2nd October 2012
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#1 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter |  Focusrite Forte - Initial Thoughts... review coming soon
Focusrite Forte Review:
• Signal Chain: Source > Mic > Interface > Hard drive (Mixed down to a 24 Bit aiff file)
• Interfaces used in comparison; Focusrite Forte and MBox 2 Mini
• Microphone Used: Neumann TLM 102
• Microphone Cable Used: Monster Studiolink XLR
Tuesday, October 02, 2012; 12:32 AM
Setting up the Forte was relatively easy; I had already downloaded the drivers and software a few days ahead of time since I was aware that the forte does not come with an installation CD, the software has to be downloaded from the Focusrite website. However you feel about this process it’s a non issue as it only took me 3 minutes to get the software installed after briefly pausing to admire the new shoe smell from the box the forte came in. Initially right now I’m just sitting around listening to random music through a pair of Audio Technica ATHM50sLE headphones and the play back sounds awesome, also controlling the functions of the device using its control knob and touch sensitive faceplate is intuitive and a breeze to work with.
Aesthetically the forte will turn heads but also has a low profile; it’s slim, sleek and sexy at the same time. Definitely a solid piece of hardware, I look forward to putting it through its paces tomorrow. Oh yeah, and just so you know, the Forte will operate in low power mode off usb 2.0 bus power which can be useful for on the road mixing and any DJ’s incorporating this into their setups. The Inputs and phantom power are disabled when in low power though, but consider the trade off… not being able to record while in low power vs. shorter battery life. Well for now, goodnight.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012; 10:58:33 AM
Initial impressions… the forte integrates nicely into my Pro Tools 9 recording environment. I only have two issues that I’ve run into one of them which I’ve had with every recording device while working on a laptop is when the lap top is plugged into an AC outlet I get noise in my monitors… likely solution in this scenario is usually your power conditioning (buy a better surge protector, one that conditions and cleans the power signal to rid yourself of any buzz or hum coming from this source). Second, which might be from me opening up the Forte Control suite before opening up pro tools is there was a conflict between the two software programs, in which pro tools did not want to operate because another program was using the hardware (I’ve only ran into this issue 1 time though).
It’s also apparent that this is a zero latency monitoring device, and I find it useful to mute the channel that I am tracking into as so I don’t receive two versions of what’s being recorded playing back in the headphones/speakers (Typical pro tools shit, lol)… The Focusrite Midnight plug-ins that come bundles with this software sound good too… time to unlock the demo versions, and I’ll be back with another update shortly… also audio samples coming soon…
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2nd October 2012
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#2 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 529
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It looks prety cool but there doesnt seem to be a word clock or digital input/output. How do you clock it so you can use it alongside another interface, or are you stuck with 2/2?
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2nd October 2012
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#3 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 17
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Noise is definetly a bummer. Your explanation is probably correct, but some interfaces has ground lift (like Roland quad and octa-capture) - I assume this isn't the case here. I've come across this problem myself with a cheapish interface in the form of Numark DJ IO, which was not present while using M-Audio Fast track pro (but this latter interface has other problems, and was just recently banned from the swedish market due to poor electrical circutry.) I definetly hope that this Focusrite interface is not weaker then the competition.
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2nd October 2012
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#4 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by SabreChris  It looks prety cool but there doesnt seem to be a word clock or digital input/output. How do you clock it so you can use it alongside another interface, or are you stuck with 2/2? | 2/2...
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2nd October 2012
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#5 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by suecae Noise is definetly a bummer. Your explanation is probably correct, but some interfaces has ground lift (like Roland quad and octa-capture) - I assume this isn't the case here. I've come across this problem myself with a cheapish interface in the form of Numark DJ IO, which was not present while using M-Audio Fast track pro (but this latter interface has other problems, and was just recently banned from the swedish market due to poor electrical circutry.) I definetly hope that this Focusrite interface is not weaker then the competition. | yes grounding could help... when i took an electronics class that is a possible solution... but as i only get this issue on laptops and not desktops im sure it has more to do with the internal wiring in the laptop design as its occured only on laptops and any interface ive worked with... the simple solution is unplug the laptop and run it off of the batteries DC current
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2nd October 2012
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#6 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 4,831
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Add to this aluminium case  | 
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3rd October 2012
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#7 | | Moderator
Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Boston,MA Providence,RI
Posts: 16,345
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Given the history of the Forte name... It's kind of a cringe worthy notion that they named this new product the Forte.
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3rd October 2012
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#8 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyBelmont Given the history of the Forte name... It's kind of a cringe worthy notion that they named this new product the Forte. | why??? this is actually a pretty good interface...
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3rd October 2012
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#9 | | Moderator
Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Boston,MA Providence,RI
Posts: 16,345
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Originally Posted by QaliStacks why??? this is actually a pretty good interface... | Because this is a Focusrite Forte:  | |
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3rd October 2012
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#10 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Mar 2007 Location: West Coast
Posts: 1,951
| Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyBelmont Given the history of the Forte name... It's kind of a cringe worthy notion that they named this new product the Forte. | +$1,499,400 (the price difference between the Forte and this shameful attempt to cash in on the name)
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"You only have a certain amount of headroom with Pro Tools... if you start pushing it a little bit too hard it's starts squawking like a chicken, if you go too low, it starts squawkin', you have to work within a certain realm otherwise you get zapped either way!" - Tad Donley (2006)
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3rd October 2012
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#11 | | Geariophile
Joined: Oct 2006 Location: london
Posts: 9,967
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Originally Posted by TonyBelmont Given the history of the Forte name... It's kind of a cringe worthy notion that they named this new product the Forte. | +1
Well, it made me open this thread and find disappointment. At least a bit of visual porn befitting the name though, thanks Tony....  
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toolazytowritemuchactualmusicstep - offki
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4th October 2012
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#12 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter |
anyways i talked to an electrician and the noise floor solved by powering my monitors from a different outlet... Found out this is what my old teacher has done in his studio plus building and running his own ground. Btw with your guys logic why even buy a duet 2 or babyface? Why not just everybody buy a soundcraft board or old forte??? might as well say **** pro tools too while your at it
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4th October 2012
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#13 | | Lives for gear
Joined: May 2010 Location: München, Germany
Posts: 1,406
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Originally Posted by QaliStacks anyways i talked to an electrician and the noise floor solved by powering my monitors from a different outlet... Found out this is what my old teacher has done in his studio plus building and running his own ground. Btw with your guys logic why even buy a duet 2 or babyface? Why not just everybody buy a soundcraft board or old forte??? might as well say **** pro tools too while your at it | First, grow up and stop getting your feelings hurt... The Forte is one of the best consoles ever designed and Focusrite has been abusing the name since they hit the pro-sumer market with "quality" gear.
I personally like some of the newer products they have made and have thought about a Saffire 56 interface for home use since the drivers are solid and it has enough ADAT for me to connect better conversion to it. However, to call a small inexpensive audio interface Forte is to take the name Mustang and put it on a mo-ped and slap a view stickers on it for the wow factor... They should have called it something else... But since the new management doesn't give a damn about their very strong High End Pro Audio name that included that great console, mastering grade converters, compressors and EQ's and some of the nicest looking and sounding gear on the market (red range  at least that's my opinion) they decide to slap a few fancy plugins that aren't even as functional as their older Forte Console emulation that I still have (since these don't have the gate nor do they have a de-esser) and call it the same name as the behemoth console of 20th Century, that had no thoughts given to expense, but instead sought to be the best, is quite the blunder if you ask me... But hey you'd have to actually care about QC and product name and branding for this to matter to you... Oh, I think the Duet is cool :-)
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4th October 2012
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#14 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,185
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So many people caught up in just a mere name. I'm sure Focusrite believes it's such a good product, that it leaves up to their name and heritage.
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4th October 2012
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#15 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by mista min First, grow up and stop getting your feelings hurt... The Forte is one of the best consoles ever designed and Focusrite has been abusing the name since they hit the pro-sumer market with "quality" gear.
I personally like some of the newer products they have made and have thought about a Saffire 56 interface for home use since the drivers are solid and it has enough ADAT for me to connect better conversion to it. However, to call a small inexpensive audio interface Forte is to take the name Mustang and put it on a mo-ped and slap a view stickers on it for the wow factor... They should have called it something else... But since the new management doesn't give a damn about their very strong High End Pro Audio name that included that great console, mastering grade converters, compressors and EQ's and some of the nicest looking and sounding gear on the market (red range at least that's my opinion) they decide to slap a few fancy plugins that aren't even as functional as their older Forte Console emulation that I still have (since these don't have the gate nor do they have a de-esser) and call it the same name as the behemoth console of 20th Century, that had no thoughts given to expense, but instead sought to be the best, is quite the blunder if you ask me... But hey you'd have to actually care about QC and product name and branding for this to matter to you... Oh, I think the Duet is cool :-) |
my feelings arent hurt... the crying over what somebody names their product is bullshit tho. if its crap its crap... what if it ends up being the best 2/2 or one of the best... my point being let the hardware speak for itself and kill that fanboy shit... trust me if i felt salty id send the thing back and get a babyface or 003... which btw dont replace a real studio either... id be totally on ur side if when i got it it was snake oil id say so... thats why i got it and should they have named it the forte probably not, does the name make it a piece of crap... no
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4th October 2012
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#16 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by miscend So many people caught up in just a mere name. I'm sure Focusrite believes it's such a good product, that it leaves up to their name and heritage. | exactly
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4th October 2012
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#17 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter |
good moped analogy... but what if that moped has the performance of a ducati
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4th October 2012
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#18 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2010 Location: Mountain US
Posts: 1,726
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I'm interested in your review. Thanks for doing this.
And for the sake of fair comparison with similarly priced gears, Forte vs. RME Babyface would be another interesing comparison. Forte is priced around $600 @sweetwater.
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4th October 2012
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#19 | | Moderator
Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Boston,MA Providence,RI
Posts: 16,345
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Originally Posted by QaliStacks my feelings arent hurt... the crying over what somebody names their product is bullshit tho. if its crap its crap... what if it ends up being the best 2/2 or one of the best... my point being let the hardware speak for itself and kill that fanboy shit... trust me if i felt salty id send the thing back and get a babyface or 003... which btw dont replace a real studio either... id be totally on ur side if when i got it it was snake oil id say so... thats why i got it and should they have named it the forte probably not, does the name make it a piece of crap... no | I don't think you understand what we are talking about (or maybe you do and don't care). They gave this piece the exact same name as one of their historic MILLION DOLLAR CONSOLES! It's like Porsche selling bicycles and naming it the 911. Do you get it? It's not about what you think of the product... It's irrelevant. It's about their marketing.
Anyone who is old enough to remember Focusrite's heyday is likely having the same WTF moment as I did... And all the kids are like "we don't care". Because they didn't even know about the console, and want to see how it sounds compared to their M Box(though they don't know how to do an accurate converter comparison anyway). It's all about perspective.
Either way, have fun with your new interface. I'm sure you will since all of your 16 posts on GS have been in regards to it... | |
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4th October 2012
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#20 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyBelmont I don't think you understand what we are talking about (or maybe you do and don't care). They gave this piece the exact same name as one of their historic MILLION DOLLAR CONSOLES! It's like Porsche selling bicycles and naming it the 911. Do you get it? It's not about what you think of the product... It's irrelevant. It's about their marketing.
Anyone who is old enough to remember Focusrite's heyday is likely having the same WTF moment as I did... And all the kids are like "we don't care". Because they didn't even know about the console, and want to see how it sounds compared to their M Box(though they don't know how to do an accurate converter comparison anyway). It's all about perspective.
Either way, have fun with your new interface. I'm sure you will since all of your 16 posts on GS have been in regards to it... |
i completely understand and agree its not going to compare or replace nor should it... but it doesnt mean its not the forte of the usb 2/2 market or project studio market...
lol i only signed up to post the review since i saw people talking about it and i didnt see any good track 16 reviews
honestly its a good marketing scheme and us arguing about this trivial fact proves it... i mean 80% of the consumer market only knows mbox and m-audio... and none of the rapper/producer/dj *********s i know know of rme or soundcraft or mackie... and they are trying to break into the minds and pockets of these people... this is one way of doing it...
and no they wont know focusrite is british much less their legacy... hell i know from plenty of arguments that they dont even know what key or pitch they are singing in and that their 45 dollar mic is crap
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4th October 2012
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#21 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 17
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Anyone else vetting their mittens on this product? More perspectives about up- and downsides would be very welcome. 
Sent from my GT-P3100 using Tapatalk
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4th October 2012
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#22 | | Geariophile
Joined: Oct 2006 Location: london
Posts: 9,967
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Originally Posted by TonyBelmont
Anyone who is old enough to remember Focusrite's heyday is likely having the same WTF moment as I did... And all the kids are like "we don't care". Because they didn't even know about the console, and want to see how it sounds compared to their M Box(though they don't know how to do an accurate converter comparison anyway).
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5th October 2012
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#23 | | Gear Head
Joined: Feb 2012 Location: Germany
Posts: 52
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6th October 2012
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#25 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 4,831
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The daw control is pretty attractive specailly the mous scroll support (in sonar X1 at least ) might try one even if i'm a RME jedi !
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6th October 2012
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#26 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2010 Location: Mountain US
Posts: 1,726
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Originally Posted by miscend | sounds good...but, umm, to be honest, with that external mic pre and DSP reverb (+quite possibly DSP EQ), other DSP interfaces like TC Impact twin would do similar job. Smaller form factor is attractive, but real deal should be the quality of the preamps, if they want to compete with Duet and Babyface.
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7th October 2012
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#27 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,185
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Originally Posted by Masaaki sounds good...but, umm, to be honest, with that external mic pre and DSP reverb (+quite possibly DSP EQ), other DSP interfaces like TC Impact twin would do similar job. Smaller form factor is attractive, but real deal should be the quality of the preamps, if they want to compete with Duet and Babyface. | Focusrite make really good preamps. That's what they are known for. With their older interfaces where they fell short of RME and Apogee was in the converters. Their drivers were also not as good.
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8th October 2012
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#28 | | Gear nut
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 87
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Qalistacks... What does it sound like?
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8th October 2012
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#29 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by .Russ. Qalistacks... What does it sound like? | Just got your PM, it sounds excellent to me, I gotta record some samples tomorrow so I can upload them on wednesday... I mainly record vocals but I have a guitar that I can use just to get some sounds out of...
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8th October 2012
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#30 | | Gear nut
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 87
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Great stuff.
Would love to hear a direct comparison between the Forte and Duet 2 though!
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