Focusrite Scarlett Solo Review – The Standard For Budget Home Recording

Design:
Features:
Performance:
Value:

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Focusrite has been on the forefront of USB audio interface devices for a long time now. Their Scarlett Solo is one of the most popular audio interfaces you can get for less than $100. Today we are going to take a closer look and see what makes it so good.

Design

Once you unpack Focusrite Scarlett Solo, you are greeted with a very stylish little red box. This thing represents the very standard of audio interface design. In other words, we have all of the relevant inputs on the front panel, while the outputs are in the back. The chassis Focusrite Scarlett Solo comes in is made of machined aluminum with composite masks at the front and the back. As such, it is more than durable enough for home use. The entire thing is compact, making it easy to stash away on your desktop somewhere. Even though it doesn't really matter much, Scarlett Solo is by far one of the best looking devices of this type you can find right now. As a matter of fact, entire Scarlett series shares this attribute. With that said, the main focus was definitely on functionality, easy of use and overall performance.

Features

Where Focusrite Scarlett Solo stands out is the hardware. They have installed a very decent microphone preamp, as well as a whole new instrument line package. Former generation of this interface had some issues with hotter pickups, but that's no more the case. Looking at the front panel, we see an XLR input with its gain knob. Next comes theinstrument line input and its gain knob. Both gain knobs have an illuminated circle whichindicates when the signal is too strong. Choosing between these two channels is done by moving the channel select switch. Moving on, at the far right side of the interface we see a monitor level knob along with a headphones out, and direct monitor switch. In the back,there is a USB port, which is used for both data transfer and as means of supplying power. Additionally, there are RCA line outputs for stereo speakers.

Performance

Trying to setup a studio on a budget can be very challenging. Audio interfaces are one of those components of said studio, which many people are scared to save money on. However, with devices such as Focusrite Scarlett Solo, there is nothing to worry about. If you are focusing more on vocals, you will be pleased to know that Scarlett Solo's built in preamp is very clean. On top of that, it comes with phantom power included. All you have to do is find the right gain level and make sure that the ring around the gain knob is in the green. Same goes for instruments. This audio interface offers pretty high sample rates, which reach 192kHz / 24 bit easily. In other words, the quality of the recording is going to be pretty high. Add extremely low latency to that mix, and you have a fairly capable budget setup.

Conclusion

Focusrite Scarlett Solo is one of the most compact, most consistent and cheapest audio interface devices you can find. As such, it works surprisingly good. This is partially the reason why it has been so popular ever since the day of its launch. Ultimately, it is a perfectly safe choice.

For more info about the Focusrite Scarlett Solo, click here.
For more Audio Interfaces Under $100 you might like, click here.