I have this problem all the time with GarageBand on my iPad and have never found a consistent fix. If I connect my keyboard to my iPad via an audio interface (Alesis Multimix or Roland GO:Mixer pro-same issue) and try to record an audio track in GarageBand (with studio headphones plugged into the headphone port for monitoring), about 75% of the time, GarageBand will use the built in mic for the audio track instead of the audio signal from my audio interface. Fixing it seems to require turning devices off and on, unplugging and reconnecting things, sometimes this fixes it, sometimes not, it’s sooooo frustrating. Anyone have any suggestions is there something obvious i am missing? Thanks! P.s. same issue with any keyboard I have tried

Hi - So it sounds like you have your keyboard's audio outputs connected to audio inputs on the mixer and then the mixer connected to the iPad -- that would suggest that the problems is not related to the keyboard but to the iPad not consistently seeing the audio interface. I don't have an iOS device here to test GB, but as far as I understand GB should automatically detect an interface and use it when it's connected -- it sounds like that's not happening reliably. A couple of general troubleshooting suggestions might include.. - Check the cable/connections -- loose connections could be the cause of the iPad only intermittently seeing the interface - If you're using any kind of non-Apple adapter, try an Apple-branded adaptor instead -- Apple devices can be finicky - If possible test to see if any other audio apps more reliably detect the presence of the interface - Check with the interface support to see if they have any specific recommendations about using or not using their product with an iPad, or Apple support re using an external interface with your particular iPad model and iOS version.. If unplugging and reconnecting sometimes gets it to work, that makes me think that the cable/connection is the most likely culprit, especially since you have the same issue with two different interfaces -- I assume that causes iOS to check for and notice the connected device.. Btw, I did come across this Roland support page for the GO:Mixer -- note the comments about limitations regarding GB: https://www.roland.com/us/support/by_product/gomixer/support_documents/b509610f-13f4-4a51-a9e2-37819f314380/ And this Alesis support page for [at least one version of] the Multimix [which mentions recording to an iPad with something called an Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit]: https://www.alesis.com/products/view/multimix-4-usb-fx

Thanks so much for that - I do have the proper lightning connector but you did get me thinking about drivers so I downloaded the drivers for the Alesis mixer (ASIOFORALL) and tried it on my pc and nothing but problems (not compatible with Cakewalk and lots of blog posts talking about issues) but the GO mixer was fine. I tried the go mixer again with GarageBand and it works perfectly (I must have been imagining having had the same issue with it - I have mostly used the Alesis because it has effects. So looks like the alesis will be relegated to the “old hardware” box. On that note do you think there is a big quality difference between audio interfaces in terms of signal quality? (Would a Scarlett interface be a big upgrade on the mixer pro?) Thanks once again you got me looking in the right direction

Hi - Glad you got one of the interfaces up & running. I would think that except for the very smallest/cheapest ones, most interfaces in the lower/medium price ranges from the usual well-established companies are pretty similar in terms of overall sound quality. You could maybe expect somewhat better-quality mic preamps in some of the Focusrite boxes [especially the medium/higher-priced ones], but for just line-level signals like keyboards there probably won't be a big difference..

Thanks so much for your help!