3 Dec
2009
Posted in: Music
By    14 Comments

Zoom R16 – Audio Recorder/Interface/Controller – Working in OS X 10.6

I own a Zoom R16 Audio Recorder / Interface / Controller. I love the product as it is extremely portable. I use it for recording live programs and music. I was happy with the output and performance I got from the entry level recorder. The drivers worked well on Windows XP machine. I installed Cubase LE 4 and checked the performance of the interface and controller. They were flawless.

However the real problem was when I had to use my Macbook running Snow Leopard 10.6.2. The drivers were simply not working. I was pretty unhappy about the drivers not working on Snow Leopard. I did some googling and found few posts which mentioned they have the drivers working fine.

Unfortunately as mentioned by them I was not able to install my drivers for Snow Leopard. Yesterday night I sat to hack and see if I can make it work for Show Leopard. Finally after a little hacking I found a way to fix the issue.

Here is how I got it.

  1. First I downloaded the latest driver that was available on the Zoom.co.jp website.
  2. Then I extracted the contents of the drivers to a folder. After little more digging I could find an archive within the package which has got the kext required to run the audio interface.
  3. I used kext helper to install the driver.
  4. After installing the driver using kext help I restarted the machine.
  5. I was able to see my “Zoom R16 Driver”
It perfectly worked on Cubase LE 4. However I was not able to make them work with Ardour and at the moment I didnt check any other DAWs. Hope this will be an interim solution to people who are desperate to make the Zoom R16 work on Snow Leopard.
Update:
Detailed Steps to get your stuff work (assuming you have downloaded the driver from Zoom website )
1. Extract R16_driver_mac.zip to a folder.
2. You will see Zoom R16Driver.pkg
3. Right-click on the package and click on “Show package contents”. Copy the contents folder to your desired path.
4. Open “Contents” folder and you will find Archive.pax.gz
5. Extract Archive.pax.gz and there you will find two folders System and Library. You have to use Kext helper to install the driver you will find on System folder and copy all files in the library to the same path in your user directory (warning: dont overwrite folders, just copy individual files to the respective folders.)
6. You might need to restart your system and you should find “Zoom R16 Driver” under your sound settings.
Hope this helps.
Latest Update (29-12-2009):
I could see the latest version of drivers for Mac 10.6 (snow leopard running on 32 bit mode, however 64-bit is not yet supported). I hope you need not worry about the hacks available in the blogs. Happy mixing!
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14 Comments

  • Anonymous December 20, 2009 at 6:49 am

    hi there, exactly which file in the pkg should I install with kext helper? any help would be great!

  • Abe December 21, 2009 at 2:01 am

    I have updated the same on my blog. please check the steps.

  • Bo Talal December 21, 2009 at 11:19 am

    Dear any ideas if it works with other DAW's such as Adobe Audition or any DAW that supports ASIO ?

    REGARDS :)

  • Abe December 21, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    @Bo Talal, theoretically it should be working fine. I have tested it to work fine with Cubase LE4, Garageband and Reaper.

  • Anonymous December 23, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Hi there – done everything you say – but I'm stuck when you say – copy all files in the library to the same path in your user directory – I'm not sure where this is. Any clues you can give me? I have my finger crossed you solution will help. G

  • Abe December 23, 2009 at 9:52 am

    After installing kext using kext installer you are expected to restart the system. Have you restarted your system?

  • Anonymous December 23, 2009 at 10:19 am

    Yes, I could see the driver in the device setup for a while – but now no more. I'm think I haven't manually put everything where it needs to go.

  • Hunter Phillips December 24, 2009 at 3:43 am

    Could you be more specific about the R16 not working? I'm running 10.5.8 and my R16 freezes once in interface mode and I am in Logic, Cubase, etc. I'm wondering if this is the same problem you had or if my situation is a isolated. If this helps at all: In Cubase, If the midi input is R16 and the midi output is not selected, I then have the control and interface features, though no output yielding it useless. When the R16 is applied at the output, the console freezes. Just wondering if you have any advice for this huge headache. Thanks in advance for any help.

  • Abe December 24, 2009 at 4:50 am

    @Hunter Phillips: Not working = not able to install the drivers. After I figured out to install the drivers I was able to work on Cubase. I have recorded 3 hour live programme last saturday using Audio Interface. I am afraid that Zoom R16 supports midi. May be you try flashing your Zoom R16. The update is available here –> http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/download/software/r16.php

    Note: As a blog owner I am not responsible for careless /ignorant actions.

  • Anonymous December 29, 2009 at 12:10 am

    i found an easy way to doit
    1- connect your R16 interface to the computer ( mac) powered by USB cable
    2-press USB (on interface) and select card reader
    3- go to FINDER / ZOOM _SD / SYS / (and install the folder called) ZOOM.ZDT (you'll need kext helper)
    4-download the latest driver that its available on the Zoom.co.jp website and hit INSTALL
    5- once the driver installation its completed eject the ZOOM_SD hard drive AND RESTART THE
    COMPUTER (DONT FORGET to eject the ZOOM_SD hard drive first)

    you'll find the driver installed in APPLICATIONS / SYSTEMS PREFERENCES / SOUND ( THE R16 MUST BE
    CONNECTED TO THE COMPUTER ON INTERFACE MODE TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ''it shouldn't take more than 3 minutes if you already had the programs and drivers''

    any question at danny.brad@hotmail.com

  • Anonymous January 1, 2010 at 11:42 am

    I might be stupid, but how do I know if my Mac is 32 or 64 bit? I just got a Macbook Pro, running OS 10.6.2. I got the new drivers, working with Logic express 8, but it still isn't stable with the R16 (wich I got yesterday) … Oh Happy New Year!!

    Danny (The Netherlands)

  • Abe January 4, 2010 at 2:29 am

    @Danny – here is a quick way to figure out the same. Click on Apple menu -> choose About this mac -> more info -> software -> 64-bit Kernel and Extensions if this is not enabled it means your mackbook pro is 32 bit. Hope it helps.

  • Danny Hermans January 8, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    @Abe, I checked it, 64-bit kernel and extensions is enabled, but I finally checked the apple website.
    It depends wich processor you have!
    I have an Intel Core 2 Duo, this means my macbook pro is 64 bit.

    Intel Core Solo 32 bit
    Intel Core Duo 32 bit
    Intel Core 2 Duo 64 bit
    Intel Quad-Core Xeon 64 bit

    So I have to wait (Q1 2010) till zoom releases a new driver that supports 64 bit)

    Thanx for your help!!

    Danny

  • Install Audio Software February 7, 2010 at 9:16 am

    Thank you for the help.
    Great Audio info, i’m bookmarking the page for the great content.

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