Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 or 18i20 (3rd gen)?

goldwax

New member
Hi, first post and total newbie here.

I haven't done any home recording since the '90s and that was on a Tascam 424 Portastudio. I recently got a new Macbook Air and since I have guitars, amps, a Nord Electro 5d and an SM58 but no band to play out with anymore, I thought I might try my hand at some home recording again.

I haven't even broken the seal on my computer yet, but I think I'll start with Garageband, since it's free and sounds pretty easy to use. Thoughts on that?

I do need an interface, and while I could probably get by with a Scarlett 2i2, I have the budget for something bigger, which brings me to the 18i8 or 18i20.

Besides the difference in form factor, is there a huge difference between them? I mean, either unit will probably be overkill for what I plan to do right now--record basic tracks with guitar and vocal, with maybe some keyboard coloring, and if I can figure it out, some drum loops or something--but the 18i20 seems like it could be useful if and when my band gets back together--either for demo recording or maybe live mixing?

In either case, I'm also thinking that if I don't end up doing much with it I can always sell the unit down the road and not get too much of a haircut. I guess my biggest question is if I would find the 18i20 more difficult or intimidating to use than the 1818 or if usability is pretty similar.

Can anyone give me any guidance here?
 
I'm guessing that they will be pretty similar in use, just a case of having 8 mic preamps vs 4. They both have the same Focusrite Control software. If you ever wanted to have some buddies over after all this corona crap is done, you might want to have the extra preamps. Also, if you ever plan to record drums, its handy to have the extra channels.

When I was looking, I ended up going for the extra preamps (I got the Tascam 16x08). Only used them that way once so far, but it was better to have them and not use them than to need them and say "I should have gotten the 20!", especially if the $200 isn't a big issue. Of course, if you never plan to get more mics, then the extra preamps are useless. I've got about 18 mics, so I can fill it up. Then again, with the optical input, you can add an extra set of preamps later if you really get into it and need them.
 
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