Most stock sound cards will have one simple 1/8″ microphone input – designed for simple PC activities like voice chat and applications such as Skype. Just as critical, your PC’s stock sound card does not have the inputs and outputs necessary for real music production (“How do I plug in my new condenser mic, bro?”). This ensures that what you hear, is what you get. Audio interfaces like the 2i2 are designed to provide quality ADC so your sound experiences minimal quality loss once it becomes digital. This process of taking a signal, such as your vocals coming through your microphone (analog sound) and recording it on your computer (digital sound) is known as Analog to Digital Conversion (ADC).
However, once it comes to capturing that sound, you want to make sure that your recording is as clean and transparent as possible. Sure, its fine to have analog gear that may warm up your tone and color your signal nicely. When you’re producing, it’s important that the sound you’re recording is captured with minimal coloration or degradation so what you initially hear is what you play back. Audio interfaces are more sophisticated than a stock sound card and designed with the intent of providing an uncolored and transparent signal. This will help you achieve higher audio quality, mainly in terms of clean and accurate sound. Instead, you have dedicated audio processing designed for music production (or any audio production). What this means is you’re no longer relying on your computer’s sound card. An audio interface connects to your computer and will take over all the audio processing for your music production. If you’re recording by plugging directly into your computer’s microphone input, you’re bound to end up with a poor quality recording. But, why? What’s the purpose? And how can this help you decide whether you should buy the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2? Well, audio interfaces like Focusrite’s Scarlett 2i2 serve two primary functions, which are both crucial to any engineer or producer – audio quality and connectivity.Īs you shop for audio interfaces, you’ll usually see that the more expensive the interface, the higher the level of audio quality (cleaner and more transparent) and connectivity (primarily, the number of inputs and outputs) you can expect.Īn audio interface can be thought of as the centerpiece of most modern studios as most gear in the studio will usually run through it. (You can skip down to our Scarlett 2i2 review if you already know what an audio interface is).Īudio Interfaces Explained Why Do You Need an Audio Interface? So, let’s first explain what an audio interface is and why you’ll need one as a producer. In this article, we review the second-generation Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (the small differences between generations will be covered later in this review).īut, before we dive into all the details of the 2i2, you may just be diving into the world of studio gear and not completely understand what an audio interface is or what it does.
So, what is it about the Scarlett 2i2 that has made it the top choice for beginner producers? It’s heavily due to its very affordable price (see current price).īut, there’s plenty of affordable audio interfaces out there. This is not only due to the great value the 2i2 offers for beginner producers. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is dominant in the market for audio interfaces, and one of the best-selling pieces of studio gear of all-time. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 + Why Do You Need an Audio Interface?
0 kommentar(er)
