Fixing recording issues with Scarlett 2i2 / Procaster

Question

New to audio recording, and just put together my new setup:

• Rode Procaster mic
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB interface
• Windows 10

I tried a few testing voice recordings on Audacity and Audition, and in both cases, the tempo in the recordings was way off. When I played back the recordings, my voice was very sped up, and the quality of the recording was very poor, almost fragmented.

At first, I attempted to use the Direct Monitor feature on the interface, believing that this my by a latency issue.

When that didn't fix the issue, I began playing around with my sound settings in Windows. This is what I did:

Entered my Sound Settings

1. Selected 'Recording'
2. Selected Scarlett 2i2 USB and chose Properties
3. In properties, I changed Default format to 'Studio Quality', which is '2 channel, 16 bit, 960000 Hz'

I then tried another few test recordings, and the quality of the playback seems to be fine now, though the visuals in Audacity still suggest some latency (though my voice sounds find when I listen back).

While I appear to have fixed my problem, I don't understand why this has been the case, and would be very grateful if someone could explain to me what has gone on here?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

(In my experience) Scarlett products can have some issues automatically switching sample rates, so either Audacity was recording a 48kHz signal at 96kHz or the Scarlett was playing back a 96kHz signal at 48kHz (which makes more sense if it was really choppy).

You can try Focusrite's beta drivers if you still have issues, they've improved the automatic sample rate switching.