Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface for Recording, Producing and Engineering — High-Fidelity, Studio Quality Recording, with Transparent Playback

Product Information

If you're having problems installing the driver on Windows 7, please try the steps in the following article: Focusrite USB Driver will not install on my Windows 7 machine (digital signature problem). In total, as the name suggests, the Scarlett 18i20 3rd gen has 20 outputs which give you a huge amount of options for recording and monitoring. Eight balanced line inputs allow you to connect synthesizers, drum machines and other line-level sources so you’ve got no shortage of recording potential! 20 Outputs In addition, you have two high-headroom instrument inputs so you can record your electric guitar or bass with no clipping or unwanted distortion – just crisp captures of the performance. What’s more; you also get a free 3-month subscription to Splice Sounds when you create a new Splice account.

The best card I could find for the price which enables to do anything. Physical channels can be expandable with a preamp via an optic cable. 8 physical inputs are mostly enough for fieldwork.

Oh no! Why did I get blocked?

Allowing you to compose, record and produce your music, the Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen USB audio interface comes with some fantastic software included with all the tools you need. Focusrite has done a great job with the new 3rd generation interfaces. While first glances may give the impression that they are just a prettier version of their former selves, the real magic lies under the hood. This is evident in many of the upgrades listed above. Includes Ableton Live Lite, three months of Pro Tools Artist, and the Hitmaker Expansion, with plugins from Antares, Softube, Landr, XLN Audio and more.

Added the ability to choose whether 48V is retained after restarting Scarlett 3rd Generation interfaces. As the flagship model in the Focusrite Scarlett range, the Scarlett 18i20 offers fantastic audio quality with comprehensive I/O and great expansion capabilities. If your interface does not need a firmware update your interface already has the latest firmware installed, the dialogue box will not appear. There wasn't much wrong with the mic preamps on the second-generation Scarletts, and their 50dB gain range was adequate for the vast majority of recording contexts. But at the bottom end of the scale it was possible to run into clipping with loud drummers, while at the other extreme, the maximum gain available wasn't always enough for the quietest sources. The addition of switchable pads on the 18i20 nails the first issue once and for all, and the extra few dB at the top of the range certainly helps with the second, though podcasters with SM7s and quiet voices might still want to lay their hands on a Cloudlifter or similar device.

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Most of the new features are self-explanatory, and where they're not, they're usually implemented in the simplest way possible. For example, alternate monitoring on the 18i8 and 18i20 is basic but perfectly effective. Enabling speaker switching in Focusrite Control repurposes line outputs 3–4 to carry the same signal as the first pair, and a front-panel Alt button selects which of them is active or muted at any given time. The main front-panel Monitor level control governs both sets of outputs at once. It's not possible to specify a volume offset so that the main and alternate speakers can be level-matched from the Scarlett, but if that's important to you then it can usually be achieved further downstream anyway. For myself, the only monitoring feature I still miss is a mono button, but then I suppose Focusrite had to leave something for the fourth generation! (For the sake of completeness I should also mention that the firmware version I tested had a bug in it whereby enabling and then disabling speaker switching could lead to outputs 1–2 and 3–4 carrying the same signal and both being active simultaneously, but Focusrite are aware of this issue and have a fix in the works.) Buy the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd gen USB audio interface today and get all these great features and this amazing sound quality in your studio. Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface Specs: When activated, the Air setting gives you the Air effect found on the original ISA mic preamps, adding brightness and openness to your vocal and acoustic recordings.

Despite their powerful and comprehensive features, these DAWs are still intuitive enough for you to get great results in no time; even if you’re a complete beginner.We look at the new range of products and give our thoughts below. Spec Differences Between The 2nd & 3rd Gen Scarlett Interfaces Whether you are an in-the-box producer or a musician recording with external instruments, Focusrite lays out your best connectivity options regardless of your chosen scenario. What Is Focusrite Control? Focusrite are excited to announce an extension to the standard limited warranty, which comes with all new products. The upgraded specs and added features are welcome additions, and we think they’ve done well to remain competitive. That being said, if you’ve only recently bought a 2nd gen interface — we wouldn’t worry. Eight inputs and ten outputs; eight 3rd Generation mic pres, two Hi-Z instrument inputs, and ten balanced outputs plus ADAT input and output for up to eight more channels each way.

While physically speaking the quality of this unit is great, the software implementation leaves a lot to be desired. Many configuration options, such as extending the number of inputs through the ADAT connection, require using the Focusrite Control proprietary software suite, which is only available for Windows and Mac. Why not make all options configurable without a PC, and especially without a proprietary piece of software?

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With its speaker-switching technology, the Scarlett 18i20 gen 3 also allows you two to switch between two different sets of monitors. This is an essential feature to ensure the best possible mix and professional level results. If your Focusrite interface needs a firmware update, it will update when you open the latest version of Focusrite Control, on a Windows or Mac computer. You need to connect your Focusrite interface to your computer before Focusrite Control will tell you if it needs a firmware update. Not being one to pore over manuals, when I unboxed the 18i20 3rd Gen, I went right to Pro Tools I/O and got to work. Setting up I/O was as simple as you’d expect; straight away, I did some experimenting with latency to see how low I could go before Pro Tools glitched. I recorded a bunch of VO, and while I got it to a pretty low latency (setting the buffer to a mere 32!), I couldn’t quite shake that “phasing” sound in my headphones. This might have been less noticeable for an instrument, but for most applications, you’ll probably want to switch to zero latency mode. This is assignable in the mix control software. Your recordings will shine with professional clarity with its 24-bit/192kHz converters. At the same time , Air mode (also present in the Clarett USB range but works slightly differently) emulates the famous boost in the mid-high frequency range — adding unique high-end detail, which was a renowned characteristic of Focusrite’s original ISA mic preamp at the famous AIR Studios. I have never in my life even remotely thought that interface can change my workflow this much. Integrated zero-latency hardware 1 bus mixer is game changer since... it works even if PC is turned off and interface is unplugged. It means that you can actually set this interface up in such way that when PC is off Scarlett 18i20 can behave as pass-through device passing any line-in of your choice (eg. inputs 7-8) directly to your main XLR monitors. It makes it really easy to connect multiple either balanced or unbalanced devices to monitors. Kinda like... monitor controller or actual mixer AND interface in one device.