Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 User Guide

User Guide

Version 1.0

www.focusrite.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW..................................................................... 3

Introduction .................................................................3

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Box Contents ................................................................4

System requirements .........................................................4

GETTING STARTED .............................................................5

Quick Start Tool ..............................................................5

Mac users only .................................................................5

Windows only ..................................................................7

All users ......................................................................9

Manual Registration.............................................................9

HARDWARE FEATURES......................................................... 10

Front Panel.................................................................10

Rear Panel .................................................................12

Connecting your Scarlett 8i6 ..................................................13

Power .......................................................................13

USB .........................................................................13

Audio Setup in your DAW .....................................................14

Loopback Inputs...............................................................15

Examples of Usage ..........................................................16

Connecting microphones and instruments .........................................16

Low Latency Monitoring ........................................................17

Creating an effects loop.........................................................18

Using the Scarlett 8i6 as a stand-alone mixer.......................................19

FOCUSRITE CONTROL ..........................................................20

SPECIFICATIONS .............................................................. 22

Performance Speciﬁcations ...................................................22

Physical and Electrical Characteristics ..........................................24

TROUBLESHOOTING ...........................................................26

OVERVIEW

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing this Third Generation Scarlett 8i6, one of the family of Focusrite professional audio interfaces incorporating high quality Focusrite analogue pre-ampliﬁers. In conjunction with the unit’s accompanying software application, Focusrite Control, you now have a compact yet highly versatile solution for routing high quality audio to and from your computer. You can also use the Scarlett 8i6 as a “stand-alone” interface to any other type of recording device, once you have conﬁgured it using Focusrite Control.

In developing the Third Generation series of Scarlett interfaces, we have made further improvements to both performance and features. Audio speciﬁcations have been upgraded throughout the unit to give you greater dynamic range and even lower noise and distortion; additionally, the mic preamp now accepts higher input levels. An important enhancement is the inclusion of Focusrite’s AIR function. Individually selectable on Inputs 1 and 2, AIR subtly modiﬁes the preamp’s frequency response to model the sonic characteristics of our classic transformer-based ISA microphone preamps. When recording with good quality microphones, you will notice an enhanced clarity and deﬁnition in the important mid to high frequency range, just where it is most needed for vocals and many acoustic instruments. Third Generation Scarlett interfaces are class compliant on macOS: this means they are plug-and-play, so no need to install a driver if you are a Mac user.

Your Third Generation Scarlett interface is compatible with our Focusrite Control software application: this lets you control various hardware features, set up monitor mixes and conﬁgure routings. There is a Focusrite Control installer for both Mac and Windows platforms. The Windows version of the installer contains the driver, so in either case, you only need to install Focusrite Control to get up and running.

This User Guide provides a detailed explanation of the hardware to help you achieve a thorough understanding of the product’s operational features. We recommend that you take the time to read through the User Guide, whether you’re new to computer recording or a more experienced user, so that you are fully aware of all the possibilities that the Scarlett 8i6 and accompanying software have to offer. If the main User Guide sections do not provide the information you need, be sure to consult

https://support.focusrite.com/, which contains a comprehensive collection of answers to common

technical support queries.

Features

The Scarlett 8i6 audio interface provides the means for connecting microphones, musical instruments, line level audio signals and S/PDIF digital audio signals to a computer running compatible versions of macOS or Windows. The signals at the physical inputs can be routed to your audio recording software / digital audio workstation (referred to throughout this user guide as the “DAW”) at up to 24-bit, 192 kHz resolution; similarly, the DAW’s monitor or recorded output signals can be conﬁgured to appear at the unit’s physical outputs.

The outputs can be connected to ampliﬁers and speakers, powered monitors, headphones, an audio mixer or any other analogue or digital audio equipment that you wish to use. Although all inputs and outputs on the Scarlett 8i6 are routed directly to and from your DAW for recording and playback, you can conﬁgure the routing within your DAW in order to meet your precise needs.

The accompanying software application, Focusrite Control, provides further routing and monitoring options, as well as the ability to control global hardware settings such as sample rate and synchronisation.

All inputs on the Scarlett 8i6 are routed directly to your DAW software for recording, but Focusrite Control also allows you to route these signals internally within the device to the outputs so that you can monitor the audio signals with ultra-low latency - before they arrive at your DAW, should you need to do so.

The Scarlett 8i6 also has connectors for sending and receiving MIDI data; this lets you use it as a MIDI interface between your computer’s USB port and other items of MIDI equipment in your system.

Box Contents

Along with your Scarlett 8i6 you should ﬁnd:

• External 12 V DC mains Power Supply Unit (PSU)

• USB cable, Type ‘A’ to Type ‘C’

• Getting Started Information (printed on inside of box lid)

• Important Safety Information

System requirements

The easiest way to check that your computer’s operating system (OS) is compatible with the Scarlett 8i6 is to use our online OS Checker at https://customer.focusrite.com/downloads/os. As new OS versions become available over time, you can continue to check for futher compatibility information by searching our Help Centre at https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb.

GETTING STARTED

With the Third Generation, Scarlett interfaces introduce a new, faster way of getting up and running, using the Scarlett Quick Start tool. All you need to do is connect your Scarlett 8i6 to your computer. Once connected, you will see that the device is recognised by your PC or Mac and the Quick Start tool will guide you through the process from there.

IMPORTANT: The Scarlett 8i6 has a single USB 2.0 Type C port (on the rear panel): connect

it to your computer using the USB cable provided. Note that Scarlett 8i6 is a USB 2.0 device,

and thus the USB connection requires a USB 2.0+ compliant port on your computer.

Your computer will initially treat your Scarlett as a Mass Storage Device (MSD), and during its ﬁrst connection, the Scarlett will be in “MSD Mode”

Quick Start Tool

We have tried to make registering your Scarlett 8i6 as simple as possible. The procedure will probably be self explanatory, but we have described each step below, so you can see how they should appear on either a PC or a Mac.

Mac users only:

On connecting your Scarlett 8i6 to your Mac, a Scarlett icon will appear on the desktop:

Double-click on the icon to open the Finder window shown below:

Double-click on the “Click Here to Get Started.url” icon. This will redirect you to the Focusrite website, where we recommend that you register your device:

Click on “Let’s get you started”, and you’ll be presented with a form which will be partly preﬁlled for you automatically. On submitting the form, options will be presented to either go straight to the downloads area to get the software for your Scarlett, or to follow a step by step setup guide based on your choices. Once you have installed the Focusrite Control software to set up and conﬁgure your interface, the Scarlett will be switched out of MSD mode so that it no longer appears as a Mass Storage Device when connected to your computer.

Your OS should automatically switch the computer’s default audio inputs and outputs to the Scarlett 8i6. To verify this, go to System Preferences > Sound, and ensure that the input and output are set to Scarlett 8i6. For more detailed setup options on a Mac, open: Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup.

Windows only:

On connecting your Scarlett 8i6 to your PC, a Scarlett icon will appear on the desktop:

(Note that the drive letter may be something other than D:, depending on what other devices you have connected to your PC).

Double-click on the pop-up message to open the dialogue box shown below:

Double-click on “Open folder to view ﬁles”: this will open an Explorer window:

Double-click “Click Here to Get Started”.

This will redirect you to the Focusrite website, where we recommend that you register your device:

Click on “Let’s get you started”, and you’ll be presented with a form which will be partly preﬁlled for you automatically. On submitting the form, options will be presented to either go straight to the downloads to get the software for your Scarlett, or to follow a step-by-step setup guide based on your choices. Once you have installed the Focusrite Control software to set up and conﬁgure your interface, the Scarlett will be switched out of MSD mode so that it no longer appears as a Mass Storage Device when connected to your computer.

Your OS should automatically switch the computer’s default audio inputs and outputs to be the Scarlett 8i6. To verify this, right click on the Sound icon on the taskbar and select Sound Settings, and set the Scarlett as the Input and Output Device.

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