- Hi, I'm Jordan from Kettner Creative.
In this video, we're gonna compare
the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface
against the Focusrite Scarlett Solo audio interface.
Oftentimes, if people are looking to just get started
with connecting their XLR microphone to their computer,
they usually end up looking at one of these audio interfaces
because these are extremely popular.
They come highly recommended,
especially for the price point,
these are extremely popular and extremely good value.
But if you're new to this,
it can be overwhelming looking at all the specs and models.
And you're tryna figure out
is the Scarlet Solo enough for me?
Do I need the features from the 2i2,
or do I want the affordability of the Solo
and that has everything that I need?
So, we're hoping to answer those questions in this video.
Now, first of all, in terms of price,
we do have some links down in the description below
not only for both of these audio interfaces,
but for their combo kits as well.
The combo kits come with a
condenser microphone and headphones,
and either one of these audio interfaces,
they're really good value.
So please do check out the links in the description below.
If you wanna see current up-to-date pricing
at a variety of online retailers,
so you can find the best current price for you.
Now, first of all,
when we look at size of both of these devices,
you can tell that the Solo
is obviously a little bit smaller.
It does have less features.
The inputs are a little bit more compact,
so it does come in at a smaller size
if portability is really important to you.
Now, when we look at the back of both devices here,
you can see that they do have very similar setups.
You have a Kensington lock slot,
you have a left and right line level output,
and you have a USB-C cable
that will connect to your computer.
So they're very similar there.
On the front, you can tell
is where things start to get a little bit different.
Now they do both have that nice large monitor knob
to control the line level outputs on the rear of the device.
They both have a headphone jack there.
They offer direct monitoring.
And that's where things start to get
a little bit different now.
On the Scarlet Solo here,
you can tell that they have an XLR mic level input here.
You get Phantom power for that mic level input.
So if you have a condenser microphone,
you can turn that on or off.
You need it on if you have a condenser microphone.
You do get this nice Focusrite air switch
that does give a boost of the upper frequencies
for your mic level input.
And you get your control for that mic level input.
Next to it, there is a quarter-inch input
that works for both instrument level and line level inputs.
And you can toggle it
using this instrument level button there.
Now one common misconception about this audio interface,
and it comes as no surprise
'cause it's called the Scarlett Solo.
People think that you can just record
one of the inputs at a time.
That's not true.
You can record both inputs at the same time.
You can multi-track record them.
So if you're a singer songwriter,
say you have an acoustic guitar with a pickup built in,
you can plug that
into the instrument level quarter-inch input,
and you can plug your microphone into the XLR input
and sing and rip the chord and multi-track both of them.
So that works really well.
Now, what this thing cannot do
is you cannot connect to microphones
or to line level or instrument level inputs.
If you want something like that,
you would need the Scarlett 2i2.
So let's take a look at that next.
The Scarlett 2i2 is very similar to the Scarlett Solo
where you do get instrument and line level control
over the quarter-inch jacks.
You get this air switch that you can add
to the XLR mic level input.
And you can add Phantom power
if you're using a condenser microphone.
But where this thing really shines compared to the Solo
is you can do a lot of stereo recording.
So you can do, if you have a two-person podcast,
you can connect two microphones.
If you're micing a grand piano or something like that
and you need that stereo recording with two microphones,
you can now do that with this device.
If you're recording a stereo input source
like an electric keyboard,
where you want the left and right recorded separately
so you can pan them later in post,
you can do that with this,
with two quarter-inch inputs coming from the keyboard.
Other than that, the preamps are identical in both.
The interface with the green blinky ring
around both ends is identical as well.
It responds the same way.
So which one of these would I recommend for you?
If you're doing video conferencing,
a one-man or one-woman podcast,
if you're doing voiceover work where it's just you,
or if you're just doing singer songwriter type stuff
where you're plugging in a keyboard
into the quarter inch jack
and a microphone into the XLR jack,
then the Scarlett Solo is perfect for you
and it will meet everything that you need.
If you wanna do a little bit more
and you know that you're gonna be doing
a lot more experimentation in your home studio,
you're gonna wanna record a two person podcast.
You're gonna wanna record stereo sources,
maybe the front and the side of a guitar amp or
something like that or like I said before,
left and right of a grand piano
or you want both sides of an electric piano plugged in,
the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 will give you that option.
So it really depends what you see yourself doing.
If you're really just using this
as a video conferencing setup,
then the Focusrite Scarlett Solo
will be absolutely perfect for you.
If you see yourself doing home studio experimentation
for the next several years,
I would spend the extra money
on the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface.
Again, if you do wanna see pricing or specs
for either one of these devices,
we do have links down in the description below.
If you have any questions,
if there's something that we didn't cover in this video,
please leave a comment in the comment section below.
And if you wanna see more videos like this in the future,
please like and subscribe.
Thank you so much for watching.
(upbeat music)