When the mic, speakers or laptop are glitching out, it means that your laptop's CPU is being pushed to the maximum while recording. Let's fix that quickly:
- Connect the mic straight into the interface, bypassing any wall sockets. Connect the interface directly into your laptop - never use USB hubs for it. Try another USB port on your laptop. Try another XLR cable if needed.
- Open your DAW's audio preferences (Eg. Logic Pro X > Preferences > Audio > Device), and set the Buffer Size as follows:
- When recording: lowest value possible without glitches, 64 or 128 or 256 usually;
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When mixing/producing: highest value possible without glitches, 1024 or 2048 usually.
Audio glitches are almost always caused by a CPU overload - when reducing buffer size you will also reduce latency but increase CPU overload causing glitches. You need to find the right value for your laptop when recording, usually 64, 128 or 256. Please follow the buffer size indications mentioned above.
On a Mac, you can change buffer size inside the DAW's audio preferences menu.
On a PC, when looking into your DAW's audio settings you will find a link to the ASIO driver (normally ASIO4all) which lets you change the buffer size to one of the values mentioned above.
Logic Pro X users - this Apple guide shows all other possibilities you can try in Logic Pro X https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT203930
If the issue still persists:
- Make sure you have the latest version of Focusrite control installed (top left corner of the FC app). Here you can download the latest version https://customer.focusritegroup.com/en/support/downloads?brand=Focusrite&product_by_type=572&download_type=all
Close all apps and only leave Focusrite Control open. Click on File > Restore Factory Defaults > OK.
- Open Task manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac). Find the process labeled "FocusriteControlServer" and quit/end process. It will automatically reset. In some cases, it may prompt you to update your firmware. Once done, the issue should disappear.
If after trying all these steps you cannot get it to work, please send us a video of the stuttering track on WhatsApp +447596187954 or head to support.pirate.com and tap the chat icon to connect and we will help you find another solution.