The Core of Your Studio or Mobile Recording Rig
Focusrite's Clarett 8Pre 18-in/20-out audio interface is a powerful foundation for your studio or mobile recording rig. It sports eight great-sounding Clarett microphone preamplifiers, an outstanding dynamic range, and ultra-fast, low-latency performance enabled by Thunderbolt. Clarett's magic starts as soon as you plug your microphones in — the mic preamps feature Focusrite's switchable Air Effect, which gives your microphones the air and clarity of an ISA transformer-based mic preamp. With comprehensive connectivity including analog I/O, S/PDIF, and ADAT I/O, the Focusrite Clarett 8Pre is ready to integrate into virtually any recording rig.
Related Videos: Clarett 8Pre 18x20 Thunderbolt Audio Interface
Outstanding versatility, speed, and sonic performance
The Clarett 8Pre's eight newly designed Clarett mic preamps deliver a truly impressive dynamic range. Perfect for your studio or mobile recording rig, the Clarett 8Pre gives you a wealth of connectivity — including ADAT and MIDI I/O — all in a sleek 1U form factor. With its sonic performance, leading edge round-trip audio latency and ease of use, the Clarett 8 Pre is an excellent choice of interface.
Use your favorite plug-ins in real time
With the Clarett 8Pre's exceedingly low round-trip audio latency over Thunderbolt, you can record and monitor in real time with your favorite familiar DAW plug-ins. No special processing or DSP is required. Select any plug-in and create your dream recording chain on every single channel. Every Clarett ships with the Focusrite Classic Red 2 and Red 3 AAX, AU, and VST plug-in suite, which accurately models Focusrite's classic Red range EQ and compression hardware. Also included is Softube's Time and Tone Pack — a powerful plug-in bundle consisting of Softube's world-class TSAR-1R reverb, Tube Delay, and Saturation Knob.
Eight Clarett mic preamps with Air effect
Focusrite fitted the Clarett 8Pre with mic preamps that were designed exclusively for the Clarett range with loads of pristine gain and vanishingly low noise. In addition, these preamps include Focusrite's proprietary Air feature that switches in an analog model of Focusrite's acclaimed classic transformer-based ISA mic pre, breathing life into your recordings. If you've always wanted vocals that shimmer with presence and silky air, then try recording with the Clarett 8Pre. You will be impressed.
The cleanest way yet to get sound in and out of your DAW
Sweetwater engineers know that conversion is key to superior digital audio, and Clarett features Focusrite's class-leading 24-bit/192kHz conversion. Offering up to 119dB of dynamic range, Clarett is the cleanest way to get sound in and out of your DAW. And naturally, the Clarett 8Pre includes a word clock output for slaving external digital devices.
Generous I/O to handle any recording scenario
The Focusrite Clarett 8Pre gives you 18 audio inputs and 20 outputs packed into a trim 1U rackmount chassis. This includes eight analog inputs, ten analog outputs, stereo S/PDIF I/O, and eight channels of ADAT I/O. The ADAT output is perfect for sending audio to an external D/A for line output expansion, while the input can be used to bring in eight additional digital mic preamp channels, such as the Focusrite OctoPre MkII, for maximum flexibility. In addition, two front-panel mic/line/instrument inputs give you quick and easy access — even when you've got your Clarett rack mounted. And those hi-Z inputs have copious headroom to handle your guitars and basses with hot passive or active pickups.
Accessible metering and monitoring
Featuring a 6-segment, multichannel LED meter, the Clarett 8Pre's monitor panel keeps you informed of analog and digital input levels and main monitor outputs. Monitoring facilities include a level control, as well as dim and mute buttons. Add to that two wide dynamic range front-panel headphone outputs with enough power to deliver healthy levels to high-impedance headphones, and the Clarett becomes your go-to device for tracking and mixing.
Intuitive and easy-to-use software mixer
Your Clarett comes with Focusrite Control, a brand-new software mixer that makes short work of configuring your monitoring and routing setups. Simple and intuitive to use, Focusrite Control offers an easy-to-grasp traditional mixer workflow and gives you immediate access to dim, mute, and other internal hardware functions.
Remote control from your iPhone or iPad
With the free Focusrite iOS Control app, you can adjust the mixes you made with Focusrite Control on the desktop app from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
Included software bundle:
- Red 2 and Red 3 Plug-in Suite accurately models Focusrite's coveted Red range EQ and compressor hardware
- Softube Time and Tone Pack with TSAR-1R Reverb, Tube Delay, Saturation Knob, and Drawmer S73 Intelligent Master Processor
- Ableton Live Lite
- 2GB Loopmasters Samples
- XLN Addictive Keys
- Access to Focusrite's Plug-in Collective, with exclusive offers from Nugen Audio, Exponential Audio, Fabfilter, D16 Group, Flux, Positive Grid, Sound Radix, Eventide, iZotope, and more
Focusrite Clarett 8Pre Features:
- 8 Clarett mic preamps with Focusrite's proprietary Air feature
- Copious headroom, vanishingly low noise
- Accurate digital conversion and clocking
- Generous I/O, enough for the whole band
- 8 analog inputs, 10 analog outputs
- Stereo S/PDIF, 8 channels of ADAT I/O
- 2 front-panel mic/line/instrument inputs
- Accessible metering and monitoring
- Intuitive, easy-to-use software mixer makes short work of configuring your monitoring and routing; provides quick access to internal hardware functions
- Record and monitor in real time with your favorite DAW plug-ins
- Create custom monitor setups for both you and your artists
- Includes Focusrite's classic Red 2/Red 3 plug-in suite
- Focusrite's class-leading 24/192 conversion
- Up to 119dB of dynamic range
- Word clock output for slaving external digital devices
- 6-segment, multichannel LED meter
- Monitor level control, plus dim and mute buttons
- 2 wide-dynamic-range front-panel headphone outs
- Pairs perfectly with the Focusrite Clarett OctoPre
