AU Lab Solved (Part 1): The microphone permission problem

www.TheRandomFactor.com
This very simple workaround will let you use AU Lab to eq your music or movies live, as you play them, and hear the effects of any processing you apply to your signal in real time.
AU Lab is a very light DAW that is fully loaded with all kinds of high-quality, professional-grade tools you can use to enhance your music or movie playback.
You can also use GarageBand, if you prefer. Visit my website for the full details on how to implement a system-wide live, professional eq system on your mac, for free, with professional tools provided by Apple.
I have tested this workaround with Intel-based Macs and M1 Macs; I have not tried it with M2 Macs, but it should work.

[@digitalspecter]

Thanks, it worked :) To possibly save someone a few minutes: run the executable inside the app in terminal and terminal will ask for mic permission which you should allow. If you don't know how to do that, watch from 5:09

[@ohkee]

Dude. This was very clear and helpful. Still working in 2024 (MacBook Pro 2019 Intel based). Thanks a million!

[@TheRandomFactor]

I'm glad it worked for you. Happy listening, my friend!

[@joshuarichardson501]

Thank you so much for making this video, man. All other videos I could find for installing and using AU Lab for EQ are really old and didn't cover this issue, so I appreciate you putting the effort into making a video addressing it. Earned yourself a new subscriber 💪

[@TheRandomFactor]

Thank you, Joshua. Enjoy AU Lab!

[@johngaspar4425]

Thanks: worked for me too. Double clicking on the exec file automatically ask for access to mic on Sonoma. Rogue Amoeba makes Sound Source which is at another level but it costs 41$ but that is a really well made tool.

[@TheRandomFactor]

Thank you for your input. I have not tried Rogue Amoeba; I might give it a try next weekend. I'm happy that this workaround worked for you, but remember that you can also use every plug-in included in AU Lab with GarageBand. I say this because GarageBand is free and AU Lab may stop working altogether at some point --it's a shame, I know. I have a step-by-step guide on how to use GarageBand with the AU Lab plug-ins in my website www.TheRandomFactor.com (in the Audio section). I've been wanting to make a video about it, but all I want to do in my spare time, lately, is rest. I'll get to it at some point, I guess.

[@johngaspar4425]

@@TheRandomFactor yeah I was looking for an inline audio enhancer where I can use my own plugins instead of modifying the source file au lab does that for free but because of the stated issue I went looking and found Sound source. They also make Audio hijack which does the same with audio plugins and can also record live feeds.

[@TheRandomFactor]

@@johngaspar4425 I have seen both, Audio Hijack and Rogue Amoeba, mentioned in audio forums before, but I have not tried them yet. Thanks for the tip!

[@ManuelSavoldi]

man, you're a saint and a genius! what a nice tutorial, really saved me! cheers!

[@TheRandomFactor]

I'm glad this has been useful to you. Thanks.

[@bastvp8039]

This video is a gem, thank you so much it finally works !

[@TheRandomFactor]

Thank you for your comment, I'm glad I could help.

[@TheRandomFactor]

I have tested this workaround with Intel-based Macs and M1 Macs; I have not tried it with M2 Macs, but it should work.

[@z_anlage9707]

Great video! Many thanks for that from germany. works with macOS Ventura!

[@TheRandomFactor]

Great! Thank you for your comment!

[@TheRandomFactor]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@LurkerPatrol5]

YOU ARE THE BEST, THIS WORKED SO WELL! THANK YOU!

[@TheRandomFactor]

Thanks! My pleasure!

[@bm2085]

Thank you this video was very helpful!

[@TheRandomFactor]

I'm happy to hear that. Thank you for the feedback.

[@messibeaucoup]

It worked for me, thank you!

[@TheRandomFactor]

I'm glad it did. Thank you for the feedback!

[@BushWckz]

Code doesn't work for me even using Sudo Su. I'm using Sonoma. " unable to open database file"

[@carlerikkopseng7172]

Where do you get that error? I also cannot get it to work, but there are no errors: "Sonoma 14.1.2 (23B92)".

[@BushWckz]

​@@carlerikkopseng7172 I went back to Catalina. Sonoma is been really buggy on 2020 Intel Macs. Apple better get the shit together before offering such upgrades to Intel users.

[@dearyeons]

you are amazing Thank you!!!!

[@TheRandomFactor]

I'm glad this was useful to you. Thank you for your feedback!

[@user-ui2wi6sw9f]

macos ventura, EQ works!!!

[@TheRandomFactor]

Great! Thanks for the info!

[@loosthoonter]

works! macos 13

[@TheRandomFactor]

Thank you for the feedback

[@user-tm4pj7fr9r]

My terminal does not have microphone permission, how can I grant it?

[@TheRandomFactor]

Go to 5:34 of this video. When you double-click the executable file, if Terminal has never asked for permission to use the microphone before, it should prompt you for it; if it does not, go to Settings/Privacy and Security/Microphone Terminal should already be listed there, and you should be able to either tick the box or move the slider to the right, depending on the Mac OS you are using.

[@user-tm4pj7fr9r]

​@@TheRandomFactorNo, my computer is weird. When I opened the terminal, it didn't ask for microphone permission, and it didn't show up in the settings.

[@user-tm4pj7fr9r]

@@TheRandomFactor My computer is macos12. Is there also a bug in my terminal? Is there any command that can allow the terminal to obtain microphone permission?

[@TheRandomFactor]

@@user-tm4pj7fr9r, it might prove difficult to try and troubleshoot this from the comments section of a KZbin video, but give the following a try: Reset your OS microphone permissions by typing the following command in Terminal: tccutil reset Microphone This command is safe enough for you to try; I have used it several times. It will simply erase any existing microphone access permissions, so you can start from scratch. This is absolutely painless. Just copy the command, open terminal, paste the command, and press enter. You should see the following message: Successfully reset Microphone Once you have done this, check your Microphone Permissions, in the Security and Privacy section, to make sure they are all gone. Now you can go back to following this tutorial, starting at 5:34, and you should now be prompted for microphone access from Terminal. If this fails, please feel free to visit my website and e-mail me from there, I will try my best to help you, but--I can't stress this enough--I'm not an expert. Good luck!

[@user-tm4pj7fr9r]

Thank you, after doing this it worked, thank you so much​@@TheRandomFactor

[@jokoboyama6322]

omg omg it worked it worked thank you thank you!!!!!

[@TheRandomFactor]

I'm glad it worked for you. Enjoy, my friend!

[@joachimseifert4112]

won't work shows up the message “AULab failed to initialize the audio engine“

[@TheRandomFactor]

I don't know why that is. I have tried this with several different Macs, including Minis, and it has worked every time, even with M1s. I am not a computer expert by any stretch, but which model is your Mac and which OS are you using? It is possible that any of the apps running on your system may be interfering with the core audio process. Do a google search for "Reset Core Audio" and try that; it is a straight forward procedure that may solve your issue. You can use Terminal or Activity Monitor to kill and restart Core Audio. If all else fails, you can still run Audio Units (AU Lab plug-ins) on GarageBand. Granted, GarageBand is not as light and nimble as AU Lab, but it is free and works just as well; it also includes a great parametric EQ and other goodies. You can install AU Lab and use its plug-ins with GarageBand. I explain the process in detail in my website www.TheRandomFactor.com, but I have also been thinking about posting a video on that.