Ableton Forum

Scarlett 2i2 and Shure SM57 very low volume on acoustic on recommended setting on Abelton live 9.

Hey all!
I just bought new SM57 and started recording an acoustic guitar through Scarlett 2i2 using Abelton live 9 as DAW. With mic placed about 8-10 inches further from guitar and gain on interface around 45-50%, i could barely hear anything. The sound was very thin, low and the wave in DAW was also thin..
Then i set my Gain level in Scarlett about 90% but still the volume was too low and thin. Now, with volume set too MAX 100%, i could hear little high what i recorded but not so high as gain was set to 100%.
Is there anything that i am missing? Am i missing anything on DAW?
I have searched in many forums but i am not able to solve my problem


-Scarlett 2i2
-Shure SM57
-Abelton live 9
-Takamine EG511SSC

This doesn't sound like an Ableton issue.

Note the Scarlett 2i2 has no “Mic/line” switch – the Focusrite preamplifier stage is automatically configured for a microphone when you plug an XLR into the input, and for a line or instrument when you connect a jack plug. Set the LINE/INST switch next to the socket to INST if you are connecting a musical instrument (a guitar in the example) via an ordinary 2-pole (TS) guitar jack, or to LINE if you are connecting a line level source such as the balanced output of a stage piano via a 3-pole (TRS) jack. Note the Combo connector accepts both TRS and TS types of jack plug.

an SM57 10 inches from an acoustic guitar? usually you put an SM57 close to a guitar cabinet, just over a snare, in front of the bell of a trumpet,... big noise makers. you need a fairly loud source to drive that mic.
for an acoustic guitar, ideally you'd want a nice condenser (the 57 is dynamic), better even two (neck and sound hole, keeping in mind the 1/3 distance rule to avoid phase issues)

And the Scarlett 2i2 isn't known for exessive gain either.

Recording hacks did a shootout: Best Budget Audio Interfaces for SM7B, ths SM57 and most dynamic microphones want quite a lot of clean gain.

Chuku wrote:Scarlett 2i2 and Shure SM57 very low volume on acoustic on recommended setting on Abelton live 9.

Hey all!
I just bought new SM57 and started recording an acoustic guitar through Scarlett 2i2 using Abelton live 9 as DAW. With mic placed about 8-10 inches further from guitar and gain on interface around 45-50%, i could barely hear anything. The sound was very thin, low and the wave in DAW was also thin..
Then i set my Gain level in Scarlett about 90% but still the volume was too low and thin. Now, with volume set too MAX 100%, i could hear little high what i recorded but not so high as gain was set to 100%.
Is there anything that i am missing? Am i missing anything on DAW?
I have searched in many forums but i am not able to solve my problem


-Scarlett 2i2
-Shure SM57
-Abelton live 9
-Takamine EG511SSC

When using a dynamic mic or ribbon, if you have a preamp that doesn't do like 60 db or so of gain, it is recommended to use a Clouldlifter CLl-1. It provides 20-25 db of clean gain to the mic signal which usually allows you to set a healthy level.