Sudden inability to record

[groovilator]

So I sat down to do some punch-ins on an acoustic guitar track that had been recorded direct from a DI. I recorded a few seconds of audio, no problem, then decided I needed a little EQ adjustment but didn't want to mess with the settings on my DI (which runs on phantom power).
I then inserted a small passive mixer into the chain. But when I re-engaged the record button on the track in the session, the level meters on both that track and the master fader spiked even though there was no audio.
When I hit play with the track still in record mode the meter spikes went away and the previously recorded audio played just fine. When I tried recording on the track the meter spikes stayed and my guitar signal wouldn't come through.
I restarted the computer four different times and opened different sessions and the problem persisted. I also went back to the original configuration, sans mixer, with no improvement.
It's baffling to me how one moment everything is working fine and the next moment this problem just springs up and won't go away.
I've run into this problem before and the restart usually fixes it.

Here's what I'm using:
PT 12
MBox 2 interface
Mavericks 10.9.5
Macbook 17 (circa 2009)
8 GB RAM
2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

[YYR123]

I bet the Mic input just went out...

1st time Di out is line level.

2nd time mixer out is line level also but if it clipped the input I wonder if the gain was too high on the mic pre and the output was too high on the mixer and it overloaded the mbox pre.

Test it with the DI on the other mic pre........what happens.

You can also run the DI into the back inputs 3 and/or 4 , b/c those accept line level inputs also


Also it's why they say to start out with the levels very low...

[cwsand]

Originally Posted by groovilator

I then inserted a small passive mixer into the chain.

Where in the chain did you insert the mixer - between the DI and MBox? What kind of mixer is it (Manufacturer/Model)? If your DI requires phantom power then the mixer may be preventing it from going through. Also, you could be sending phantom power to the mixer which could potentially damage it.

[groovilator]

Yes, I put the mixer after the DI in the chain which is how the original live recording was set up. I turned off the MBox's phantom power and turned the mixer's phantom power on to power the DI (which I forgot to mention is an LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI).
The mixer is a small 4 channel Yamaha MG06X.

[groovilator]

After a quick test I've determined that I did, indeed, overload the preamp on that channel and now it seems to be no longer useable. Which sucks.
So it looks like I'm on the market for a new interface. And I think I would want to upgrade, if I'm already spending money on this, to something with four inputs.
I wonder if I could get any suggestions for a very simple compatible interface that would allow me to record four tracks at once that doesn't cost too much. Could be third party?

[YYR123]

What is the budget?
What's the interface connection type, required if any?

[groovilator]

This might be unrealistic for a four input interface but I'd like to keep it under $200.
And the connection on my machine will be limited to USB because I have three of those and only one Firewire (800) connection, which I use for my recording drive.

[YYR123]

Try a used Saffire or Scarlett

Like this

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Foc...C-adType%5EPLA

[groovilator]

Perfect! I'm gonna get one! Thank you!