The Focusirte Scarlett 2i2 has become a ubiquitous presence in home studios around the world, and it’s easy to see why. Or maybe we should say that it’s easy to hear why, because the 2i2’s calling card has always been its studio-quality sound. Couple this with an impressive feature set, an easy workflow and striking good looks, and you’ve got an affordable 2-in/2-out audio interface that, even in a market that’s full of them, has always managed to stand out.
Given its success, it would have been easy for Focusrite to rest on its laurels and sit and watch the money roll in, but the company has consistently updated the Scarlett 2i2. In fact, it recently reached its fourth generation, making it more capable than not only its predecessors, but also the vast majority of its competition.
Don’t believe us? Just take a look at the spec sheet, which kicks off with the revelation that the 4th-generation remote-controlled mic preamps have a whopping 69dB of dynamic range. This translates to the clearest and most detailed sound ever heard on a Scarlett interface.
The Hi-Z instrument and line inputs are equally impressive. When you plug in a guitar, it feels like you’re playing through a favourite amp, and the likes of keyboards, synths and grooveboxes can be captured in pristine quality.
And then there are the converters. Lifted directly from Focusrite’s Rednet interfaces, these offer an impressive 120dB of dynamic range.
Focusrite’s special sauce has also been applied to other aspects of the 2i2. Engage Air Mode and you’ll get that ‘big studio’ character, adding high-end presence and rich harmonic drive to vocals, and the Auto Gain feature makes level-setting a breeze. Hit the button, play for ten seconds and watch as the Scarlett sets the perfect amount of gain for your audio source without you having to do anything more (except deliver the perfect take, of course).
If your signal does happen to be running a little hot for any reason then you also have Clip Safe in your locker. This automatically adjusts the gain if there’s any risk of clipping occurring - it’s like having a pro engineer riding the fader while you concentrate on your music.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t check the levels yourself, though; the dynamic gain halos give you a quick visual readout of both your input and output signals.
There are other benefits to choosing a Scarlett 2i2, too. The powerful, custom-designed headphone amp means that you’ll get a strong, accurate monitoring signal no matter which cans you’re using; the loopback feature enables you to easily create samples from computer audio via the virtual inputs; and the Easy Start tool is on hand to get you up to speed with what makes the 2i2 tick in no time.
What’s more, Focusrite has thought carefully about the supplied software. DAWs are covered off by Ableton Live Lite and Avid Pro Tools Artist, while the Hitmaker Expansion software bundle is bursting at the seams with plugin effects and instruments. Focusrite Control 2, meanwhile, is a dedicated app that enables you to drive your Scarlett 2i2 from the comfort of your Mac or PC’s display.
You can take it as read (or should that be red?), then, that the Scarlett will serve you well, but if you’re looking for an extra bit of reassurance, it comes in the form of 24/7/365 support and a three-year guarantee. You’re unlikely to need this, though: as all those existing users will tell you, once your 2i2 is in your studio, it’s there to stay.
Find out more on the Focusrite website.
