Guitar Via FM9 no PC output

C

ChiroVette

Inspired
Okay probably a simple problem I am just missing the solution somehow. I read the output part of the manual, but I can't figure this out.

I plug the FM9 into my PC, via a USB cable. Both the PC main input and the input setting on my DAW are set to Line (2 FM9). Then I set the output on both the PC and the DAW so that everything should play through the home theater. So my PC and DAW are both outputting to the speakers, as they should, but I cannot get any sound from my guitar/FM9 to play through the speakers, even though the outputs are all set to do that.

I double checked to make sure that I get sound from my PC to the speakers, via games, my DAW, Youtube, etc. and I am "tickling" the red on the FM9 input. As for the output lights:

Output 1 Clip Edited - Solid Amber
Output 2 Clip Midi - Solid Green
Output 3 Clip Tempo - Flashing Green

I can hear the guitar from the FM9 through my headphones or a PA speaker, if I hooked it up that way, but nothing through PC. Any ideas why my PC is refusing to output the signal from my guitar via FM9?
 
Which DAW?
Do you see input coming from FM9 into your DAW?
Can you record your FM9 signal and playback? Maybe you just need to turn input monitoring on in the DAW.
 
Thanks for the insanely fast responses, @GlennO and @md1234!

To answer your questions, I am using Tracktion/Waveform. I also dug through Waveform's manual and figured out how to enable "Live monitoring", but as Glenno said, the latency makes this an untenable solution.

I suppose I can go about this another way. I could simply try going from an XLR output of the FM9 to my USB Interface, which is a Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD, then from there, go into the USB port on my PC. Would that be any better, specifically in terms of latency?

Note that I am only using this for messing around when I am too lazy to set up my JBL or EV PA speaker cab on the floor in wedge-monitor form and I want to practice a little with backing tracks. So when playing the FM9 through my PC and home theater, this absolutely does not have to be perfect, nor does it have to sound as good as through an FMFR speaker or my Sennheisher headphones.
 
Are your speakers connected to the Behringer? Then you can go directly from FM9 into the Behringer and direct to the speakers without latency. I'm guessing a little bit because i don't know that device, but the Monitor button on that device should send your signal direct to the speakers.
 
No, the speakers are part of my bedroom home theater system, so they get their output from whatever source I am using, whether it's my PS5, XBox, PC, etc. In this case, the output comes right from my PC to the speakers.
 
Okay, so now, it's getting even weirder. I decided to use the USB interface, and hooked it up. Still NO sound from the FM9, though it took a little tinkering, and I was able to get the FM9 to be seen as an audio input on my PC. Still, though, no sound from the FM9, even though ALL the indicator lights on both the Behringer and the FM9 show it's working. Additionally, my DAW will record the FM9 signal on a track, and once I do that, it can play through my speakers through the DAW. But not while I am recording or if I am not recording at the time. Only the recorded track/file from the FM9 plays, even though in the DAW, it also shows the metering from the FM9. Also, I see metering on the PC side in the input from the USB interface, which responds to chords and notes played played on the guitar, even though nothing is output to the speaker while I play live. I jiust tried updating the U-Phoria driver, and will restart my PC and see if that works.
 
ChiroVette said:
Still NO sound from the FM9
Click to expand...
ChiroVette said:
Additionally, my DAW will record the FM9 signal on a track, and once I do that, it can play through my speakers through the DAW
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's how it works without turning Input Monitoring on in your DAW. But as you already found out, you'll have more or less latency when turning that on. I depends how much that is if that is something you can deal with. Maybe you try to can change the buffersize in the DAW to get less latency. If it is minimal, than you might get used to it. I don't see a way in your current way of connecting/setup to make it better. Maybe someone else can chime in.
 
md1234 said:
Yeah, that's how it works without turning Input Monitoring on in your DAW. But as you already found out, you'll have more or less latency when turning that on. I depends how much that is if that is something you can deal with. Maybe you try to can change the buffersize in the DAW to get less latency. If it is minimal, than you might get used to it. I don't see a way in your current way of connecting/setup to make it better. Maybe someone else can chime in.
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I was afraid of that.

I did try one little experiment. I recorded something from my guitar via the FM9 with the other backing-track instruments, and the USB interface in Tracktion, and the final product is actually pretty good! Something I was NOT able to get (as I mentioned in my other thread) going straight out from USB out on the FM9 to the USB input on my PC. It was coming out "weird" whenever I was recording directly from the FM9 to my DAW, and the sound also was substantially lower in volume. Something that when I corrected by raising the "Clip Gain" on the recorded guitar track in Tracktion just didn't sound right.

I will say, but I'm not sure, that there may be a little latency in the recording, but my brain or ears are so f'ing shot from messing around with this for the past few hours, that I need to take a break, maybe do some cardio with a bicycle ride, then come back to this later, then come back to this with "fresh ears".

So I guess from now on, based on what you are saying, I need to just practice with the FM9 either through headphones or just sucking it up and doing an XLR into my JBL wedge monitor. It isn't a huge problem.

I am VERY encouraged, however, with how the recording came out, and I was able to do it with headphones, so that's something I suppose. Like I said, I can't tell if there is a little latency, but if there is, it is really slight. I physically moved the recorded track up by like 0.01 ms, and that was fine, but it may or may not even have been necessary, but like I said, my brain is a little fried from all this, so I will try again later.
 
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ChiroVette said:
Thanks for the insanely fast responses, @GlennO and @md1234!

To answer your questions, I am using Tracktion/Waveform. I also dug through Waveform's manual and figured out how to enable "Live monitoring", but as Glenno said, the latency makes this an untenable solution.

I suppose I can go about this another way. I could simply try going from an XLR output of the FM9 to my USB Interface, which is a Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD, then from there, go into the USB port on my PC. Would that be any better, specifically in terms of latency?
Click to expand...

For what you're trying to do, there shouldn't be any need for that. You'll find instructions for various options on how you can set up your rig here:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-for-the-recording-musician.177592/
 
You should change playback device on your PC to FM9 from default sound device, look for sound icon on taskbar right side, left click and pick FM9...
 
Regarding "coming out weird", what sample rate is the DAW set to?

FYI the FM9 is locked at 48khz, so if the DAW is different you'll have a sample rate mismatch and it will sound crap.

Set the DAW (and likely your DAW interface) to 48khz and let us know how you go.
 
Makino said:
You should change playback device on your PC to FM9 from default sound device, look for sound icon on taskbar right side, left click and pick FM9...
Click to expand...

That much I know. I always have to manually set both my DAW and my PC on to FM9, and for practice, through headphones, it's fine. I am still working on GlennO's solution above, and will dive into that when I am ready to start actually recording.

Doogz said:
Regarding "coming out weird", what sample rate is the DAW set to?

FYI the FM9 is locked at 48khz, so if the DAW is different you'll have a sample rate mismatch and it will sound crap.

Set the DAW (and likely your DAW interface) to 48khz and let us know how you go.
Click to expand...

I am going to have to go on the Waveform/Tracktion forum and check the manual, because I can't seem to find the how to find where it is, and change the bit-rate to 48Hz. I think you might be right, though!

Also, I have found through experimentation that when I record from my U-Phoria UMC204HD, going XLR out from the FM9 to the XLR input on the UPhoria, and then going from the USB out of the U-Phoria to the USB input on my PC, I am getting some nice recordings and playback. I think the reason is at least in part because there is little to no latency this way, and the sound quality is nice. I may just simplify and stick to this solution. The only drawback is that I don't have access to the FM9-Edit app on my PC this way, but so what, right? I mean, I am literally only bouncing back between 10 presets. Two of them I created myself from advice on this forum and Youtube, and 8 presets I purchased from Marco Fanton.



 
I'll say it one more time :). You're making things way too complicated. Just check out the simplest configuration, #1, in the recording guide. From what you've said of what you're trying to do, that's all you need.
 
GlennO said:
I'll say it one more time :). You're making things way too complicated. Just check out the simplest configuration, #1, in the recording guide. From what you've said of what you're trying to do, that's all you need.
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Yeah lol I do that! 🤣

That said, right now, I am not recording, so I have shamelessly procrastinated doing that, and also my other solution using the U-Phoria, works nicely. I will try your solution when I get the ambition. I saved the page you linked to as a separate tab, but right now I am working on "sounds" and presets for a coming gig, so live recording isn't as important at the moment. But I will definitely try your solution, hopefully this weekend.

Thanks again!

Edit: For the record, it isn't just laziness. I am working hard on the Lukather solos in the Toto version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and the two solos in Still Got the Blues, by Gary Moore.
 
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