Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 no instrument input detected

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MultiHubbi
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:01 am

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 no instrument input detected

Post by MultiHubbi »

Hi all,

I'm currently struggling to get my Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 1st Gen to work properly under Ubuntu 18.04. I read everywhere that it is plug & play, however my system fails to find the instrument inputs.

The interface is detected and I'm able to hear sound through it just fine, both through the standard sound settings as well as through JACK when working in Ardour. However, the only input of the Scarlett 2i4 listed in both JACK and the standard sound settings is the "Analog Input - Scarlett 2i4". I suspect this is the MIDI input as it is listed as such in JACK. As audio inputs, JACK only lists the system inputs, which is the laptop internal microphone.

Anyone any idea what I could do to make Ubuntu recognize the inputs?

I'd highly appreciate any help here. I'm really reluctant to go back to Windows just to get my recordings going...

Thank you!

edit: the direct monitoring / playback functionality of the interface works just fine, so the interface is not broken.
In Audacity, I can also only select the notebook internal microphone as an input, while the output goes through the USB interface.
Last edited by MultiHubbi on Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Loki Harfagr
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Re: Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 no instrument input detected

Post by Loki Harfagr »

Check this with CLI:

Code: Select all

 arecord -L
or:

Code: Select all

 arecord -l
If your Scarlett is listed in then you'll have to select it as Input in Jack or in your DAW
if not listed try other USB cable or other USB busses and check again.

If listed and not accessible the I/O are maybe "stolen" somehow in your pulseaudio config,see that on a Ubuntu forum or hope there's some Ubunta savvy people here who solved this kind of stuff :)
MultiHubbi
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:01 am

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 no instrument input detected

Post by MultiHubbi »

Thanks. I checked and the interface is detected:

Code: Select all

sysdefault:CARD=USB
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    Front speakers
surround21:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers
surround40:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
dmix:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    Scarlett 2i4 USB, USB Audio
    Hardware device with all software conversions
I also added the interface as the input&output device in my DAW and JACK. Output is working fine, however only the analog input (listed as MIDI in JACK) is detected and not the 2 input channels for instruments.
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