Recording Level Slider Not Working

Hello - I checked previous posts and found a similar one, but the solution is not applicable to me.

I am running Audacity 3.2.4 on a MacBook Pro, macOS Ventura 13.1. I am using an analog AT2035 microphone and Scarlett Solo interface. When the interface is connected, the recording level slider will not move. Double clicking on it also does nothing.

When disconnected from the interface and Audacity is relaunched, the slider reactivates when audio input is set to MacBook Microphone.

Can anyone help resolve this problem?

TIA - Megan

I’m a Windows guy but it’s pretty-common with a USB interface on Windows.

And you should be adjusting the analog level before it hits analog-to-digital converter (built-into the interface) anyway. That’s why it has a gain knob. :wink:

…You can amplify digitally but if the analog signal is too hot and you clip the ADC, it doesn’t help to lower the digital level later.

It’s normal to leave some headroom and amplify after recording and technically that’s the same as boosting the volume digitally while recording.

Hi Doug - Thanks for the reply. The gain was all the way up on the interface as a recommended starting point. From there, levels were to be monitored, and the peak adjusted to about -6 dB. I was unable to move the slider to the -6dB mark as recommended. I tried adjusting the gain to several different levels, but after analyzing the different tracks, I got the message that the audio is too low, or too compressed. I don’t quite know what to do about that.

-6dB is fine for a recording level.

Trust the clipping indicator on your interface and keep it out of the red.

You can run the Amplify or Normalize effects to boost after recording.

There is a “quirk” when Audacity is set-up for mono recording from a stereo (2-input) interface. The levels are cut in half (-6dB) to prevent clipping when the mic & guitar signals are mixed. If you are only one input it will clip at -6dB so you’ll have to record lower to leave some headroom (safety margin). That’s still OK… You have to go very-low before it becomes a quality problem. (That’s assuming you have a good-strong acoustic & electrical signal and you are lowering it with the knob.)

The interface knows the signal level going into it’s ADC so again, trust they clipping indicator.

If you record in stereo you can go up to 0dB with just the mic but then thedo other channel will be silent so you’ll either have to convert to mono (which will play through both speakers) or copy the sound into both channels, or something to deal with it.

I got the message that the audio is too low, or too compressed. I don’t quite know what to do about that.

If you are making an audiobook there is a [u]Recommended Audiobook Mastering Procedure[/u] that will nail your peak & RMS levels every time. If you have some different requirements you can probably tweak that process as needed.