Mic Not Working When Recording? How to Fix It in FL Studio and Logic Pro

Everything is ready: beat loaded, lyrics memorized, record pressed. And then your meter doesn't move at all. Or you record a full take and all you get is a flat line. Super frustrating, but it's almost always a setting, not a broken mic.

In this guide you go through the causes in a fixed order: your mic first, then your computer, and finally your DAW (FL Studio or Logic Pro). No guessing.

First: does your mic work at all?

Start outside your DAW. Open our free mic test, click start and allow the microphone in your browser. Does the meter move when you talk? Then your mic works and the problem is in your computer settings or your DAW. Nothing moving? Then start with the hardware below. Your sound stays on your own device.

Step 1: check the hardware

  • Cables and connection. Is the USB cable plugged in properly? Try a different USB port and a different cable. With an XLR mic, check that the cable clicks all the way into the mic and the interface.
  • Gain and mute. Make sure the gain knob on your interface isn't turned all the way down. A lot of USB mics and interfaces also have a mute button, or a light that turns red when you're muted.
  • 48V phantom power. Using a condenser mic, like a lot of studio vocal mics? According to Shure, condenser mics have active electronics and need phantom power. Turn on the 48V button on your interface. A dynamic mic like the SM58 doesn't need it, Shure says.
  • The right input. Does your interface have two inputs? Remember which one your mic is plugged into (usually input 1). You'll need that in your DAW in a minute.

Not sure what an interface does or whether you need one? Read what is an audio interface and do you need one.

Step 2: give your DAW permission (Windows and Mac)

This is the cause people forget most. Your computer can block apps from using the mic, and then your DAW simply gets nothing.

Windows 11

  1. Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone.
  2. Turn on Microphone access.
  3. Also turn on Let desktop apps access your microphone. FL Studio is a desktop app. According to Microsoft, desktop apps don't show up in the list of individual apps, so you can only allow them all at once.

Mac

  1. Open the Apple menu and go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
  2. Turn on the switch next to your DAW, for example Logic Pro or FL Studio. That's also how Apple's guide describes it.

Just turned the permission on? Quit your DAW completely and open it again before you test.

Step 3: pick the right mic in your system

On Windows, go to Settings > System > Sound. Under Input, choose the device you want to record with. Click it to open its properties: there you can run a quick test and adjust the input volume. Still stuck? Windows has a troubleshooter for input devices under Advanced. Microsoft covers all of this on the same support page.

On a laptop? Good chance the built-in mic is still set as the default. Then you're recording your laptop, not your actual mic.

Step 4: set up FL Studio

Something a lot of people don't know: according to Image-Line's manual, you need FL Studio Producer Edition or higher to record audio. On a different edition, no setting will fix it.

  1. Choose an ASIO driver. Press F10, go to Audio and pick an ASIO driver as your device. Image-Line recommends your interface's own ASIO driver, since FL Studio ASIO can add latency. Important: the inputs only show up in the mixer when you use an ASIO driver.
  2. Pick an empty mixer track, not the Master.
  3. Select your input. Open that mixer track's input menu and choose the interface input your mic is plugged into. Only hearing your mic on one side? Pick from the mono list.
  4. Arm the track with the record icon on the mixer track.
  5. Check the recording filter. Right-click the record button and make sure Audio is ticked. If it isn't, FL Studio records notes but no sound.

Recording in FL Studio on a Mac? FL Studio needs microphone access there too, see step 2. For a full walkthrough, read how to record rap vocals in FL Studio.

Step 5: set up Logic Pro

  1. Choose your input device. Go to Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > Devices and pick your interface or USB mic under Input Device. According to Apple, the input menu updates when you choose an output device that has inputs, so always double check it.
  2. Set the right input on your track. Create an audio track and choose the input your mic is plugged into in the Input slot. Every track you record at the same time needs its own input.
  3. Arm the track. Click the Record Enable button (the R) in the track header. Without it, Logic won't record anything on that track.

Step 6: it records, but you can't hear yourself?

Sometimes the recording works fine, but you can't hear yourself in your headphones. That's a monitoring setting, not a broken mic. In FL Studio you can set monitoring of the external input to off, on, or only when the track is armed. If your interface has direct monitoring, you can also hear yourself through the interface with no delay. Hearing yourself late or twice after that? Read how to fix latency when recording.

Working again? Check your level right away

Once your signal finally comes in, don't crank everything up. Recording too hot gives you distortion you can't remove later. Learn how to set your gain in distorted recording? how to prevent clipping. Suddenly hearing hiss or hum? Mic noise when recording will help you out.

Checklist: mic not working when recording

  1. Test your mic outside your DAW with the mic test.
  2. Check cables, USB port, gain and mute.
  3. Turn on 48V if you use a condenser mic.
  4. Give your DAW microphone access in Windows or macOS and restart your DAW.
  5. Pick the right mic as input in your system.
  6. FL Studio: ASIO driver, input on the mixer track, track armed, Audio ticked in the recording filter.
  7. Logic Pro: choose the Input Device, set the input on your track, Record Enable on.
  8. Nothing in your headphones but there is a recording? Check your monitoring.

FAQ

My mic works in Discord or Zoom, but not in FL Studio. Why?

Then your mic works and the problem is in your FL Studio settings. Check that you use an ASIO driver (otherwise your input won't show up in the mixer), that you picked the right input on an armed mixer track and that Audio is ticked in the recording filter. Check your edition too: according to Image-Line, recording audio needs Producer Edition or higher. Go through step 4 calmly.

My USB mic doesn't show up in the list. Now what?

Try a different USB port and cable, and check whether your system sees it in the sound settings. If your computer sees it but your DAW doesn't, quit your DAW and open it again after the mic is plugged in.

Can 48V damage my dynamic mic?

According to Shure, phantom power won't damage other mics in the vast majority of cases. Shure still recommends checking the manual or the manufacturer if you're not sure, especially with ribbon mics.

The mic test shows a signal, but my recording is very quiet.

Turn up the gain on your interface or mic, not the fader in your DAW. The fader only changes what you hear, not what gets recorded.

Next: make your recording sound good

Once your take is in, the fun part starts. The free vocal chain cheat sheet gives you the right plugin order for Logic Pro and FL Studio. Want a ready-made starting point you just load and tweak to your voice? Check out our vocal presets for FL Studio and Logic Pro.

Sources: Microsoft on microphone problems in Windows, Apple on microphone access on Mac and the Logic Pro user guide, Image-Line on recording audio in FL Studio, and Shure on phantom power.

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