Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface

This has nothing to do with the rating, but when i turn on the interface on, it just sounds cool as ever. 🤣 but let's get to the review. This interface comes with SO MANY free software perks. It also comes with discounted software products as well if thats somethign your intrested in! in my opinion, this is a vital product for the best at home studio production setup. It's surprisingly super easy to work with as well as long as you do a little research. I personally figured it all out by the 3rd day of using it. One con is that I've heard there are some software compatibility issues with this interface, so make sure you're willing to go through trial %26 error. I personally use FL Studios and haven't had any issues at this point. Other than compatibility issues, ... MoreThis has nothing to do with the rating, but when i turn on the interface on, it just sounds cool as ever. 🤣 but let's get to the review. This interface comes with SO MANY free software perks. It also comes with discounted software products as well if thats somethign your intrested in! in my opinion, this is a vital product for the best at home studio production setup. It's surprisingly super easy to work with as well as long as you do a little research. I personally figured it all out by the 3rd day of using it. One con is that I've heard there are some software compatibility issues with this interface, so make sure you're willing to go through trial %26 error. I personally use FL Studios and haven't had any issues at this point. Other than compatibility issues, everything runs like a beauty. Another little perk is there's a talk back button so i can communicate with my artist through the mic instead of going back and forth taking off headphones. I 10/10 reccomend this purchase. that extra dollar spent was well worth it.

Excellence!

I used the MAudio Profire 2626 Highdefinition Firewire Audio Interface in my studio for several years. Recorded a couple of albums with it, and I was relatively satisfied. Then I updated my studio computer, which did not have a Firewire port. In addition to that, M-Audio had not produced a driver for Windows 10. I realized it was about time to upgrade my audio interface. I did a very extensive research. I read reviews, asked colleagues, etc, and everything started to point to the Scarlett 18i20. I then purchase it, and so far it has exceeded all my expectations. The sound quality is crystal clear; the configuration software included works perfectly in real time. Not the most important thing, but its look is spectacular, and the position of every knob, input, and ... MoreI used the MAudio Profire 2626 Highdefinition Firewire Audio Interface in my studio for several years. Recorded a couple of albums with it, and I was relatively satisfied. Then I updated my studio computer, which did not have a Firewire port. In addition to that, M-Audio had not produced a driver for Windows 10. I realized it was about time to upgrade my audio interface. I did a very extensive research. I read reviews, asked colleagues, etc, and everything started to point to the Scarlett 18i20. I then purchase it, and so far it has exceeded all my expectations. The sound quality is crystal clear; the configuration software included works perfectly in real time. Not the most important thing, but its look is spectacular, and the position of every knob, input, and output is in the right place. The two headphone outputs in the front come handy when there are two musicians recording at the same time. As I use this interface I get the feeling that I am working with an appliance 100% professional. With Sonar it blends really good, no audio drops or audio engine error messages at all. So far I haven't noticed anything negative about it.

Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 Audio Interface - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Over all the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 Audio Interface is a great device that does most everything I need. The Good - The 18i20 has more than enough inputs and outputs for what I need. I bought something bigger than what I originally needed just because it gives me the ability to expand. The mixing software that comes with it is a little complicated at first but once you get the basic concept down you realize it's very usable. My original reason for purchasing this was to use it as a mixer, so I could discard my old analog mixer because it just muddied everything up. Having a couple of connections up front is handy for adding another mic or guitar. And the sound quality is awesome! The Bad - I have a collection of older synths. Unfortunately running them straight to ... MoreOver all the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 Audio Interface is a great device that does most everything I need. The Good - The 18i20 has more than enough inputs and outputs for what I need. I bought something bigger than what I originally needed just because it gives me the ability to expand. The mixing software that comes with it is a little complicated at first but once you get the basic concept down you realize it's very usable. My original reason for purchasing this was to use it as a mixer, so I could discard my old analog mixer because it just muddied everything up. Having a couple of connections up front is handy for adding another mic or guitar. And the sound quality is awesome! The Bad - I have a collection of older synths. Unfortunately running them straight to the line-ins in the back only caused bad ground loops. According to Focusrite manual you have to run them through a DI box first to knock it down to line level input. This is definitely one thing I wish I had known ahead of time. But if you're the kind of person that mics everything then this will work for you. So I'm currently still stuck going through my mixer. Ugly - Focusrite seems to make a big deal about the nice red case, which is kind of cool, but once you add it to your rack and you can no longer see the nice red case, it's just as ugly as everything else.

Glad I did not overspend for thunderbolt

Was looking to spend more on thunderbolt but this is what GC had in stock. Super stable. Unnoticeable latency when tracking drums. Keep in mind I have a 12th gen Intel PC which allows for low buffer settings. Great sounding conversion. Sturdy feel and overall build. Really nice surprise is input level trim which is really useful for outboard preamps and makes gain staging super easy. My recordings sound much better than my more expensive interface that died.

Great All-in-One Unit

This interface can replace a mixer and interface combo. The integrated software allows playback without feedback loops. Easy to assign ins and outs. Preamps sound amazing and the pads, air feature, and INST/LINE switching is easy. Upgrading from a 2i4 and this is very smooth. Everything stays plugged in and always sounds great. Livestreams, recording, practice and teaching just got a lot easier since I no longer need my mixer and interface to route audio.

Great, entry lvl interface

I see a few negative reviews for this product, and I felt the need to write my own. First and foremost, it is unfortunate to hear that a few people have had issues with the sound quality, and overall performance of this interface.I personally am in love with this piece of equipment. I have owned the 18i20 for almost 2 years and it has been nothing short of amazing. Keep in mind that this is an entry level interface, but for the money you certainly get a great starting point. I have this paired via fiber to a OctoPre MkII Dynamic. The mic pres on this bad boy are great, and comparable to those twice its price.With that said, if you have the money I would suggest looking into the ISA range. However, this interface will deliver consistent, quality sound while ... MoreI see a few negative reviews for this product, and I felt the need to write my own. First and foremost, it is unfortunate to hear that a few people have had issues with the sound quality, and overall performance of this interface.I personally am in love with this piece of equipment. I have owned the 18i20 for almost 2 years and it has been nothing short of amazing. Keep in mind that this is an entry level interface, but for the money you certainly get a great starting point. I have this paired via fiber to a OctoPre MkII Dynamic. The mic pres on this bad boy are great, and comparable to those twice its price.With that said, if you have the money I would suggest looking into the ISA range. However, this interface will deliver consistent, quality sound while providing an above average A/D-D/A conversion. I have about 10 years of experience recording in a Home/Project studio setting, and the setup that I currently have (18i20 + Octopre) is the most user/budget friendly system on the market. Best of luck!

Happy Happy

Extremely quiet. No noticeable latency. Works seamlessly with a new Mac Mini M1 and Logic Pro. I first bought a Focusrite 2i2. Fell in love with it, but it only had 2 inputs and no midi inputs, and only 2 outputs. I now run 2 stereo keyboards, a midi keyboard, 2 mics, a guitar, and run them through 2 different stereo speakers (on pair as monitors, one as loudspeakers). I could not be happier with this purchase.

Review of Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 | 18 In 20 Out USB2 Interface

I also put this review on Am***n by the way!.Bought to replace an M-Audio fast track pro which to be fair had done many years of service and managed to keep going even on windows 10 64 bit.However I wanted to be able to permanently plug in my external synths neatly to the back of an interface (so Presonus was out as its sockets are all on the front) as well as have a couple of inputs on the front for mic and guitar. Also wanted zero latency monitoring.Sound is clean and much more 3-D than my old M-Audio - really noticeable actually! Installation was a bit of a faff as you have to separately install the freebee stuff as well but its worth it as it comes with some useful high quality compression/eq/reverb plugins. Drivers have been trouble free. Live and ... MoreI also put this review on Am***n by the way!.Bought to replace an M-Audio fast track pro which to be fair had done many years of service and managed to keep going even on windows 10 64 bit.However I wanted to be able to permanently plug in my external synths neatly to the back of an interface (so Presonus was out as its sockets are all on the front) as well as have a couple of inputs on the front for mic and guitar. Also wanted zero latency monitoring.Sound is clean and much more 3-D than my old M-Audio - really noticeable actually! Installation was a bit of a faff as you have to separately install the freebee stuff as well but its worth it as it comes with some useful high quality compression/eq/reverb plugins. Drivers have been trouble free. Live and recorded playback of the line inputs sounds really nice a rich balanced sound indistinguishable from the original. I can't really comment on the mic preamps as I haven't spent any decent amount of time trying to record vocals and guitar yet but they work :-) I did have some trouble with setting levels on the mic but that will probably come with experience of using the interface.Get this into your head if you buy it. THE MIXER SOFTWARE IS JUST FOR MONITORING. Recording levels into your computer are all set by the gain knobs on the front panel.I really would have liked some built in effects a la Presonus, RME and Steinberg but the RME 802 and Steinberg ur824 were way more than I wanted to pay. I did look at the Steinberg ur44 but would have been another box cluttering up my desk and only has 4 line inputs on the rear and I wanted 6 for 3 x stereo input. That is a nice unit though and the steinberg/Yamaha preamps get a lot of praise plus it has built in effects. Not sure why its so much cheaper than the ur824 actually!Anyway a quick look on the web and I found an article on how to add reverb/delay from your daw still with effectively zero latency. You monitor the dry vocals in zero latency from the mixer software (you have to turn the DAW fader on the vocal track to zero so you don't get an echo of the same vocal with latency) but ALSO add a send of that DAW vocal track to a software effect PRE FADER and then monitor the effect (fully wet) mixed with your original zero latency dry vocal. Reverbs have pre delay on them anyway so a few ms latency on the reverb is irrelevant!Just a few notes on reaper with this : you have to set the record "arm button" on the faded vocal track so it picks up the vocal and the same on the effect track or nothing will get sent out to the mixer software for the effect. You also have to set the little toggle to monitor recorded vocals on both the tracks (I think that's the default anyway).I guess this won't work for anything where the latency on the effect is important such as compression. That's where the steinberg would gain some points....

Unbelievable technology for the money!

I'm new to mixing and recording, but fairly blown away at what all you can do with this for the cost. Clean, lag free audio. I bought it to mic up my drums, so I can control what I hear through isolation headphones. Drums are just too loud for anything else, and isolation headphones kill everything, so you can feel what you're doing, but can't hear it. Anything less and things get loud and chaotic fast. With a decent set of mics and the capabilities of the 18i20, I can thoroughly concentrate on my playing. I'm using it with Garageband and all the plugins work just fine. Love the capabilities of the unit and what it has done for my practice.