Help with Loopy Screen with USB Audio Input Device. Recordings Skip, Loopy Crashes
Hi everyone,
For months I've enjoyed using Loopy to create vocal loops by singing right into my iPhone. Last month I bought a Focusrite 18i8 usb audio input device to allow me to take the next step of running guitar, microphone, and keyboard inputs directly into my iPhone via usb cable for use with Loopy.
I have 2 technical questions I'm hoping someone can help with.
My current setup: Guitar & microphone into Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 into usb cable into CCK into iPhone 4s (iOS7).
How do I use the Loopy control that appears in the Panel when I plug the CCK from the 18i8 into my iPhone? I've attached a picture. By selecting different Loopy options on this control I realize I'm somehow affecting how the usb sound is input into the iPhone, but how exactly? I watched the in-app tutorials as well as searched online, but no luck so far in understanding how to use this Loopy control.
I have issues after I start Loopy when I plug the 18i8 in and record a few Loopy tracks. Loopy doesn't always respond to my tapping the phone screen to start or stop tracks. Recorded guitar (but not vocal) tracks skip on playback. On occasion Loopy shuts down, or the phone reboots. Is this an issue with my iPhone (perhaps memory issues?), my 18i8 (question 1 above), or my karma?) Has anyone else had similar issues? Should I uninstall/reinstall Loopy and see what that does?
I know I've got more great music to record with Loopy. I'm just hoping someone can help me over my current technical hurdles!
Thanks in advance,
Anthony
Comments
As an update to #2 above, I modified my Loopy settings in attempt to identify/isolate the cause of my issue. Seems I do not have the issue when Count-In Recording in turned off. Within Loopy I've emailed support in hopes to get to the root cause. Fingers crossed.
As background, here's the scenario where #2 above occurs: On track 1, I record a beat into a microphone via the 18i8. On track 2, I then record a guitar track via the 18i8. The guitar audio is not all recorded, and so on playback some guitar audio is missing. The Loopy screen is frozen: the guitar audio track continues to show as red even though recording is complete, and no other Loopy controls work. The recorded Loopy audio continues to play in the background, and I have to kill the app by double-tapping the iPhone home button.
Yuck, I'm sorry to hear about those troubles @anthonyan! Thanks for the followup, and sorry about the delay.
1 is at least easy to answer: That's the track selection panel, which allows you to select from each combination of inputs - channels counting up starting from the top left and going to bottom right. So, in the screen shot you posted there, the leftmost (or bottom, with its current orientation) item selects channels 1 + 2 (stereo). The next one is channels 3 + 4 (stereo), and so on.
2 is tricker: Given than I've not heard of this issue elsewhere, that suggests a hardware issue rather than software (although the fact that having Count-In Recording off mitigates it is totally bizarre...). In an ideal world, we'd try different input hardware with the same setup otherwise. Barring that, I'm not quite sure what to suggest next. Perhaps the next time it happens, see if there's anything instructive in your device's console, which - if you feel so inclined - you can monitor using the iPhone Configuration Utility. I've got a 6i6 here, so I might take it for a spin and see if anything bad happens here.
Thanks for the help @Michael! Were you able to re-create my issue on your 6i6?
I'm still investigating to find the cause of this buzzkilling issue. I re-installed Loopy but the same issue persists. I installed the iPhone Configuration Utility and am looking through the logs for clues, as I'm now able to consistently re-create the issue.
To help me minimize the number of possible factors, am I safe to say that because I'm getting audio into my iPhone, the issue is likely within the iPhone, and not in the hardware (e.g. usb cable, CCK)?
I just want to make music...playing with bugs and checking log files is too close to my day job!)
I've not had a chance to investigate just yet, I'm afraid - it's an insane week over here (if you can believe it, I'm being flown to Sydney today to appear on TV tomorrow!). It's firmly on my todo list though!
It could still be the external - at this point it's hard to know where to look, without having duplicate stuff to test with. I'll let you know once how the 6i6 goes when I get a spare moment.
Focusrite Support said "The Scarlett series is tested for compatibility with the iPad, but not the iPhone. As use with an iPhone is unsupported we cannot guarantee it will run properly with the iPhone." Focusrite wouldn't analyze the iPhone errors I provided them. As such, I'll continue using Loopy to capture sounds I sing right into my iPhone, and I'll use Mobius and my Scarlett 18i8 to loop sounds from my instruments and microphones.