StompLink

Guide

How to play guitar over FaceTime, Zoom, Google Meet and more

Call apps listen to one microphone. To play guitar on a call, give the app one microphone that already has your guitar and your voice mixed together, and send the call back to your headphones so it doesn’t feed back into the mic. The steps are the same in every call app; only the menu where you pick the microphone changes.

What you need

Step 1: Plug in and check that macOS sees your gear

Connect your Stomp device over USB, then open System Settings › Sound. If it appears under Input, StompLink can use it. It appears in StompLink under Sources with its own fader. If you have a separate mic, plug it in too. It shows up as another source.

Step 2: Choose StompLink as the call app’s microphone and speaker

In your call app’s audio settings, choose StompLink as the microphone (input) and as the speaker (output). Where that setting lives depends on the app. See the app-by-app notes below. Once the call starts, the app shows up in StompLink as a source on its own.

Step 3: Choose what the other person hears

Under Destinations › Call, make sure your Stomp device and your mic are switched on. Want to play along to a backing track? Switch GarageBand or another app on for the Call destination too.

Step 4: Choose where you hear the call

Add an output under Destinations (your Stomp device’s headphone jack, wired headphones, AirPods or Mac speakers) and switch the call app’s feed on for it. Use headphones if you can: with speakers, your mic may pick the call up again.

Step 5: Check your levels

Play and talk, and watch the meters in StompLink. Set the guitar and voice faders so neither drowns the other, then make a quick test call with a friend to check the balance from their side. StompLink remembers each level for next time.

App-by-app notes

Menu names change between app versions, so treat these as pointers. If a label doesn’t match exactly, look for the app’s audio or device settings.

FaceTime

Open FaceTime and, from the Video menu in the menu bar, choose StompLink as the Microphone and as the Output. During a call, macOS may offer a Mic Mode setting in Control Center. Voice Isolation is designed to keep only your voice, which can thin out or cut an instrument. If the option appears with StompLink selected, Wide Spectrum or Standard is usually the better choice for music.

Zoom

In Zoom’s settings, under Audio, choose StompLink as the microphone and the speaker. Then turn on Zoom’s original sound for musicians option and switch it on in the meeting. Without it, Zoom’s noise suppression can treat your guitar as background noise. If your version offers high-fidelity music mode and stereo audio, they help too. Zoom renames these options from time to time, so look for “original sound” in the Audio settings.

Google Meet (in your browser)

Google Meet runs in your browser. (Google Hangouts has been replaced by Meet and Google Chat.) In a meeting, open Meet’s settings and look for the Audio section, then choose StompLink as the microphone and, if your browser offers it, as the speakers. The first time, your browser asks for permission to use the microphone. macOS may also need the browser allowed under System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone. If your browser doesn’t let Meet choose a speaker, set your Mac’s sound output to StompLink in System Settings › Sound and the browser will appear in StompLink as a source.

Microsoft Teams

In Teams’ settings, look for the Devices or audio settings and choose StompLink as the microphone and the speaker. Teams’ noise suppression can treat an instrument as noise. If your version has a music mode or lets you lower noise suppression, try that for music.

Discord

In Discord’s User Settings › Voice & Video, choose StompLink as the input device and output device. For music, try turning off noise suppression and automatic gain control if you see them, and check that input sensitivity isn’t cutting off quiet notes.

Any other app that lets you pick a microphone

Webex, Slack huddles, WhatsApp, Signal and other call apps work the same way: choose StompLink as the microphone and speaker in the app’s audio settings. If an app has no microphone setting and uses your Mac’s default, set the default input and output to StompLink in System Settings › Sound.

Playing for a friend, a lesson or a jam

For playing a friend the song you just learned, the steps above are all you need. For lessons, see the online lesson setup guide. For jams, keep in mind that call apps and the internet add delay between you, so a call works well for trading riffs and working out parts, but not for playing in tight sync.

Troubleshooting

They can hear me talking but not my guitar

Check that the call app’s microphone is StompLink, not your interface or the built-in mic, and that your Stomp device’s feed is switched on for the Call destination. Check that its meter moves when you play. On modelers, make sure the USB output that carries your processed tone is the one selected for that source. If the guitar cuts in and out, the app’s noise suppression is the usual cause (see the app notes above).

The other person hears an echo of themselves

Check that the call’s own source isn’t switched on for the Call destination. It’s off by default. Also check that your call app’s speaker is set to StompLink, not straight to your Mac speakers, where your mic could pick it up again.

AirPods feel late when I play

Bluetooth adds delay. AirPods are fine for listening to the call, but for playing along use wired headphones or your Stomp device’s headphone jack. You can keep both as destinations and switch either one off.

Want to keep the call?

StompLink can record both sides with video of the call window. See recording FaceTime and Zoom video calls. Please ask the other person first.

Try StompLink

$24 one-time for one Mac at a time. Launch price: $19 for the first 60 days. For macOS 26 Tahoe or later.

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