Review Of The Focusrite Clarett 8Pre - Thunderbolt Audio Interface
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- In this video James takes a look at the new Clarett8 Pre Thunderbolt interface by Focusrite. James records a trio of Guitar, Bass and Drums in a rock style track putting the pre-amps of the Clarett to work with a combination of microphones on drums and guitar and using the instrument DI on the bass track.
Designed for the project studio that needs plenty of I/O, Focusrite’s 18-in, 20-out Clarett 8Pre combines eight mic preamps, class-leading digital conversion and extra-low round-trip latency - enabling DAW plugins to be used while monitoring recordings. Clarett’s mic pre offers superbly low noise and distortion, plus the “Air” effect that models the sound of Focusrite’s renowned ISA transformer-based preamps.
Great review, thanks James:)
Excellent review - concise, detailed enough, and candid. Oddly enough nothing bad to say... In my case, that means sold. Thanks James!
GREAT HAIR!! That frosting is SO nice! What a guy!
good info i love my clarett 8 pre i just need to learn about pre amps better and what do i need to hook up more headphones for full band recordings ? good video liked and subscribed !
Great Job, thank you!
Thanks for posting this. A very exciting piece of gear. What do you think of the RedNet stuff?
Hi Pro Tools Expert. You also reviewed the Universal Audio Apollo 8 and 8P. How do the Focusrite Clarett and Apollo 8 devices compare in pure sound quality as they come "out of the box"?
Nice presentation James; thanks! Can you tell me what headset/mic you're using for the presentation? Thanks again!
Your audio sounds amazingly clear, what headset / mic are you using?
The Blue Mo Fi's are phenomenal!
im interested in getting the clarett 2pre. does it work with windows? i have a thunderbolt port im just not sure if this is a mac only interface
HOW TO WORK IN DOLBY ATMOS WITH PRO TOOLS AND WHAT ALL BASIC HARDWARE ARE REQUIRED CAN WE DO IT WITH ANY FOCUSRITE HARDWARE OR ANYTHING ELSE PLEASE HELP ME OUT.
Man i hope you can help me! I have this at home haven’t used it yet but if i were to use two overheads on drums that needed phantom power and the rest don’t Can i choose which inputs have the power and which ones don’t???
Sounds like a funky jam band, I like it.
I'd definitely buy the Clarett 8 pre and an additional 8 channel preamp Clarett if Focusrite were to bring one out
Hi, could you connect a Roland SP30 to input channels 3 and 4 and use that as stereo? that would mix on its own track using Cubase?
Found the Clarett very nice Interface but just wondering whats the difference between preX and pre since i don’t count with thunderbolt port
Hi, nice review!! Im using a 2017 13" MacBook pro with USB type C port. Is this compatible or do they have to go through the dongles? Thank you.
How do find it up against the Audient ASP 800? I have an Apogee Quartet that I would like to expand and have narrowed it down to these 2 units. The issue with the Focurite may be that it's an Audio Interface in itself, although you can aggregate units on the Mac. But the Audient ASO 800 looks very versatile as well esp with the 2 effects 1&2 units. Be great to get your view on this. PS the fact that it has 2 headphone outs is also very attractive for the Focusrite.
will this work with Sierra as I am so disappointed that major suppliers are not 'seemingly caring about the end user' as I can no longer use my Personus 1818VSL with Pro Tools 12 as AVID does not support this - So I have no headphones and it crashes constantly
Looks like it is: support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/211671129-Are-Focusrite-products-compatible-with-macOS-Sierra-
Do you know if this Clarett is better for recording vocals audio than my scarlett solo 2nd gen, and if so what cable do you need to plug a microphone into it? Like an xlr to what because the mic inputs don't look like regular female xlr inputs... Would a regular Male xlr plug in even though it doesn't look like a regular xlr input? Also, do the bigger claretts only cost more because there's more inputs, or are they better for recording audio too?
Hello Sir .
My question is : zoom F8n recorder good enough to make good quality sounding videos for streaming on TH-cam and instagram? Or an 8 line audio interface for drums recording ?
And wich one of these microphones sets have better qualities for drums recording :
Audix Fp7 or Akg session 1 or audio-technica Dk7 ?
Tanks 🙏🏼
Is the clarret have loop back?
With that EQ curve on your kick drum, maybe you should use an Audix D6 from the beginning.
Sweet Yamaha TRB you got there bro. I have exact same one, also in the exact same colour lol.Great demo of this audio interface. I have older Focusrite Pro, but i'm thinking of upgrading to this. This or RME UCX.
how does this compare to universal audio apollo in terms of latency and overall quality of the built in preamps?
It has zero latency.. The preamps are meh and noisy over 25% gain
Hi. what stand is the clarett sitting on ?
How do the converters on this compare to the ua apollo twin?
Hi, Does it work on maverick 10.9.1 ? Thank you
i have a si impact which has no line levels and no inserts, unless they are digital. So i am unable to use any of my outboard gear bc i can not get into the impact unless i come in digital.
i have been trying like hell to figure out how to configure this system.
I would like to find a way t route into something that can then have analog line level and inserts and then return them to the impact over the MADI.
Or perhaps just run into an audio interface with the capability of the above mentioned scenarios and then just run those over to the impact via MADI or perhaps ether link. The impact has a HI-Q net etherlink connection. Please help!!
Your drums sound freaking amazing btw. Damn!!!
Thank you,
- aaron
On sound quality wise, is it the same to Clarett 2Pre?
We don't need any preamp because these 8 channels have an inbuilt preamp right?
What microphones are you using on the drums?
Hi there James or Pro Tools Expert! I am a complete novice but I play a little guitar and starting to delve into recoding my guitar playing! I have come across the company focusrite that's how I found this vlog! Can you please answer me a question....it's about Thunderbolt! I understand it's a new connection between the computer and interface and it is supposedly faster than USB, are there any other advantages to Thunderbolt? Please could you explain in laymens terms about the benefits of Thunderbolt over previous connections! Will everyone be upgrading to Thunderbolt? Also, do focusrite listen to your reviews and make changes to their equipment based on your reviews? i.e. Do they act upon your feedback? I hope you will be able to reply! Thanks...Mitch
will it work with my iMac 5k 27in
Is the air like the liquid pres that were on sapphire 56? Is it analog or digital processing?
Thanks and great video
Its analogue and its not liquid sounding. You'll need a tube preamp to get that its still just a sub 1000.00 interface.
That said its a good unit. But if you want the best possible sound u need to 3x your budget
How does it compare to the IDD22 by Audient?
Also how its compared to presonus quantum?
man I'd be in line to buy the first decent usb3 interface. Why do they refuse to make one?
What's your opinion comparing this with Apollo UA?? I am debating over which one I should buy between Apollo Twin Solo or upcoming 4pre Clarette? What's your advise?
The clarette is great for the money. Do you care about getting the UA plugins though? If so go for the Apollo because it has a built in DSP that'll take the load of those plugins off your computer. I have clarette 8 preX and like it a lot. I debated the Apollo 8 but in the end decided double the price being a lil unfair so I went with the more home studio friendly company.
Tell me which one is the best between this one and 18i20
This is a compliment, but I feel like you just played the theme song to HOME IMPROVEMENT on guitar :)
What kind of a stand do you have the 8Pre sitting on?
The stand is a DJ stand by Hercules available on Amazon:
www.amazon.co.uk/Hercules-DG400BB-Lap-Top-Stand/dp/B00J0823FI/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1502958759&sr=1-1&keywords=HERCULES+laptop+STANDS
IN TERMS OF CONVERTERS AND PREAMPS, CLARETT 8PRE OR ID14+ASP800 ?
I just ordered a Clarett 8 PreX to partner with my new iMac 5k I7.
Can't wait to get everything here.
Bye bye Windows
Maj Jam.. just installed my clarett 8pre & thunderboltex 3 into my i7-6700K.. Bye bye apples ! 😉
it means he's ditching Mac for Windows.
what adapter did you use?
Cuz I can... I use asus thunderbolt ex 2 AIC with Apple usbc to tb2 adapter
***** well, PC's are all a jack of all trades, MACs are a master of a few. They're too locked in for my liking but in the current age of recording its beneficial to have one.
HI, excellent review. I just have one question.. do you know if it is thunderbolt 2 or 3?
Hey! It’s TB 2
does this play nice Reason? cause I have the Apollo uad rack and never really got it to work right thanks
that should say play nice with Reason 9.5 and 10
Were can I get that stand you have it on?
The stand is a DJ stand by Hercules available on Amazon:
www.amazon.co.uk/Hercules-DG400BB-Lap-Top-Stand/dp/B00J0823FI/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1502958759&sr=1-1&keywords=HERCULES+laptop+STANDS
where did you get that stand? i'm looking for something just like that!
The stand is a DJ stand by Hercules available on Amazon:
www.amazon.co.uk/Hercules-DG400BB-Lap-Top-Stand/dp/B00J0823FI/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1502958759&sr=1-1&keywords=HERCULES+laptop+STANDS
i have the scarlett...are the preamps on these noticeably better?
barely... mixing and singing better is more important :)
it may sound silly, but can I record more than 2 channels simultaneously with thunderbolt connection and take them independently on my DAW e.g. logic pro (not just L and R like in usb) ? or should e.g. use ADAT in any case? thnx
It work's independently , you can record 18 ins and playback tracks from your DAW.
Yes you can record 20 channels simultaneously
This guy is the definition of a protools user.
I understand that you can daisy chain with thunderbolt but you're out luck when you use a dual display setup (as most studios do) and one the monitors is connected via thunderbolt. This is why I'm still using a firewire audio interface......Focusrite of course.
There's a company called, "Other World Computing", that makes one of the best thunderbolt docks on the market and up to five of them can be daisy chained together. They include 2 thunderbolt, 5 USB 3.0, FireWire and HDMI.... Again, 5 of them can be daisy chained together.
+Maj Jam Hey I had that device and returned it. The problem is that you have to use one of the Thunderbolt ports on the OWC Thunderbolt Dock to connect to your Mac which I only have one and that being used to connect my Raven MTi. Having that OWC Thunderbolt Dock just repeats the problem.
What's the name of the Big Screen that protools is on?
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MTi2
is thunderbolt only for mac?
was disappointed to see that the 8pre X disables mic in 1 and 2 when you plug into the 2 line ins on the front.
Is it possible to use this as a slave via ADAT to my Presonus Audiobox vsl1818?
Its kinda like a Saffire Pro 40 but with world clock, Thunderbolt instead of firewire and the Air feature.
Nothing about a/d converters?
thanks
you are a great drummer james, just saying
i just bought one of these yesterday after my good ol' pro40 gave up on me. figured i may as well take the opportunity to join the thunderbolt revolution.
Nice. Do u know if it could be hooked up together with the Safire 40? I have the Safire 40 and I need more mic inputs now and it'd be great of I could use this clarette in combination with the Safire 40 and get a total of 16 mic inputs between the two of em?
i'm really not sure if the pro 40 can be used as an ADAT; i did wonder whether this was possible myself.
+ccandrew111 How are the pre amps compared to the Pro 40? I'm still using the Pro 40. I don't have any latency issues. The only thing that temps me to get this thing are the pre amps and possibly being able to hook it to the pro 40. But the pre amps need to be a big difference for me to get it. Right now I use external pre amps but I would love to find an interface where I never had to mess with an external pre again.
focusrite pre-amps are known for being good and the clarett is no exepction. i'm not really an expert on pres, but there's nothing bad sounding about them. they have the additional 'air' feature, which models the sound of the ISA pres. i'm pretty sure i've read the pro40 can be set up as an adat as well
Yeah, I'd like to plug in my pro 40 into this unit. I have a good bit of outboard gear, it would be nice to never have to unplug any of it. However I couldn't justify it if the pre amps aren't a whole lot better because I have no latency issues.
That is a serious interface for serious people who take their music seriously
Bro... those heads on those toms... also using the most basic plugin in all of ProTools?! I'm officially happy with my Saffire series gear.
nothing wrong with the pt channel strip... it's very precise & flexible. not a lot of color, but its clean character is appropriate in a gear review.
He said First! HA. I do like my 8pre.
PreSonus Quantum vs Focusrite Clarette 8Pre Thunderbolt - How does the preamp sound quality, latency, A/D conversion, and stability compare?
Very good review James !!
I want to use Clarett in live setting, with logic pro and a brand new mac. Is the latency acceptable, if my songs will consist of 1 or 2 voices, drum machine (famous beatbuddy), 2 guitars and bass? Without any other recorded tracks going on, and with minimal effect: on each channel eq, comp, reverb, delay... and comp on master bus ?
+Patrice Cossette it's almost nonexistant. we do live setup with beringer xr18 that has 3.6 in 3.6 out ms latency on windows laptop and we can play fine and thight without any observable latency issues. even so, we find it tighter and more responsive than playing with real amps. we do instruments and vocals into xr18 that's connected with usb2 to laptop, then into reaper daw, there we add bias amp sim for guitars, eq and compression for bass, addictive drums 2 sim, fx for vocals, eqing, master eq, compression, expanders, reverb, tons of plugins and then singnal goes back into xr18, then into PA and our behringer earphone 8 chanel preamp and into our IEMs (shure 215) . it works AMAZING! our sound is out of this world, sounds like studio recording, only it's live. if you stand 1 meter away from amp you get, what 3ms latency? with this even 6ms latency is ok, because we get 6ms latency at the moment it hits our eardums. best part aside from amazing sound is that we control the whole sound and we fill all of our gear in 12u rack. no amps, no drums, just 12u rack. yeah. talk about practical side of things. so miniscule 1ms round trip latency on carlett is just insane. you can't realisticaly get that with just amps and normal band settings. even drummer hears 1ms latency when hittling things that are 1m away from him. imagine that. with this you are getting better response than you would standing 1m from amp. yep, that's the future.
+Igor Vuk Thanks for your reply. I decided to use Touchmix console, so without computer running.
+Igor Vuk what interface are you guys using and what is your Computer specs?
behringer umc404hd . i have i7 6700hq laptop, 8gb ddr4, 120gb ssd. windows 10 and daw is reaper
Oh man, I am getting a laptop with better specs and was thinking twice before investing that high. The CPU does after all affect the latency and everything right?
Definitely in the market for an ultra low latency audio interface but the lack of windows support from Microsoft is a concern, I know it's on the way as part of future Windows 10 updates so I'll probably buy one of these at some point.
My only concern is that it's only got one thunderbolt port so no daisy chaining devices.
Also wouldn't it be better to redesign this and include a USB type C connection in a future revision?
stupidusername38 Yeah, WINDOWS COMPATIBILITY COMING SOON. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Too bad :)
BTW, it's gonna require a good PCI-E thunderbolt card, any advice on that ?
Robin Labadie
Hi Robin, The windows driver is in work and progressing nicely. It would be useful to know what Thunderbolt hardware you'd like to use with the Clarett?
Ben Cochrane I searched after viewing this video and didn't find any relevant things. Creepy...
Robin Labadie
I work for Focusrite (Clarett hardware lead). I'm using an internal alpha driver.
Rest assured that a pubic beta is on its way. Keep an eye on the website for updates.
Ben Cochrane Nice ! :)
Would you have any relevant PCI-E Thunderbolt adapters for PCs to advise ? Because that's my biggest worry at the moment ! :p
Hey PTExpert, how is the sound on them Blue Headphones?? They look like a work of art and they are freaking Sexy as shit!! is the sound good enough to mix with?? also before all the Trolls come out, I KNOW you should use monitors for mixing and all that good stuff, but my music sounds way better after I mix with my Audio Technica M50X headphone. Anyway.. . I'm in the market for a new pair and these Blues look like the Ferrari of cars! Lol
It def sounds good enough to mix with. It's pro sound quality. I heard a couple recordings it was used on that sound great.
Awsome
PC cannot use Thunderbolt?
stormshadow2k yes it does , depending on the computer you use
They have a usb C version now. Suck it.
Steinberg UR824 is way better
Pretty sure it's not thunderbolt.
sounds flat and digital...
it's suppose to sound like that if its dry with no effects and not mixed and mastered. what do you expect?
this is pretty much no different than the scarlett 18i20
thunderbolt is dead
man I'd be in line to buy the first decent usb3 interface. Why do they refuse to make one?
+James Beylik
Understood. ;)
man I'd be in line to buy the first decent usb3 interface. Why do they refuse to make one?
+James Beylik There is a usb 3 interface
Rme ufx+ has usb 3