Intuem 4 - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Where's the documentation?
Intuem's documentation is within the application and is accessible from the Help menu. It's quite comprehensive (over 7MB) and you can search it using everyday english like: " How do I record audio? "

If you're having troubles accessing the documentation because the help viewer insists there is no help or opens a blank window you can try accessing a particular help topic directly. Failing that you can have Intuem show the help in your web browser by entering the following command in Terminal:
defaults write com.companionED.Intuem showHelpInWebBrowser YES

To have Intuem show help in the Mac OS help viewer:
defaults write com.companionED.Intuem showHelpInWebBrowser NO

I lost my licensing info/order confirmation eMail, may I have another?
Certainly! Just send eMail to license@intuem.com and we'll get a copy out to you right away.

I need to re-download my copy of Intuem, how do I do that?
The instructions are in your order confirmation eMail along with your licensing info. All versions of Intuem are available to re-download from Intuem 1.5 through to the latest Intuem 4.0.1

It says it can't autosave. What's that?
In Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Intuem automatically saves changes in a special file. When you start a composition from a CD track or from another file that is read-only, Intuem cannot automatically save changes. The solution for this is to save the composition to a place where you can read and write.

I often get "Input Audio Device is Not Sending" or "Output Audio Device is Not Receiving" messages. What can I do about it?
These typically occur because your system is being taxed with trying to record, monitor, or play to an audio device that needs more CPU power then it's currently getting. You can reduce the CPU load of Intuem, freeing up power for your interface drivers, by increasing the recording and playback buffer sizes in Preferences > Advanced. If you find that increasing the buffer sizes does not help, contact us for support and we'll help you fine-tune things so you get every bit out of your system as possible.

How do I synchronise Intuem with other applications?
Beyond the information given in Intuem's help on synchronising Intuem as a whole and via individual MIDI devices, there are no details on how to work with specific applications. The following should be of some help when working with Apple's Logic Express or Soundtrack Pro. The settings indicated below are guidelines only, you can get synchronisation to work with variations on these settings to achieve more specific levels of control, and you can apply these settings to a larger synchronisation environment involving more than two applications. Keep in mind as you proceed that synchronising applications together can be a very complicated task.

Controlling Soundtrack Pro from Intuem
In Intuem's Advanced preferences, set Intuem to send MIDI Machine Control, MIDI Time Code, MIDI Clock, and Song Position Pointer. In Soundtrack Pro, set the Synchronization preferences to "Sync To MIDI Clock" and "Sync To MIDI Time Code" as shown below. Make sure Soundtrack's output is not sending to "Intuem Sync Input".

Make sure the external sync button is on in Soundtrack Pro's transport controller:

Controlling Intuem from Soundtrack Pro
In Intuem's Advanced preferences, set Intuem to receive MIDI Machine Control, MIDI Clock, and Song Position Pointer. In Soundtrack Pro, set the Synchronization preferences to output MIDI Clock to "Intuem Sync Input".

Make sure the external sync button is not on in Soundtrack Pro's transport controller.

Controlling Logic Express from Intuem
In Intuem's Advanced preferences, set Intuem to send MIDI Machine Control, MIDI Time Code, MIDI Clock, and Song Position Pointer. In Logic Express, set the Synchronization "Sync Mode" to MIDI Clock as shown:

Set the MIDI tab as shown. Make sure the pop-ups are not set to "Intuem Sync Input".

Controlling Intuem from Logic Express
In Intuem's Advanced preferences, set Intuem to send MIDI Machine Control, MIDI Time Code, MIDI Clock, Song Position Pointer and to receive MIDI Machine Control, MIDI Clock, and Song Position Pointer. In Logic Express, set the Synchronization "Sync Mode" to Internal as shown:

This will allow Logic to control Intuem's start, stop and scrubber location, but Intuem will still drive Logic's tempo so you don't sacrifice Intuem's variable-tempo advantages.

How do I use Ableton Live with Intuem?
Firstly, ensure Live and Reason are not running before starting Intuem RW or Intuem 3.5. Next, using Intuem's ReWire preferences panel, open the Ableton Live device by selecting "Ableton Live" and clicking the "Open" button. Then, open the Live application using the finder or dock. Intuem can now stream audio from Live. Add an audio track to the Intuem composition, choose "Ableton Live" as the audio input device, choose the channels and switch-on Play-Through and you're the master of Live.

When I try to record audio from a ReWire device everything suddenly becomes very slow.
When recording from ReWire Intuem is recording all the channels indicated in the ReWire preferences panel for the device. If you have a very large number of channels, for example all 64 channels from Reason, and your computer is busy with AudioUnit processing and etc., you will experience a significant performance hit when recording. Unless you need more than a handful or channels, or even just 2 for simple stereo output, you should reduce the number of channels each ReWire device sends to keep from having to unnecessarily render & record more audio channels than needed.

The notes/audio/controllers are too dark/light I can't see them clearly.
With the new standard display style you can set the track background contrast level to dark or light depending on your preference. you can also set a corresponding text colour for the dark and light configurations. You can mix and match from micro to notation and audio. With Mega you can set one of several contrast levels to make things clearer for you and your monitor.

How do I change the scale of things?
You can easily make the bar appear wider and show the beat numbers by dragging a labeled bar marker left or right. You can make the notes thicker or thinner by dragging the bottom edge of the track up or down while holding "Option."

How come my audio files sound slow when I export/import them at 96kHz?
If you export audio in a format other than Intuem's native AIFF format, QuickTime will perform the conversion and it won't work with very high-sample rate audio. We hope to address this issue for at least the key audio file types in a future release.

Why is my MIDI Hardware not working?
Start by diagnosing your MIDI hardware with the MIDI Monitor tool. Make sure it lists your device together with its ports. If it doesn't, you need to describe your devices or assign ports to any devices you've already made. (Intuem help can show you just how to do those two things.) If it is listed, check that the receiving light flashes blue when you play at the keyboard and the test function sends to all channels on your device.

Why has my MIDI Hardware disappeared from Intuem?
If you have MIDI hardware and interfaces attached and they worked moments ago and are running Mac OS X 10.1.5 or earlier, you've encountered a problem within Mac OS X that has been fixed in 10.2 Jaguar. You can overcome this by quitting Intuem and running it again or restarting. The best solution is to upgrade to Jaguar.

I can't record MIDI. What's the matter?
To record you need to prepare a few things:

First make sure you have a device setup in preferences for your keyboard and all your other MIDI Hardware devices. If there are devices already automatically defined as attached to the ports used by your hardware, edit those devices to match what's connected. Make sure the keyboards are defined as in fact having keyboards. Intuem help will show you how to describe the various types of MIDI hardware.

Make sure that all your other devices, including QuickTime Musical Instruments and any DLS/SF2 devices are set-up as being controlled by your keyboard. You can do this by checking each non-keyboard device to see that the "Plays via keyboard on:" button is chosen and your keyboard is selected in the pop-up.

Make sure that the track you want to record in is record-enabled, that is, the red button is on beside the track name.

Record by playing a composition and performing at your keyboard.

I've tried everything and I just can't get my keyboard to work. Help!
If you're having trouble getting your gear to work, here's a check list of things to do and test:

Basic MIDI Hardware Setup:

Connect your Keyboard's audio output to a suitable amplifier and speakers and verify that the keyboard works and produces sound.
Connect your interface directly to your Mac via the USB cable. (Don't connect it to the computer's keyboard, the monitor, or a hub.)
Connect your Keyboard to your interface with two MIDI Cables like so:
Make sure your keyboard is set up to work with a computer (Your manual will indicate how to do this.)
Make sure the keyboard can receive on "Channel 1" (Sometimes called "Channel 0") when in computer controlled mode.
Install the most current drivers for your interface

Test that the connections work:

In Intuem, use the MIDI Monitor and verify that as you play, the dot beside "Input: Port 1" (or similar text) flickers blue, and that pressing the TEST button beside "Output: Port 1" (or similar text) causes notes to be played at the keyboard on all 16 channels, or at least as many as your keyboard has. Make a note of how which channels it receives on.
(If, in the Monitor panel no interface ports appear, and you're running Mac OS X 10.1.5 or earlier, you've encountered a bug in Mac OS X, and should quit Intuem, and run it again, or better yet, upgrade to 10.2.)
With your Interface, if it has lights to indicate activity at Port 1 In, verify that they flicker as you play at the keyboard, and if it has lights to indicate activity at Port 1 Out, verify that they flicker when you send MIDI from the computer to the keyboard, which would be the case when you press "Test" in Intuem's Monitor.

If all the above are done and verified, your setup is okay. If not, there' s no need to continue, you must get those things working first. You may want to go over the connections with the documentation provided with your keyboard and MIDI interface.

Working with Intuem:

Open Intuem's preferences and choose "MIDI Devices"
Delete ALL MIDI Devices except "QuickTime Musical Instruments"
Create a new MIDI device in Preferences->MIDI Devices
Name the device after your keyboard.
Choose "Interface Port 1" (or similar text) for "Receives from:"
Choose "Interface Port 1" (or similar text) for "Sends to:"
Check the box beside "Has own keyboard"
Using your keyboard's manual, determine if it indicates to use Bank 0 and/or bank 32 (also known as continuous controller 0 & 32) for the bank selection settings to access programs, and set Intuem accordingly.
Make this newly created device the Default Device.
Create a new Intuem document.
Verify in the inspector that the document's track is using the keyboard device just created and the channel is "1", or a channel you know the device receives on.
Record. Notes should appear in Intuem, and when you rewind to the beginning, they should sound from your keyboard.

What do I need to do to use DLS and SoundFont files?
Very Little! Just put the .dls and .sf2 files in either of two places:

Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks
or
Users/yourAccount/Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks

Intuem will pick them up and turn them into MIDI devices automatically when you start it or open the panel in preferences. The devices are as simple to use as QuickTime Musical Instruments and require no further set-up, although you may want to give them new names.

When I open a ReWire device I can't bring Intuem windows to the front or Intuem won't play (or stop or loop) when I hit play in Reason and vice versa.
When you open a ReWire device such as Reason you need to give Reason a chance to fully startup and load its configuration and then communicate that to Intuem. Unless the device performs all these things it won't be able to control Intuem and Intuem won't be able to control the device. To ensure the process completes simply bring Reason to the front or click in its window. When you open a device like this in Intuem, Intuem automatically forces the panel application to the front until the panel has sent its configuration to Intuem. If you find that having the panel made front repeatedly until Intuem is satisfied (or until about 45 seconds has passed) you can switch off this feature by entering the following command in Terminal:
defaults write com.companionED.Intuem RWDevicesGetTickledUntilDefined NO

If you want to have Intuem audomatically ensure the panel application starts up completely before proceeding, switch the feature back on again by entering the following command in Terminal:
defaults write com.companionED.Intuem RWDevicesGetTickledUntilDefined YES

When I record audio I hear lots of crackles, as if the sound is dropping out.
If you're using Jaguar and a USB audio interface with a sample rate above 44.1kHz, upgrade to Panther and you should see an immediate improvement. If you still have drop-outs, try reducing CPU usage by hiding programs, closing unneeded documents, and anything else that might save CPU cycles.

When I open a ReWire device audio input ceases and/or Intuem hangs then crashes.
When this happens you've completely overwhelmed your CPU and Intuem can't function with the load put on it. Try reducing the number of currently open documents to just one, and turn off unneeded audio play-through and AudioUnit processing.

It crashes every time I try to run it. What's the problem?
There are two possible scenarios:

First and most likely is that you have an AudioUnit installed that is unusable or requires anti-piracy software that is not installed. What you can do is remove all the files from these two locations:

Library/Audio/Plugins/Components
and
Users/yourAccount/Library/Audio/Plugins/Components

Add them back one or two at a time and run Intuem with each batch. This will help identify which one(s) cannot be used. We recommend not re-installing AudioUnits that are unusable because all Intuem is trying to do with these AudioUnits at start-up is identify their parameters--if they can't stand that, they're not going to be of much use.

The second is you have a DLS or SoundFont file that is damaged in some way and cannot be read by Intuem. What you can do is remove all the files from these two locations:

Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks
and
Users/yourAccount/Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks

Add them back one or two at a time and run Intuem with each batch. This will help identify which one(s) are bad and cannot be used with Apple's internal DLS synth.

When looping MIDI why is the first note of the loop sometimes dropped?
Intuem will restore the program changes and controllers at the start of the loop to ensure the device is set-up properly. However, with some devices, that can cause a delay until a MIDI note on message or note off message can be received, and sometimes they are not received at all. To overcome this you can switch off the behaviour for devices that exhibit the problem via Intuem's perferences, MIDI Devices, in the device set-up tab. You can choose which things to restore at the beginning of a loop, either program changes or controllers, or both, or none. You may find that restoring controllers is okay, but programs is not, or that it's best not to restore any of the parameters.

I'm having troubles with MIDI not playing/recording smoothly. Why is it bunched up in groups sometimes?
You could be experiencng some performance problems with your computer. We have a solution to try, but ask that you send us details of what you're experiencing so we can determine just how to help.

I'm having problems with the SMPTE start time in my MIDI files made with Intuem.
Intuem by default will not put the SMPTE start time in your MIDI files, but you can switch that on by entering the following command in Terminal:

defaults write com.companionED.Intuem SaveSMFWithSMPTEOffset YES

If you are having problems with other applications not being able to read MIDI files created by Intuem you should switch off saving the SMPTE info by entering the following command in Terminal:

defaults write com.companionED.Intuem SaveSMFWithSMPTEOffset NO

When entering these commands in Terminal make sure Intuem is not running. After you've entered the command, run Intuem and make your MIDI files again to get the altered version.

When I run the Try Out version it says it's expired.
Firstly, make sure you've copied the Intuem application into your applications folder before running it. If you still get the problem, then you may have run the Try Out before and it's in fact expired even though the copy you've installed is relatively new.

Are you using the latest release?
Intuem is updated from time-to-time with fixes and new features. Please check the news page for info on the latest releases, perhaps your issue has been addressed there.

Still Have Questions?
Please send them in to:support@intuem.com and we'll do our best to help you right-away.

If you're reporting a crash, please include a Mac OS X crash log which you can get via the Console application in your utilities folder. (If there are no crash logs, turn on logging in Console's preferences.) Also please indicate the version of Mac OS X and the version of QuickTime you're using.