Applies to: All current Focusrite audio interfaces

This article will explain how to set your Focusrite audio interface in Zoom on Mac

Please see the following article if you are on a Windows computer: How to set up your Focusrite audio interface with Zoom on Windows

Requirements: We recommend creating a Zoom account and downloading/installing the Zoom Client for Meetings desktop application from the Zoom website here, as the web client has limited features.

1. Setting the audio interface as the audio device

With your audio interface connected, please navigate to Zoom.us > Preferences > Audio and set your microphone input to the audio interface you would like to use.

  

 

When you speak into the microphone connected to the audio interface you will be able to see feedback on the input level meter which indicates an audio signal is being received. Please ensure 48V phantom power is enabled on your interface if you are using a condenser microphone.

To confirm the quality of your incoming audio signal, you can create a test recording and listen back.

Please note that Zoom will transmit audio from all of the inputs of a connected audio interface unless you enable Use Specific Audio Channels and select the channels you wish to use.

2. Sharing audio from your computer

As well as receiving input from any microphone/instrument that has been connected to your audio interface, Zoom also allows you to share any audio that is playing locally on your computer. To enable this feature, select the Share Screen button whilst on a call.

Then, click on the Advanced tab and select Music or Computer Sound Only. 

You will be asked to install the Zoom audio device which is needed to share the computer's audio. Enter your Mac's password to allow the installation. After it has installed, it will automatically be selected as your Mac's output device.

3. Altering volumes when using multiple inputs

The gain controls on your audio interface can be used to manage the volume of each input in Zoom. However, this will affect the levels for the inputs in any other applications you may be simultaneously streaming or recording in.

If adjusting the gain controls is not a suitable solution, or if you are using inputs that do not have gain controls, here are three options for how to achieve this:

Option A - Focusrite Control Loopback Mix

Requirements: Scarlett 3rd Gen models (4i4, 8i6, 18i8 & 18i20), Clarett Thunderbolt, and some Saffire FireWire interfaces (Saffire interfaces will require Saffire MixControl)

Loopback is a built-in feature that enables you to create a mix from various software outputs and hardware inputs which can then be fed into a virtual input for streaming or recording. This feature can be used to create a dedicated mix for Zoom.

1. Open Focusrite Control and go to the Output Routing section.

2. On the left-hand side, under OUTPUTS, set the source for Loopback 1-2 to Custom Mix.

3. To prevent everyone on the call from hearing themselves and to prevent feedback, select Loopback 1-2 under OUTPUTS and mute audio coming from your applications on Playback 1-2 under SOFTWARE (DAW) PLAYBACK.

4. Under HARDWARE INPUTS, click the + tab to open the selection box; select any inputs that you want to include in your Zoom audio mix*.

*Any outputs added to or removed from one custom mix will be added to or removed from all custom mixes. Adjustments to the faders, pans, solos, and mutes only affect the selected custom mix, so these controls can be used if differences in mixes are required.

5. In Zoom, navigate to Preferences > Audio, enable Use Specific Audio Channels, and select only the channel numbers that correspond to Loopback inputs 1 and 2 on your interface.

6. You can now manage the mix for your inputs to Zoom by altering the Loopback 1-2 custom mix (make sure Loopback 1-2 is selected under OUTPUTS when altering the custom mix in Focusrite Control).

Option B - Loopback From DAW

Requirements: Scarlett 3rd Gen models (4i4, 8i6, 18i8 & 18i20), Clarett Thunderbolt, and some Saffire FireWire interfaces (Saffire interfaces will require Saffire MixControl)

Alternatively, managing your mix for Zoom in a DAW (digital audio workstation) and then outputting it to Loopback for use in Zoom will allow you to apply processing and effects from your DAW to audio for a Zoom call.

1. In your DAW, add audio tracks for all the inputs you want to use in Zoom and route the tracks in your DAW to a software output other than the main stereo output (the naming will vary from DAW to DAW).

2. Turn on input monitoring for all the tracks in your DAW, so the call participants can hear the audio from your inputs after they have been processed by the DAW.

3. Open Focusrite Control and navigate to the Output Routing section at the top of the Focusrite Control window.

4. On the left-hand side, under OUTPUTS, set the source for Loopback 1-2 to the Playback channel that corresponds to the software output from your DAW (e.g. Output 3-4 in Logic = Playback 3-4 in Focusrite Control).

5. In Zoom, navigate to Preferences > Audio, enable Use Specific Audio Channels and select only the channel numbers that correspond to the inputs for Loopback 1 and 2 on your interface.

6. You can now manage the mix for your inputs to Zoom by altering the volumes, pans, mutes, solos, effects, and processing on the tracks in your DAW.

Option C - iShowU Audio

If the Loopback feature is unavailable on your audio interface, you can use a utility application such as iShowU Audio Capture to share the audio from your DAW into Zoom.

1. Install iShowU Audio Capture from here. After installing this on High Sierra or above you will need to go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and select “Allow”.

2. Then, open Finder > Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup - you should the application here if it has been installed correctly.

3. Click on the + symbol and then select Multi-Output Device.

4. Ensure iShowU Audio Capture and your audio interface are selected.

5. In your DAW, select your audio interface as the Input device and “Multi-Output Device” as your Output device

6. In Zoom's audio settings, set the microphone to iShowU Audio Capture, and the speaker as your audio interface.

7. Add any audio tracks into your DAW and select the input(s) you're using on your audio interface. Enable “Input Monitoring” on the track, so the audio is picked up in Zoom.

You can then alter the volumes of each of your inputs using the channel faders. You can also add effects to the inputs such as compression and EQ, and transmit the sounds of any software instruments the DAW has. You will need to ensure the buffer size is set quite low in your audio settings to avoid sync issues between your video and your audio, however.

As iShowU Audio Capture is no longer supported on newer macOS versions, SWB Audio App is the recommended replacement for macOS 11 Big Sur or later. See this article for reference.