Focusrite OctoPre MkII Dynamic Reviews

Bobby Elliott
from Erin TN
March 12, 2013Music Background:
Musician, Engineer, Live Sound, Studio Musician

Great Addition to My Studio

I have a Liquid Saffire56 and have been wanting to add 8 more ins... this is the way to go! It must be the built in compression, but this sounds BETTER than the 56?!! If you want to add 8 more in your studio then you better get this!!
When I first bought this I thought I had messed up, I hooked it up and it would not sync. Called my sales engineer Derek Senestraro and before I hung up the phone I had a new one on the way! The new one arrived and... same problem. Come to find out , the problem was a bad optical cable, which Sweetwater replaced for free!
I know this is a review of the OctoPreMkII, but I just cannot say enough about the customer service at Sweetwater! 5 Stars all around!

Steve Bander
from Rockwall, TX
August 26, 2012Music Background:
Semipro musician,Hobbyist Recording Engineer, Family Practice Physician

Focusrite OctoPre Mk II Dynamic- Just what the Doctor Ordered!

As a Physician/Drummer/Recordist whannabe, I was looking for extra mike inputs that sounded great, were easy to use, and compatible with the rest of my Logic Setup. I learned about Focusrite years ago when I got a TwinTrack Pro to go with my Roland 2480 rig for Vocal recordings (anyone old enough to remember the 2480?). When I got the computer-based setup, I got the Focusrite Liquid Sapphire 56 as the interface with the TwinTrack connected via SPIF. This worked and sounded great, but I soon got tired of plugging and unplugging mikes to record 8 channels of drums and the rest of the band in a very cramped control room space. Working with Brandon at Sweetwater (bless him for his patience), it seemed that the OctoPre was the easiest, most cost effective option for getting 8 more inputs for the drums,and plenty of inputs for the rest of the band. The best thing was that you don't need to be an engineer to hook it up, the manual was VERY easy to understand, and I knew I could count on Sweetwater support if I had problems. The sound is everything that I expected, I have tremendous Flexibility for the various recording situations I encounter, and best of all, my fat little fingers are no longer fumbling around in the back of my rack!

Seth Gorden
from Bloomington, IL USA
May 23, 2012Music Background:
Audio Engineer

Live Vocal

I bought the OctoPre MkII Dynamic simply to get more channels at an acceptible level of quality, a very utilitarian purchase. Since purchase, I've used the OctoPre in the studio on guitars and vocals, and for live classical events including both vocal and instrumental concerts/recitals. This amp has handled all of my applications gracefully and cleanly.

For live vocal tracks I usually run a Royer R121 at high gain and tweak and the compression knob as needed. It's simple to dial in my sound, and it maintains clarity at the highest settings.

I often ask for feedback from my clients, and most of them say they don't like listening to their recital recordings right away. But when they do, almost without exception, I've received 'wows' and specific compliments on the clarity and purity of the vocal tracks.

Caveat: Exposes the care with which you place your microphones. My live event clients always have limited time for sound check, and I'm always biting my lip when I've snap-decided a mic position. The price of clarity is that you hear precisely what you've done with your front end equipment. But that's also helping me become a better, more thoughtful engineer during setup.

I am very satisfied with the OctoPre and my clients are very pleased with the results. Much of my new business this year has been word-of-mouth recommendations. The OctoPre has been instrumental in the growth of my live recording business. Highly recommended.

Nicholas
from Metro Detroit, MI
February 6, 2012Music Background:
Wedding Entertainer, Musician, DJ

Natural Mic Pres & Helpful Compression for Live Recording

I recently purchased the OctoPre to do a live recording. The compressors were really helpful in getting a hotter and more consistent signal into before conversion to digital.

In addition to the obvious additional 8 channels of input, you can make use of the 8 outputs to get additional monitor/headphone mixes. Works great with the Saffire Liquid 56 and the zero latency mixing available within the interface.

Phil
from Midwest USA
August 5, 2011Music Background:
Hobbiest

Killer Live Preamp, Awesome Value!

I got this sweet 8-channel pre to expand my live recording rig. Not only does it sound fantastic, but the 1-button compressors are absolutely incredible. With this wonderful preamp in my rig, I can dial in live drums in a couple of minutes, even under festival conditions. I simply can't recommend the Focusrite OctoPre MkII Dynamic highly enough.

Zmuzik
from Memphis, Tn
November 15, 2010Music Background:
Music Producer, Musician, Recording Engineer, Director of Music

THE OCTOPRE IS A MUST HAVE!

This is an awesome piece of gear. I use this with my Digi 003+ to record a live band with vocals, The compression is awesome! This is a must have. I have upgraded to Protools 9 and my 003+ interface will be replaced with the Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 and the OctoPre will be like magic. I will purchase a 2nd one!!!!!

Juano Lippi
from Brooklyn
February 2, 2012Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Pro Musician

A Great Add

I use Pro Tools 10 with a Mac/Lion, and I added this to my RME FF800 interface for more xlr inputs and it works great. Nice design, simple to use and just a cool piece. Compression on each channel is a perk for added color.

Buck Anderson
from Louisiana
October 16, 2012Music Background:
Pro

Great 8 Extra

This unit after a little bit of pushin and pullin works great with my MR816CSX. Clean pre's and the compression works like a Focusrite. Very smooth.. I be Diggin it fo sure

TJ
from
September 11, 2012

Great capabilities

It's a great way to get 8 channels of IO. You can select whether line outputs are assigned to carry the sound thru from preamps or from ADAT.It has compression on inputs. I would prefer to have pads and 48v switch for every channel in addition to compression. Also while compression is good but it will let some of the attack thru since attack time is not 0. I don't think there's any better options at this price range, still deducting a star for no pads and no separate phantom power switches. Also the front sticks out a little more then my other gear in the rack...

TC
from Houston, TX
January 4, 2012Music Background:
Musician w/home studio

OctoPre MkII

I was impressed, I needed mic pre's to track drums and got a bonus with the built compressor. Just the right amount of compression for the drum tracks and the added compression gave the room mic the presence i was looking for. A snap to expand my DIGI03, largely i just plugged it in and OctoPre seamlessly appeared on my input selection. Very cool.

Pro4one
from East Coast
May 19, 2010Music Background:
Christian Music Producer, Recording, Singer-Songwriter

Great piece of gear

Got this piece to record a acoustic band (7piece + vocals). At first the manual is very simple- not much info, so it took me few tries to get it set up right. Once that was done and my 003R recognized it; I was up and running. Any mic I throw at it sounds good. (Blue Baby Btl, Bluebird, AT 4k series, Shure KSM). The compressor on each chanel is a great addition. And having 16 simultaneaous inputs... great.
Recommend it!

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