Need basic help with a Focusrite 6 USB in GarageBand; strange issues

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Dan.

New member
This is a noob issue possibly, and this may get more responses with me posting this here rather than in the Midi thread, but here:

The only consistent thing I have working through the Focusrite to GarageBand is my Yamaha keyboard using a Midi chord or whatever. That always works.

Now here's a weird issue. For both my microphone and guitar I'm using through the Midi, I got them both to work perfectly once in GarageBand (on different days for each), and then after that one time neither have worked again since. The thing that was preventing the mic from working in the first place was that I didn't have the 48V switch on (noob mistakes like these are common for me because my brother bought all of this equipment and I'm just learning it now because I want to record music).

I don't understand this though. How can I have them both working (on a different day for each), and then not having changed anything, the next day neither the mic nor guitar would work? I didn't change anything. Can anyone help?
 
Wait, the interface was hooked up via MIDI? And you were able to record from that? Whaaaa?! :confused:


Have you downloaded the drivers for the Focusrite? You want to record the mic and guitar to get a sound wave (analog), not MIDI (digital protocol).
 
I don't know what MIDI is. When I wrote that I was thinking it was the box (Focusrite Saffire 6 USB), or maybe it's the chord connecting the keyboard to the Focusrite. I don't know. So can someone just tell me what MIDI is please.

I'm recording with GarageBand and this is my setup. I have the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. A USB cable connected in the back which connects to my laptop. The MIDI chord? (if that's what it's called) connecting the piano/keyboard to the Focusrite, and then plugged into my laptop (which works fine; it's a chord that has multiple ends). The microphone is plugged into the first input and the guitar is plugged into the second, neither of which work currently, but I do know they can work because I've gotten them to work once perfectly, or enough to satisfy me. I have the 48V switch turned on and have everything set the same as when I got them to work but now I just get weird buzzing sounds and when I record it doesn't record anything.



EDIT: I installed everything I could off the disc that came with the Focusrite (I couldn't install something because previously I went online and installed a newer version of whatever it was. What are these drivers? I may have already downloaded them, but can you provide me with a link just to make sure?

How do I change it to record a sound wave for the mic and guitar, and not MIDI? This could be the problem.
 
No, you should be recording a soundwave. I don't think it's possible to turn an analog sound into MIDI.

The MIDI cable is the one with the many ends.

Now, when you double click on a track in Garageband, are you able to select an input for the track? Can you select Focusright - in 1, or something of the sort?
 
CrowsofFritz said:
Now, when you double click on a track in Garageband, are you able to select an input for the track? Can you select Focusright - in 1, or something of the sort?
Click to expand...
Yeah. This is my computer's (MacBook Pro) settings:

System Preferences > Sound > input > Saffire 6 USB
output > system setting

GarageBand Preferences > Audio/MIDI > Audio Output > system setting
audio input > saffire 6 usb
(2 MIDI inputs detected)

Double click on mic track > input source > mono 1 (Which is the one the mic is connected to)

I can't do anything of that sort when I click on the guitar track.

*It has worked before on these settings
 
Seidy, I'm using the XLR-XLR cable, but good news: both the mic and guitar are working now. Downloading either the latest driver or the Saffire.dmg (or both) must have done the trick. Thank you for your help CrowsofFritz. Now I hope it'll just stay working.
 
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