Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Reviews

Rick Rheaume
from Boston, MA
May 22, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist

Flawless

I 'm using a laptop w/ Windows 7 to run Mixcraft 6. The install was plug and play. Before using the 2i2, I was having a few latency issues that could only be solved by diverting all resources to running Mixcraft. I could use no audio enhancements or other programs that used audio while Mixcraft was open. Now, with the 2i2, I'm back to normal. Latency issues are toast. I love the functionality of this unit. It is worth every penny.

Christopher Olson
from Hollywood, MD
May 18, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist

Good affordable investment

If you're running a DAW mainly for electronic music, this gadget is perfect. I use it to run Reason 7. Sound is crystal clear with no discernable noise / feedback.
Something I learned about this - use USB 2.0 or higher, standard USBs don't provide enough power to use this device.

Alexander
from Los Angeles, CA USA
April 18, 2013Music Background:
Singer-Songwriter, Producer, Recording Engineer

Excellent product

Excellent product. The mic pre-amps are crystal clear and full. The audio playback is simply fantastic. I love it when you don't need to install drivers (though it is recommended). I just plugged it in and was ready to go. The LED halos over the gain knobs is pure class. Absolutely love the scarlet red aluminum unibody chassis. If I had anything to complain about it would have to be that the Line/Inst & Direct Monitoring switches are a little on the fragile-feeling side but other than that can't complain.

Tom
from St. Joseph, MI
March 30, 2013Music Background:
Voiceover Talent

No Complaints

This little unit works exactly as advertised--just plug 'er into your computer and you're good-to-go. The green light/red light display around the gain knob(s) is really helpful, especially for those of us who'd rather not deal with meters. Build is rugged as others have mentioned; there's a very solid feel and quality of construction that you might not expect in a $150 preamp. Overall, I'm highly impressed with the little red box.

Bryce Job
from United States
March 27, 2013Music Background:
recording engineer, live sound engineer, professional drummer

Amazing

I was absolutely blown away by the sound of this interface. I'm a big presonus guy, but wanted to try something new for my portable interface as opposed to my Presonus audiobox 1818vsl. This is absolutely awesome. The light indicator is super helpful as opposed to just having things show up when they peak. The monior knob is nice and big and works great with my studio monitors. The headphone level is perfectly fine. I've never had issues with that.

from USA
March 21, 2013Music Background:
Design loudspeakers

2i2 class leader

Quite happy. I have had 2 USB and 2 Firewire units from other brands. This is the first one that worked as I expected and did not have issues with crosstalk or bleed from input to output. They actually have real people to answer questions. Complaint? Well I did add a little white stripe on the two volume knobs. I did extensive testing on the unit and any short-comings I lay at the price point. You need to spend twenty times as much to do better. ( You are not going to get 15V overhead in a USB powered box) Sweewatater knew their stuff when they sold me on this box. I don;t use the software sweet.

Daniel Lara
from Round Lake, IL
March 14, 2013Music Background:
Student, Recording Engineer

Best purchase

The preamps are amazing i'm going to stick with this pre-amp for a while. i highly recommend this for anybody looking to start or for on the road.

J. Cartwright
from PA
March 2, 2013Music Background:
Songwriter, guitarist, serious hobbyist

Great Sound! ....poor build quality

I've been using my Scarlett 2i2 casually and delicately for about ten months or so. It's a fine performer with a good, clear sound and great mic preamps. Easy set up and smooth audio. However, the build quality leaves much to be desired. The knobs seem fairly decent for this price point, but the switches are cheap! I'd gladly pay more for real metal toggle switches over these flimsy things. In addition to feeling very loose when moving them, I discovered that all of the plastic toggles are cracking and splitting down the shaft! I've babied this thing since day one and there is no excuse for components so poorly made. Rather than send it back to have them replace the switches with more of the same junk parts, I dropped a tiny dollop of CA glue in the switch tips to hold them together for continued use. This melted the plastic a tad, and the switch tips don't look as good, but at least they are somewhat stable and slowed in their whirlwind demise! Yes, I'm aware that I probably voided my warranty, but what good is a warranty on something so cheap? I don't expect to own this more than six months to a year longer, so I'll just keep repairing the switches as needed until the rest of the unit gives out, which won't be too long from now I would expect. Additionally, the nuts holding the output jacks in place are plastic that won't hold up should they ever need a tightening, and 1/4" input jacks can be a bit touchy, with less than solid contact.

Do yourself a favor, invest in your tools, invest in yourself and purchase something that will last! If Focusrite only invested a few more dollars on a small handful of quality components, they would have a really nice piece of entry-level recording equipment here. I hope it holds out until I can afford an upgrade. Verdict: Scarlett 2i2, almost a good decision.

Mike
from N. Central FL.
February 25, 2013Music Background:
Musician / Sound Engineer

No Mono

If you are needing Input 1 and 2 to be anything other than right / left you may want to look elsewhere. This unit will not run line 1 or 2 into the computer as anything other than line 1 = left / line 2 = right. Seems it would have been really easy and cheap to have added a simple switch that switched back and forth. Oh Well.

Jeffrey E Terwilliger
from Raliegh, NC USA
January 18, 2013Music Background:
Pro Luthier, Hobby Audio & Songwriting

Scarlett 2i2 is PERFECT For Me

As a laptop multi-tracking novice, I was looking for a clean, versatile and inexpensive audio interface. This little box is just the ticket for one-person audio production. I was sure I would also need an additional pre-amp for my EV RE-20 (famously low-gain) but much to my delight the Scarlett takes the signal just fine, there is enough boost in that little red box. I am happy!

John Varney
from
January 9, 2013Music Background:
4-yr Guitarist

A Choice Buy

A searched a long while for a good, reliable USB Audio Interface that could perform well. When I got this, I got exactly what I was looking for. The preamps are the best that I've heard - and the smooth outsides will keep my eyes on it anytime it's around me.

The drivers are good and easy-to-setup; latency is PAR and everything works like a charm. If you're reading this view, buy this interface.

I've recorded using both inputs at once, balanced and unbalanced, mic, instrument, and line level, with or without phantom power, and everything has turned out great on the other side. My smile reaches from ear to ear listening to it - and the direct monitoring is almost never needed since the latency is low enough.

SUMMARY: Buy it - you can thank me later.

Steve Robertson
from United States
January 8, 2013Music Background:
Recording Engineering, EDM Producer, Voiceover Artist

Superb Value! Rock Solid!

An unbelievable value for such a solid Interface. I do voiceover work and use this in my studio with my Blue Baby Bottle and it gives nice warm voice tones. Compact size a huge plus. Occasional use ART Tube Channel Strip for even warmer sounds. Have recorded some guitar through it as well and great sound all the way. Unless you need really high res recording capability this is the way to go. I also enjoy saving money. $150 is a steal!!

Raf
from Orlando, FL
January 2, 2013Music Background:
local band, played shows, record stuff at home, hobbyist mostly

Excellent interface for home recording

This thing is FANTASTIC!! I used to own an EMU 0404, and that was great, but I had to downsize to an MAudio fast track. That thing was pretty cool for what I needed it for, but it was time for an upgrade. Got this, and noticed IMMEDIATE improvement in my recorded guitar tones. I use drum software for drums, and I dont have anything bass related, so I usually go without bass tracks (I need to get a bass lol). But as far as recording my guitar tracks, the mic pres and converters in the 2i2 are EXCELLENT for something in this price range. Also, it comes with 4 focusrite VSTs which are actually really good. Ive got a bunch of good ones, but these are my new go to VSTs for EQ, Compression and Gate. I dont have monitors, currently...just running everything through a set of Shure 440 headphones. Next purchase will be monitors, but this thing has all the features I needed/wanted, and it comes with some good software and has excellent hardware built into it. Cant go wrong if you need something small and portable for home recording.

John Gary
from United States
December 6, 2012Music Background:
Sound Designer, Recording Engineer, Musician

A great peice of gear, and a seamless transaction!

Ordered it on a Thurday, it came the next day! My sales engineer called me to confirm the shipping address as it was different from my last order - a fact that I appreciate - and out it shipped.

So for the price, it has exactly what I needed: a compact, 2 channel interface that's fairly quiet, has phantom, and direct monitoring. The LED rings are a nice touch. I used it the very day I got it, recording some actors for a stage play special sound effect, and I had no hitches. I was able to get very low latency using their ASIO drvers (on an I7 Laptop), and a clean sound (through a Shure KSM32).

Can't go wrong at this price.

Jamil
from Philadelpj
December 4, 2012Music Background:
Producer

So far so good

I like the item a lot. It sounds pretty good and it's super easy to use. The best thing about it is there is no latency. If you are on a budget, you can't go wrong.

Jamil
from Philadelpj
December 4, 2012Music Background:
Producer

So far so good

I like the item a lot. It sounds pretty good and it's super easy to use. The best thing about it is there is no latency. If you are on a budget, you can't go wrong.

Gary
from Dayton OH
November 16, 2012Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Musician, Sound Designer

Another seamless transaction and great piece of gear

This thing sounds great for the price range! Sturdy feel, nice looking (the led's around the gain knobs are a nice touch), direct monitoring switch is very handy, and phantom power. What more do you want for so little money? Fits in my mobile gear bag - I bought it for remote work - but sounds better than my current digital input device (mentioning no names) so I've used it on my stationary rig already.

As usual, the Sweetwater service is exemplary! Placed the order, got a call from Nick LaMendola within an hour to confirm the shipping address as it was different from my previous order (attention to detail!), and I selected the free, 2 day shipping. I placed my order after 3PM, and it *still* came the next day! 6 Stars.

Mike from SC by way of NY
from Boiling Springs, SC USA
November 12, 2012Music Background:
Artist, Studio Owner

Way more than you pay for !!

Bottom line, this thing sounds great, operates quietly, and the little suite of plugins that come with it are very useful, especially the compression, and reverb !! This unit will absolutely perform for you !!

David K.
from Akron, Ohio
October 29, 2012Music Background:
Musical Hobbysist

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a Excellent Audio Interface for the $

With the Scarlett Plug in Suite being rather expensive (by itself) plus two great preamps, Inserts=(2) combo XLR-1/4 TRS Line Level or 1/4 TS Instrument Level , USB 2.0 Bus Powered, up to 24 bit 96kHZ recording specs, (2) 1/4 TRS outs to Monitors as well as TRS stereo headphone jack + the option to use direct monitoring (or) turn that option off +48V phantom power . Makes for a Audio Interface that You would think (could) cost much more , its cross platform, I use a iMac and via USB after the latest drivers installed, my computer immediately picked the Scarlett 2i2 right up! ( A very quick and seemless install and no issues with registration either) I received the unit *1 day* after ordering it and waited to do a online review just to make sure I had tried it out multiple times in different scenarios (Guitar direct in, Microphone on amp etc ) I find no issues with the Scarlett 2i2 , re:Latency (No Issues,=Preamps ,so quiet , no hiss, pops crackles (ever) and they sound so well,Just Fine! (read what Focusrite Preamps They are Based on -or Equivalent too )
This is a great deal and fits my needs just right and I have (Honestly) researched since late summer 2010 ! Ted Hunter is a Great Sales Engineer at Sweetwater (I have not bought tons of gear, but have bought gear for over the years when I have had the financial resources to do so. Thanks Sweetwater!

Dave
from San Antonio, TX
October 23, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist, gigging musician

Great low latency device

I'm using this as my primary interface for my Win8 laptop. I'm running Reason 6.5 as my recording software. This interface sample rate can be manually lowered far enough to have a real feel playing experience while recording. I can monitor both direct or thru the software. Both are useful. Controls are simple and easy. Best part, it doesn't color or add any noise into your signal.

Cam Emerick
from United States
October 15, 2012Music Background:
Video Editor

Perfect fit for my needs

Very nice piece of hardware, and easy to use. I mainly use this for monitoring during video editing or music playback so I don't have a lot of experience with it on the recording side yet. Independent volume controls for monitors and headphones is perfect. Extremely clean output to my KRK Rockit 5s and sub. The only down side is there is a loud pop when starting up the computer. Other than that the device is perfect.

from
September 26, 2012

Scarlett 2i2

Finally something that connected right up and worked.
That's all I can say, no issues.

Jacob Wright Carroll
from Eaton Rapids, MI USA
September 18, 2012Music Background:
Musician also a student at LCC for audio production

100% is all respects!

product is in perfect working order. as soon as i clicked the button to place the order i got a call from an actual person at sweetwater confirming my address and info they are very nice and professional and they handled my order and shipped it personally! also it only took under two full days to get to my house in Michigan from Illinois . It was packaged perfectly. not to mention when i opened the 1st outer box the encased the actual box that held the product i found candy candy and a note from a rep at sweetwater! CANDY! congrats sweetwater. first time customer now a lifetime loyal customer..... Update: ten minutes after it arriving i was called to by sweetwater (by a real person) to make sure i picked up the package because it was infact delivered. never had better service.

esteban sarthou
from Uruguay
September 17, 2012Music Background:
Musician, Recording Engeneer student

Great great sound for the price

Awsome sound delivered by focusrite preamps plus a really friendly design and software. Absolutely no latency problems (like 14 ms with Live) nor clipping problems with direct line guitar recording (as i read over there). Great buy for entry level and for live performance.

from Long Island, NY
September 17, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician

Love It!!!!!

Excellent product!!! I'm a guitar player and a songwriter and this works great with garage band. It's just right for what I need. I record acoustic and electric guitar, bass, vocals, and saxophone. It is really an impressive product for the price!!!! No complaints!!!!

DALLAS SCHNEIDER
from Sandpoint, ID USA
September 13, 2012Music Background:
Session Guitarist

As simple as they come!

Unboxed it, plugged it into my MacBook Pro, opened GarageBand, changed the input/output preference to Scarlett, and BAM! ...perfect sound, instantaneously.

Simple controls, ease of use...everything you need and nothing more to get in the way of access to your tools.

Jerod A
from United States
September 10, 2012Music Background:
Worship Music. hobbyist..

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

has surprisingly good, crisp sound, no latency that i can tell. very portable, i take it from room to room when im recording different instruments. great for hooking up to a laptop and taking it on the road for when that moment of inspiration comes. i dont us the Ableton Live that comes with it. i couldnt figure out how to use it for the life of me. but it works just fine with any software you prefer.
and of course, ordering it thru Sweetwater, it'll be at your door the next day if you order it the morning before. fastest shipping and customer service you can get!

Stacy Watts
from Houston, TX USA
August 27, 2012Music Background:
Corporate Trainer

Does exactly what I needed!

I needed a simple, uncomplicated way to capture audio directly into my computer. This device and the accompanying software gaveme everything I needed...and it doesn't take up a huge portion of my desk!

Danny Nguyen
from
August 24, 2012

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

does the job well for its price

Patrick Kammerer
from Rochester, MN USA
June 21, 2012Music Background:
Studio musician

A very good interface!

I got this to replace an M-Audio Delta 44 which was not compatible with my new computer. I'd say that the recording quality is equal to or better than my previous interface. There is a small amount of latency, but this is easily overcome. I haven't really used the mic preamps as I have a mixer with descent preamps built in, so I can't rate that aspect of the gear. The Focusrite Scarlett was easy to set up, and the drivers worked well. I would recommend this product to anyone who needs a 2 in/ 2 out USB audio interface.

from
June 8, 2012

Update Review...

I've already reviewed this once but felt the need to do an update for those who play guitar. It doesn't handle high impediance. Humbuckers will clip the input stage with ease. You need an attenuator if you don't already have one. Even hot wound single coils will clip it when you're really gettin' after it. Not a big deal but I think it should have come with an inline attenuator or a pad on the interface itself. The pre is so good I would have gladly paid a little more than $149 for an included attenuator.
Again, not a huge deal, but it would have been nice to have at least known about it upfront. That being said, the pre is still velvety gorgeous and very quiet for a budget pre. You certainly won't find a better pre at this price. I got some gorgeous vocals out of this pre. It'll suffice until I've got enough coin for an ISA 4 channel and AD card. I can't even begin to imagine how crazy sweet that will sound. I've come to the conclusion Focusrite will now be my pre of choice from now on... I'm sold!

from
June 1, 2012

Great

I am happy with my gear!

Quinton
from Greenville NC
May 29, 2012Music Background:
Beginning Home Studio Engineer

Unbelievable

Im speechles. The item is far more than I expected. I can't believe what I'm got for the great price. But I am even more impressed by the customer service. Best experience ever.

David
from Phoenix, AZ
May 22, 2012Music Background:
tone deaf

Works Well, Except....

When I unpacked this I downloaded the latest drivers and plug-in's, then plugged in this unit to do a test recording. I use Sony Sound Forge Pro 10. With this device and using the default settings of 44.1K @ 16 bits, I get a distorted recording. Same setting with Audacity and it works great. Set Sound Forge to 24 bit or higher and it works great, but for some unknown reason it distorts at 16 bit ONLY (so far) with Sound Forge Pro 10.

Tech support wanted me to do a ton of changes which I won't do as I've never had a problem using any other USB interface. BTW, it does the same thing on my laptop as well.

Having said that, I've done several hours of recording (at 24 bit or higher) and love this little box. Plus it's really pretty. The glow indicators around the input level controls remind me of the old "cat-eye" VU meter system. Enjoy!

from
May 19, 2012

Beautiful...

Needed something quick and cheap after my 1820M finally went south. Was not expecting this level of detailed, quality sound. I'm playing an acoustic w/a Seymour Duncan soundhole pickup through it and it sounds friggin' gorgeous! I don't need to run it through an amp sim anymore to get the sound I'm after. Soaring, clean highs from these preamps! Haven't recorded any vocals yet but I know I'll be smiling from ear to ear. Way better than the 1820M's pre's.
The Scarlett plugs too are so much better than I expected. Like through the roof better than I expected. The Reverb is so lush and beautiful. It's hard to get surgical with the EQ and Compressor because there's no graphic display, but they sound so sweet it's easy to dial in a gorgeous, shimmering tone. These are the best sounding plugins I've heard in a long time. Trust me, the reverb and compressor alone will have you grinning like a Cheshire cat. If you don't need the interface, you at least need these plugins.

DN
from
May 1, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician, Recording Artist

Remarkable

Absolutely stunning. A previous review compared it to the mbox 2, and they were spot on with it being described as an "upgrade". It's almost scary how much better this thing sounds just right out of the box. Not sure if it's the preamps?...but it sounds amazing. The direct monitoring is a great feature, and it has plenty of output power! I ran a guitar direct through 1 channel while using a variety of amp sims, and if it made the guitar sound so much better, I can only imagine what it can do for vocals.
An interface that should be twice the price. And it took me under 5 minutes to setup and get things running.
Perfect!

nvr
from pa
May 1, 2012

Nice unit

Works perfect in macos. Preams sounds natural. My only issue is i could not get sampling rates changed in windows. provided ASIO is useless. Except this, this would perfect choice below $200

Bart Budwig
from Moscow Id
April 30, 2012Music Background:
Recordong Engineer, Live Sound Engineer, Songwriter

Great.

Great interface. No Midi and the driver could be better. Other than that this thing is great.

from
April 30, 2012

Overly satisified

This with Ableton and pair of Adam-A7X's.... Hyper-accurate sound....

James
from Virginia, USA
April 25, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician

Just what I needed

Been cutting tracks with this for a few weeks and am quite pleased. Great that it's buss-powered! Bass, acoustic guitar, vocals all sound amazingly clear (transparent?) with very little, if any, noise that I can detect. Gear at this price usually has knobs that are unusable much past 12 o'clock. These pre's reside very nicely in the 3-4 o'clock range and even higher. I think some people who get this piece might have to rethink the gain staging in their DAW to reflect the more pro sensibility of these preamps. In other words, they're SMOOTH all the way through and oozing with quality.

For a home studio, I find the headphone output to be more than adequate but, again, don't be afraid to run the gain higher than you're used to. It might not be enough, though, for a really loud drummer using open-back headphones or a cheap pair of Skull Candy earbuds.

Latency was very low using the Focusrite ASIO4ALL driver and I haven't even used the direct monitoring feature. I use reverb and compression in Reason real-time and have not tried the plug-in suite. But with great pro-sounding preamps, very low-latency, buss power and a highly mobile footprint, the 2i2 is just what I needed.

Pit
from Mi USA
April 22, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyst

Great interface

I am newie in home recording, I was looking for an interface easy to use and great quality sound, well this little thing fits the bill, I ordered on Friday , got it Saturday morning and was recording five minutes later, zero lactancy.

from
April 18, 2012

Portable and Reliable

I bought this to replace my M-Audio FastTrack Pro. I was tired of the M-Audio's buggy driver for that unit and general mediocre sound. The Scarlett 2i2 has functioned perfectly. It's sounds great, and it feels much solid than the all-plastic FastTrack. The FastTrack could also be rather noisy when the gain was turned up. The Scarlett is virtually silent and sends a nice clean signal through its rear outs. The lights surrounding the gain knobs makes a nice visual bonus. Overall, I'm very please.

kyle
from SD
April 2, 2012Music Background:
bedroom musician

shweeet interface

this thing is awesome, easy to set up, the plug-in sweet is amazing, since this is my first interface and im new to home recording im using ableton live lite 8 as my DAW and it is so awesome and came free with this thing! i couldn't be happier.

David G. Cortes
from Houston, TX
March 30, 2012Music Background:
Singer/Songwriter

Great Audio Interface...

At first I was a little nervous since I was using a MAudio interface....But now I will not use anything else...!
It is awesome, but would just like to have the option of being able to reduce the incoming mix sound into the 2i2..
Love the peak color change.....

Disappointed
from USA
March 15, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Issues with hot pickups

Per case opened with Focusrite:

"The Scarlett 2i2 instrument input applies between +10dB and +55dB gain depending on the monitor position. The input impedance is 1MOhm. It sounds like even 10dB of gain is enough to clip the signal with your guitar."

With the gain all the way down, my guitar clipped.

Focusrite recommends an external unit to convert to line level.

The mic pre's sounded good for the price, unfortunately this unit wouldn't do everything I needed.

Amel K Productions
from Los Angeles
March 14, 2012Music Background:
Recording Engineer

WOW!!!!

This is FREAKING!!! Fantastic its great.

Matt
from Ohio, USA
March 13, 2012Music Background:
composer, 15 years on guitar, bass, piano, music theory.

Very happy with the 2i2

This is my first interface. I'm an amateur musician using Garageband on a MacBook Pro for home recording. It's very easy to use. Simply plug into the USB and you're off. Sort of. The documentation was a little weak in terms of set-up for a beginner like me. That said, I was running my guitar through it and recording within 20 minutes. I haven't explored the software plug-ins too much yet, but so far they are great as well.

Kevyn Wilson
from Fort Wayne, Indiana
March 10, 2012Music Background:
Artist, Producer, Recording Engineer

Absolutely Awesome Interface!!

This is a absolutely awesome interface!! I've been a Pro Tools user for many years now and I can honestly say that this little box sounds WAY better than my M-Box 2 ever did!!

I upgraded from my M-Box 2 to the Scarlett 2i2 (yes that's right, upgraded) with the intention of only using it as a traveling interface for when I'm on the road but this little red box sounds so good it will be used as my main interface until I can get my Saffire Pro 40 later this year.

The preamps make all my microphones sound great. I hear things in my music I couldn't hear with my M-Box 2 and it works flawlessly with Reason 6 and Studio One 2 (my new DAW's of choice) the latency is insanely low and the drivers are rock solid on my laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.

There's a reason this is Sweetwaters most popular USB interface... no other interface gives you the sound that the Scarlett 2i2 does in or out of its price range and the Scarlett plugins are awesome too. (note: the Scarlett plugins only work in 32bit DAW's but Focusrite says they will be adding 64bit support soon)

Focusrite has great customer service both when I called them prior to making my purchase through Sweetwater and via Facebook when I posted questions on their wall. Get this interface now!!

Tim
from Cleveland, OH
March 10, 2012

Great product for the price

I needed a relatively inexpensive portable unit for a small project I was working on. Ryan Sloan (my sales rep) recommended this unit. This unit is great. Plays nice with my mac laptop. Sounds great. Easy to use.

In my opinion, if you want the best, buy an Apogee Duet. That's a fantastic unit. But for a different price point, this Scarlett 2i2 is really, really good.

An added bonus is the Scarlett Plug-In Suite that comes with this unit. The Plug-Ins work well with both GarageBand and FCP X.

Thanks for the recommendation, Ryan! (He's a great guy to work with ... always steers me in the right direction.)

Michael S.
from Chicago, IL
March 6, 2012Music Background:
Recording Engineer Student, Musician

Bang for your $$$

The Scarlett 2i2 is a great interface for the price and even better than many that cost more. I use mine mainly for tracking guitar and vocals. It integrates perfectly with Pro Tools 10. The pre's sound great, there is no latency and if for any reason you experience it, there is a handy direct monitor feature built in. What was most surprising to me was the Digital to Analog converter. The quality is beyond exceptional. I like to use the interface as a playback device through my Macbook Pro into my monitors. The design of the interface itself is sleek and looks great, as well as durable. Focusrite doesn't have the best tech support but Sweetwater fortunately does. A GREAT product at a GREAT price!

from
March 6, 2012

good product

bought this for my sons birthday. must work as expected cause I've heard no complains.

Steven
from
March 5, 2012Music Background:
Student

Works Great with my Guitar

This is my first audio-interface, so I can't compare it with anything else but after playing my guitar on this I have no reason to try another one. Works perfectly! Can't wait to get my microphone hooked up to this. Plus the service here at sweetwater was great! Arrived on time and they even called to let me know when it was coming.

Andy Dolph
from Rochester, NH USA
March 2, 2012Music Background:
Live Sound and Recording Engineer

Simple Device - Great Sounding Preamp

Exactly what it looks like - inexpensive simple interface with great sounding mic preamps. Has worked great so far - love the sound.
My only wish is that there was a way to adjust the level of the zero latency feed from the preamps to the headphones. There is no level control - just on and off.

a00805811
from BC, Canada
March 2, 2012Music Background:
Sound Designer

If you have low budget

Something under 200,
buy this
better than mbox, apogee

Brad Kleyla
from Chicago IL
February 13, 2012Music Background:
Multi-instrumentalist, Songwriter/Producer, Composer, Currently studying Sound Recording Technology.

Great unit once you get it to work.

I bought this unit to replace a 1xlr, 1 line input M audio fast track. I needed an interface with just two channels that had two xlr inputs with phantom power for stereo recording. I love the sound of the unit but it took me a while to get it configured. I cannot use the focusrite driver within Pro Tools. I have to use the ASIO4All driver, which works great. I have contacted tech support and they know of the issue. Of course, using the ASIO driver is perfectly fine, Its inconvenient that the Focusrite driver did not work.

Tom Bowman
from Ohio
January 16, 2012Music Background:
School band director

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

Purchased this to record from a tape deck to a computer. Works just fine. This is my first use of this type of device, so a comparison isn't possible, however, I'm very pleased with the results. Very simple to use too!

Rick Lance
from Nashville, TN
January 13, 2012Music Background:
Pro Voice Actor and musician, singer, audio producer

Slick little interface!

Bought this to replace a working M-Audio Fast Track Pro.
Can't really tell an audible difference but I bank on the Focusrite name to be a bit quieter than the M-Audio. I like it's simplicity, small size and it's price. And the pretty red metal case is quite slick too!

JM Richeson
from North Carolina, USA
January 5, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Very Pleased With Scarlett 2i2's Superb Sound Quality!

I don't know how valued my opinon will be, for this is only my second interface. I did own a E-MU 1616m which I loved, but I purchased a new laptop which didn't have a notebook card slot so E-MU was not compatible to make a long story short. I researched within a limited price range for over-all sound quailty when pursuing this purchase. I watched a lot of YouTube videos from both the manufacturers & customers on tons of the latest & greatest interfaces. There's a lot of great prodcuts out there, so when I had narrowed down my selection, I must say, Focusrites's Scarlett 2i2 just stood out with its overall sleek design, quality & unbeatable price(Thanks Sweetwater!). I have been a hobbyist musicain for over a decade, as well I dabble in some song productions with local artists in my area, so quick setup is essential to capture the mood at its peak, the Scarlett 2i2 is great for this, no AC adapter just plug it in a USB port, then plug in your MIC and your ready!!! The overall sound is rich, warm & very, very clean. I was shocked at its superb quality. The Focusrite Scarlett Effects Suit(Compressor, Gate, EQ, & Reverb) are high quality plug-ins, a great added bonus, they allow you to get the most out of the interface with tweaking in those just perfect vocal settings. I have had NO latency problems; it just plain works great!!! I'm using with: HP ENVY14 Beats Edition, Windows7 Ultimate, Intel i7 proccessor @ 1.82 GHZ with turbo boost, 8GB RAM, Studio Projects B1 MIC, FL Studio 10(Fully Loaded), Both Korg microKONTROL & padKONTROL & everything is running great!!

Rene Anton
from europe and the states
December 30, 2011Music Background:
Producer Engineer

Great Product at a great price.

I travel a lot and sometimes just for vocal comps on the fly or quick song idea. and for this purpose with my macbook pro and protools it is the ideal Mate, of course a solid mike to match focusrites mic pre's is recommended. The size is great and i like that it is solid metal box !

REF
from Brandon, MS USA
December 5, 2011Music Background:
Musician, performer, sound restoration

Great for stereo recording and multi-track

I bought this on the recommendation of my Sweetwater sales associate. He made a great suggestion. Very low self-noise and transparent. I have used it to track an acoustic demo & record vinyl to hi-res audio 24/96 and everything worked well in windows vista using both mixcraft and wavelab. This is the first Focusrite product I've owned and the build quality appears solid and simple, meaning straight foreword and elegant. I haven't used the external monitor feature yet but headphones provided the promised low latency.

Ben Dunwell
from Traverse City, MI
November 29, 2011Music Background:
Guitar, Singer, Home Studio Engineer

Scarlett 2 x 2

I have owned a ton of different interfaces and currently use a Duet 2 with a Mac as my main interface, but still needed a 2x2 for PC as well. The price was right on the Scarlett (how do they do it?) and it seemed like a great, simple little unit. I love it. It is light, but seems tough. It is great looking, and provides all of the fundamental features you need, including 0 latency monitoring. But, in truth, I am writing this review to let you know that the Scarlett Plug In Suite that comes with this FOR FREE, which is also on Sweetwater as a standalone piece of software for 99 bucks, is worth the price of the Interface alone. The plug ins are absolutely awesome. How awesome? I replaced every singe reverb plug in on a current project tonight with the Scarlett plug in, and the new presets I made from those will be my go to reverbs every time I start a project. Really great interface, really great plug ins. For 150 bucks. Amazing. Focusrite!

Jim Whitehead
from Tishomingo, MS, USA
November 25, 2011Music Background:
Pro Musician, Recording Engineer, Songwriter

Scarlett 2i2

I relied on the advise of my salesman on this purchase. This unit worked exactly as he said it would. Biggest bang for the fewest bucks! The main reason I keep coming back to Sweetwater is my salesman, Greg Savino. Greg is like an old friend, he knows me, my needs, and the applications that I use my gear in. If I do have a problem with anthing, no worries; Greg always takes the time to help me solve any problems. He goes out of his way to help me in every way he can..... that is the reason he seems more like a "friend on the inside" than just a salesman.

GN
from Houston, TX
November 14, 2011Music Background:
Semi-Pro Musician/Home Recording Hobbyist

Good Mic Pre's

I just got this AI to upgrade from an old m-audio mobilpre that I've had for 5 yrs. For the price range this is a great product. I did some tests with some old recordings, and finally understand what people mean when they say the mic pre's are cleaner. I did have some initial issues with the driver setup as it seems to be very picky about what other usb devices you have plugged in while using the card. Everything else seems to work as it should. The construction on some of the switches feel flimsy, and I noticed a weird issue when switching from direct monitoring to off made the output to my monitors louder. I'm not sure I could ask for a lot more for the price as I am using this mainly for a decent A/D converter and mic pre.

Andy
from Auburn, NY
November 5, 2011Music Background:
Hip Hop Artist, Beat Producer, Recording Engineer

Awesome!

Purchased this the day of it's release. Solid frame to it with sturdy knobs and switches. Enough inputs for what I use it for which is recording vocals. Setup was easy! I was up and going within 5 minutes. Really crisp recording due to it's pre amps. LOVE the separate monitor and headphone volumes.

he only downfall is the length of the USB cable...it's very short could be slightly longer. And I noticed the headphone volume isn't as loud when monitoring vocals during recordings. I'm sure there's a way around this but just what I experienced during my use with the interface.

All in all you can't beat this price....well worth it and affordable!

Don
from Milwaukee, WI
November 3, 2011Music Background:
Songwriter and Home Recorder

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 - Too Good to Pass Up !

Blown away doesn't begin to describe it. My Sweetwater Rep alerted me to this new device, and I have never regretted buying it. First off, it is small and totally rad, metallic red with an amazing look and feel to it. So durable, well-designed, and well thought-out. If you're a solo artist like me and don't want to pay extra for all of those additional inputs that you don't need, this is a killer deal. It also comes bundled with 4 world-class Scarlett Plug-ins, and Ableton Lite Live 8. All for a price that is just hard to even believe. The pre-amps alone in this unit are worth it. I cannot imagine anything even costing 3-5 x's more that offers a better value, more flexibility, and is easier to set-up and use right out of the box. Seriously, few products ever fully deliver as advertised. This one will exceed your expectations. Nothing else like it around for the price. I have explored, owned, and/or researched most all of the I/O's in the $100-$750 category. Get it, if it fits your situation. You will never regret it !

Don
from Milwaukee, WI
November 2, 2011Music Background:
Songwriter, Musician, Home Recorder

NEW Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

The Scarlett 2i2 is absolutely amazing and so durably designed. It is simply a stunning, small red metallic finished inteface from Focusrite, and truly an astounding value. The preamps are so worth the money alone, but then you also get four incredible Scarlett plug-ins bundled with this package: EQ, Gate, Compressor, and Reverb, plus Ableton Lite Live 8. The plug-ins are renowned for a reason. How can you beat this package at the price anywhere? If you only require two ins and outs that will accommodate an instrument and/or XLR input, you need look no further. This package is beyond belief! Plus, it is so well built, easy-to-use and set-up. You just will never regret the investment. I don't know what else to say, but there is just nothing even close to this I/O for even 3-5 x's what it costs.

Jay
from Tyler, TX USA
October 28, 2011Music Background:
Musician & Music Teacher

First Home Audio Interface

I'm a saxophonist, bass guitarist and a music teacher and wanted something I can move around. At $150, I was unsure if I was getting. I installed the drivers into my iMac, plugged it in, opened up Garage Band and switched the inputs and outputs to the 2i2. Everything worked perfectly. All of my instruments sound great and I can play along with my fake books and there's no latency at all. Everything is on the front and easy to adjust and control. The halo lights on the front is really helpful with clipping/distorting. Also, the service at Sweetwater is the best. I accidentally order a USB mic and they called me to let me know I had a USB mic and help me get the right condenser mic. Everything was also at my door in 3 days!

Sean Hill
from Tampa Bay, FL
October 28, 2011Music Background:
Record Producer & Artist

Excellent interface for the money!

For $149 you can't beat this little unit. The pre's are nice, the aluminum unibody is very sturdy. I've recorded vocals with the unit and did a video review on youtube for it and it performs very well. Definitely worth every penny. The ISA One is next on my list.

Xavier Palafox
from Chicopee, MA USA
October 21, 2011Music Background:
Sound Design & music production

Feels sturdy, Looks good, Sounds profesional = No disapointment

At first glance i was skeptical, as i have bought many disappointing interfaces over the years. But this little bad boy is nice! I wasnt expecting it to be so compact either. Its something you could definitely travel with without having to sacrifice sound quality. If you dont need that many outputs then this thing is perfect for you. I use it with my NI Maschine so it helps with the latency as well. I really have nothing bad to say about it. The price is right, plus the extra Scarlet plugins they include for free are well worth it alone. I literally set this thing up in 5 minutes, no problems at all, totally dummy proof. if your thinking about buying one go for it, your going to love it.

Jason
from Wisconsin
October 17, 2011Music Background:
Home hobby recording

Just what I was looking for!

After some research and considering my budget of around $200, I decided to try the Scarlett. I have used a lot of different I/O DAW devices with connections like USB, firewire, PCI cards with break out box. I read reviews that others liked the Focusrite Saffire 6 with 1.0 USB, so thought this upgrade with USB 2.0 would be even better and for the price I was right on. Easy installation and super sounding. latency is really what I was trying to overcome and this has done it nicely, with the bonus of smooth sounds

Seongtae Kim
from Elyria, Ohio
October 10, 2011

Literally, PERFECT

I bought it just few days ago.

For home recording, it is just perfect.

beautiful, compact, useful, nice quality. Just perfect combination.

No words need.

I recommend you guys for home recording.