Audio interface sound issues

thacq

New member
Hey there! I'm having some very annoying and frustrating problems with my sound output options on my laptop.

I'm a recording musician, and I recently got a new laptop second hand from a friend. It's been factory reset and I've installed my ProTools onto it (ProTools 10). I use a usb interface (Avid Fast Track Solo) connected to a pair of speakers. Now, I can record and playback all my audio in ProTools just fine through my interface and speakers, but if I open any other sound source (Spotify/Youtube etc.), it only plays through my laptop speakers. I've done hours of googling and nothing seems to work. I've tried reinstalling drivers, resetting playback devices, nothing seems to work. To me, the weirdest thing is that my default device is set to my interface, but my computer still plays audio through it's inbuilt speakers.

My computer has over 1TB of hard drive space, plenty of RAM and running an i7-7700HQ processor, so it's got plenty of muscle to run the programs I need.

Let me know if there are any other places I could post this, and thank you in advance!
 
You should be able to set your PC audio to playback and record through the Fast Track Solo. Which version of Windows are you running?
 
You should be able to set your PC audio to playback and record through the Fast Track Solo. Which version of Windows are you running?
I'm running windows 10, and I've tried doing that, my interface is my default device. But it only plays sound from protools. If I play a YouTube video or spotify, it plays through my computer speakers.
 
You could try disabling the onboard sound? Probably "Realtek" or "High Deff" . Don't ask me how in ten but>Control Panel>Device Manager, right clk the sound device, Disable (not "Uninstall") .

Once done the PC will not have much choice but to use the Avid? I take it you are running ASIO drivers? In fact I have just come from a similar situation. Was playing one of son's riffs in Samplitude ProX3 then decided to use Sam SE8. No sound, had to change the source from "KA6 3/4" to "KA6 1/2" but Samplitude makes all that stuff very easy I find...

Dave.
 
The Windows 10 sound option page changed pretty radically recently, so I'm still getting used to the new control panel.

If you right click on the speaker icon in your system tray and select "Open Sound Settings", what device is listed under the "choose your output device" section?

Also, are you trying to play Windows sounds while your DAW is up and running? Some ASIO drivers don't like to be shared by multiple apps at the same time, so it could be that your DAW still has a hold of the ASIO system and Windows can't play through it so it defaults to the next available device. What happens when you close your DAW and then try to play music from YouTube or Media Player?
 
You could try disabling the onboard sound? Probably "Realtek" or "High Deff" . Don't ask me how in ten but>Control Panel>Device Manager, right clk the sound device, Disable (not "Uninstall") .

Once done the PC will not have much choice but to use the Avid? I take it you are running ASIO drivers? In fact I have just come from a similar situation. Was playing one of son's riffs in Samplitude ProX3 then decided to use Sam SE8. No sound, had to change the source from "KA6 3/4" to "KA6 1/2" but Samplitude makes all that stuff very easy I find...

Dave.

Thanks for the reply!

It works perfectly when I disable the drivers for my interface, all audio goes through my speakers. BUT, since I'm a broke student, I only have the 'express' version of ProTools, which only works when it recognises the interface (I bought it as a package deal). So, if i disable my drivers, audio from youtube and spotify work through my speakers, but I am unable to use ProTools.

Maybe I should just bite the bullet and upgrade to the version of ProTools and use my Tascam US2000 interface.
 
Get Reaper and use your interface. Reaper is happy sharing interfaces with system applications.

Way ^ What is it about PT that floats your canoe? I have never used it but many of the good and great here say it is overrated and they only suffer it because it is the "Industry Standard"? And they more less HAF T' !

You are BTW lucky to have the choice about the OBS? Not that many years ago THE first fix for all sorts of sound issues with better soundcards was to disable the OBS. Modern PCs are so much faster and better but as you have found, sometimes *t'appen.

Dave.
 
PT was and is still the industry standard. That's because it was the front runner some years ago, it and its hardware became embedded in recording studios, and it did the job really well. However it has lost ground in recent times, and Avid don't appear to have shown much interest in staying at the forefront of DAW technology. Additionally their subscription pricing model is not looked on very favourably by many people. Those who don't like to pay a monthly fee are staying with older versions of PT.

There are many strong, powerful and flexible contemporary DAWs available now. Logic and Cubase seem to be holding their ground. But the real nimble one is, in my view, Reaper. Its austere programming makes it a very quick download which takes up a small footprint on your computer. That also means it can provide frequent updates, and this process of continuous improvement keeps it current with emerging developments in audio technology. Reaper's business model is also highly regarded: a low entry cost and an uncrippled trial.

I switched from Logic to Reaper in about 2010, and I have been very happy with making the switch.
 
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