Rogue Amoeba February 11, 2018 We’ve just posted Farrago 1.0.2, which fixes a nasty (though fortunately rare) playback issue related to the Fade All button. However, our new soundboard app Farragois the first Rogue Amoeba app I’ve designed from the ground up.1The design process for a new application is very involved, with countless discussions, hours of research, and even plenty of guesswork.
Jun 13, 2019 In Rogue Amoeba’s words: Farrago provides the best way to quickly play sound bites, audio effects, and music clips on your Mac. Podcasters can use Farrago to include musical accompaniment and sound effects during recording sessions, while theater techs can run the audio for live shows.
Rogue Amoeba is known for making quality audio tools for macOS, and its latest release Farrago continues that effort. Farrago is a super polished soundboard app for Mac created for podcasters.
Posted By Paul Kafasis on November 16th, 2020
Last week was a big week for Apple and the Mac, with the release of MacOS 11 (Big Sur), as well as all new M1 chip-based Macs.
Since June, we’ve been working tirelessly to get all of our products ready for these transitions. As of last week, all of Rogue Amoeba’s products are Big Sur compatible. Further updates for M1-based Macs are in the works, and will be available soon.
Our team has done incredible work over the past five months, and our Status page has been continually updated throughout the summer and fall. This post provides more details on where things stand right now, as well as what updates are still in the works.
Updates for MacOS 11 (Big Sur)
Rogue Amoeba’s products are now all compatible with Big Sur. If you’ve already updated to Big Sur on your Mac, just download the latest versions of our applications to get up and running.
However, if you haven’t yet updated your operating system, we encourage you to take things slow. Both our own apps, and the OS itself, are not as well-tested as they will be after some time has passed. If you have an important production setup, or even if you just enjoy having a fully functioning Mac, it’s smart to wait on updating your OS.
Most of Our Applications Feature Initial Compatibility
Our home audio streamer Airfoil, our audio capture tools Audio Hijack and Piezo, our audio router Loopback, and our sound control SoundSource all have initial compatibility with Big Sur. Testing and refining is ongoing, and we strongly suggest that mission-critical setups delay moving to Big Sur until we’ve more thoroughly vetted the update. That said, if you’re already on Big Sur, we are too.
A Note on Getting ACE Authorized for Big Sur
All of the aforementioned tools rely on ACE, our audio handling component which enables them to work with audio from other apps on your Mac. In MacOS 11 (Big Sur), the initial installation of ACE requires a bit more set-up than was previously required. The in-app installer provides an overview of the process, and you should be up and running in just a few minutes.
However, we’ve seen a bug in MacOS itself that’s causing some headaches. In rare instances, the “Security & Privacy” system preference can fail to show the prompt needed to allow ACE to run. If you don’t see the expected prompt, restart your Mac, then check System Preferences again.
Farrago and Fission Have Full Compatibility
Both our soundboard app Farrago and our audio editor Fission feature full compatibility with Big Sur. They have been extensively tested, and should work flawlessly for you on the new operating system. Just make sure you’ve got the latest versions, and enjoy!
Updates for M Chip-Based Macs
Update (December 16th, 2020): All our products now have support for the new M Chip-based Macs. See this blog post for more details.
Our ACE-based releases (again, that’s Airfoil, Audio Hijack, Loopback, Piezo, and SoundSource) will not yet run on M1 Chip-Based Macs. When you launch them, they’ll warn you that they’re not compatible, and you won’t be able to proceed any further.
Fear not, good user, for we already have internal versions which work on these new Macs. Because we’re still in the process of testing and validating them, they’re not quite ready for release. We’ll have more to share in the near future, but for now, you’ll want to be sure to keep your Intel-based Mac around to run these applications.
By contrast, Farrago and Fission work fine on Apple Silicon-powered Macs. These apps are currently running under Rosetta emulation, and as a result, we’ve marked them as having “initial compatibility”. However, we’re not aware of any issues, and don’t expect you’ll run into any trouble. Native versions will be released in the future, but the current versions will work quite well on the new Macs from day one.
Watch for More Updates
We’ll have more updates in the near future. For the most up-to-date information on OS and device compatibility, you should always check our Status page. We’ll also post news via social media, and likely here on our blog. Stay tuned!
I answered a viewer question over on my YouTube channel – subscribe here! – about how to add sound effects and music backgrounds to a podcast or live stream.
Direct link to video.
What is Farrago?
Farrago is an app from Rogue Amoeba, maker of fine audio products for macOS, that functions as a soundboard on your computer. You can load it up with AIFF, MP3, or WAV audio files that then can be triggered with your keyboard, mouse, or MIDI device.
Farrago Rogue Amoeba
In Rogue Amoeba’s words:
Farrago provides the best way to quickly play sound bites, audio effects, and music clips on your Mac. Podcasters can use Farrago to include musical accompaniment and sound effects during recording sessions, while theater techs can run the audio for live shows. Whether it’s providing quick access to a large library of sounds or running through a defined list of audio, Farrago is ready to assist!
Farrago is easily the best designed soundboard app for macOS. Unless you need more robust playlist and queue support that something like QLab offers, Farrago is the app to get for your audio playback needs.
Rogue Amoeba offers a free download to try it out, and then it’s only $49USD to buy it.
While you’re at Rogue Amoeba’s website, be sure to check out their Ultimate Podcast Bundle if you’re in the market for Audio Hijack, Loopback, Farrago, and Fission for a great package deal.
In the video, I also touch on a few other apps besides Farrago that you might be interested in checking out: