Can't record but playback is OK

Hi Robin I tried what you suggested and got this (but still no sound)

richard@MacBook:~$ ARDOUR_ALSA_DEBUG=768 Ardour6
Ardour6.8.0 (built using 6.8 and GCC version 6.3.0 20170516)
Ardour: [INFO]: Your system is configured to limit Ardour to 1048576 open files
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading system configuration file /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/etc/system_config
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading user configuration file /home/richard/.config/ardour6/config
Ardour: [INFO]: CPU vendor: GenuineIntel
Ardour: [INFO]: AVX-capable processor
Ardour: [INFO]: AVX with FMA capable processor
Ardour: [INFO]: CPU brand: Intel(R) Core™ i7-4870HQ CPU @ 2.50GHz
Ardour: [INFO]: Using AVX and FMA optimized routines
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading plugin meta data file /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/share/plugin_metadata/plugin_tags
Cannot xinstall SIGPIPE error handler
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading default ui configuration file /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/etc/default_ui_config
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading user ui configuration file /home/richard/.config/ardour6/ui_config
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading 452 MIDI patches from /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/share/patchfiles
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading colour file /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/share/themes/dark-ardour.colors
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading ui configuration file /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/etc/clearlooks.rc
Ardour: [INFO]: Loading bindings from /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/etc/ardour.keys
Loading ui configuration file /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/etc/clearlooks.rc
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
ALSA: Cannot open device ‘hw:PCH,0’: Device or resource busy
Found nothing along /home/richard/.config/ardour6/templates:/opt/Ardour-6.8.0/share/templates
–[[ ALSA Device hw:PCH,0
playback
nchan : 2
fsamp : 44100
fsize : 1024
nfrag : 2
format : S16_LE
access : MMAP interleaved
capture
nchan : 2
fsamp : 44100
fsize : 1024
nfrag : 2
format : S16_LE
access : MMAP interleaved
synced
–]]
Scanning folders for bundled LV2s: /opt/Ardour-6.8.0/lib/LV2
Set cursor set to default

(ardour-6.8.0:10322): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to set text from markup due to error parsing markup: Error on line 6 char 1: ‘colin.m.fletcher@googlemail.com’ is not a valid name: ‘@’

(ardour-6.8.0:10322): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to set text from markup due to error parsing markup: Error on line 6 char 1: ‘colin.m.fletcher@googlemail.com’ is not a valid name: ‘@’

(ardour-6.8.0:10322): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to set text from markup due to error parsing markup: Error on line 6 char 1: ‘colin.m.fletcher@googlemail.com’ is not a valid name: ‘@’

(ardour-6.8.0:10322): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to set text from markup due to error parsing markup: Error on line 6 char 1: ‘colin.m.fletcher@googlemail.com’ is not a valid name: ‘@’

(ardour-6.8.0:10322): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to set text from markup due to error parsing markup: Error on line 6 char 1: ‘colin.m.fletcher@googlemail.com’ is not a valid name: ‘@’

(ardour-6.8.0:10322): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to set text from markup due to error parsing markup: Error on line 6 char 1: ‘colin.m.fletcher@googlemail.com’ is not a valid name: ‘@’
Butler drops pool trash
caught signal - shutting down.
Process is still running! trying SIGKILL
richard@MacBook:~$

Thanks for the screen shots - looking good for my judgement…

So Robin’s magic wisdom is the way to investigate further… :wink:

Thanks Iaex. Just out of interest you use Ardour with Linux Mint without problems? I guess your are not using a MacBook Pro? I’m wondering if this is the fly in the ointment!!

Is this useful? Ardour playing back, no sound and the Sound settings in Preferences saying nothing is recording or playing!!

Switch to Pulse Audio and we have sound!!!

Still with Pulse Audio if I add another track the Pulse Audio volume control is registering my hand claps from the microphone but Ardour isn’t !!

Just found this! How do I merge into an aggregate device?

That is OK - Ardour doesn’t show up as Application there (in ALSA mode)…!

Ardour does NOT allow to record via pulseaudio. This is intentional. Pulseaudio is not suitable for reliable pro-audio.

Ardour’s Pulseaudio support is only intended for rare cases when you e.g. want to listen to a mix in the train on the way home from the studio and don’t care about dropouts or artifacts or latency…

Yes, that is most likely the culprit here - as indicated by Robin… I’ve used several PC computers/laptops since (about) Linux Mint 18.x and Ardour 5.x and a professional USB sound card… So that is quite a different setup…

Do you have access to any other external soundcard…?

This looks good. It should work…

Also do use alsamixer. literally. It’s the low-level mixer terminal app. Your desktop’s “Sound” preference relates to pulseaudio only and has no bearing.

I am occasionally using a MacBook Pro, but it runs MacOS :slight_smile:

This applies to Mac OS not Linux. There is a related but more technically complex process for Linux, but based off what we have seen thus far this is not the issue I do not believe. If you were able to get BOTH Playback and no recording AND Recording and no Playback, but not both together, then we would look at this. As it is you haven’t gotten playback working which indicates a different problem.

  Seablade

When starting Ardour the way like Robin has mentioned, have you set your master output to 1/2 instead of 3/4?

I’m really sorry I don’t understand your comment. Set the Ardour master output to 3/4 instead of 1/2?

Try both settings in your master track output. After starting Ardour like Robin described.

So I ran the script ARDOUR_ALSA_DEBUG=768 Ardour6 in terminal and created a new file. I added a track and when I put it into record and then toggled record on the main transport bar I got feedback (lots of it). I opened ALSAMIXER in another tab in terminal and reduced the capture and mic boost and the feedback stopped. I recorded so handclaps and finger snaps using the internal mic and then I looped the region played it back. WOW success I can hear it. I have sound!!! Amazing. Thank you all so much.

OK Robin how can I make this script happen every time I fire up Ardour please?

Yay!

You want to add ARDOUR_ALSA_DEBUG=768 to the Ardour startup script. So open the file /opt/Ardour-6.9.0/bin/ardour6 in a text editor and add the line somewhere in the middle.

Instead of editing the file manually you can use sed (stream-editor) to change the file and add the line by running the following command:

sudo sed -i'' '/ARDOUR_BUNDLED/a export ARDOUR_ALSA_DEBUG=768' /opt/Ardour-6.9.0/bin/ardour6

It appears there is no startup script. Can I just create one and add the line of script?

Err, do me a favor, type which ardour6 on the command line and paste the output here?

   Seablade

might even check the case of a double installation (like on one of my desks):

#:> which Ardour6 ardour6
/usr/local/bin/Ardour6
/usr/bin/ardour6