I need help. Issue with DAW / Axe III interaction

JJunkie

Power User
Man.... this is really weird and I don't know who to turn to, except for maybe the best guitar-related forum on planet earth, i guess.

Background:
DAW: Reaper 6.82
Axe-fx III FW24.03, FAS USB driver 5.62.0
PC, Win 10, 32GB RAM
Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 (USB)

I have system sounds and onboard soundcard disabled. Any audio goes through the DAW. For day to day use I have a particular session loaded up that routes everything, so I can play instruments and listen to music / media with the sonarworks reference 4 correction allied. Basically, the PC won't make a sound unless that DAW session is loaded. I have used this session configured in this way for YEARS and have made no changes to it.

There are separate tracks for guitar (analog inputs 3+4), guitar DI (SPDIF 2), media (Loop 1+2), keyboard (MIDI input from instrument) and mic (Input 1).

Problem:
This is the weirdest thing. I don't know how to explain what is actually going on because it doesn't make sense to me, so I will just describe what happens and hopefully that leaves enough of a clue to someone who may know.

Under normal circumstances, I boot PC, open my go-to session and do whatever. media plays through the media track. I turn on the Axe-FX and play guitar through the "guitar" or DI track. etc. it just works.

Today, media started playing through the "guitar" track (I notice this because the fader on the guitar track is ~10dB lower than the media track) . After a lot of frustration, I realise that this issue only occurs when the Axe is on. I turn the Axe off, media audio runs through media track again. It literally just leaps across.

Things I have checked / tried:
  • Note: I have not updated the DAW for months. I updated Axe to 24.03 when it became available and have had several days of good system performance.
  • Reloaded my saved profile in the Scarlett
  • Checked the DAW session track routings, also loaded up a backup saved session that has not been opened in years and had same issue.
  • Checked soundcard status. DAW session uses the Focusrite USB ASIO
  • Checked FAS USB Audio Control Panel to confirm "ASIO not active"
Any help/knowledge appreciated!!!!
For the moment until a solution becomes clear I think I will have to disconnect the AXE-FX USB cable unless specifically editing or downloading firmware.

Thanks
 
Check the current playback device in Windows sound settings while the Axe-FX is powered on with USB connected. This sounds like it's just switching to the Axe when available. Selecting the Scarlett should prevent it from switching to the Axe later, barring any recurrence of whatever event(s) initially caused the issue.
 
Check the current playback device in Windows sound settings while the Axe-FX is powered on with USB connected. This sounds like it's just switching to the Axe when available. Selecting the Scarlett should prevent it from switching to the Axe later, barring any recurrence of whatever event(s) initially caused the issue.
Bakerman,

You are the best! (I tell you, when I saw that you were the first person to reply, you should have seen my reaction)

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand my post, and for the concise advice. Nailed it. I may never know what the initial event was that caused the change to occur, but at least I can deal with it next time.

Cheers!
 
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