Can't record audio at all

[Paul DeRocco]

Windows 7, Cakewalk 2019.12

I've recorded a MIDI sequence which plays on an external synth, and now I want to capture the output from the instrument's 48KHz S/PDIF output. Nothing works. I've tried all driver modes, tried different digital and analog input devices, nothing produces a track.

MME and sometimes WASAPI starts to play the MIDI tracks, but hangs after a second or a few, not showing any clip on the recording audio track, and with the Now time line not moving. When I hit space bar, it suddenly moves the Now time up to where it would have been, and shows a clip up to that point, but it has nothing in it but some low-level noise.

ASIO, WDM/KS, and sometimes WASAPI plays fine, but doesn't create any clip and therefore records nothing.

I've fiddled with the Timing Master settings, trying to use the same device I'm recording from as the master, and also trying to use some other device, and neither worked. For ASIO, I've fiddled with settings in ASIO4ALL to no avail.

My S/PDIF input works fine with Windows Sound Recorder. To get my music exported, I installed Audacity, pressed Record, then told Cakewalk to play, and Audacity recorded the music without a hitch. So there's nothing wrong with my hardware or drivers.

What could be wrong, or how do I diagnose this further? The device settings are pretty cryptic, and don't seem to provide reasonable defaults, so are there some specific settings somewhere I may have missed?

 

[Paul DeRocco]

I found the problem. Since all I wanted to use the audio for was to record the result of playing a MIDI sequence on an external synth, and then export it as an audio file, I hadn't selected an audio output device. Apparently, Cakewalk won't record audio input if you haven't selected an audio output, even if you're not using it.