VO Weekly Workflow: In Praise of Scarlett

It strikes me a bit funny when someone says they need to upgrade their Scarlett to improve their audio quality. That ubiquitous red device sits on so many studio shelves and editing desks that it becomes easy to take them for granted. Perhaps there’s an insidious feeling within the voiceover community that our setups are not “professional” enough. I’ve encountered many narrators, with dozens of book projects under their belt, who feel shamed in online groups for not using specific recording software, or “only” owning a moderately priced microphone.

Fact is, the unobtrusive Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Generation 4 does great work with very little fanfare. If we had come across this audio interface “back in the day” when first using digital recording tools, it would have been hailed as a game changer. A two input interface with super clean preamps, a decent amount of gain and neutral sound with 24 bit A/D converters? All that for a couple hundred dollars! Unheard of!

With current interfaces, spending more money does not necessarily mean better performance. You might gain more microphone inputs, tighter integration to specific recording software, the ability to route audio signals in a sophisticated manner, or even some high quality audio processing options. However, the core functionality of taking a low level analog signal from a microphone, amplifying that cleanly, and then converting that signal into digital information – changes very little even in expensive interfaces.

I’ve had various Scarletts hanging around the studio for a while now. My original first generation 2i2 ran my studio for many years, got chucked into traveling bags to work as the core of mobile class setups and still works well. Focusrite navigated the challenges of quality control better than most throughout the pandemic, with one minor hiccup for USB cord quality back with the Gen2’s. It’s a design that has needed only minor refinements over time.

Easy to manually adjust all settings

Most importantly, they’ve maintained a key design tenet that core functions be directly controllable on the unit itself. There is something very direct about turning a dedicated knob and controlling input gain, while a different one changes playback volume. That takes significantly less brainpower than remembering some esoteric combination of button pushes required on other devices. I’d rather be able to keep focused on the demands of performance.

While maintaining that operational simplicity, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Generation 4 then solved two major issues impacting many voice actors and podcasters: reliably setting input levels with Auto-Gain, and dealing with sudden changes in performance volume through the “SAFE” mode.

Scarlett 2i2 Generation 4 “Auto” Gain Setting Feature

With the Auto-Gain setting option, a tap of the button makes the 2i2 “listen” to the input for several seconds and it adjusts things appropriately. It’s an efficient way to solve an equation which can trip up newer (or even very experienced) voice actors. It’s the same task that an actual engineer does when they ask to “set a level”, choosing an appropriate input gain amount based on the volume of the actor behind the microphone. This can be helpful even for someone familiar with the task.

Scarlet 2i2 Generation 4 “Safe” Mode

When the adrenaline gets going in the booth, or a director tells us to “go for it!” during a session, even that conservative initial input gain might not be enough. That’s where the “SAFE” mode comes into play. With the SAFE mode engaged, if the input suddenly increases and hits 0 dB, this circuit immediately drops the input setting down by a specific amount where it remains until reset. This has been a benefit for more than one audiobook narrator who realized after the fact that one of their characters was significantly louder than they thought.

Now that the Generation 4 has moved the XLR connectors to the rear of the unit, added more gain to the preamps, beefed up the headphone output, it continues to be a solid choice for a home voiceover studio. While I can use the Focusrite Control 2 software to make almost any adjustment on the unit, it remains manually adjustable on the physical unit itself. Since it is not app-specific, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Generation 4 remains one of the very solid choices as an audio interface.

Have you tested your studio’s audio quality to make sure it meets professional standards? For a free review of your vocal recordings, please use the upload tool on my Audio Review page.

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