Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface for Recording, Songwriting, & Streaming — High-Fidelity, Studio Quality Recording, with Transparent Playback

Product Information

Play your way. Hook up a mic, guitar and keyboard and make records. 4i4 is studio sound for all your instruments. Incl. USB cable (type C to A) and Hitmaker Expansion Software Bundle (Ableton Live Lite, 3 months Splice Sounds membership and Plug-in bundle for songwriting, mixing and mastering, Pro Tools Artist (three-month subscription) and Avid Complete Plug-in Bundle) It was my first audio interface and I must say that for a beginner I could have not chosen a better one. Right off the bat the build quality is solid, full aluminium, hard plastic, easy intuitive layout, very simple to get used to. At this price point, I think there is no other better option out there, 4ins 4outs and MIDI. The gain knobs for analogue 1 and 2 inputs light up and gives an indication when it almost clips(yellow) and when it clips(red) these colors can be be changed through the Focusrite control software.

I got this for my home studio to record guitar directly and for the midi capabilities for the future hardware synths I am planning on buying.

Focusrite’s most popular audio interfaces have received a welcome update. We size up the new Scarletts

Regarding the sound, there is a CLEAR difference when plugging into the audio interface and when plugging into whatever soundcard you might have. Also, it drives 80 Ohm headphones without any issues, to get really satisfactory volume (a bit loud) seems to be at 60% of the volume dial (keep in mind, this is without any headphone amps) - at 100% it is blazing and too loud. It would be really good if it had an indication of unity gain on the monitor control when everything is set to 0db on the software. Four inputs and four outputs; two 3rd Generation mic pres, switchable to line or Hi-Z instrument inputs, two fixed line inputs, and four balanced outputs. Works great with both platforms Windows / Mac OS. Better with Mac OS, too be honest, and I have read a lot of posts where people had horrible experiences with Windows drivers. So, Mac is the safest way to go here. (although I would love to have a Linux alternative). The 4th gen Scarletts include technical improvements across all interfaces with 120dB dynamic range RedNet A/D converters, a new improved headphone amp, better implementation of knob halo indicators with output metering for the 2i2 and 4i4, and a reworked Air mode.

Further new features are specific to the 2i2 and 4i4. The reworked preamps have an impressive 69dB of gain, which we found ideal for low-output mics such as ribbons. The 2i2 and 4i4 preamps also include optional auto gain and clip safe. We found both worked well, although the clip safe option works best with properly set initial gain levels, as it has the potential to make big gain changes in real-time. The big monitor knob works only for the 1 and 2 outputs the 3 and 4 outputs come out as unity gain (0db) so that's something I had to keep in mind of when I was calibrating my monitors. Pretty straight forward to use, love that I've got a bunch of free software to experiment and build up experience. There is such a large library of toys that it would be a pity not to play with them all.The former monitors the input for 10 seconds, setting the gain accordingly, and also includes a dual channel option. The latter applies real-time changes to the gain setting to avoid clipping. Including USB cable (type C to A) and Hitmaker Expansion Software Bundle (Ableton Live Lite, 3 months Splice Sounds membership and Plug-in Bundle for songwriting, mixing and mastering, Pro Tools Artist (3-month subscription) and Avid Complete Plugin Bundle For minimal latency input monitoring the Solo includes a single function Direct button, and the 2i2 is a dual-function Direct button, with mono and panned options. The 4i4 has no hardware option but has 3 software cue mixes, accessible via Focusrite Control 2.

The analogue inputs 3 and 4 can be controlled though the software only they don't have a hardware controls.

This right here is the real deal - I held off to write the review until I got the 770 Pro 80Ohm headphones and here it is: