thebrig Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) First of all, I am no expert when it comes to home recording, all I do is record my own bass lines to backing tracks that I have purchased online, so all I need is an interface to do so. I recently purchased a Onyx Producer 2.2 USB Interface, and when I try recording my bass into a DAW, the bass is not recognised by the DAW until the gain knob is turned to a fraction before MAX (pic 1), if I turn it slightly more to MAX (pic 2), it then starts clipping. Is this normal with the Onyx Producer 2.2, or should the bass be recognised gradually as you turn the gain knob from MIN to MAX? Thanks in advance for any help. Pic 1 Pic 2 Edited December 31, 2019 by thebrig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Are you using an amp sim plugin in your DAW? What DAW are you using by the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 9 hours ago, ambient said: Are you using an amp sim plugin in your DAW? What DAW are you using by the way? I'm using Reaper most of the time, but I also have Logic Pro X and GarageBand and its the same with those unfortunately. I'm not using any sims at all, just the clean signal from my bass which is a precision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Try using an amp sim, there’s lots to choose from in Logic Pro. You can select from a whole range of amp models and cab configurations. Is the signal light on the interface lightning up when you play? Edited December 30, 2019 by ambient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 7 minutes ago, ambient said: Try using an amp sim, there’s lots to choose from in Logic Pro. You can select from a whole range of amp models and cab configurations. Is the signal light on the interface lightning up when you play? Only when the gain knob is just a fraction before MAX like in pic 1 I'm going to have a little play in the next couple of hours so I will try using a sim Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 I’m not familiar with this interface. Has it got switchable inputs, line level and instrument level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 (edited) Well I contacted Tech Support explaining the situation and attached the photo below so they could see exactly what I mean. This is how the correspondence has gone so far and it would seem that they are trying to tell me that this is normal. Personally, I reckon that the interface is faulty because there is no room for adjustment but what do you guys think? Tech Support to me: This sounds like typical behavior with the ONYX interfaces. Is this occurring when the Hi-Z Switch is engaged? Mackie Technical Support Level 1 My reply: Yes, it is the same with the Hi-Z switch engaged. Tech Support to me: Yeah this sounds like normal ONYX behavior. There is a sweet spot in the pot from 75% and on with the gain pots. Mackie Technical Support Level 1 My reply: As you can see from the photo I attached, the sweet spot kicks in at around 97% (pic 2) leaving no room for adjustment, its either on or its off, any further movement of the knob even to just 98% (pic 3) makes it clip and therefore rendering it useless. It surely must be a faulty interface. Edited December 31, 2019 by thebrig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 do you have any other instruments to try with it ? Can you hear the bass while monitoring it with headphones either through the DAW or direct from the onyx? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 1 hour ago, lurksalot said: do you have any other instruments to try with it ? Can you hear the bass while monitoring it with headphones either through the DAW or direct from the onyx? Yes, I tried all of my three basses plus two electric guitars with the same results. I can hear it through monitoring and headphones but only when the gain is up to about to a fraction before MAX , and the signal is very weak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_c2 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Yeah this happens with the combined line/mic level inputs, where they don't have a line/mic switch and rely on a wide-ranging gain control. I am guessing all your instruments are passive? No real way round it other than a different interface. Would be worth seeking one out with a mic/line switch and a hi-z switch. I am sure many mixers (with USB) could do the same thing; and the smaller ones would be quite affordable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 2 minutes ago, paul_c2 said: Yeah this happens with the combined line/mic level inputs, where they don't have a line/mic switch and rely on a wide-ranging gain control. I am guessing all your instruments are passive? No real way round it other than a different interface. Would be worth seeking one out with a mic/line switch and a hi-z switch. I am sure many mixers (with USB) could do the same thing; and the smaller ones would be quite affordable? Yes, all my instruments are passive, and as for the interface, I've only had it six weeks, so I don't really want to be spending out on another one so soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 Ok, I've just tried using my ART Studio V3 in front of the interface and it works perfectly, the signal gradually increases as the gain knob is turned, so its obviously designed to be more compatible with active instruments. BUT, I don't really want to use an additional device because I just wanted a simple plug & play interface, which is why I went for the Onyx. But I suppose I'm stuck with it now. 😐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_c2 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 I'm not sure what kind of outcome you are expecting - there aren't that many controls and you've tried it thoroughly, you've not missed anything obvious or non-obvious. If you'd bought it within 2 weeks online, you could have gone for a refund with DSR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 16 hours ago, paul_c2 said: I'm not sure what kind of outcome you are expecting - there aren't that many controls and you've tried it thoroughly, you've not missed anything obvious or non-obvious. If you'd bought it within 2 weeks online, you could have gone for a refund with DSR In all fairness to Tech support, they do seem to be on the case, they have asked me to do a video of me playing through the interface so they can see in real time what is actually going on. This is their message: I have one last request before I can determine the unit is defective. Could you send a short video of the issue happening in real time? I appreciate your patience and persistence and I want to get you the best solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 (edited) Here is the video I sent to Mackie tech support where you can clearly see and hear that it is not detecting a signal until the gain is a fraction before MAX, meaning there is no room for adjustment, it is either on, or off, and when its on, it starts clipping. The volume on my bass was set to MAX and its exactly the same when using my other basses and guitars. Onyx Producer Video.mov Edited January 1, 2020 by thebrig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 Here's an update. Tech support finally asked me to return the interface and fair play to them, within a couple of day they confirmed that it was faulty and sent me a replacement. The new interface works how it should, the signal is recognised by the DAW and the green light comes on as the gain is turned almost immediately. So its a big thumbs up for Mackie tech support. 👍 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 On 17/01/2020 at 09:24, thebrig said: Here's an update. Tech support finally asked me to return the interface and fair play to them, within a couple of day they confirmed that it was faulty and sent me a replacement. The new interface works how it should, the signal is recognised by the DAW and the green light comes on as the gain is turned almost immediately. So its a big thumbs up for Mackie tech support. 👍 wow thats a result (especially from Mackie) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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