Welcome to RO.

There are a few things you could try...

Have you tried disabling the windows system alert sounds?

Also, do you have any other sound card or audio devices enabled on your system other than the Scarlett USB? This would include built-in devices like Realtek, Soundblaster, Connexant... or any of the factory-installed cards that are used for internet audio streaming, gaming and other various system uses...
If so, you should disable them; for the purposes of diagnostics and elimination, the Scarlet should be your only enabled audio device on your system.

As far as the Scarlet acting "unny, visit Focusrite and look for current drivers or patch updates for the device you have, and for the right OS. Often, software that comes with a device can be outdated by the time it sells.
Check for both software and firmware generational updates.

https://us.focusrite.com/downloads?product=Scarlett+2i2

As far as not you not needing to change levels/gain, (you would do this on your scarlet preamp)... you absolutely will have to do it at some point, turning the input gain up or down, depending on the level of the source you are recording.
The reasons that people can sing loudly, or shout into a mic ( or sing whisper quiet and breathy) is because:

1.) the particular mic model they are using can can take hot levels of SPL without distorting
2.) the gain is being adjusted accordingly on the pre, up or down to get an optimal signal
3.) in some cases, the microphone has a "pad" that attenuates the input signal by a set increment, depending on the mic model.

masterk3ing, post: 441927, member: 50025 wrote: Please note, i shouldn't have to change any of the sound levels or gain (even though i have tried this and it still does it), people shout/sing into microphones and i want the option for mine to be able to handle this.

Please, out of simple courtesy, try to avoid telling a forum full of veteran professional engineers that you "shouldn't have" to do something, or demonstrate "how" things are recorded. It's not my intention to be a dick about it, but it does come off as a bit insulting. ;)

-d.

DonnyThompson, post: 441932, member: 46114 wrote: Welcome to RO.

There are a few things you could try...

Have you tried disabling the windows system alert sounds?

Also, do you have any other sound card or audio devices enabled on your system other than the Scarlett USB? This would include built-in devices like Realtek, Soundblaster, Connexant... or any of the factory-installed cards that are used for internet audio streaming, gaming and other various system uses...
If so, you should disable them; for the purposes of diagnostics and elimination, the Scarlet should be your only enabled audio device on your system.

As far as the Scarlet acting "unny, visit Focusrite and look for current drivers or patch updates for the device you have, and for the right OS. Often, software that comes with a device can be outdated by the time it sells.
Check for both software and firmware generational updates.

https://us.focusrite.com/downloads?product=Scarlett+2i2

As far as not you not needing to change levels/gain, (you would do this on your scarlet preamp)... you absolutely will have to do it at some point, turning the input gain up or down, depending on the level of the source you are recording.
The reasons that people can sing loudly, or shout into a mic ( or sing whisper quiet and breathy) is because:

1.) the particular mic model they are using can can take hot levels of SPL without distorting
2.) the gain is being adjusted accordingly on the pre, up or down to get an optimal signal
3.) in some cases, the microphone has a "pad" that attenuates the input signal by a set increment, depending on the mic model.

Please, out of simple courtesy, try to avoid telling a forum full of veteran professional engineers that you "shouldn't have" to do something, or demonstrate "how" things are recorded. It's not my intention to be a dick about it, but it does come off as a bit insulting. ;)

-d.

Hi,

I will disable window sound alerts and see if that makes a difference.

The only other audio device i have on my PC is some basic USB speakers. My PC does not have internal soundcard.

I have updated the drivers, re-installed many times to no avail.

In terms of the gain, the reason i posted that, because on another forum i posted this question and people were just saying: "Turn your gain down, you are only talking."

That is not the point, i should be able to scream/sing as loud as i want and my microphone should pick it up. (Of course, i'm not realistically going to have my gain at 100%. My point is that i should be able to record as loud as i can without it cutting out.)

I would set the OS to use the stock sound driver, and then turn off all sounds. Hopefully there's a No Sounds sound theme you can use (I'm several versions of Windows in the past). Then I would set my record software to use the Focusrite driver that comes with the interface. The disconnect/reconnect problem sounds like something, maybe an antivirus or wifi device, is momentarily interrupting the USB connection. Look into optimizing Win10 for recording. There are guides for older versions of Windows that might help, and I assume someone's written one for 10.

DonnyThompson, post: 441932, member: 46114 wrote:
As far as not you not needing to change levels/gain, (you would do this on your scarlet preamp)... you absolutely will have to do it at some point, turning the input gain up or down, depending on the level of the source you are recording.
-d.

This has now been resolved without changing the gain at any point. So i'm not sure where the 'absolutely will' comes into it but; Insert meme: http://tinyurl.com/treatfordt

FYI, the issue was due to a low quality XLR cable/USB-B cable and/or faulty USB socket.

To everyone that contributed, thanks for the help. (Besides the ones on high-horses.)

Ciao!

Ciao indeed! Enjoy your illustrious career as the one recording engineer who never touched the gain control. (y)

Thanks for stopping by the Tech Support Desk!

dvdhawk, post: 441979, member: 36047 wrote: Ciao indeed! Enjoy your illustrious career as the one recording engineer who never touched the gain control.

LOL.. Ya beat me to it, Hawk... I woulda been faster, but I had a little trouble getting off my high-horse. ;)

masterk3ing, post: 441974, member: 50025 wrote: To everyone that contributed, thanks for the help. (Besides the ones on high-horses.)

A lot of thanks that was...cheap parting shots and all.

Sean G, post: 441988, member: 49362 wrote: A lot of thanks that was...cheap parting shots and all.

P'shaw... Don't take it personal, guys.

FWIW, he's aiming that parting salvo at me - not that I care - but at the time I found it sorta funny, considering that I was the first to respond to him with a genuine willingness to help, offering what I felt were valid starting suggestions on how to diagnose his problem(s).
He opened his first post with "Hi, Newbie here" ... which one would assume means that he's not experienced yet - and is aware of that - and is seeking help, willing to learn from those who are experienced - but then he proceeded to say that he's absolutely convinced of certain things; that no one can tell him any differently, and that he's going to do his things his own way, regardless of how many experienced people were suggesting to him that he was misguided in his approach.

I think that he just didn't like that I asked him ( politely so, I might add) to be more respectful of the knowledge bank he was tapping into; and because didn't like being told that he was wrong, regarding the whole "I should never have to adjust gain ever again" thing.

None of this really matters... at the end of the day, it turned out to be more of a momentary comic distraction, than anything else. It's all good. ;)

-d.

It was obvious it was directed at you Donny, but asking for help from a forum of experienced guys whilst being closed-minded at the same time is just nonsense to say the least.

Reminds me of the old adage..."You can't put brains in statues...."

Sean G, post: 442003, member: 49362 wrote: Reminds me of the old addage...You can't put brains in statues...."

I wasn't going to argue with him regarding his concrete mindset on never having to adjust input gain, as he is obviously set in his ways..

But after some thought, I think that it's important to explain to other people - specifically, those who are new to the craft, and who may be doing an internet search on the subject, and provide a "general" over-view as to why this approach is unreasonable...
or, "unsound", if you will. And Yea... pun definitely intended. ;)

Not in any particular order:

1. The SPL ( sound pressure level) of your sources will always be different, some by a little, others by a lot, and you have to be able to adjust the input gain on the pre accordingly, (up or down).
For example... recording a soft vocal is a lot different than recording a rockin' snare drum, or a slamming kick. (For that matter it's a lot different than recording a loud screaming vocal, as well).

2. Mic placement varies... miking a room, miking a drum kit from overhead, putting a mic in-tight on a guitar amp, recording a section of backing vocalists... all of these require different mic placement. Generally speaking, the closer the sound source is to the mic, the less input gain is required ( there are exceptions... I'm trying to keep this simple).

3. Mic types... most dynamics tend to require more gain than condenser mics do...and Ribbon mics require even more gain than dynamics. You'll need to adjust your input gain according to the microphone that you are using.

4. The output of instruments can differ widely, too. There are some guitars/basses with active pickups that are "hotter" than those that are passive. This is just one of the reasons that so many mic preamps have a "pad" switch - this pad is an attenuation circuit that drops the input gain level down - or, "pads" the signal - before it hits the actual preamp circuitry (generally it's incremental, a set amount, usually by -10 or -20 db) when the variable gain input level can't bring the input signal down enough to avoid clipping. The pad works with both mics and instrument inputs, so if you're miking up a Marshall stack that's cranked to "11", it might be too hot of a signal when it's hitting your preamp, causing clipping or overload. Padding the input brings the input level down.

5. Preamp/I-O's differ in gain ratings... there are some preamps that offer less gain than others. Cheaper, entry-level pre's/i-o's usually sit at around 55-60db or so, which is usually fine for most condensers (and even some dynamics), but that range isn't considered optimum for other popular mics, such as Shure's SM7, or passive ribbon mics. A range of 65-70 db is better suited, and this is the gain range that is more commonly found on more expensive preamps. Having a cheaper preamp that is shy on input db means that you often have to open-up the gain pretty wide in order to get optimum levels for lower-output microphones. And, when these lower db budget preamps are gained-up to accommodate lower output mics, they tend to get somewhat noisy... in circuitry and in their conversion stage(s).

Anyway, just a few reasons for those who may be lurking, LOL.
I'm sure my colleagues can fill-in other reasons, things that my lack-of-caffeine-addled-brain may not have thought of. ;)

-d.

you guys didn't know they put gain control / attenuators on mic pres and mixers just for sh*ts and giggles? they don't really need to be there. they build them with the extra knob just so it costs more to manufacture. :giggle::rolleyes:

DonnyThompson, post: 441932, member: 46114 wrote:
Please, out of simple courtesy, try to avoid telling a forum full of veteran professional engineers that you "shouldn't have" to do something, or demonstrate "how" things are recorded. It's not my intention to be a dick about it, but it does come off as a bit insulting. ;)

-d.

dvdhawk, post: 441979, member: 36047 wrote: Ciao indeed! Enjoy your illustrious career as the one recording engineer who never touched the gain control. (y)

DonnyThompson, post: 442010, member: 46114 wrote: I wasn't going to argue with him regarding his concrete mindset on never having to adjust input gain, as he is obviously set in his ways..

-d.

I said 'Newbie here' referencing the fact that i am a 'new member'...not because i know nothing about recording audio.

However, saying that; i am certainly no audio or recording expert, but not completely dumbfounded either.

Now if you find the time to crawl out of your own rear-end and go to your local bookstore, you may find your golden apple; A dictionary.

Please examine my OP and reference it to the dictionary. Once you have you will find the following (Hopefully):

Not once did i mention anything about 'NEVER' touching the gain controls in order to record audio.

I simply stated that i "Shouldn't have to change levels or gain..." in the context of just resolving my issue.

Think about that. I was simply pre-emptively deterring pointless posts about gain change.

Obviously, in order to actually get the desired recording; i am going to have to change my gain (Along with other factors.)

But in order to resolve the issue i had, in that very moment, not in the future but right then...i did not need to fiddle with the gain. I was correct, the issue didn't lie with the gain control.

On the lighter side, you are all the experts/professionals/etc. I know that; hence why i posted and asked for your help. But it was my intention to eliminate useless posts by adding that statement. (Based on evidence when i posted the same question in 2 other forums.)

So i was only being logical and didn't want spam. Next time, please re-read the post just to understand what i am stating.

I only came on here for your help with one question. If you want to all make yourself feel good about yourself and leave your 'witty' posts once i have departed, feel free. If you want to delete it, feel free.

But you are only making yourself look like a bunch of narcissistic keyboard warriors that try to become God on the internet because you can't elsewhere.

Anyway, this is not meant to be aggravated; just critically informative. Thank you for attempting to help and i will also take your after-comments on board.

-Mr-i-Know-Nothing-Masterk3ing

Seriously...go away and stop wasting other peoples' time.

If you want to be such a twat...go join another forum.

This one does not need people like you coming onto the site and insulting long-standing and highly respected members.

For anyone in future reading this, this is not how to conduct yourself on a forum if you expect people who know what they are talking about to help you.

Don't sweat the small stuff, Sean. I doubt highly he'll be hanging around here all that much longer anyway, as he was so critical of RO and its members.

We know that all the other new members we've ever had on RO don't behave like this, and aren't rude like he was... he was an exception, and exceptions do occur.

Be not hassled by this, don't let this occupy your mind any further. You have other things going on that are infinitely more important. ;)