EchoThief

Stay inside. Play outside!

EchoThief brings the reverberation of resonant locations across North America into your headphones to enhance your music as you practice and perform. While we're stuck inside for a bit, here's an easy way to make your sounds resonate virtually within interesting spaces from Anchorage to Havana.

Sing into a glacial cave or atop a timeworn castle!

Hear your voice ring out among the fluttery echoes of parabolic arches!

Happy music making!

EchoThief is a project from Music Recording Technology and Audio Design @ San Diego State University

Byron Glacier

Anchorage, Alaska

Cliff of the Dawn

Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo

Old Red Bridge

Cedarburg, Wisconsin

The Domes

Casa Grande, Arizona

Please connect your headphones before launching EchoThief to avoid creating a feedback loop.

Download

Please select your operating system

OSX

Note: Since this software is not distributed through the App Store, it will raise a security warning. Please follow the instructions below to install it.

Windows

Installation (Mac)

Since this software is not distributed through the App Store, some versions of OSX may present a security warning the first time you launch the software. Please follow the directions below to bypass this.

Download EchoThief.
Double click on the icon to begin the installation process.
When prompted, press Continue, then Continue again, then Install to complete the process (you will need to enter your password).
Launch the app. A pop-up window will warn you that "SC EchoThief.pkg can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software".
Click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your screen. When a drop down menu appears, select System Preferences.
Click on Security and Privacy.
In the General tab, click on Open Anyway.

Kayla Gautereaux, Assistant Vocal Pedagogy Director and Vocal Pedagogy Lab Manager at New England Conservatory, sings virtually in Saint Martin of Tours Catholic Church using the EchoThief app.

Echo Bridge in Newton Massachusetts has thirteen discrete echoes.

Using EchoThief with Zoom

The Easy Way

Launch EchoThief.
Click on the icon in the upper right hand corner to reveal a drop down menu.
Select Audio Settings.
Set the output to ZoomAudioDevice.
In Zoom, mute your microphone.
Click on Share Screen.
In the pop-up menu, select the EchoThief window and check the box Share Computer Sound.

EchoThief will now share its audio with Zoom as long as you are sharing your screen.

The Best Way

Download and install Soundflower. This will show up as an audio device and allow you to route audio between applications.
Restart your computer.
Launch EchoThief.
Click on the icon in the upper right hand corner to reveal a drop down menu.
Select Audio Settings.
Set the output to Soundflower (2-ch).
Launch Zoom and start a meeting.
In the lower left corner, click on the arrow next to the microphone icon to reveal a drop down menu of audio devices.
Under Select a Microphone, choose Soundflower (2-ch).

EchoThief will now share its audio with Zoom. You do NOT need to share your screen for this method to work. If Soundflower isn't compatible with your version of OSX, consider using Blackhole.

Using EchoThief with DAWs

While it is certainly possible to connect EchoThief to your favorite DAW (Ableton Live, ProTools, Logic, etc.), using tools such as Soundflower, JACK, and Blackhole, it is substantially easier to simply use the EchoThief VST plugin, available here from Stagecraft Software.