Focusrite Scarlett - does Gen matter?

  • Thread starter Thread starter GuitarGrater
  • Start date Start date
G

GuitarGrater

New member
Hi All,

I'm looking at getting a Scarlett solo, there are lots going on Ebay and I can see that the 1st Gen has a lower sample rate than Gen 2 and Gen 3.

Are there any benefits of getting a Gen 3 over a Gen 2? I'll only be recording one track at a time i.e. guitar, Bass, vocals and probbaly using some sort of free VST plugin for the drums.

I can also see that there are quite a few cheaper models in the £45 range (Behringer, Swissonic) which have the same 24bit 192kHz spec as the Scarlett - are these any good? Basically I have a very limited budget so don't want to spend on more than I'll use for very basic recording
 
I bought the Scarlett 18i8 gen 1, and was perfectly happy with it.
I wanted a second one, but found I could only get gen 3, so I bought two of those.
My gen 1 still works fine. The gen 3 ones use different software, but their website said you can upgrade the gen 1 to work the same as the gen 3.
For basic recording, who needs 192KHz? I only use 48KHz, and that is fine.
Any Scarlett is good, and Behringer is going to be solid too.
If money is tight, that probably points the way.
 
The trouble with preamps is that what you do with them changes opinions. I've had scarletts on and off for years and like Raymond, thought they were good. A week or so ago, I found a youtube video on preamps where the guy had collected specifications for loads and the Scarlett 1st gen, despite what I thought of mine had a worse noise figure (as many popular ones had) than others. I never noticed. Noise was never an issue ever - but maybe it was, but my recordings did not reveal it? The specification video really confused me - I may need to buy another shortly - and my list of products were all technically inferior. I cannot equate my 'noise, which is I think really just annoying hiss, with the guys collected specs? Then I thought back to the Tascam old 8 input interface I have had for years, now in the office. In the office just making my non music computer make noises, I discovered that every recording it makes, even of silence, has a weird notch in the frequency response, and a tiny spike somewhere else. I'm assuming when I was recording music with it, the same thing had happened but I just never noticed? Noise wise in the recent video, the Behringer UMC range with the midas preamps scored really well. I have one and I've never thought it special in any way.

I have come to the conclusion that all the ones I have only come to attention when you turn the gain right up and they either behave or don't. The only actual knobs I use on them are gain, mix and output volume - and the last two are in my case, set and forgotten. I've not used any of the switches and other knobs, once first set. What comes out of the speakers and headphones sounds fine. The video says gen 1 focusrite scarletts were bad. My experience said totally differently. I watched the video and got very confused with some things scoring badly, others doing well.

I don't think anyone on this forum has ever said Scarletts are anything other than good! If people say they are bad, check what the 'badness' they complain about actually is!
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm running a fairly basic mini PC, quite an old budget Ibanez guitar, using value jack leads, so I think to start off with I will risk the cheaper Behringer audio interface. If I really get into it like I intend to, then I can always upgrade later, when I have more money.

I still listen to the recordings I did on my old Zoom MRS-802 multi tracker. I mixed everything down with no skill or knowledge, and "live" tweaked the knobs if a track was slightly too loud. I still cannot hear anything bad with those recordings so I don't think, yet, a slightly nosier source will make me upset. Unless of course it's like a bumblebee is in my ear, but I doubt it will be that bad
 
I have a F'rite 8i6 Mk 1 that I have not used in 3 years. I shall see if I can compare the mic pres in terms of gain and noise to my M4. I do recall last time I fired it up that I got into a complete bugger's muddle with the "MixControl" routing software!
This has been criticized in the past for being very dense and non-intuitive. The software was greatly improved it is said from the Mk3 onward. Not unfortunately applicable to the Mk Ones.

It has the slight disadvantage that it needs a 12V 1.5A supply. Later AIs with similar facilities can be bus powered.

Dave.
 
For where you are in the recording life - Scarlett or Behringer will be more than fine - As @rob aylestone says - people monitoring Scarletts or Behringers with Test equipment will notice things - but they aren’t listening with ears they are listening with there eyes - still it should be said that the 1rst Gen Scarlett while not have overt or noticeable noise - does have a slight weird effect on the audio - especially vocals - once you hear it you can’t unhear it - it’s gone after the 2nd Gen onward - it is a slight noise floor underneath the recording - very slight - that said I have an Apogee Duet 3 and a couple of Scarlett 2i2s 4th Gen - and I’m really happy with all of them - the Apogee purports to be the cleanest but comparing side by side I don’t hear enough to raise a concern - I would and have recorded them together and there isn’t anything noticeable - even when you turn it up loud.
 
I don't think it truly matters. My gen1 Scarlett's usb jack got faulty, and I wanted more inputs, so I upgraded about a year ago. Had the jack been fine, I'd still be using my gen1. The pre-amps sound good--I recorded three albums with it and the only thing wrong was my own mixing!
 
Thanks. I ended up going with the Frite Scarlett solo 3rd gen. I had to make up £149 on Thomann to get free delivery. It's working out ok, I've just watched the Reaper guy on YouTube and set it up all up. Sounds ok but I have a lot to learn
 
Back
Top