1. Just recently bought a Montage. I was planning on using it as both, MIDI and AUDIO Interface for LOGIC. I have a Mic Pre-amp (Golden Age Jr + Baby Bottle Blue Mic) with balanced outputs that I need to connect to the unbalanced MONTAGE inputs in order to record voice in LOGIC. Should I use balanced, or unbalanced cables for that application. Or do I need a kind of "reverse DI Box" or something?

Your question here is better asked of the Mic Pre-amp company. I heard of the Golden Age Jr. and thought I understood it has both balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs, but I could be wrong — this is why this question is best posed to them. The Mic connects to the Pre-amp, the Pre-amp would connect to the MONTAGE as a Line level unbalanced input.

We don’t know all the models of this Pre-amp so check with the manufacturer.

2. The MONTAGE Connect is always Offline (In LOGIC and Standalone). I have a new M1 chip Mac and all drivers, MONTAGE firmware and OS are updated. The MONTAGE is connected to the Mac and is transmitting both AUDIO and MIDI no problem. MONTAGE is also set as USB midi and I've tried all online forums and tutorials, but I can't get MONTAGE Connect to be online. I'm using a new standard USB to USB C (Thunderbolt) cable. But again I have no problem assigning and playing midi and audio through standard MIDI channels on my Daw with the MONTAGE

Sorry to hear about that new M1 chip Mac … I’m kidding… but it begins… it’s been 15 years since Apple overturned the Chips in their computer causing a few years of this kind of chaos. Usually, you just have to be super vigilant about versions of software and what items are being translated etc by Rosetta 2… or whatever happens now. Saying you have all new drivers, is insufficient for this type of checklist. Please take the time to post the version numbers or at least verify they are the following:

Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver version 3.0.5 for Mac OS 11 (intel/Apple Silicon with Rosetta 2)
MONTAGE CONNECT version 1.10 for Mac OS 11

FYI: I also have a new AUDIENT ID14 that I was using as my main interface. If I can use the MONTAGE as my interface I'll sell the AUDIENT.

Sorry, I don’t know this interface, but feel obliged to mention the following: You own a Mac, you can build an Aggregate Audio Device…

This allows multiple audio interfaces to feed your DAW. You can of course, keep or sell any gear you desire, but when building a home studio recording situation, I’ve found the most common misconception is that there is only one possible setup. Setup is as flexible as can be imagined… Same as workflow. You can reconfigure your setup for the task at hand.

Many musicians will record the music tracks first, then overdub vocals later. If this is your workflow, you can use the MONTAGE as the main audio device while laying down the basic tracks —why not? The 32-bus audio feature is compelling. You can then switch audio interfaces and use a different one for overdubbing vocals, if you wish. Or as discussed above you just feed the output of the Mic Pre-amp to the A/D In of the MONTAGE. It will have its own dedicated channel with two dedicated Insertion Effects, and will be converted as pristine 24-bit audio.

As an audio interface the MONTAGE offers two Insertion Effects in hardware and discreet Routing.
But does not offer Phantom Power, for example.

You may decide on using more than one interface because different gear may provide different advantages. Either audio interface can playback the audio tracks. Simply keep your projects sample rate and resolution consistent to avoid any conversion issues.

Thanks for your reply,

The Golden Age Pre 73 Jr utilize Balanced XLR and TRS 1/4 for its outputs. With that in mind, what options do I have to connect its balanced output to my montage unbalanced inputs, if any.

FYI: Just uninstalled and reinstalled all drivers and montage connect app, and now is connected. Thanks,

Just connect the Pre-amp’s Output to the A/D In with a standard TS cable.
Set the MONTAGE [UTILITY] > “Settings” > “Audio In” > Set “Mic/Line” = Line

Alright.