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USB Guitar Cable - No Audio When Playing


Jman Stan

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Hey all,

 

I'm very new to all of this and I'm something of a luddite, so I'll do my best to describe what's going on.

 

I have a DeTii USB guitar cable in conjunction with the free version of Cakewalk, on a laptop running Windows 10. I have Input Monitoring enabled, and I have what I believe to be the device enabled in 'Sound Settings' as the Input Device. It looks like the meters are going up and down, but I can't get any audio through my earbuds when I plug my guitar in and try to record. Any idea what's going on? I haven't messed with drivers at all, and I am hoping I won't have to. Any help would be greatly appreciated, though.

 

Thanks,

 

 

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There are a few quick checks you can make. Be sure your output is accurate in preferences. Easy way to check is to drag a loop into a track and see if you can hear through ear buds.

If meters are moving, arm and record something even if you cannot hear it and see if it creates a wave file and wave form. If it does, you can drill into the project folder and play that wave with another app to check.

In Windows sound settings also uncheck exclusive mode. Some apps will snag your audio output and lock it at a bit rate not compatible with your project. Make sure what is set there also matches your project settings.

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That's the Bandlab online, browser based music collab program.  This forum is for users of the Cakewalk program. Cakewalk is now owned by Bandlab but is an entirely different product.  

Steve

I had a look at the Bandlab app.  To hear what you are playing you need to click on the Monitoring icon (bottom left of Bandlab window). You need to make sure you've selected the correct input device. There's a latency test from the File  Settings menu you should try. Note - I couldnt get the latency test to work successfully and gave up. I could hear my guitar playing but latency was too bad. That's the extent of my Bandlab experience. 

Cakewalk has integration with Bandlab in that you can move projects between the programs. For recording guitar I suspect you will have more success with Cakewalk but its a somewhat steeper learning curve (but worth it). Lots more help available for Cakewalk on this forum. Check out Creative Sauce vids on Youtube 

Good luck

 

Edited by Steve_B
More info
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8 hours ago, Steve_B said:

That's the Bandlab online, browser based music collab program.  This forum is for users of the Cakewalk program. Cakewalk is now owned by Bandlab but is an entirely different product.  

I agree. Just as a footnote related to those wanting to use both Cakewalk (the Program) and Bandlab (the App):

The latest Cakewalk (2021.04 Update 1) has some improved integration with Bandlab WRT accessing (importing and loading) material from your Bandlab  account and saving Cakewalk material Publishing your Cakewalk project to your Bandlab account from within Cakewalk's File menu.  

I mention this not to encourage an abundance of discussion about Bandlab (the App), but to let the OP know about the new possibility of using both Bandlab and Cakewalk in tandem.

Also, info is here: Integrated Bandlab Library Access as part of Cakewalk's Online Help. 

 

Edited by User 905133
to add link to the online help with a similar info
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11 hours ago, Steve_B said:

That's the Bandlab online, browser based music collab program.  This forum is for users of the Cakewalk program. Cakewalk is now owned by Bandlab but is an entirely different product.  

Steve

I had a look at the Bandlab app.  To hear what you are playing you need to click on the Monitoring icon (bottom left of Bandlab window). You need to make sure you've selected the correct input device. There's a latency test from the File  Settings menu you should try. Note - I couldnt get the latency test to work successfully and gave up. I could hear my guitar playing but latency was too bad. That's the extent of my Bandlab experience. 

Cakewalk has integration with Bandlab in that you can move projects between the programs. For recording guitar I suspect you will have more success with Cakewalk but its a somewhat steeper learning curve (but worth it). Lots more help available for Cakewalk on this forum. Check out Creative Sauce vids on Youtube 

Good luck

 

Okay, I feel so dumb lol. I really thought that it was downloading in the background and when the first link popped up, I clicked it. I really didn't think much of it because I haven't had time to sit down and fiddle with things until the last week. By the way, I was able to get everything to work, even with BandLab... It looks like the USB Cable might need the laptop to be plugged into an outlet before it will run. I will download Cakewalk and maybe pop back in to let everyone know how things are going, but I think I have everything cleared up.

 

Thanks SO much, everyone!

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Alright, so I'm back.... With largely the same problem. I downloaded Asio4all drives so the USB could be detected, which seemed to work. I can see levels moving, I have input monitoring enabled, and still no sound. :( I'm not even sure where to begin troubleshooting.

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The video I posted has info about trouble shooting audio.
Generally USB audio cables are a bad idea for Cakewalk because they don’t have a proper ASIO driver. You’re much better off taking the $12 the cable costs and put it towards a proper audio interface. 

 

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USB cables should work. I have the rocksmith and it works fine in Cakewalk.
Switch the driver mode to WASAPI shared, select the cable as an input device and select your soundcard output in preferences. Sample rate should be 44.1 or 48k. Ensure Windows is using the same rate.
You should be able to hear recorded audio now.

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22 hours ago, bdickens said:

Start by ditching that garbage USB guitar cable and get a real interface.

Uhuh, sure. I've been told by various sources that USB cables work, and like I've said before, I'm not a gear dude. Don't really think I can be blamed for giving it a shot. I'm just now trying to get into recording. So if people have recommendations for interfaces, I'm all ears.

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On 5/25/2021 at 8:06 PM, bdickens said:

"Works" is often pretty loosely defined.

 

Focusrite and Personas both make good stuff that isn't very expensive.

Thanks! I'll check them out. I think we are getting OT so I will probably start a new thread regarding the topic of other recording options.

 

I appreciate everyone's help!

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