Focusrite Scarlett Interfaces

[jeremy.c.]

Well then I have to run Cubase on two computers (extra $600 license) and then track an entire song with a splitter on each signal... Sounds like a lot of work to reaffirm the fact I still like my Mytek.

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[Krush411]

So any updates on if the pres and converters on the Scarlett are any better than the ones on the Saffire 6 usb?

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using Gearslutz.com App

[metaphysical]

they are if/when they actually work.

my Scarlett 18i6 unit running on my Mac has had many, many problems with going offline due to interference from other USB devices doing ANYTHING on the bus (like, um, mounting, or being accessed by the system when you open a browser window). i disconnect/reconnect an average of 3X daily.

audio quality is fine, good clean soundstage, decent mic pres i guess. i could hardly tell - i was too busy troubleshooting to set up any test recordings.

i will tell anyone interested that IF this product is, in fact a pristine unit operating normally then you better dedicate the entire USB bus to it and ONLY record on the internal drive or have Firewire available. you can't even play audio from an iPod through the interface, it will sound totally distorted and/or disconnect. i emailed Focusrite 'Support' and they basically said this is normal behavior and in a desktop configuration i'd need to purchase a USB card for reliable operation. so this means if you're on a Macbook/Pro, Mac Mini or iMac you have to disconnect EVERY USB device on your machine while using the unit if you don't want the interface to distort or take a dive.

really? are they telling me that this thing runs at full bandwidth 18 in/6 out channels@ 96KHz at all times when i'm just listening to 2 channels of audio at 44.1KHz? Anyone else with multichannel USB 2.0 interfaces want to tell me this is normal behavior when monitoring on 2 channels?

i'd like to know if i'm being incredibly naive here and this is just par for the course with USB 2.0, because from where i'm sitting it looks like a have a lemon or a really unstable driver issue. that or the Scarlett 18i6 is NOT ready for primetime. i've NEVER had issues of this sort with my Tascam 144MkII or a PhotonX25 or any of the firewire interfaces i've had either.

thoughts?

[ram130]

I would also like to know if the quality is better than my mbox 2.

Originally Posted by metaphysical

they are if/when they actually work.

my Scarlett 18i6 unit running on my Mac has had many, many problems with going offline due to interference from other USB devices doing ANYTHING on the bus (like, um, mounting, or being accessed by the system when you open a browser window). i disconnect/reconnect an average of 3X daily.

audio quality is fine, good clean soundstage, decent mic pres i guess. i could hardly tell - i was too busy troubleshooting to set up any test recordings.

i will tell anyone interested that IF this product is, in fact a pristine unit operating normally then you better dedicate the entire USB bus to it and ONLY record on the internal drive or have Firewire available. you can't even play audio from an iPod through the interface, it will sound totally distorted and/or disconnect. i emailed Focusrite 'Support' and they basically said this is normal behavior and in a desktop configuration i'd need to purchase a USB card for reliable operation. so this means if you're on a Macbook/Pro, Mac Mini or iMac you have to disconnect EVERY USB device on your machine while using the unit if you don't want the interface to distort or take a dive.

really? are they telling me that this thing runs at full bandwidth 18 in/6 out channels@ 96KHz at all times when i'm just listening to 2 channels of audio at 44.1KHz? Anyone else with multichannel USB 2.0 interfaces want to tell me this is normal behavior when monitoring on 2 channels?

i'd like to know if i'm being incredibly naive here and this is just par for the course with USB 2.0, because from where i'm sitting it looks like a have a lemon or a really unstable driver issue. that or the Scarlett 18i6 is NOT ready for primetime. i've NEVER had issues of this sort with my Tascam 144MkII or a PhotonX25 or any of the firewire interfaces i've had either.

thoughts?

Never heard of that issue before and it sounds foolish. That would mean if my artist is listening a beat and gives me tumb drive to copy stuff I can expect a interruption in music. I don't have issue with my mbox 2 which is usb 1.1 with my tascam and hard drive connected. This is making me not wanting to buy this interface. Can anyone else confirm?

[Chris Focusrite]

Originally Posted by metaphysical

they are if/when they actually work.

my Scarlett 18i6 unit running on my Mac has had many, many problems with going offline due to interference from other USB devices doing ANYTHING on the bus (like, um, mounting, or being accessed by the system when you open a browser window). i disconnect/reconnect an average of 3X daily.

audio quality is fine, good clean soundstage, decent mic pres i guess. i could hardly tell - i was too busy troubleshooting to set up any test recordings.

i will tell anyone interested that IF this product is, in fact a pristine unit operating normally then you better dedicate the entire USB bus to it and ONLY record on the internal drive or have Firewire available. you can't even play audio from an iPod through the interface, it will sound totally distorted and/or disconnect. i emailed Focusrite 'Support' and they basically said this is normal behavior and in a desktop configuration i'd need to purchase a USB card for reliable operation. so this means if you're on a Macbook/Pro, Mac Mini or iMac you have to disconnect EVERY USB device on your machine while using the unit if you don't want the interface to distort or take a dive.

really? are they telling me that this thing runs at full bandwidth 18 in/6 out channels@ 96KHz at all times when i'm just listening to 2 channels of audio at 44.1KHz? Anyone else with multichannel USB 2.0 interfaces want to tell me this is normal behavior when monitoring on 2 channels?

i'd like to know if i'm being incredibly naive here and this is just par for the course with USB 2.0, because from where i'm sitting it looks like a have a lemon or a really unstable driver issue. that or the Scarlett 18i6 is NOT ready for primetime. i've NEVER had issues of this sort with my Tascam 144MkII or a PhotonX25 or any of the firewire interfaces i've had either.

thoughts?

It should be possible to use other USB devices alongside the Scarlett, bandwidth permitting. Can you let me know your case number from our correspondance so that we can help look into your issues further?

Best regards,

Chris
Focusrite Support

[kimkorho]

I'm not experiencing the problems mentioned here, talking with the experience of some 20 hours of work with my new Scarlett 18i6. I've had two "pro tools cannot communicate"-messages during this time and both times had the problem solved by simply turning the Scarlett off and on. Not sure if this has anything to do with usb busses, since it's been so sparse I've had no need to track down the cause of the problem.

It sounds good and so far seems reliable.

[metaphysical]

this is good to know. it's very likely i have a far more touchy unit but there appear to be some driver-related issues. i've had mine for about 3-4 weeks. it's now in a box and i'm using an old MOTU 828 v1 for the moment because i got so fed up.

i recently read some post about 2 years ago where someone stress tested the RME fireface UC (USB version) on USB and saturated the bus with disk copying and other USB activity and the unit produced 36 channels of pure test tones with no issues. so i know it feasible to make a product that is NOT affected by bus activity by and large.

the Focusrite people have gotten back to me saying it's a driver issue, which may also be the case but i suspect my unit is more unstable than the average. anyone else with a Scarlett want to chime in on their experiences?

scott

[Zencatt]

Bummer, I was thinking of buying this but I've been holding off for weeks because of some issues I've seen here and on another forum (where they were having a problem with MIDI). I ended up picking up a used MOTU 828 MKII USB but had to return it because the transformer was buzzing so loudly I wouldn't have been able to track acoustic instruments in the same room with it. Arghh, I can't just ify spending the money on an RME or anything like that, but I want quality sound in a USB product. Come-on Focusrite, get this thing working!

[djshire]

I haven't had any problems so far, on a Mac running Logic Studio.

I did find out what my "problem" was earlier: The metering lights don't show anything for the monitor inputs.

[balanceman]

So, I have a multitrack recording to do in a venue at the end of next month.

My plan was to bring my Apogee rosetta 800 and feed ADAT to the scarlet and record in either logic or PT9.

44.k 24 bit is cool.

would be great to do the ADAT plus the two front panel mic inputs as well. Would be even nicer to use the SPDIF at the same time.

12 tracks @ 44/24 on USB2.
Does this work?

I have a recent macbook pro. and an external FW 800 drive to record to. the only usb plugged in would be the scarlet and maybe an ilok (if I need it for PT9).

Anyone wanna give me the thumbs up?

[Zencatt]

Originally Posted by djshire

I haven't had any problems so far, on a Mac running Logic Studio.

I did find out what my "problem" was earlier: The metering lights don't show anything for the monitor inputs.

Yeah, I'm PC, XP currently, so I'm interested in hearing from a few more folk. I'm shocked at how few people have tried it out, maybe we're not the only ones concerned about pulling the trigger on a new Focusrite USB product. Must be the "new"ish platform, besides that the rep on the other interfaces is very strong.

Of course, if someone has a MOTU 828 MKII USB without any issues that they'd like to be reasonable about, that might solve the issue also...

[Toth]

I got my Scarlett 8i6 a few days ago and I've been troubleshooting it every since.

When I first start it up it works for a while and then gradually the sound starts crackling which increasingly gets worse and worse and eventually the unit stops putting out sound. Then I have to unplug the power cable and plug it back in to reset the device. A few times, while listening to windows media player the pitch of the songs kept changing as if the clock frequency was being modulated. It was very strange, something I've never heard from a soundcard in 20 years of working with them.

I am certainly not up for disconnecting all my USB devices and I need those running alongside my sound card. I will contact Focusrite to see if they have a solution.

(Win 7 64bit)

[Zencatt]

Thanks for the info. Are you using MIDI? I found another thread where the user said he had to unplug MIDI before powering on the device.

[Toth]

Yes, but the MIDI device that is connected with the cables is off.

[LarryKingsShoes]

Originally Posted by ElmerJFudd

Are you using the Scarlett on a USB hub or are you plugged straight into a USB port on your computer? If you're using a hub, how many other devices share this hub? Could you be shorting out the bus? I figure to get this many channels of I/O, plus MIDI, you might consider dedicating a port to it.

Originally Posted by metaphysical

my Scarlett 18i6 unit running on my Mac has had many, many problems with going offline due to interference from other USB devices doing ANYTHING on the bus (like, um, mounting, or being accessed by the system when you open a browser window). i disconnect/reconnect an average of 3X daily.

i will tell anyone interested that IF this product is, in fact a pristine unit operating normally then you better dedicate the entire USB bus to it and ONLY record on the internal drive or have Firewire available. you can't even play audio from an iPod through the interface, it will sound totally distorted and/or disconnect. i emailed Focusrite 'Support' and they basically said this is normal behavior and in a desktop configuration i'd need to purchase a USB card for reliable operation. so this means if you're on a Macbook/Pro, Mac Mini or iMac you have to disconnect EVERY USB device on your machine while using the unit if you don't want the interface to distort or take a dive.

Does anyone happen to have more information on this subject?

I'm going to be switching over to primarily recording on my desktop. That machine has more USB devices that will be, for the most part, permanently attached (Scarlett 18i6, Korg microKONTROL, wireless keyboard and mouse dongle, and a media card reader). I don't use any external USB hubs because my motherboard has ample ports, but I do rely solely on the integrated USB. I have no USB add-on cards installed, presently.

This seems like it would be an isolated issue since I'd imagine that a lot of desktop users that have these interfaces rely on USB keyboards and mice. If that kind of peripheral caused interference, I would suspect more complaints would surface. I haven't personally experienced any of these problems on my laptop, but the only USB device that I've ever had connected at the same time was my phone, which was only charging.

I'll be taking my desktop apart soon to upgrade the motherboard and RAM so that seems like a good opportunity to toss in a USB card. Is there any truth to the notion that it will help the interface to perform more reliably? The cost isn't outrageous but, since I don't need the extra ports, I'd prefer to allocate those funds toward an extra preamp or mic if it's unnecessary.

Thank you in advance for whatever input that you may have to offer! I hope everyone that's having trouble can get their issues resolved. I've been fortunate to have had great luck with my Scarlett 18i6. It's been a great pleasure working with this interface; I wish everyone else could get out of the troubleshooting phase and start laying down some tracks!

Good luck, fellas!

[Toth]

Originally Posted by LarryKingsShoes

I'll be taking my desktop apart soon to upgrade the motherboard and RAM so that seems like a good opportunity to toss in a USB card. Is there any truth to the notion that it will help the interface to perform more reliably?

One person tried this on another message board (can't remember which one), and it did not help.

[Zencatt]

Damn, too bad. I think I maybe be moving on. I hope they get the issues resolved but I think I'll be moving along and spending a bit more on something more stable. Wish I could afford an RME Babyface though...

[Toth]

Chris from Focusrite emailed me and asked me just to unplug all USB devices as a test. I unplugged everything, except keyboard and mouse from the USB ports. It seems to be working fine now, as I went to work and came back and the unit was still ON--I didn't have to reboot it and not pitch modulating issues.

I had a USB stick in there that I was using for Window's "ReadyBoost", when I plug it back in it give the pitch shifting and crackling sound starts.

I then connected an external USB hard drive to see if other devices cause the same thing. It seems that it's doing the pitchy thing whenever the drive is reading/writing, when ever the drive's LED is flashing. So it seems like a send/receive from the USB port issue.

PS: ASUS M4A78T-E motherboard with AMD 790GX / SB750 chipset

[LarryKingsShoes]

Originally Posted by Toth

One person tried this on another message board (can't remember which one), and it did not help.

Alright, thanks for the tip! That saves me a few bucks.

Now I just have to hope that I don't have the problem. I'll try laying down some tracks tomorrow while doing some transfers to a USB stick to test it out.

I wish that Focusrite would offer more information on their driver/firmware revisions. I like reading about what changes were made between updates. Also, having the drivers packaged with MixControl was confusing at first, for some reason. I'm not used to that practice. It all managed to work out but I feel like I'd overlook a new driver release.

[chaosinborn]

i am very interested in the scarlet 18i6 for the ADAT connection. Though I have been looking around and it seems like this is the only USB interface in this price range to have it? (if not can someone link me?) I recently came upon a Digimax LT for cheap that I would like to be able to use with my new interface.

I will be keeping track of this thread. Hopefully some good news turns up.

[sam76er]

Hi all,

I have just purchased a Scarlett 8i6 and have huge problems.

First is the BSOD issue :

I'm experiencing blue screen errors when connecting my Scarlett interface .: Focusrite Answerbase

(the workaround of booting with midi unplugged works, but if iforget it's 2x BSOD's before a successful boot)

Second is latency. I'm using Reaper on a brand new i5 / 8gb / win7 system. I am down to 2ms in the settings and reaper is still showing 7-10ms in the arrange window. Why? I can feel a little lag (keys player am i) and cant find the rate settings either.

Documentation and internet resource is still infantile (it will get better...wont it?)

I have sent a support request to Focusrite but no reply as yet.

My 2 cents anyways...let you know how i go.

Sam.

[Zencatt]

Great, thanks for adding to the conversation Sam.

[sam76er]

Hi all,

Chris @ Focusrite got back to me with a beta driver. Works fine. No more probs!

Great service, they are right onto it!

Sam.

[kimkorho]

I've just finished my first multi-track recording session with 18i6 (recording 17 tracks, 44.1/24) and MacBook. I got through the session ok, though one issue did emerge. I assume it's related to the MIDI-problem people have reported here, although I did not have any MIDI-devices connected at any point. Launching ProTools9, the Scarlett MixControl dropped offline ("hardware is not connected") - invariably on the very moment when PT was setting up MIDI. Luckily, the interface did still pass audio through, the irritation was that I couldn't use MixControl's mixer when PT was on. When closing PT I got an error message of MixControl and it was shut down.

This probably has also something to do with ADAT-connection, since I haven't seen the problem before and this was the first session where I had ADAT connected.

Once they get the new driver (fixing these issues, I hope) out of beta, I'll be a happy Scarlett owner. It does sound good and offers a lot for the price.

EDIT: I'm using a downloaded 1.0 version of MixControl.

[razorboy]

A lot of the problem seems to be the drivers on the installation CD, which have been replaced by the drivers available on the Focusrite site. Do NOT install from the CD, use the downloadable drivers.

[Zencatt]

Anyone who's had sustained experience with pricier interfaces have any thoughts on the quality of the conversion/sound quality?

[elnombre]

Mine's been fine with using other USB connections at the same time - this is a PC laptop running 64-bit Windows 7 too.

I don't know if this helps, because I haven't got a huge amount of experience, but recording a Violin, I was happier with a home recording (using a RODE NT2-A and the Scarlett 18i6 to a laptop) than using my College's equipment (using a RODE NT2-A again, but with Digidesign Pres and Converters to a Mac). The acoustics of the rooms were similar, and the placement of the mics were almost identical. Both recordings were unedited at the time of comparison.

Personally! I found the Digidesign Pres and Converters to be a little thinner than the Focusrite ones and the whole thing sounded more distant (less present?). Looking at the prices of the two setups, it seems like a ridiculous comparison to make, I'm aware of this, but I thought I'd just say anyway.

[razorboy]

Originally Posted by elnombre

Mine's been fine with using other USB connections at the same time - this is a PC laptop running 64-bit Windows 7 too.

I don't know if this helps, because I haven't got a huge amount of experience, but recording a Violin, I was happier with a home recording (using a RODE NT2-A and the Scarlett 18i6 to a laptop) than using my College's equipment (using a RODE NT2-A again, but with Digidesign Pres and Converters to a Mac). The acoustics of the rooms were similar, and the placement of the mics were almost identical. Both recordings were unedited at the time of comparison.

Personally! I found the Digidesign Pres and Converters to be a little thinner than the Focusrite ones and the whole thing sounded more distant (less present?). Looking at the prices of the two setups, it seems like a ridiculous comparison to make, I'm aware of this, but I thought I'd just say anyway.

Interesting.......

[Zencatt]

Great, thanks. I was considering going with a used MOTU 828 MkII USB which can run up to $500 used (and bought one I had to return) but money is suddenly tight again so it's good to hear that the latest driver updates seem to have taken care of some of the problems on this. I only wish it had ADAT out but at this price point there's really no justification for complaining...

[goldtop79]

just recieved my focusrite saffire 8i6 today. bought it because my new computer does not have firewire. went straight to the website and installed the latest drivers. the only thing i used from the cd was the plugin pack.

i have been testing it out for the past hour or so and have had no problems at all. setup was quick and easy. just wanted to confirm that the newest drivers seem to be working pretty good.

the preamps on this thing are nice too. definitely a warmer, fuller sound on my vocals than i got with my presonus firebox. i was going to buy a golden age pre 73 (probably still will eventually) but i think im going to hold off for now and see what i can do with the built in focusrite pres.

using.... windows 7, 64 bit, 8gb ram, kristal audio engine, amd phenom II n850 triple core processor