Does the Focusrite iTrack Solo clip like the Scarlett 2i2?

[Wookieslayer]

Hey dudes,

The lead guitarist in the band I play bass for is a cheap bastard and doesn't want to drop proper coin on an interface for tracking solos for our upcoming EP (at least not yet...).

I would have suggested him to grab a 2i2 but I know that it clips with high gain pickups.

We've been tracking so far with great quality with my TC Konnekt 8 but I would rather he track the solos on his own rather that waste my time recording him over and over again because he can't nail his own solos. At least this way he can practice each night his takes and hear his own mistakes back right away on his own time, rather than me spend the time later to go through his takes and find out they're shit anyway Lol.

I guess honestly I would rather him buy a Konnekt 6 for consistency in preamps for not much more, but I'm not sure his computer set up has Firewire and this way he can jerk himself off with any iPad apps later down the line... uke:



TLDR: is the iTrack solo shit? and does it clip?

 

[LBTM]

it's not the interface that clips but the output of his bass is to hot. tell him to lower the pickup or get an interface with a PAD button to drop the input to prevent clipping.

the iTrack Solo is a good interface. you won't have any problems with it.

 

[aortizjr]

I had the iTrack solo and in a similar situation I gave it to a buddy. It will clip with higher output pickups. For a solo it might be fine since those are quieter than big output chords.

I don't know why so many interfaces have this problem. They get the impedance right and then can't handle the input. MOTU screwed this up too on my 828mk3. And these are passive pickups!

Consider getting an external DI box. On the cheap the EWI Active from Audiopile.net has 1 M input and is pretty solid. Also Samson active DI's apparently are 1M also.

 

[He's Dead, Jim]

it's not the interface that clips but the output of his bass is to hot. tell him to lower the pickup or get an interface with a PAD button to drop the input to prevent clipping.

the iTrack Solo is a good interface. you won't have any problems with it.

Right, but that's like saying, "It's not that the car is dangerous, it's just that driving over 50 mph will make the wheels fall off. Just drive at 40 mph." Technically true, but the answer is that the interface, like most low-end Focusrites, is lousy because it has a high default input gain and no pad. If you're a company making interfaces, literally your only job is to make the interface not suck and not clip. My Line 6 UX1 didn't clip even though my guitar has hot-ish actives, but when I had a Scarlett 2i2 it came close.

If you're willing to spend 20 bucks extra, the Mackie Onyx Blackjack is supposedly awesome and has a hi-z option. It had some driver issues only on Windows machines a couple of years ago but IIRC they've been resolved. It has very high-quality preamps for the price as well, according to internet people.

 

[Wookieslayer]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will convince him to hold out for something better. We've got some tube preamp DI's (he has an ART.. and I've got a Presonus TubePre) if we needed the DI thing (though I would like to get a nice transformer DI sometime).

I guess Focusrite really doesn't have an issue with their lower end stuff clipping, since they prob want you to spend more anyway..?

Any users of the 2i4 and how do you like its preamp?


On another related note, I've been waiting for the Alesis Core series to come out but it keeps getting delayed. My current inteface is only Firewire and my next laptop probably will only have USB 3.0. It would be nice to throw in this Alesis Core 1 in my bag for traveling (that is, hopefully it sounds good and doesn't clip too ha; I mean it's only priced at $49).

 

[Blaine Rohmer]

Any users of the 2i4 and how do you like its preamp?

Yep. I think that this are the same preamps as in 2i2, but thanks to the pad button clipping is not an issue.

 

[Wookieslayer]

For sure. I'm also curious because I want to nab a second inteface for my next laptop rig (that will more than likely only have USB). This way I can have one on the go and keep the TC konnekt 8 always at home.

In my search, I found a new contender The Scarlett Solo. And it's only $99 on [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Solo-Compact-Interface/dp/B00MTXU2DG/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1409120622&sr=1-3&keywords=scarlett+solo"]Amazon[/ame]! but out of stock...

I checked the specs and the max input level says +15dbU while the 2i2 says +4dbU.

Does this mean it potentially was fixed and may not clip?