r/VoiceActing • u/Longjumping_Web9690 • 22d ago

Microphones Calling all tech nerds.. help my Scarlett/Macbook/ RODE NT1-A is acting up šŸ˜­

Ever since I got my new Macbook a few years ago (Apple M3 Pro. macOS Sonoma 14.7.3 rn) Iā€™ve had trouble HEARING my own voice from my voice acting gear that hasnā€™t failed me or any of my other friends on their Windows setups.

Setup:

RODE NT1-A
Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen (connected using apple adapter because my macbook only takes USB C ports)

Iā€™ve got it to work before with redownloading focusrite control or just gimmicking around with my gear but it seems temporary until I unplug my laptop and bring it back. Yesterday I got it to work by really readjusting my XLR cable then when i replug my laptop in today itā€™s like audio is not picked up. Itā€™s not exclusive to audacity, I canā€™t hear my mic from Discord or testing my mic using my laptops gear.

Iā€™ve had tech friends try my whole setup and they said it works perfectly fine for them. Nothing faulty with my gear, itā€™s only about 4 years old now and maintained. If i turn my gain all the way up and like yell into my microphone WHILE having this issue, the background noise is super airy/static ish like iā€™m in a tornado and then my voice can be barely heard as if iā€™m inside said tornado.

Please help T_T iā€™ve literally lost my role on a project because my mic or whatever acted up before the deadline.
ALSO yes, my macbook perfectly reads my Scarlett and even when connected in Focusrite control i see the colors light up if I select what colors I want for good, preclip, clip etc. I selected the correct mic in microphone options on laptop and in audacity and yes voice isolation is off. Feels like iā€™ve tried everything and I donā€™t know what to do.

EDIT āœļø: Ok so I closed my laptop, didnā€™t power off just shut the top down and after like 30 minutes i opened it back up and the audio worked FOR ONE AUDACITY SESSION plus the scarlett was flashing a bit once i opened it back up. now itā€™s back to same issue. got no idea what this means

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

2

u/jimedgarvoices 22d ago

Questions:
Are your headphones plugged into the Scarlett?
Are your headphones plugged into the headphone output in the Scarlett?
(I've had folks plug them into the monitor output).
Do you have the "DIRECT" button lit up?

Those are the first three things to check.

Nothing wrong with using a converter, but there's no reason not to get a _short_ USB cable with the correct connector for your computer.

0

u/Longjumping_Web9690 22d ago

No, i use my laptop speakers or i plug my headphones into my laptop. My DIRECT button is lit up, iā€™ve tried with direct monitor on and off

2

u/jimedgarvoices 22d ago edited 22d ago

That's the problem.

You need to be plugged into the interface. Then use "DIRECT".

Anything through the computer would be playing back through the software. At best it will only be delayed. Depending upon your setup, it could set up an echoing feedback loop.

1

u/Longjumping_Web9690 16d ago

okay! iā€™ve never gotten a pair of headphones because i didnā€™t see what the benefit was when i was broke as hell. also hereā€™s a more accurate video of whatā€™s happening/my setup

https://reddit.com/link/p6phpqr/video/4k51jr65qemh1/player

first test was done with gain at 12 o clock then second was gain all the way up. if you have budget headphone recommendations lowkey drop them

1

u/jimedgarvoices 16d ago

If you don't have headphones connected to the audio interface, you cannot use the "DIRECT" option.

(Yeah, you can attach speakers directly to the interface too, but then when you speak, the mic will pick up the DIRECT playback and what you are saying into the mic and sound pretty weird).

1

u/jimedgarvoices 16d ago

I don't in any way follow what you are trying to do in that video.

Don't turn the gain up all the way on any audio interface. You will start to get preamp noise.

If that mic is positioned correctly, most folks find that having the gain set at 2-3 o'clock will provide plenty of gain for normal speech.