Audacity records with mic that is not selected in the microphone input

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

I’m using windows 10 and audacity 2.4.2. I have a focusrite clarett2pre USB for my interface, it is selected as my microphone input. It always works the first time I start recording. After stopping and starting recording a number of times (the number changes every time), it will start recording on my laptop’s microphone, or it won’t record anything. I have to completely exit out of audacity and reopen my project in order for it to record properly. When it changes microphones, my focusrite interface is still selected as the input microphone. The only indication that it is recording with a different mic, or not at all, is the recording db level.

I have no idea how to fix this, any help would be greatly appreciated.

2

I have to completely exit out of audacity

Maybe not. Transport > Rescan… and force Audacity to go looking for your Clarett2pre.

Audacity might drop a connection if there’s something wrong with it. So you have perfectly described a ratty USB connection.

Is it a home run or does it go through a USB hub or splitter? Have you been using this USB connection since Lindbergh flew to Europe? Is it loose?

Koz

3

My clarett2pre connects directly to my laptop via the one USB cable. Could it be a faulty USB port on my laptop? My other lenovo doesn’t have this issue, unfortunately it doesn’t have the processing power I need for long recordings (it’s old and under powered).

4

So

So if you plug in a USB device with a microphone, Windows will automatically reconfigure to use that “new” USB device as the default microphone. So if the USB device then becomes disconnected, Windows reconfigures back to the original state. So Windows is constantly monitoring your USB connection.

Audacity does not do this. When it starts, or when you do a Transport > Rescan, it sets up its device tables. So you may be recording on device #10 in Audacity. If the USB device becomes unplugged, device #10 could become anything (or nothing). Ideally, I suppose, Audacity should recognize this situation and throw out an error message, but the Audacity gods have elected not to do so, for their own reasons… perhaps to avoid opening up another can of worms including potential system hangs and crashes related to a failing USB port, along with possible file damage.

So that leaves the onus on you to supply a reliable PC and USB device.

The easiest (and cheapest) solution would be to use a different port on your PC. My next suggestion is to buy a new quality (gold?) USB cable. Hopefully, this will reduce drops caused by worn or faulty connectors on your PC or on your Focusrite Clarett. Or from someone accidentally bumping the cable. If you still have this issue, the problem is likely with your PC or your interface. So you can see where this is going…

Good Luck!