1480 461555 E-mail: a.brown@audiomedia.com

focusrite i scarlett 8i6
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the control software each time you need to
switch between the two, which can definitely
slow down a recording session. The version of
Mix Control supplied with the Scarlett (and with
the current range of Saffires) is the most complex
version to date and has changed the way it
carries out certain tasks. It looks much more like
a conventional mixer and gone are those Input/
Mix sliders.
Along the top, the first thing you notice is a line
of tabs marked ‘Mix 1’, ‘Mix 2’, and so on. They are a
way of creating different routing setups that can
be used simultaneously in different parts of your
system. You could, for example, have one mix for
your main monitors, one for your headphones
and one for another set of speakers in another
studio or room.
Below these tabs is a line of assignable faders.
Click on any one and you can choose an Input
source which can either be the hardware or from
your DAW. Once you’ve chosen your inputs you
get to choose where they go. On the far right is
your Mix fader and if you click on it you can pick
your output. You can also rename your Mix and
that name will appear in the tab at the top of
the screen.
In the bottom section of Mix Control are the
final output routing: Monitors 1 and 2 take pride
of place, but are followed closely by headphones
and the other line outs and SPDIF. These decide
what you hear where: a quick click lets you select
a direct Input, a direct DAW output, or one of your
tabbed Mixes. This is how you can have inputs
and playback on one set of speakers and just
playback on another: create two different tabbed
mix presets and have one picked up by the main
monitors, and another by the headphones and
second speakers. It’s the kind of thing I’ve found
useful in a 5.1 studio, where you don’t want the
sound from your voice booth coming out of every
speaker in the room. For someone recording a
band, which is clearly where Focusrite is aiming,
it could mean different mixes for different people.
A neat feature of the Mix Control is the loop
back feature. This lets you record any audio
playing on your machine into your DAW –
useful for recording off the Net or a standalone
application. You can choose where to send your
loop back, and with a bit of fiddling I was able
to record Eastenders from iPlayer into a multi-track.
Which I quickly deleted of course. One practical
use of this would be recording Skype calls, which
has always been a bit of a faff in the past. Ironically
of course, some sound cards of old did this kind of
thing automatically
R-Amping Up The Test
Time to test those pre-amps. A two hundred
pound audio device can’t have decent pre-amps,
can it? I mean, it stands to reason that corners
have to be cut somewhere, surely? Well I’m a little
baffled right now. I’ve hooked the Scarlett up to
our main voice booth, which is home to an SE
Electronics Z5600A 2, and recorded at 96K 24-bit
(the highest sample rate available). Wow. It’s a
really nice sound.
I’d managed to recorded a minute’s worth of
dialogue with the -10db pad on the mic before I
realised (doh….) and I’d not been too clever with
the mic gain, setting it rather low. But neither
of my blunders was an issue. Normalising the
recording brought out no hiss whatsoever, at least
none discernible to my ears. I did find it a little
ragged around some of my more sibilant tones,
but that’s possibly nit-picking – it really shouldn’t
sound that good for the price.
Another neat feature is the bundle of Scarlettbranded
VST plug-ins that Focusrite supplies
with the interface, which also come in AU and
RTAS versions. These are a compressor, gate, EQ,
and reverb. They are pretty simple, with few
parameters to alter, but less is sometimes more,
and by starting with one of the presets and then
gently tweaking some impressive results can be
achieved. I particularly like the reverb, which has
very natural sound. Nothing ground breaking but
useful tools nonetheless in your DAW of choice.
I’ve almost forgotten overall audio quality.
As I’m writing this, I’ve still got Eastenders playing
through headphones, via iPlayer. It’s a really
bright, strong, clean sound (just a shame about
the cockerneys). I’m not really surprised as the
D/A converters in the Scarlett are the same as in
my Saffire Pro 14, which I bought back in January.
It replaced an ageing original Saffire, and I
remember the first time I hooked it up and played
back some material I’d been working on for weeks
before. I was stunned at how different it sounded.
There was detail in the mix I hadn’t noticed from
the older unit (good detail, I hasten to add). It was
a sit-back-in-the-seat moment.
Conclusion
I’m a tiny bit smitten with the Scarlett. It doesn’t
do anything fancy but it is a well made, nicesounding
USB audio device. I can think of a
number of ways it could be used, beyond the
band recording it seems designed for. If I was
procuring kit for a radio station I’d buy a stack of
these, either to be used as input/output devices
for digital audio or to pack off with reporters.
A Scarlett and a laptop (plus a mic and table top
stand) would turn any hotel room into a mini
radio studio. Or if I was equipping a video edit
suite I’d grab one for monitoring and recording
voice tracks. Then there’s media training, home
studios, and just about any task where you need
high quality portable audio without any fuss.
And for less than two hundred quid. Now that
is progress.
Did I mention it’s also red? ∫
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£ GB£200.00 (exc.VAT)
INFORMATION
A Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd.,
Windsor House, Turnpike Road, High Wycombe,
Bucks, HP12 3FX, UK
T +44 (0) 1494 462246
W www.focusrite.com
AUDIO MEDIA JUNE 2011 43