I connected an electric guitar to my UR22MkII midi interface using one of the phono inputs. (I successfully recorded acoustic guitar that had pickups in it.) The other tracks were playing and I could hear the guitar playing at the expected volume; however, when I went to play back the recorded audio it was so low as to be unusable. (I played with the gain knobs on the UR22, but there was very little improvement.)
Is another type of preamp required?
Apart from the fact, that a UR22 MKII does not have a “phono” Inputs - which one did you use? The Manual explains quite well, which one to use and what to do, to record Instruments directly.
Officially the inputs are labeled “MIC/LINE” (1 and 2) and accept a 1/4 phono plug. Technically they aren’t “phono” inputs.
I did read the manual, and I have used these inputs to record acoustic guitar (the guitar had internal pickups).
Having run the output of the UR22MkII through a small amplifier, the electric guitar was heard as expected; however Cubase did not record any audio. (I increased the output gain on the electric guitar and the input gain of the UR22, neither had much of an effect. At best there was a very faint audio signal.)
A few months prior I was able to record the same guitar using the same equipment.
Can’t really help, but if you turn the Mix knob all the way to the right (DAW) at least you can be sure you’re hearing what Cubase is doing.
What do the input meters in Cubase show you when you’re playing the guitar?
Btw, Phono connectors are RCA connectors. You want to say Jack connectors.