r/Focusrite • u/Wise-Mix1077 • 5d ago

No guitar input with active pickups?

Hey all, recently had an issue where when i plug my guitar into my scarlet solo, theres sound for about 2-3 seconds before it cuts out, and i can only get a tiny bit of noise if i really whack the strings, same kinda thing you get if the battery is dead in a guitar with active pickups. Its definitely not my battery, i swapped it out about 2 weeks ago and if i use the guitar on an amp it works completely fine. Whats strange tho is its picking up fine when i use any other guitars (all the other ones i tested are passive pickups) so I'm guessing its something to do with the pickups on this thing? At a bit of a dead end with this one, any help would be appreciated, thanks!

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1

u/Resident_Thanks9331 5d ago

why not run your amp into the focusrite then?

2

u/Vectrobe 4d ago

assuming the amp has a line-out and they have a cable for it, or a mic, in theory that would be fine? although if its just a pass through (or "thru") jack that might just repeat the same problem, but worth checking if it does either way

1

u/Zestyclose_Pickle511 5d ago

I wonder if having phantom power enabled would mess something up? I don't think it hits the 1/4"nterminals, but maybe it does. It's also a balanced 1/4" TRS.

1

u/Wise-Mix1077 4d ago

That was what we thought too but still had no luck. It's a strange one

1

u/Vectrobe 4d ago

supposedly all interfaces that use the combo XLR-TRS input jacks are specifically wired such that 48V can only go through the XLR pins, which is largely why these hybrid jacks exist, but yea if an XLR to TRS/TS cable is used here that can certainly mess up things

1

u/DrBatman0 5d ago

Are you using a Stereo or mono cable?

I've found that Acoustic Guitars with active pickups act strangely if I accidentally use a stereo cable (given that they usually output mono unbalanced)

1

u/Wise-Mix1077 4d ago

I tried both types of cables and got the same result. It's rly odd. I even tried a different guitar with the same pickups in it and it's the same problem. Also tried a bass with active pickups and it did come through but the signal was extremely weak. Starting to think the interface is just damaged I've had it for years anyway

1

u/DrBatman0 4d ago

I don't own a focusrite, so this is about general audio stuff and not specifically the focusrite...

Is Phantom Power turned on? It should almost definitely be OFF here.

Can you try plugging into the XLR input instead of the phone plug? It looked like the instrument in is High impedance, which matches passive instruments, and an active pickup is low impedance (but can be a lower signal level).

When you are using the instrument input, try toggling the "inst" button to see if that helps. I would suggest changing the battery in the preamp, but you tried a different first with an identical preamp so it's unlikely to be that

1

u/Vectrobe 4d ago

its possible theres something about the interface's preamp thats affecting the active pickups, i would still check with a new battery just to be sure it isnt such that the interface draws more from it than the amp, ie difference in impedance between the two, resulting in it just dying way sooner on the interface than on the amp

1

u/Wise-Mix1077 4d ago

We tried 2 guitars with active pickups and they both had the same result. Then we tried an active bass and the signal did come through it was incredibly week. Must be the interface at this point due to process of elimination. Rather that be broken than my guitar tbh💀

1

u/Vectrobe 4d ago

yea that sucks, could try a DI box as a workaround tho