Audition only records from Scarlett 2i2 on initial startup, won't make subsequent recording

[NSM-EducationProduction]

Brand new laptop (MSI Pulse 15 B13VGK), Windows 11, Fully Updated Adobe Creative Suite for Enterprise

Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen connected via USB

ND-1 Microphone connected to Scarlett via XLR

Audio Hardward mapped to L/R to channel 1 Mono

Input AND Output go through Scarlett

My old laptop was having trouble and freezing mid recording, so I bought this MSI to last me for the next half decade or so. The sound comes through perfectly from mic to headphones, but audition will ONLY record if the laptop has been freshly restarted and will ONLY work for ONE file. I'm in the middle of recording an late relative's letters and it's becoming tedious to restart (not to mention the startup sequence puts the processor through its paces enough that the fan goes into high mode). 

Thoughts?

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Since it's Windows 11 this is happening with, the first thing I'd check is the security settings, to make sure that Audition specifically has access to your microphone. There's information about security settings here. If this doesn't fix the problem, report back.

[NSM-EducationProduction]

Yes. As a part of "Let desktop apps access your microphone," it is listed as On.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

So when you go to start a second recording, what exactly happens? And is it the same in both Waveform and Multitrack views? (This is important, because the record mechanisms for each are completely different.)

[NSM-EducationProduction]

In both waveform and multitrack (with one track primed to record), the moment I press record to start it doesn't give any audio into the track, even though I can hear the microphone plain as day through the Scarlett 2i2. The only thing that registers is a brief, non-audible pop. No matter what I hear through the mic into my monitors, nothing is recording into the track.  

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

That's actually useful, because it eliminates pretty much all of the file system. Waveform records to a temp file, but Multitrack records directly to the final file, and you're saying that the behaviour is the same on both.  Can you provide a screengrab of your Audio Hardware page from Preferences?

[NSM-EducationProduction]

Sure~

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

If you alter the clock so that it's driven from the Scarlett but using an In: setting, does that make any difference? If you are using the Scarlett as a recording source, it certainly makes sense to use it as a clock source!

Also have a look at the Settings, and make sure that the Scarlett is using the same sample rate as Audition is set to. If it is, then try taking the check out of  'Use machine-specific device defaults' and see of that makes any difference.

[NSM-EducationProduction]

Unfortunately, no. I tried combinations of all three and there was no change.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_ · Accepted solution]

The one common thing in this is that there doesn't appear to be a valid output from your sound device making it into Audition - just the monitoring is working. So let's have a look at your USB setup. Is the Scarlett plugged directly into the laptop? In the box it comes in is a separate 15W power supply, and that's the one you should be using. The 2i2 specification says that it uses 1.5A, and that's 3 times the max possible power output from a bog-standard USB-2 laptop connection can provide. So if you are just running from a single USB connection from the laptop, I could definitely see that as being something of an issue...

USB-C connections can legitimately use up to six times the current that a USB-2 (normal laptop USB socket) can provide, so I'd say that the ideal situation is to use the laptop connection for signals only, and the other USB-C connection for external power.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

And I've just noticed that you said the fan goes into high blast mode as well on a restart- all symptoms of something somewhere trying to draw more power than is actually available...

[andret92552443]

That is interesting. My issue was a usb video capture card (camlink).. once I unplugged it, no more problems. Also, I had the video capture card plugged into a USB-C dongle (hdmi out, 3  usb 3.0 ports and 2 usb-c ports) so that could've very well be the case here as you stated.

[NSM-EducationProduction]

Update: Fixed*

So it appears the power from the USB ports was the issue... but it started another problem: corrupted audio.

After I added a power cable to the 5V port, the mic was consistently recognized and capture by audition, no matter how many files or sessions I opened or closed. The new problem was that the audio in this new configuration (despite restarts and resets), was a corruption of looping audio. 

I did some trouble shooting on my own and found that the startup drivers for the Scarlett 2i2 were not sufficient for this setup and I had to reinstall both THOSE drivers AND start using the Scarlett CONTROL interface that I had to download from their site. CONTROL allows me to manipulate the 2i2 from my laptop instead of using the knobs and buttons (well, most of them anyway) on the device, itself. 

These two fixes (additional power and CONTROL) appear to have solved the issue and I can now record consistently, without dropout or losing mic recognition on new files.

Thank you for your help, SteveG!

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Well that's a bit of a relief, because I was beginning to wonder what else I was missing! Glad it's fixed, anyway - and thanks for reporting back; it may save someone else from the same issue. And I've modified your title slightly to make this easier to find, as I'm reasonably convinced that it will bite somebody else!

[NSM-EducationProduction]

Yes.

"Let desktop apps access your microphone." > Adobe Audition is on.

[andret92552443]

Any updates on this?  I'm having the exact same thing on Mac OSX somoma 14.5. records on start up, then after dead after a few minutes. Can't record. 

[andret92552443]

Also did everthing, and finally did a clean install of the whole computer just to fix this, and still same issue persists. 

[NSM-EducationProduction]

If you scroll above, SteveG is working the problem step by step with me. We haven't found a solution, yet, but he's narrowing. 🙂