Scarlett 2i4

[Ribbon]

Does anyone have any experience with this device?

I heard there's issues with clipping. I use the bridge variant of the Dimarzio Evolution with Ernie Ball power slinky and intend to plug it straight into the device. Do you think it could handle that?

 

[Charlez]

A friend of mine owns one and we experienced no clipping at all with it. It has a PAD button on it, so just switch it on for hot pickups.

 

[[Prime]]

The 2i2 has clipping issues and no pad buttons.

 

[sjcortese]

I own a 2i4 and love it. No clipping with passive pups, my emgs, or when recording bass. I use the 10dbpad.

~scott

 

[Ribbon]

I know the 2i4 has a pad button and that the 2i2 is the one everyone usually complains about, but I did hear about potential clipping issues with the 2i4. On this very forum, actually:

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/backline/845912-scarlett-2i4-audiobox-22vsl-clipping.html

Would the 2i4 handle something really intense, like the x2n, 18v EMGs or the blackouts?

 

[deLuther]

Would the 2i4 handle something really intense, like the x2n, 18v EMGs or the blackouts?

+13 dbu (with PAD) is not enough for this. +13 dbu equals to 3.5 Vp, EMGs at 18 V can have almost 4.5 Vp, Blackouts at 18 V (at 9 Vinput level can be sufficient) is even hotter, but you can use guitar volume with actives.

 

[Ribbon]

+13 dbu (with PAD) is not enough for this. +13 dbu equals to 3.5 Vp, EMGs at 18 V can have almost 4.5 Vp, Blackouts at 18 V (at 9 Vinput level can be sufficient) is even hotter, but you can use guitar volume with actives.

Thanks for the info.

Volume control is unfortunately not that reliable -- one small nudge and you'll never set it exactly where it was. Enough for some severe OCD to light up.

Has anybody had a chance to do a direct comparison between the 2i4 and 22VSL? Been scouring the internet trying to find something tangible.

 

[deLuther]

22VSL have large input level, but it seems it have some kind of saturation - harmonic distortion of instrumental inputs is signicant, maybe it is intentional.

Guitar volume is not reliable, that`s right.

 

[Ribbon]

I found this comparison:



"Here you go! Some acoustic plus vocals then some death metal guitar, the first version of each is the 8i6 and the second the Bluetube, in solid state mode.

The acoustic and vocals were recorded with Studio Projects B1's, guitar first with both mic's tracking at the same time (and right next to each other) and then vocals, again both at the same time and with the mic's right next to each other. The electric guitar was done with a SansAmp GT2 run through a splitter pedal to track both inputs at the same time, so in both cases the source should be identical.

I used no hardware or plugins to manipulate the sound in any way- no compression, EQ or anything else, totally vanilla!"

It's not 2i4 vs 22vsl, but I'm pretty sure these are the same preamps you'll find in the 2i4 and 22vsl respectively. Just don't quote me on that.

Listening through a very poor setup here, but I can readily tell that the 8i6 sounds a lot better. Not even subtle. Still, I'd like to hear what you guys think.

 

[nezvers]

Volume control is unfortunately not that reliable -- one small nudge and you'll never set it exactly where it was. Enough for some severe OCD to light up.

Duck tape can be your friend, my friend!

 

[deLuther]

Duck tape can be your friend, my friend!

Better instrument preamp can be even better friend

 

[Ribbon]

Bought the Scarlett. With the pad on, the bridge Evolution peaks out at -6 db with the gain knob at around 11. Plenty of room to work with.

 

[Ribbon]

Reading the manual for the Scarlett 18i8 and I've noticed something strange -- the pads on it shouldn't be used with the instrument input. I assume this is due to impendance. Meanwhile, Focusrite very clearly states that the pads on the 2i4 will work with guitars without affecting your tone. In testing, I've concluded the same.

Do you have any idea why this is the case?

 

[deLuther]

Not "shouldn`t be used", but "not intended for use with the Instrument inputs", but only owners can tell us how it works

 

[Star Ark]

I have one and it does clip with some pick ups. it also has the volume pot set way too hot. even with the master output set to off it still passes audio and turning the master to about 30% is ear piercing for me. I can get low latency and it sounded better than my old yamaha interface though and it hardly even glitches for me. some good and bad points really

 

[Ribbon]

This the second 2i4 I'll be returning. This time I'm taking my money back though.

The first one had the PAD button on the first input fail in a matter of days. I've pressed it around 20~30 times, no more -- very gently at that. After that, the button wouldn't stay in the ON position anymore unless pressed more forcefully. I didn't like the direction that was going in so I returned it as soon as possible.

The second has a different problem. The knob regulating the mix between playback and direct monitoring is not wired properly. Rotating all the way to "Input" still bleeds the full volume playback of the left channel and a tiny bit of the right. Rotating all the way to "Playback" bleeds a lot of the direct monitoring signal.

These units may look well built on the outside but they're clearly pure crap on the inside. I'm quite a bit angry and I had quite enough of Focusrite for a lifetime. Can you recommend me any alternatives that aren't the Presonus VSL22?

 

[deLuther]

Maybe try AVID Fast Track Solo/Duo. Converters slightly inferior, but AVID engineers did good job with analog part, so results in test (RMAA) are on similar level. And you will have +15 dbV (i.e. +17.2 dbu) at minimum gain, which is better than 2i4 with Pad.

 

[Ribbon]

Maybe try AVID Fast Track Solo/Duo. Converters slightly inferior, but AVID engineers did good job with analog part, so results in test (RMAA) are on similar level. And you will have +15 dbV (i.e. +17.2 dbu) at minimum gain, which is better than 2i4 with Pad.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out.

Do you have experience with it?