I have a feeling I'm missing ONE tiny thing. At least I hope so.

Trying to record guitar to Real Band 2013 via the instrument input on my new Focusrite Scarlett Solo second generation. I can hear the guitar through the headphones, it registers on the Scarlett device (the monitor lights blink) and the vu meters on RB all show it's reading the input. But when I record the track, all that happens is, the background of the track changes from white to gold/orange -- no sound recorded at all. Recording from the mic input works fine.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

Bill Dollison

In RB go to Options-Preferences-Audio-Drivers button

Select the correct input driver .. sounds like you have the mic selected but expecting the USB to record.

There is also a Prefs button in recent versions to get there quicker.

To me it sounds like the wrong Audio Input Driver is selected.
After you select the correct one (Focusrite, which will likely require using ASIO Drivers) you should be able to record from that device. So in the Drivers area you may need to change from MME drivers to ASIO drivers to record the Focusrite USB signal. Most people have no problem when doing so.
If you do you can easily set it back to how it was.

The other option is to run an audio cable from the Focusrite's audio output to the computer's audio input ( again, the correct input Driver needs to be selected in RB, but in this scenario Windows may handle it for you), but if you go this route the quality of the Focusrite convertors is lost. Not the best option at all.

Hi, rharv--

I'm not sure what needs to be done, so below is a Dropbox link to a screenshot of my Focusrite driver setup window. (I hope you're able to use it.) It looks to me like both inputs are already enabled, no? (And I have the ASIO set to Always Use.)

Driver images[/url] https://www.dropbox.com/s/dadsclsrr2gdu33/RB%20Drivers%201.jpg?dl=0

That looks right to me.
My next guess would be you don't have a section highlighted to record.

What are your From-Thru settings?
Are you on an available blank (Audio) track?

Do you have 'Record Audio too if track is a MIDI track' enabled? (can't record audio to a MIDI track even though audio signal would show in the input VUs ..

(there are few settings in Prefs that can affect what gets recorded when you hit record)

Something simple like that is likely the issue, then.
May be as simple as changing the selected Track Type to 'Audio' instead of 'MIDI'. (right-click the track and change type)
I think the default install makes new or additional tracks MIDI tracks (which won't record Audio), but this too can be changed in Prefs.

Also, if recording MONO, be sure that you have the correct channel side selected (there is a setting to choose whether to record what's coming in the left channel or right channel. If set to left channel, but your guitar is plugged into the right channel, you won't get anything.

(Not to hijack this thread, but given your location, glad to see you posting, John)

I am fortunate in that my wife and I (and my parents) are on the panhandle of Florida at the far western end of Florida (about 30 miles from the Alabama state line). So we luckily dodged the bullet completely.

Our concern, of course, is whenever a hurricane crosses over from the Atlantic into the Gulf of Mexico (or just originates in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico), picks up steam again, at which point it head's our way (relatively speaking and where it lands, who knows... Harvey in Houston, Katrina in New Orleans, Ivan in Pensacola, etc).

So even in a situation like Irma, we remain vigilant during hurricane season, as they are very unpredictable and can turn in a different direction on a whim.

Thanks for asking...

Brilliant! (as they say in Britcoms) Thanks, jford, that was the problem. And, not to belabor the point, but in case anyone has something similar, everyone's logic (except maybe RB's) was flawless. The Scarlett Solo has the mic input on the left and the instrument input on the right. So, it records to those channels discretely, in case you're recording 2 channels live. But the default Real Band setup only records the left channel when recording mono. So of course my mic recorded and my guitar didn't.

In the linked picture, Track 1 is my recording of the guitar -- track set to mono, like a good boy, but gold background, nothing recorded. Track 2 is recording the microphone with the track set to mono, but everything working fine. After I read your post, I tried recording the guitar in stereo and, as you can see, it came in on the right channel.

I haven't tried recording again, but as you can also see, I found the setting in the Audio Drivers window that uses both left and right channels as the input for mono recordings. (If it were up to me, I'd make this the default, rather than the left channel.)

Anyway, thanks again, all (and I, too, am glad your situation is comfortable enough to have checked the PG boards!)

Bill

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ll7s9b5i42kub8h/RB%20Audio%20Drivers.jpg?dl=0

Glad it worked out for you, Bill. But don't feel badly, you're not the first that it has happened to (and won't be the last).

Set the MONO recording channel in Prefs to the Right side instead of Both L&R ... then you can use MONO tracks again.