PRODUCT REVIEW: Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 Audio Interface
(Legend - Disasterpiece)
As incredible as the digital world is, there are still some places that computers haven't gone yet. There is still a remarkable quantity of things in this world that are still very analogue. One of those things is the guitar.
Yes, there are guitars out there with digital interfaces built right into them, but they're rare and they're not really used by any of the great players of our age. Indeed, if you want to get the noise from your guitar into a computer, there's a surprising amount of effort that goes into it. For most people, that effort begins with something called an Audio Interface. In a nutshell, an Audio Interface is a little box that converts the analogue signal from your guitar to digital data that your computer can then work with.
As with many things, not all Audio Interfaces are created even.
Check any top ten list of interfaces for people with beginner home studio setups, and you're bound to find one name on them over and over again: Focusrite. Focusrite's 'Scarlett' range of interfaces are the Go-To AIs for aspiring recording artists everywhere, and for good reason. They're powerful, easy to use, affordable, and reliable.
I elected to go for the Scarlett 2i4:
Want to run a microphone into your computer? This'll do it. Guitars, basses, or MIDI instruments? Yup. You can use this little box to pipe pretty much whatever you want into your DAW of choice, be it GarageBand, ProTools, Logic, Reaper, or Audacity.
I...sort of don't understand what half of the controls on this thing do, but what I -can- tell you is that hooking it up was a piece of cake. I plugged it into my Mac and it...worked. No drivers, no questions, nothing. I opened up GarageBand, told it to use the Scarlett as my input device, and was immediately able to adjust my recording levels and go straight to guns laying down track after track of delicious, overdriven audio.
If you're looking for an AI that's affordable, packed with features, and easy to use, you'd be foolish if you didn't at least give Focusrite's Scarlett range a glance. They've got something for everyone, even complete novitiates like me.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go read the manual.
As incredible as the digital world is, there are still some places that computers haven't gone yet. There is still a remarkable quantity of things in this world that are still very analogue. One of those things is the guitar.
Yes, there are guitars out there with digital interfaces built right into them, but they're rare and they're not really used by any of the great players of our age. Indeed, if you want to get the noise from your guitar into a computer, there's a surprising amount of effort that goes into it. For most people, that effort begins with something called an Audio Interface. In a nutshell, an Audio Interface is a little box that converts the analogue signal from your guitar to digital data that your computer can then work with.
As with many things, not all Audio Interfaces are created even.
Check any top ten list of interfaces for people with beginner home studio setups, and you're bound to find one name on them over and over again: Focusrite. Focusrite's 'Scarlett' range of interfaces are the Go-To AIs for aspiring recording artists everywhere, and for good reason. They're powerful, easy to use, affordable, and reliable.
I elected to go for the Scarlett 2i4:
Want to run a microphone into your computer? This'll do it. Guitars, basses, or MIDI instruments? Yup. You can use this little box to pipe pretty much whatever you want into your DAW of choice, be it GarageBand, ProTools, Logic, Reaper, or Audacity.
I...sort of don't understand what half of the controls on this thing do, but what I -can- tell you is that hooking it up was a piece of cake. I plugged it into my Mac and it...worked. No drivers, no questions, nothing. I opened up GarageBand, told it to use the Scarlett as my input device, and was immediately able to adjust my recording levels and go straight to guns laying down track after track of delicious, overdriven audio.
If you're looking for an AI that's affordable, packed with features, and easy to use, you'd be foolish if you didn't at least give Focusrite's Scarlett range a glance. They've got something for everyone, even complete novitiates like me.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go read the manual.
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