JACK looks OK, except that you want hw:USB not hw:CARD=USB (i think, or maybe based on later output, hw:SB)

it appears that you are running audacity *without* JACK support or telling it explicitly not to use JACK; instead it opens the default ALSA device, which is pulseaudio, which is probably not working (correctly) while JACK is running.

On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 10:14 PM, Bob van der Poel <bob@mellowood.ca> wrote:
On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 8:01 PM, Paul Davis <paul@linuxaudiosystems.com> wrote:
> why are you running JACK with a PortAudio backend? or ... why are you
> running Audacity with PortAudio trying to talk to JACK via ALSA?
>

I have no idea. My jack command is

    jackd -d alsa -d hw:CARD=USB &

and aplay -L shows:

bob$ aplay -L
default
    Playback/recording through the PulseAudio sound server
sysdefault:CARD=SB
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    Front speakers
surround40:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
iec958:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Digital
    IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output
dmix:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    Direct sample mixing device
dmix:CARD=SB,DEV=1
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Digital
    Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    Direct sample snooping device
dsnoop:CARD=SB,DEV=1
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Digital
    Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
hw:CARD=SB,DEV=1
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Digital
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=SB,DEV=0
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Analog
    Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=SB,DEV=1
    HDA ATI SB, ALC883 Digital
    Hardware device with all software conversions
sysdefault:CARD=USB
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    Front speakers
surround40:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
iec958:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output
dmix:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=USB,DEV=0
    AudioBox USB, USB Audio
    Hardware device with all software conversions

Should I use a different "-d"?

I do have pulse running, but the usb device is set to "off" in the
pavucontrol. So, I'm assuming that this should not be the problem ?

--
**** Listen to my CD at http://www.mellowood.ca/music/cedars ****
Bob van der Poel ** Wynndel, British Columbia, CANADA **
EMAIL: bob@mellowood.ca
WWW:   http://www.mellowood.ca