Got mine for a steal! The best budget option for recording a full live band. I received my 2nd Gen 18i20 in full working condition and the cosmetics are pristine even though I bought refurbished straight from the website. Focusrite never disappoints.

Absolutely amazing audio interface. Even on my old Xeon based PC, it's returning very fast latency figures. I'd also like to add the fact that the Focusrite Support Team are second to none!!

I am a musician, songwriter, and produce my own material. I have recorded professionally and have a home studio, since the late 1970s. Recorded through various interfaces and recently purchased the Scarlett 18i20 (2nd Gen). I was reluctant buying a USB2 interface, but could not wait until USB 3 matured enough to replace my aging interface. RME is way to expensive for enough in and outs that the Scarlett has. Great design with most in & outs in the rear and meters in front. Very easy to operate in a studio rack. I tested guitars, several basses, vocal condenser mics for audio quality. I A/B them against digital vocal preamps, hardware guitar direct effects processors etc. The Scarlett's preamps sounded warm and clear. I was surprised at the clarity and presence, especially with vocals. I did not notice any latency with anything I have thrown at it. Round trip Asio= 7. The computer control is easy and versatile. I used a few included plug-ins, and it came with more than most. My opinion is - an incredible value for under $500 and I agree that everything "just works".

Out of the box, this unit is easy to set up and to use. On my Macbook Pro it was simply plug and play. I already had several core audio applications onboard, and all of them found and accessed the features of the 18i20 immediately. Although there is no driver to download, it is recommended that you download and install the Focusrite Control app to take best advantage of the units many signal routing options! If you have a Windows computer, you’ll have to download and install the audio driver from the Focusrite website before using. Ten minutes after opening the box, I had used the 18i20 to record a short acoustic guitar piece using a pickup and two microphones. Signals were strong from all input devices, even at moderate gain settings. Monitoring was crystal clear, with no noticeable latency. There was also no unwanted noise - no hisses or buzzing, even though the guitar pickup I used often produces a hum. For output on this first outing, I used the two main outputs on the rear of the unit connected to a pair of small amplified speakers - I also used one of the two front headphone jacks for monitoring. Both output sources worked fine - strong, steady output, clear sound, no lag. If you don’t have any audio software on your computer, this unit bundles with Ableton Live Lite software for live performance, and ProTools First (downloadable via provided links) for recording. I did my tests using Apple’s Garageband, MainStage and Logic Pro and all three worked perfectly. The 18i20 also bundles with the Focusrite Red 2&3 Plug-in Suite, LoopMasters sample library, and the Novation Bass Station, for a broad range of enhancements. There are two monitor outlets on the back panel and eight line outputs for a wide variety of sound routing options! The 18i20 also works as a standalone mixer. Keep in mind that it is only a mixer, so there is no EQ, and although the mic preamps are rock solid, if you want additional signal processing it will have to be pre, or post mix. Also keep in mind that this is not an amplified mixer, so you’ll either need a power amp or powered speakers for your sound output. Physically the device is ruggedly built. The movement of the knobs is smooth and easy. Visually, everything on the front panel is clear in bright light. You’ll need a lamp for working on dark stages! The eight LED bar-graph meters are small, but they light brightly and are easy to read in most settings. The on/off switch is conveniently located on the front panel. This is a great feature - several other computer interfaces I’ve had have no on/off options (although most rack mount mixers do!) There are wings on the unit for attachment to a rack. Pros: sturdy construction, inputs on both front and back of unit, full featured control surface, easy interface with computer, ample assignable channels, multiple output options including two dedicated headphone jacks, two monitor out and eight configurable output plugs on the rear panel. LED barograph indicators on front panel, 48v phantom power available and assignable (two buttons, each controlling 4 inputs!) PAD and Instrument settings. Excellent rack mount layout - also terrific for desktop use! There are also midi and optical ins and outs on the rear panel. Cons: No onboard equalizer - only an issue when using as a standalone mixer.

The 18i20 is love! Wonderful product by Focusrite.

BUY IT!!! I strongly recommend this unit, for anyone building a project studio.! It has 18 in 20 out But I love the most about this unit is this software that comes bundled with it ... You really need to try the softube stuff

I had initially stated that my FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 18I20 unit was worth every penny, but experienced technical difficulties in the way of crashes and blue screens that at the time, took away from the enjoyment of the fine piece of gear. After rechecking my connections, I realized my usb cable was loose and after properly reinserting the cable into the unit, it has since worked 100%. In summary, operator error was the cause of the problem and all is well. Thanks to FOCUSRITE for an awesome product and for very quickly addressing the issue.

I moved to this from an Apogee Duet 2, about which I have nothing good to say, aside from it having good sound quality (when it's not constantly crashing, and sent away for service that never made a difference. See, told you.) Overall, the sound quality is definitely on par with what I had, but I just gained countless different capabilities as far as audio routing compared to the Apogee which isn't really a negative, but definitely something I value more at this time. When I'm running Ableton, I usually don't use inputs, and run output sample rate at 96k with 512 sample buffer, leaving me at a latency of 7.xxms, a loss of <1ms from the Apogee with the same settings. The only thing I've found that is an annoyance more than anything, is every time I start my computer I have to open Focusrite's app to re-select 96k sample rate, from a persistently resetting 48k default. Hopefully something that gets ironed out (or if it's me, I find the reason). Awesome card. Awesome capabilities. Off the charts though, for it's price tag. Well done guys, Thank you!!

Versitile, low low latency, configurable sounds great. A must have for any studio or remote recording rig...

This is good, very good. I am tracking in real time with effects reverb and delay through daw. 16 tracks at once, I have a profire 2626 attached through ADAT. I was fearing the decline of FIREWIRE as a method of transfer, so I took a chance on USB 2.0. I use three daws depending on which one I'm not mad at (for the moment.) I use Ableton Suite 9.6, ProTools 11.3, and Sonar Platinum. I ran tests on all three with a vocalist, drummer and myself. The results are good. Outputs to individual headphone amps. Each person was happy with what they could hear. I was recording 24 bit/48 khz with 128 buffer size. No clicks, no pops. I have dell studio xps 9000 with 24 gb of memory. Nvidia gts260.

Works flawlessly. Highly configurable outputs with simple software selections.

Great interface - well built, reliable, stable drives and very flexible routing. Only downside is that the new Focusrite Control software is still hard to navigate at first - in fact I think it's a step backwards from the Focusrite Mix Control of the 1st gen interfaces. It has some limitations too - 18 channels can be mixed but if you have an ADAT external 8 channel (as I do), that only leaves two software channels so no hardware inserts within your DAW. That said, it remains very flexible, the latency is brilliant and it has never crashed. Top interface at an amazing price - the heart of my studio :D

Really great product, my only issue would be that the Pro Tools 12 (windows 10) driver is not optimised enough yet, a few clicks, some CPU spikes. I was an MBOX PRO 3 Firewire user so this is the first time using USB 2 for an audio device, I guess I am noticing the disadvantages vs Firewire pretty quickly and may come across a little too picky. All in all this is a great buy and a good asset for your studio set up... Ryan Anthony aka Phat Monkey

Yeah if I have to say one thing I will say Scarlett 18i20 is the best thing for me to record my music, I have worked in one of the biggest studios in the world and I would say this item is the best sound you can find out there and specially for the price you pay, good luck and I hope you get one.

I am just converting to a Mac based studio after years with my beloved Roland 1680. I am just beginning to scratch the surface of a world that is now open to me. The door way to that world exists via the inputs and outputs of my 18i20 and from my first project I am blown away by the clarity of the acoustic drums, electric guitars and definable the best bass guitar sound I have ever gotten.

This is by far the best audio interface I have ever purchased in terms of sound quality, features and most importantly the ease of use. I have used interfaces by Presonus, Roland and Native Instruments in the past. None of them, NONE have allowed me to record a clear n flat sound like Scarlett. And the mixing software is amazing. I just wished if I could control it from my iPad. All in all I would rate it as 9/10

When I found out about the 18i20 2nd Gen I was so excited. I wanted to buy it as soon as I heard...when I pre-ordered it, the interface came to my house a week earlier than expected. Off the bat I had a great relationship with the new interface. Plugging the interface in and firing her up was awesome. I have the OctoPre II and this plus my 18i20 is a great mix. I love the clarity of my interfaces and that Focusrite lives up to their word to have great products. Thanks for a great piece of hardware.

Having used other Focusrite products, I definitely do believe in the brand, and the Scarlett 18i20 isn't bad persay, but it does have a few rough edges. So withouth further ado, the good, the bad and the ugly. The Good: It's very solidly built. Nothing cheap in the build feel. Knobs have a solid feel to them, and turn smoothly. Front panel layout is staggered, which gives is a nice appeal, vs the standard "everything in a straight line" on most other interfaces. Pre-amps sound great, no complaints. Color scheme is awesome. It's a sexy beast. A minor thing for sure, but still ads to the overall value. The Bad: Knobs are small-ish and the monitor / headphone 1 & 2 knobs are close together. When mounted in a rack, it can be a little tedious to turn them. Also, the monitor knob does nothing from 0-50% and then only starts to kick in at about 51%. Then gets all it's volume from about 51-75% of knob twist. Very strange. Also, when mounted in a rack, you loose all the sexiness of the brushed red case, effectively making it not much sexier than anything else in your rack. It is what it is. No direct input monitor mute switch. Why they would include that on lesser priced units in the lineup and *not* on the flagship is a mystery. The Ugly: The software control panel in a word is hideous. As a UX designer, I'm actually pretty surprised that a company that builds such quality products would release this software as is to accompany it. It lacks all kinds of features you'd find in other interfaces, for example, you cannot adjust the buffer size or khz from it. The controls are cryptic and the routing is horrible. Also, the supplied bundle software is pretty Meh. I wanted to install nothing from it, out of about the 10 or so choices they offer. Overall, if you can deal with the quirks, the unit itself does exactly what you expect it to do, record / output and sound great.

Hello: This unit replaced a Presouns that I had a lot of trouble with as well as their TEC support. Yours is a much smother unite. Thanks Michael Clark