Audio Interface for playing/recording at home.

[Alec Lewis]

Hey everyone just had a question about an audio interface I am looking at for christmas this year. I was looking to get the Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen, Here is a link for reference: (I dont believe the link posts but a quick amazon search will find what im looking at)


I was just wondering if this is a good option for me, as I really just want something that is going to allow me to record myself in good quality on my laptop and upload/share it to people. Not looking for studio quality or anything but I do want something that is good enough quality for recording something for youtube for example without having to use my phone microphone for audio lmao. I did some research and this seems to be the best bang for your buck audio interface for a small in home "studio" setup. Also from what I could gather you still need an audio software on your PC/laptop for effects and distortion and what not. What would be a good free software, or maybe just a cheap one time payment software that I could use, as I prefer no subscriptions? EDIT: I see now that it comes with a software on amazon, so I assume this will be good enough for some basic audio mixing, I also have access to Adobe Audition for editing if needed.

Thanks in advance for the responses.

 

[idssdi]

I heard a lot of good things if focusrite so I think you're good. I personally have a presonus audiobox and it does everything I need right now

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Hey everyone just had a question about an audio interface I am looking at for christmas this year. I was looking to get the Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen, Here is a link for reference: (I dont believe the link posts but a quick amazon search will find what im looking at)


I was just wondering if this is a good option for me, as I really just want something that is going to allow me to record myself in good quality on my laptop and upload/share it to people. Not looking for studio quality or anything but I do want something that is good enough quality for recording something for youtube for example without having to use my phone microphone for audio lmao. I did some research and this seems to be the best bang for your buck audio interface for a small in home "studio" setup. Also from what I could gather you still need an audio software on your PC/laptop for effects and distortion and what not. What would be a good free software, or maybe just a cheap one time payment software that I could use, as I prefer no subscriptions?

Thanks in advance for the responses.

Hey there! While I can't speak for that one myself, I am in an audio engineering class and scarlett makes a lot of really good audio interfaces. Currently the one I use is the 2i2. It's also the one that my guitar teacher used to record his entire first album through and he's doing it on his 2nd album as well. So while I can't speak for this model particularly, I know for a fact that Scarlett makes reputable interfaces

 

[Filip Tomiša]

You can't go wrong with focusrite. You'll get a good studio quality sound with that interface, the rest will be up to VSTs you use for your guitar tone. Just google free guitar vsts and you'll find something. As for the daw, you can try reaper since it's "free", there is a license you can buy after the trial expires but you don't have to. I'm not sure which version of ableton you get with that interface but it's probably a lite version with limited features. You'll probably be only able to record but not export or something like that. As for other interfaces you can check out audient id4, that one is also pretty good.

 

[Rad Synner]

Yes its a great choice. I use the focusrite Scarlett 18i20 (its just that mine has 8 inputs but its the same components inside) so yeah, if you just want an easy solution for recording guitar straight into your computer, its a great choice!

 

[Ed Seith]

Can vouch as well. No better bang for the buck for the home studio musician that FocusRite's Scarlett series.

 

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This user has deleted their account.

 

[Noah Berends]

Anything from Focusrite or MOTU in that price range is excellent. I use Focusrite myself and have no need to upgrade. I would however recommend staying away from Behringer, as their quality is not 100% up to par with the aforementioned.

 

[Donovan Etue]

I've heard nothing but great things about Focusrite especially their Gen 3 Scarlett series. Can't get much better for the price. I personally went with the Evo 4 by Audient since it was similar in price, came with some software that caught my eye, and was the child of a well known distinguished brand that makes great interfaces albeit at a higher price point. With an audio interface you're going to want to use a DAW. Some folks use Ableton, Pro Tools, Presonus Studio One, or Reaper. I personally use reaper since the "trial" version is technically the full version. You just get a pop up that recommends that if you enjoy Reaper that you buy the $60 license which I did a year and over 50 hours of total time spent using it.

For free amp sims/effects there is one in particular that I enjoy using. ML Soundlabs Roots. It's Ryan (Fluff) Bruce's signature amp sims. The free one is a model of the EVH 5150III EL34 model that sounds pretty good. ML Soundlabs also just came out with a signature amp sim with Stevie T which is called the Djent God I believe? Haven't tried it out yet and I haven't heard much about it yet but from my experience of using the Roots plugin as well as the ML800 I'm sure it's good too. The Ignite Emissary is a well known, free, high gain amp sim that's well received. I persoanlly didn't care for it but I know lots of folks swear by it for free hi gain tones. For cleans I've found that you only really need your DI (Direct Input, purely your guitar signal) and some reverb to get a decent clean tone. There are tons of free effects and amp sims out there.

With some amp sims you'll need an IR plugin to replicate a speaker to get a good tone with an amp sim. Otherwise it'll sound like crap. The NadIR plugin is free and easy to work with. It comes with a few IR's (Impulse Responses, basically a digital rendition of a cabinet that's been mic'd up). With my Evo 4 I receieved a license for the Two Notes Torpedo Wall of Sound software which is an extremely customizable cab sim software with tons of different cabinets and mics to choose from.
Anyway before I ramble on more and more, the scarlett is a good interface. For a DAW I recommend Reaper as it's free and has a lot of tools to help you dip your toes into recording at home/working with amp sims. I hope this helps!