Will Auto Tune Work With Scarlett 2i2

The biggest “problem” with the Scarlett 2i2 is if you need to record from multiple audio sources at the same time. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this review, the Scarlett 2i2 is the perfect audio interface for most home studio musicians. Hey guys, excuse my inexperience. I just bought Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface. They gifted me Abelton Live lite and Pro Tools first. But I dont have enough presets and plugins (and ect.) for guitar. Can i use original DAW with cracked plug-ins and if i can what do u recommend? As you recognized im a newbie and need your experience, tips.

Will Auto Tune Work With Scarlett 2i2 Plus
Will Auto Tune Work With Scarlett 2i2 Software
Will Auto Tune Work With Scarlett 2i2 Pro

Focusrite has introduced its Scarlett 2i2, a 2-in/2-out USB 2.0 audio interface (priced at $149 street). Besides the company’s mic/instrument preamps, 24-bit/96 kHz digital conversion and monitor control, it features a new uni-body industrial design. Other features on the Scarlett 2i2 include LED-halo signal indicators, which encircle each of the gain controls. These glow green. Scarlett 2i2 FOR Live Sound So far it's been a dream, however we have our back tracks running out of a MacBook to a scarlett 2i2 interface in mono (L) and then a click (R) into the xr18. Do i have to buy ANOTHER interface with more outputs to be able to send a stereo of the back tracks as well as the click separated or can i use the scarlett's.

Focusrite's Clarett marque crosses from Thunderbolt to USB models with the Clarett 2Pre USB and its siblings. Hollin Jones finds out what all the fuss is about.

Since the demise of FireWire, many pro audio interfaces have been adopting Thunderbolt as their protocol of choice for communicating with computers. And as good as it is, Thunderbolt does tend to be found only on higher end machines. Many computers are still reliant on USB and in the case of newer models, the very much higher-capacity USB-C format. Indeed, many of Apple’s laptops only have USB-C now.

So it is that Focusrite, that well-regarded developer of high end studio hardware, has brought its Clarett marque to the masses with the Clarett USB range. The name carries weight - until now, it had been restricted to the costlier Thunderbolt-equipped models only. The Clarett USB interfaces come in thee models - 2, 4 and 8, representing the number of individual physical inputs they have, although each model actually has rather more thanks to the availability of ADAT optical in.

Look And Feel

My review model was the Clarett 2Pre USB, a compact and portable model aimed at singer songwriters, laptop producers or those working in smaller spaces, due to its small footprint and light weight. It’s very solidly built of course and comes with a power supply although computers with a 15W USB-C port will be able to bus power the interface where available. If extreme portability (possibly at the cost of some fidelity) is a real issue for you, there are many other models out there that will do it, including some from Focusrite.

Externally, the 2Pre USB is really easy to understand, even for novices. On the front panel you will find two combo jacks for connecting XLR or jack plugs, a level control for each channel with Halo light readout to monitor levels, instrument / Air light and a Phantom Power on/off switch. A large monitor dial lets you set monitor level and theres a high powered headphone output with its own gain control.

On the rear panel is power and a lock port, as well as four individual line outputs and a USB port. Two USB cables are provided to cater for either conventional USB-A or the newer USB-C protocols. You also get MIDI in and out DIN plugs, which is a nice touch since smaller audio interfaces sometimes omit these. An optical input port allows you to expand the inputs with up to 8 more for a total of ten. All in all it’s pretty hard to go wrong with the way the unit is laid out. Everything is clear and straightforward and won’t confuse even a novice user.

Something In The Air

Internally is where the Clarett shows its pedigree however, with specs that go beyond what you might expect from a compact USB interface. The well-regarded Clarett mic preamps are capable of delivering plenty of gain without introducing any noticeable noise or distortion. They also include Focusrite’s “Air” circuit that “engages an analog model of the company’s classic transformer-based ISA mic pre” to give a boost to high frequencies, especially for vocals and acoustic instruments.

It’s capable of 192kHz/24-bit digital conversion and ultra-low round-trip latency, so you can use your DAW plug-ins for monitoring without having to risk pops and clicks from constantly fiddling with buffer settings. Routing and monitor mixing can be controlled using the Focusrite Control app that runs on your Mac, PC, iPad or iPhone and gives you easy access to internal hardware parameters on the unit. Although software control panels for interfaces aren’t new, this one is especially user friendly and the fact it can run on an iOS device as well means no more going back to the computer to change settings - perfect for anyone recording themselves performing.

In Use

Setup and operation of the Clarett 2Pre USB were very straightforward, and the results excellent. The low roundtrip latency meant I could use decent quality reverbs on my vocal while recording without experiencing latency. Direct monitoring is possible using the Control app to set up a specific routing, and latency was very low with regular recording tasks. The clarity of the recordings was superb as well, especially with the Air feature engaged and adding sparkle to the top end of acoustic guitar and vocal takes. The mic pres have a dynamic range of 118dB which is impressive. The Focusrite Control software is also something of a breath of fresh air in a world where these apps can sometimes be a little opaque.

But wait! Your purchase also gets you a bundle of other goodies as well. Everything you need, in fact, to get up and running recording and producing music. There’s Ableton Live Lite, 2GB of Loopmasters samples, XLN Audio’s Addictive Keys, Focusrite’s Red plugin suite and Softube’s Time and Tone bundle.

Conclusion

The high quality of the design and great results from the Clarett USB make it an excellent choice for anyone needing just a couple of inputs at a time - or who occasionally needs to add more via the ADAT input. The larger models sell for $600 (4Pre USB) and $800 (8Pre USB) respectively, if you need more physical inputs to be used at the same time. In a marketplace that’s crowded with small format USB audio interfaces, this one stands out in a couple of ways. The electronics are first class, it’s easy to use and the results are excellent. The addition of MIDI ports is nice too, meaning there’s no need to add a second interface to bring MIDI hardware into your recording setup. For many users then, this is a great choice for high quality recording with a small footprint.

Price: £369 / $399.99 for the reviewed Clarett 2Pre USB

Pros: Great design and build. Very portable. USB A and C supplied. Easy to use. Excellent recording results. Very low latency and noise. Surprisingly expandable. Air function. Clarett quality over USB.

Cons: No USB power over USB-A. Should work with iOS thanks to class compliance, but not officially supported.

Web: https://global.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/clarett-2pre-usb

Hardware

As the name implies, the 2i2 has two inputs and two outputs. The inputs are combo jacks that can accept both XLR microphone cables and 1/4″ instrument cables. With two inputs you can record two mics or two instruments at the same time, or one mic and one instrument.

The 2i2 doesn’t have any MIDI or SPDIF inputs/outputs; it’s a basic interface with 2 balanced outputs for connecting 1/4″ TRS cables to speakers. The 2i2 also has a 1/4″ headphone jack on the front with its own separate volume dial.

Both inputs have the option to switch between line and instrument. To get the best sound with DI (direct input) guitars you need to set it to instrument and line for mics. If you have a separate DI box in front or something else with a Hi-Z input you set it to line.

One of the main upgrades with the 2nd gen 2i2 is the 8dB increased headroom added to the instrument inputs for hot pickups. This remedies the clipping problems of the 1st gen 2i2 and Solo models. I have a guitar with active Seymour Duncan Blackouts and it indeed works well without clipping.

Other hardware upgrades with the 2nd gen models includes added surge protection circuits to the inputs and outputs, and updated converters that support up to 192 kHz sampling at 24-bit.

The 2nd gen models also add darker indicator lines to the gain, monitor and headphone knobs—a minor change but I like how it makes it easier to see the levels.

Like the 1st gen model, the 2i2 has LED lights around the gain knobs to indicate when the signal in clipping and when it’s in the green (it also shows orange just before clipping). There’s also a 48V phantom power switch for mics that need power and a direct monitor switch for monitoring without latency.

/download-install-macos-sierra-10125-dmg.html. Overall the Scarlett 2i2 has nice hardware, the knobs and connectors don’t feel cheap, and the red aluminum casing is rock solid.

Detailed tech specs for the Scarlett 2i2 can be found on the Focusrite website.

Latency

The biggest change with the 2nd gen Scarlett interfaces is lower latency and increased sample rates.

I already posted the latency comparison numbers for Windows so I won’t rehash them again here, but I will give a usage example.

I often use a setting of 48 kHz and 64 samples for recording DI guitars. At that setting on the 1st gen 2i4 it has 12.4 ms of latency—and that’s the lowest it will go at 48 kHz. At 96 kHz it can get down to 9.5 ms but it’s like double the CPU hit.

On the 2nd gen 2i2 at the same 48kHz/64 setting it has 7.79 ms of latency, so that’s a pretty big improvement. Plus with the added support of higher rates you can drop it down to a setting of 48kHz/32 to get 5.17 ms of latency, almost half that of the highest setting on the first gen model. You can even get it down lower around 3 ms at 96 kHz and up. Focusrite claims it can get down to 2.74ms at 96kHz/32 samples on a Mac Pro.

Lower latency also helps out with overall CPU usage because you can use higher buffer settings without having to sacrifice as much latency like on the 1st gen models. I always had to use the lowest buffer setting on the 1st gen 2i4 because there was way too much latency at higher settings.

Sound Quality

To my ears the Focusrite Scarlett interfaces sound great—they are very clear with no noise—but I don’t have access to a bunch of different audio interfaces so I can’t say how the Scarlett devices stack up. Focusrite likes to point out their award-winning mic preamps but that could’ve been from 20 years ago for all we know…

All I can do is compare the Scarlett 2i2 with the other audio interfaces that I have. To my ears, recording DI guitar sounds exactly the same between the 1st gen 2i4 and 2nd gen 2i2.

The Focusrite interfaces sound better than the Avid Fast Track Solo that I first started recording with, and the iRig UA that I just got last week for the free Amplitube 4 deluxe deal.

The 2i2 has a clearer more natural sound when it comes to guitars. You can hear higher frequencies better and it has a brighter overall tone than the Fast Track Solo, which has since been discontinued so no loss there. The Fast Track sounds more like having the tone knob on the guitar turned down by comparison.

Drivers

Windows systems require installing drivers before you can use a Scarlett USB interface. The 2nd gen models use different drivers than the 1st gen models. The 1st gen drivers have been really stable on the 2i4 so I was hoping for the same with the 2i2.

At first I had a number of problems with the 2nd gen drivers, as noted in a couple of earlier comments, but then Focusrite updated them and now things are running smoothly for the most part. Even running the CPU up to 90% audio playback is clear and glitch-free.

However, I have encountered a couple of bugs with the new drivers. First, whenever I try to use screen capture with Ableton Live (for video tutorials and reviews) it starts glitching out and the CPU meter jumps all over the place (that’s why the 2nd part of the video review below gets a bit disjointed—I intended to show more examples and explain things better but the drivers weren’t allowing it). After some further testing, screen capture causes Pro Tools 12 to go haywire as well so it must be a specific issue related to CamStudio, which works flawlessly with the 1st gen 2i4.

The second problem, a couple of times it froze my computer when the monitor went to sleep while music was playing. I know it had something to do with the 2i2’s drivers because the interface was disabled upon restart and the sample rate was changed and had to be adjusted to get it working again. I’ve also had to toggle the sample rate on a couple of occasions to get rid of audio glitches. The drivers on the 1st gen 2i4 did not have these issues.

Will Auto Tune Work With Scarlett 2i2 Plus

Just be aware that drivers may not work perfectly on your system—that’s the nature of having to deal with Windows drivers. It may not even have anything to do with the interface. When I first started recording, the crummy driver for my wireless card caused all kinds of problems until I tracked down a newer version from the OEM.

Software

Will Auto Tune Work With Scarlett 2i2 Software

The Focusrite Scarlett models come with one of the better software bundles that you’re going to find with an audio interface.

The 2nd gen 2i2 comes with Ableton Live Lite 9 and a Pro Tools pack that adds some cool pedal effects and a couple of amps to the free version of Pro Tools.

Both DAWs offer a ton of features even with the slimmed-down versions. Ableton Live Lite is a lot better than most people give it credit for; I use it every day even with full Pro Tools 12 on hand. Plus you can use both together with ReWire—that’s a good way to take advantage of Live’s drum racks and other included effects and tools within Pro Tools.

Some plugins are included with the software package as well, including Softube’s Time and Tone bundle, the Focusrite Red Plug-Ins, and Novation’s Bass Station virtual synthesizer with 2GB of Loopmasters samples.

The 2nd gen models advertise Pro Tools on the box but Pro Tools First is free to use anyway without the interface. What it comes with is a Focusrite Creative Pack that includes 12 free plugins to use with Pro Tools First (it’s unclear if you can use the plugins with the full version or not).

The stompbox pedals generally cost about $5 each so it’s a pretty good deal if they are something that you’re into. Here’s a list of the included plugins in the Pro Tools pack:

Focusrite Pro Tools First Creative Pack Plugins
Eleven Lite – Avid’s amp sim with 2 amps/cabinets
Black Op Distortion
Gray Compressor
Five-band Graphic EQ
Flanger
Vibe Phaser
Roto Speaker
Sci-Fi Ring Modulator
Vari-Fi Speed Shifter
Studio Reverb
InTune Digital Tuner
Tape Echo Pedal

The only downside with the free version of Pro Tools is that it only works with plugins from Avid’s marketplace (unless you pay for a workaround like Bidule or Reaper) so you can’t easily use the pedals with other guitar amp plugins. However, Live Lite supports third-party plugins and there are a bunch of good quality pedals and amp sim plugins that work with it, including a bunch of free gear that sounds quite good.

Other Scarlett Interfaces

There are six different models of Focusrite Scarlett interfaces. The Scarlett series are the USB models. They all have the same preamps and converters so the sound quality is the same between them. It just depends on how many inputs and outputs you need.

The 6 different model include the entry-level Solo, the 2i2, 2i4, 6i6, 18i8 and 18i20. The first number in the model name indicates the number of inputs and the second is the number of outputs.

The Solo is a lot like the 2i2 but it has RCA outputs instead of the balanced 1/4″ TRS connectors, and it doesn’t have the combo input jacks so it can only connect one mic and one instrument at a time. The headphone jack also has it’s own separate volume dial on the 2i2.

See the 2nd Gen 2i2 vs 1st Gen 2i4 comparison review for more info about how the 1st and 2nd gen devices compare as well as the 2i2 and 2i4 specifically.

Scarlett 2i2 Review Conclusion

Pros

Lower latency, as low as 3.06 ms on Windows, lower on Mac.
Focusrite fixed the issue with hot pickups so there’s no more clipping.
Solid build quality.
Good sound.

Cons

May encounter some bugs with the Windows drivers.
No MIDI or S/PDIF inputs or outputs.
No iPad support (Update: it does work with iOS now).
Can’t set headphones to monitor separate output like on the 2i4 and higher up models.

Verdict

The solid build quality, clear sound, and low latency make the 2nd gen Focusrite 2i2 a good option for an inexpensive entry-level audio interface for recording guitars and vocals, especially for beginners.

You may encounter some issues with Windows drivers like I did but that seems to be a pretty standard theme when it comes to audio interfaces and Windows. Usually toggling the buffer size fixes most issues so it’s not a big deal.

The main downside with the 2i2 is the limited amount of inputs and outputs. Other similarly-priced brands like the Steinberg UR22MII and PreSonus AudioBox iTwo add MIDI in and outs and iPad support, but most MIDI devices support USB anyway so it’s not a big advantage unless you have a specific need for it.

Update: It’s been exactly 2 months since I posted this review, and the 2nd gen 2i2 has been working great without any issues for the past month since the 4.11.0 driver update. I had to disable automatic screen timeout on my computer and switched to OBS Studio for screen capture and it has been smooth sailing ever since. I use the interface several hours every day between listening to music while working and playing guitar and I’ve really come to appreciate how well it has been working. The low latency makes a huge difference, and the CPU can be pushed hard without audio glitches. I’ve been able to get a lot recorded lately and several new songs laid out without the slightest problem. Consider me a fan.

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