and even disabled the EMU AU plugin. The output for external midi is still enabled so it sends to the DMX USB Pro, however it does not create any feedback loops (crashes) within Logic or Emu. Still triggers program changes in a live setting and in the vis. 

I will admit that sometimes Emu will struggle to close without me having to force quit, but so far that's the biggest issue I've come across. This may be down to my Macbook's performance tho, but I still feel this isn't a deal breaker. 

I have used DMXis in the past, albeit for a band on their laptop (PC) they use for live backing tracks etc. Worked great for it's purpose but I definitely found it pretty limiting and very temperamental (laggy, didn't always trigger program changes on time etc), though that could have been due to the initial set up. 

Can't argue with you at all regarding the licensing, that must be incredibly frustrating! 

I can confirm I have gotten it to work very smoothly without the need for third party software. Maybe they could be part of the issue you're running into? 

I really hope this helps somewhat and hopefully you can get it working!

Hi admeezy…it was a little bit more stable on a MacBook (it only froze some of the time), 

You say I need to mute the tracks? Not sure what you mean…I connected Emu to Cubase and put one track to chan 15 to select the ‘song’ and one chan to 16 to select the presets… If I mute those tracks then Emu would not receive any info….

I don’t know if toy have ever used DMXIS the software Emu is supposed to replace but Emu doesn’t even come close as far as stability goes and using with a DAW.

I really wanted Emu to work as I really liked the interface and some of the features were really good…but it’s just nowhere near ready…and the license issues if you use more than one computer is a joke. Bloody shame… if they get the problems sorted then people may give it a go…first thing is it needs to be VST, the user should not be left to find 3rd party software to make it work with their DAW…massive oversight by ENTTEC.