Hello there, I have a Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen Focusrite that I use with a RODE NT1 Condenser Microphone.
Recently, I have started to use Audacity because I am working to become a voice actor. However, since this afternoon, I have been having big problems with my microphone.
I put an audio file (music) into Audacity, and ever since then my microphone volume has been incredibly low, despite being at 100% in windows.
I have had Scarlett for a few months now, and it has always been at around 50% gain (on the knob) and I haven’t ever had to turn it up.
Since this afternoon though, it needs to be at almost 90% for my classmates to even hear me. I cannot find a solution, I have uninstalled and reinstalled all of the software and drivers for the Focusrite, and have uninstalled/factory reset Audacity to see if that would help. It has not helped at all.
Can you make the LED on the Focusrite turn red if you turn-up the volume and shout (or make another loud noise) into the mic? If so, what’s the peak level you get in Audacity.
With direct monitoring and headphones plugged-into the interface, is it still too quiet?
Does the Focusrite come with a utility to adjust the volume?
Does the Windows or Audacity volume control do anything? Usually it doesn’t when you’re using a USB device. You can also check Windows Microphone Boost.
Or if you are recording in mono, there MIGHT be a configuration between Windows and Audacity where you only get the left channel (instrument input).
So try setting everything to stereo and you can delete the silent channel later.
Note that when you record in mono from a stereo interface, Audacity normally cuts the signal in half so you don’t go over 0dB with both inputs mixed. If you aren’t using the instrument input at the same time you can’t go any higher than -6dB (50%).
I believe that my microphone is stuck in Mono, which makes sense as my microphone is about half the volume it normally should be, but nothing can get it out of this state, and it persists even after Audacity is closed, and is present in things like Zoom Meetings, Discord calls, etc.
Has this happened before, and is there anything that can be done about this?
So I did both things, and my microphone has not changed. I am still incredibly quiet. The problem is not Audacity recordings being quiet, it’s my microphone as a whole. How can Audacity do this to my microphone and it persist through multiple uninstalls, and I even deleted all data related to my Focusrite, even the drivers.