FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 18i6 AND 8i6 INTERFACES
Posted on Thu 24 March 2011 in entries
If you have been following us on Facebook/Twitter then you may have noticed a lot of news coming from the Focusrite camp recently. As usual, a lot of it has been to do with big name artists and award-winning producers (e.g. Carl Cox, Adrian Bushby) telling us how they use Focusrite products in their professional set-ups, and why they rate them so much, which is all interesting stuff to learn about. However, perhaps the most exciting nugget of news from Focusrite was the announcement of their new Scarlett interfaces! In fact, this announcement is definitely worthy of being described as much more than a ‘nugget’ of news… it’s far more like a large rock or boulder… but that’s not really relevant so I’ll shut up!
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT – PAINTING THE TOWN RED
Have you ever used a Focusrite interface before? No? The words that come to mind when I think of Focusrite products are ‘quality’ and ‘reliability’. After all, it’s no coincidence that they have found homes in numerous professional studios around the world (click here to read how the Focusrite Liquid Channel is implemented in Abbey Road Studio). What I find especially refreshing about Focusrite as a brand is that they seem to instill their mark of quality throughout every single product they produce, whether it's a monster professional interface with more inputs and outputs than David Beckham’s had haircuts and a plethora of in-built effects, or a modestly sized budget interface for the home studio. Whatever Focusrite product you pick up, you can be sure that it will radiate quality far superior to it’s price tag.
The new Scarlett interfaces are set to follow this same quality trend, and come in two different models, the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 and the Focsrite Scarlett 8i6, each housed in an eye-catching red exterior. What makes these products stand out from other budget Focusrite interfaces is that the Scarlett’s communicate data purely through a high speed USB 2.0 cable. This must come as refreshing news for all those PC users out there, who in the past have had to watch a number of quality Focusrite products being released (like the fantastic Saffire range), only to learn that they are solely Firewire powered and therefore not compatible with their computers! (Yes I know that SOME PCs come with Firewire before anyone says anthing!) Hence, the Scarlett’s give everyone the chance to get connected (PC or Mac) and get involved in the Focusrite party…
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 18i6 – THE LOOK
I think that the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 looks pretty damn good! And I happen to be a fan of the scarlet colour… it would definitely look cool amongst all my other studio gear! The fairly minimal front panel of the 18i6 is perfectly suited to it’s purpose, featuring just 4 dials to control the Gain of Inputs 1 and 2, the stereo Monitor output volume, and the headphone volume. On top of this, the Scarlett 18i6 also features a single button to toggle Inputs 1 and 2 between Instrument, Mic (with 48V phantom power), and line level inputs.
The Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 also features an extremely convenient LED display, which allows you to monitor the level of all your analogue inputs. I have to say that the meters (which only feature 2 LEDs each) do not allow you to perform detailed monitoring of signals, although that is not what they are designed for. What they do allow you to do is to quickly recognise whether a channel is receiving a signal, and whether it is clipping, which is extremely handy. If you want to monitor the levels in more detail then just used the included software or your host application.
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 8i6 – THE LOOK
The look of the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 is extremely similar to the 8i6, except that it does not include the dedicated LED display. However, the Scarlett 8i6 does feature two LEDs next to each of the Input 1 and 2 gain dials which quickly indicate whether these channels are receiving a signal (a green LED comes on), or whether they are clipping (a red LED comes on).
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 18i6 – CONNECTIONS
The Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 is the largest of the Scarlett interfaces. Despite being of a compact size, the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 features a whopping 18 inputs and 6 outputs, meaning it offers fantastic flexibility for multitrack recording. With this amount of inputs you can record a whole band at the same time through this one interface! One little word of warning though… don’t think that because this interface is advertised as having 18 inputs, you can hook any 18 sources straight up to it. The Scarlett 18i6 features 2 inputs that are switchable between Mic, Line and Instrument levels, 6 additional Line level inputs, plus up to 8 optical inputs, and a stereo S/PDIF input. For this reason, you cannot hook up more than 2 microphones if you are using the Scarlett 18i6 straight out of the box. However, it is a simple procedure to expand your set-up using a product like the Focusrite OctoPre MkII, which you can hook up to the Scarlett 18i6 using an ADAT optical cable. The OctoPre MkII is an 8 channel preamp, and would allow you to incorporate more microphones and/or more guitars into your recordings so you could record a drum kit, lead vocals, backing vocal, lead guitar, bass guitar, etc! The Focusrite OctoPre MkII could even be used to give you more Line inputs, although with 8 of these offered on the Scarlett 18i6, unless you are going synthesiser crazy, I very much doubt you would need them! The Scarlett 18i6 features two of Focusrite’s legendary award-winning preamps to ensure low noise and distortion (even when supplying up to 60dB of gain!), all line inputs and digital convertors are of the highest quality, so you can always be sure that you are capturing your sounds in exquisite detail. Plus, both the Scarlett 18i6 and the 8i6 can operate at up to sample rates of 24-bit/96kHz, so all your recording can be carried out at more than double the precision of CD quality!
The 6 outputs of the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 come in the form of 2 balanced line outputs (perfect for sending your audio to a pair of studio monitor speakers), an independent stereo headphone output (useful when recording if you need to listen to a click track, for example), and a stereo S/PDIF output (which can be used for many things such as sending your audio to a home stereo to monitor your mix back through a pair of commercial speakers, or sending it to an external digital FX processor). And of course the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 also comes with MIDI In and Out ports, a 12V DC power socket, and that USB 2.0 connection that I mentioned for hooking it up to a computer.
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 8i6 – CONNECTIONS
I’m guessing you can probably guess from the name, but the Scarlett 8i6 features 8 inputs and 6 outputs. In terms of inputs, the Scarlett 8i6 features the same 2 Mic/Line/Instrument XLR Combo inputs as the 18i6 on the front panel, 2 line analogue inputs on the rear channel (useful to hook a synth up to), 2 S/PDIF inputs (which can be used in combination with the S/PDIF output to incorporate an external FX processor into your setup, for example), and two virtual loopback inputs! These allow you to perform digital audio routing between audio applications, and so are fantastic for sampling audio online!
As outputs, the Scarlett 8i6 contains four line connections (that's 2 more than the 18i6!) which you can use to hook up 2 pair of monitors or PA speakers, and a stereo S/PDIF output. 'But the Scarlett 8i6 also features a stereo headphone output, so surely it has 8 outputs?' Well, yes, the Scarlett 8i6 does have a stereo headphone output, but unlike the Scarlett 18i6, it is not independent and is instead routed to outputs 3 and 4, hence why it is not counted as additional outputs. But it does still feature it's own analogue control!
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT – INCLUDED SOFTWARE
Both the Scarlett 18i6 and the 8i6 come with Scarlett MixControl software, which gives you an 18 × 6 DSP mixer. This software expands the flexibility of the interface, allowing you to create six separate mixes with ultra-low latency (less than 1.4ms), then route any combination of input signals and sequencer outputs to any of the Scarlett interface’s outputs! The software then allows you to quickly save and recall your configurations, allowing you to create different routings for specific tasks (e.g. monitoring, mixing, etc). Let me tell you that this type of software really helps speed up your workflow, and to have it included with a product of this price is truly astonishing.
Both the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 and the 8i6 also come with a host of Scarlett plug-ins and Xcite+. Included plug-ins include EQ, compression, reverb and a gate. Plus the Xcite+ pack comes with a load of royalty-free loops and samples, a full-fledged soft-synth and Ableton Live Lite 8! Remember, this is ALL included in the price of a fairly budget interface!
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT – SUMMARY
Considering what these interfaces are offering, what you get bundled with them, and their fantastic price, I can see the Focusrite Scarlett’s being a huge hit. As I’ve already mentioned, when you purchase a Focusrite product, whatever the price, you can be sure that you are getting something that is pure quality, and the fact that their USB 2.0 connection caters for Windows as well as Mac users should only increase their popularity.
The bundled software that comes with the Scarlett interfaces is also a reason to get excited – you get everything you need to start recording straight out of the box, and the fact that you get Ableton Live Lite 8 means that you are also gifted a cheaper route to upgrade to the full version. Plus the Scarlett MixControl software is unbelievably handy! Personally I would be less excited about the plug-ins… not because they aren’t good quality, just because I already have a collection of plug-ins that I know inside out, so I would tend not to use new ones too often. Still, they are a nice little inclusion, and will be especially welcomed by novice users who have not yet found their plug-ins of choice.
I really like how the Scarlett 18i6 features an optical input. This means that you can expand the interface in the future if you feel the need. When I purchased my first interface, it did not feature any expansion capabilities, and so a couple of years later as I found my projects were growing in complexity and I needed more inputs, I had to buy a completely new interface! If this happens and you own a Scarlett 18i6, just hook up an OctoPre MkII and you’re sorted!
Finally I should mention that their is noting stopping you using a Focusrite Scarlett interface in a live situation… it doesn’t have to be confined to the studio, and if you are a small band who perform in small(ish) venues, or have utilised the expansion capabilities of the 18i6, then you should have enough connections for setting up for a live show… although in all honesty there are products out there that are specifically designed for this purpose and make this task a little easier, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a Scarlett solely for this purpose.
That’s all I have to say on this subject now, I think I’ve filled you in with all the most important details! Feel free to comment and rate my blog and ask questions if you need to! :) Take it easy people!
The Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 and 8i6 interfaces will be available in May 2011...
Purchase the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6
Purchase the Focusrite Scarlett 8i6