Loopback® review
Say you’re making a tutorial and want the recording to pick up your microphone and a soundboard. Loopback lets you give the recorder one Mac audio input that contains just those sources. The recorder can use that input the same way it would use a microphone.
Give the recording its own input
Create a virtual device, add your mic and the app you want people to hear, then choose that device as the input in your recorder or streaming app. You can turn a source off and leave its setup in place for the next session. Loopback takes audio from an application as a source, so adding your browser can also bring in sound from its other tabs. I’d use a separate browser for the material I planned to play on air.
Listen to the mix before sending it out
Loopback can send the mix to your headphones through a monitor. If an app goes quiet at your normal output when you start capturing it, check its *Mute when capturing* setting. You can change that setting or listen through the monitor. Loopback handles the path the sound takes. If you also need scenes, overlays and a recording of the show, Ecamm handles that part of a Mac production. Loopback has a trial and a paid license. Check the publisher’s Mac requirements before installing.
Anabel’s take
I’d set it up for a recurring show where I know exactly what I want to send to the audience. Before going live, I’d play the clip, say a sentence into the mic and listen back to a short recording in the app that will actually receive the mix. For a show that uses one mic all the way through, I’d keep using the mic directly.