Focusrite 18i20 3rd Gen - 1 Year Later! Still worth it?

I've been rocking my ‪@FocusriteTV‬ 18i20 3rd Gen for about 1 year now. How has it been? Worth it? Sell it? Hate it? LOVE IT?! In this video I touch on what it's been like living with the Focusrite 18i20 3rd Gen and how it's been with my hybrid setup!
How to setup ‪@WarmAudioOfficial‬ Preamp on the front and back end of your rig: • Tracking & Plugin BEAS...
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[@ZachWirchak]

Do you own a Focusrite 18i20 3rd Gen? What are your thoughts on it?

[@SOUNDFARE]

I have the 18i20 and have issues setting up reamping in the control software. I think this is not very intuitive to do so for me that’s a thumb down. Maybe you can tell me about an easy way :)

[@ZachWirchak]

@@SOUNDFARE Totally! Are you reamping with a piece of off board gear or with a plugin?

[@SOUNDFARE]

@@ZachWirchak I use the Palmer reamp box

[@ZachWirchak]

@@SOUNDFARE Sweet! Just to confirm (i'm thinking about making a video for this), you're wanting to take a signal from your DAW and run it through the Reamp box, then back into the DAW on a new track? Or to an amp to then record the signal from the amp?

[@SOUNDFARE]

@@ZachWirchak I think the procedures wouldn’t be that much difference. I couldn’t set my focusrite control software to get a signal through the di box. So long story short: I’d love to see both options ❤️

[@BRANDONMUNROMUSIC]

One thing I think people need to give focusrite more credit for is how rock solid their stuff is. I’ve been using a focusrite 18i20 for years now and have never had a single issue with it. It always works and never glitches , and that is pretty impressive

[@SFLET-up9ll]

Had one for 3 years love it.

[@SleepyEyezCarter]

Great update for us. I’ve had mine for almost two weeks and I love it. It’s over kill for my current use. But for where I want to go with my workflow it will work perfectly. And by the way I’m using this with the iPad Pro 2020.

[@ZachWirchak]

That is awesome to hear! It is such a flexible unit for the price point! And having bigger shoes to grow into with future ideas is something I always try and chase when it comes to what I'm buying.

[@Clashborn]

I just bought this. I’ve been using a 1st gen 18i20 for years and I’m so excited.

[@ZachWirchak]

Awesome! I've worked with both the 1st gen and 2nd gen Scarlett's... and I fell like the 3rd gen was a noticeable step up all around! I hope you enjoy it!

[@Syklonus]

I bought one about 2 months ago. The jump in quality from my 20 year old M-Audio interface was like a brick to the face! No more DI boxes, no more fucking about with EQing bad DI tracks to death. I too had the concern that the Clarett would have the better sound and that maybe this was a deliberately "cut down" unit, but TBH the margin between professional and consumer gear has narrowed so much in recent years that the differences are now negligible.

[@ZachWirchak]

Well said! The difference between my 2nd gen and 3rd gen was surprisingly noticeable. So I can only imagine the difference you experienced!

[@kevinbillington9773]

Looking at this for mixing 5.1 surround of the feature film I am working on.

[@user-lg5zn1rk6f]

Love mine , recorded a lot of drums with it ., it’s pretty cool! Good bang for the dollar 🎉

[@ZachWirchak]

Agreed! Great bang for buck in my opinion!

[@landonragsdale7304]

Great Video! Could you do a more in depth look at connecting outboard gear with this? I’m interested in getting outboard gear but not sure where to start or how it all connects

[@ZachWirchak]

Hello! I've done two other video's that might help with that! They are on my channel and they are called "STEP BY STEP - How to setup analog gear as a plugin" & "Tracking & Plugin BEAST - How to use it as both with the press of one button" But I can put a note to make a new video that is all of it combined sometime soon down the road! But hopefully those two videos can help you get started!

[@danferris4946]

I run 2 18i20, get 4 headphones mix ,a bit confusing at first but getting better

[@PeterRivera]

I would like to learn about the focusrite control......is there a demo I can watch?

[@Twelve50TV]

made a sub man - how often you been using the air function ? Cheers from scotland !

[@ZachWirchak]

Hello! I usually will see how I like the Air feature on what ever it is I'm recording, but I will say, I catch myself not using it too much. It's nice to know I have it as an option, but I like to add air in my mixes with my Pultec style analog EQ's.

[@butterblood]

I use it along with the Octopre mkii. Totally gets the job done for me.

[@ZachWirchak]

Nice! 🤘

[@nichttuntun3364]

I got it running with the Clarett +octopre via ADAT and I got high peaks all the time in Cubase 12 (on a PC, Win11), even when no plugin is running. Is your DAW system performing well?

[@butterblood]

@@nichttuntun3364I’ve since upgraded to the clarett 8pre along with the octopre mkii. Pro tools, windows. No problems on my end

[@carlotd93]

Freaking awesome thanks for all your input. I am BRAND new to recording and got this setup cause I needed 7 mic inputs to record drums, crazy I know. Seems like it’s going to work just fine! What do you think?

[@ZachWirchak]

Absolutely! I've used the 18i20 to track drums for many years starting back with the 1st gen focusrites!

[@andrewbird8624]

Th audient Evo16 is the only thing that is built much better (the metal doesn't feel thin and resonant like the focusrites) and actually has more noiseless headroom than the focusrite in this price range - to my ear focusrite is very flat straight into the pre's (which can be a great thign) but I prefer the warmth and better Ux of the Audient and its' software. Unfortunately for me, the evo didn't get on with my studio so we have to stick to the focusrite although tentative as we've had too many legacy focusrite IO drivers obsoleted.

[@mariek6993]

nice that the 18i20 is one of the few in its price range with a talk back...

[@jaquesels581]

Is there a V4 coming out soin please?

[@checkmatenate]

Looks like you could pair a summing mixer to that with it’s 8 outputs

[@ZachWirchak]

With all the ins and outs, you can do a lot with it. Such a flexible unit for the price without a doubt!

[@markreyes1866]

is there a way to have an aux out for individual monitors?

[@SandunAthulathmudali]

Hi, I own the same interface bought it few months ago, it is an amazing piece of gear for the budget and I hope it would compete with some high end gear as well, no doubt I recommend for those who are interested in, I am really satisfied with the new implementations too, great stutt.. Thank you

[@ZachWirchak]

That is great to hear! Focusrite made a great piece of gear for the price in my opinion!

[@RubenSmith]

Hey nice video do the 18i20 3rd got an talk back mic built in?

[@ZachWirchak]

They do! I've never used mine, so I can't comment on the quality, but they do have them built right in.

[@RubenSmith]

@@ZachWirchak nice thanks

[@gudnet]

Hi, will the pre amp of the 3rd gen 2i2 and 18i20 sounds the same? Or which will be more outstanding or in another words better.

[@ZachWirchak]

To my knowledge, all the 3rd gen Scarletts have the same pre amps. If you go to different generations you'll notice a difference in the pre amp sound quality.

[@prowlermadmax2]

I just bought the 18i20 and i was wondering if the Focusrite Control has an equalizer to boost the Bass, mid and treble for my desktop audio apps like youtube and spotify.

[@OFFICIALOLUSEYIDADA]

Hiiiiii I couldn’t get mine to work on my Mac laptop.I don’t know why it is not working?

[@ZachWirchak]

What DAW are you using it with? And do you have Focus Control installed?

[@OFFICIALOLUSEYIDADA]

@@ZachWirchak I’m using Adobe Audition Yes I do have it installed

[@ZachWirchak]

@@OFFICIALOLUSEYIDADA It's been a long time since I've used Audition. But I believe there should be a "audio hardware" option. And in there you should be able to change what audio device you're wanting to use.

[@angelbautista7356]

Im trying to Play with my band Drums = 7 Microphones Keyboards = 3 And want to know if it will work

[@ZachWirchak]

If everything was mono going into the unit, you'd be short 2 inputs. You can run to a 2nd unit using the ADAT to get more inputs.

[@bthellam]

Just curious, has the 18i20 3rd gen made you want to get the Clarett+ 8pre?

[@ZachWirchak]

That is a great question. It has in a weird way... Because the 18i20 is so lovely and easy to use, I just sometimes think "the Clarett+ must be the same, but better". Also the ease of adding external gear with all the in/outs makes me want to get more gear and run a second unit with ADAT. The 18i20 has been a gateway for me wanting to spend more money!

[@bthellam]

@@ZachWirchak I just ordered a Clarett+ 8pre last night. At the price, I really wanted to like the 18i20 3rd gen. But one thing I could not get past was that it only has meters for the mic preamps, not the outputs. Even Presonus knows to put monitor output meters on theirs, even if it costs a bit more. I also didn't want to ever think about not having enough headroom--I don't want to wonder if I'll get clipping or hiss, which a number of people talk about for the 18i20. I don't want to pay more, but I also want an interface that I'll keep forever, if it's good. Tell me if I'm wrong, but the Scarlett series seems to be better for podcasters and people recording talking, which won't be as loud or dynamic as mic'ing guitar amps or drums or singers. What are your thoughts?

[@xntricity6446]

​@@bthellamhas the clarett performed well for you? Im debating getting a 4chan version as extra io via adat. Thanks

[@bthellam]

@@xntricity6446 It has been great! The headphones outs are okay, I still recommend getting a RNHP or Monotor for headphones. I do prefer the physical interface having all the buttons and switches over using Focusrite Control software to use features because, hey, habit says reach for the front panel, not the laptop. But it is a fantastic interface! I'm hard-pressed to think how the Red series would do better!

[@xntricity6446]

@@bthellam super, thanks for replying and it does seam like a good step up from the scarlett. I can get over the headphone issue. Price difference has me thinking hard about it tho👌

[@HC_original]

Hey are you using Mac or pc?

[@ZachWirchak]

I use a PC.

[@HC_original]

@@ZachWirchak what are your specs. i have been running into latency issues.

[@ZachWirchak]

@@HC_original I run a i7 6700 cpu, ssd, quadro m2000, 32gb of 2133mhz ram. Have you tried adjusting your buffer size?

[@TheProdigalPodcast]

Is there anyway to have more than 2 instruments as inputs? Or is it truly just the two in the front? I have one and cannot figure it out ha.

[@ZachWirchak]

The other 6 line in's on on the back. They are combos with the XLR jacks.

[@TheProdigalPodcast]

@@ZachWirchak whenever I plug-in say a keyboard to those, standard 1/4in I see it light up on the front but nothing is coming into DAW nor in monitors.

[@ZachWirchak]

@@TheProdigalPodcast what DAW are you using? Do you have the correct input selected?

[@TheProdigalPodcast]

@@ZachWirchak Logic Pro - I have my Scarlett set as input - you clearly see the input on the Scarlett pick it up but nothing comes through output. Normal mics work fine.

[@ZachWirchak]

@@TheProdigalPodcast That is weird. And the mic works on the rear inputs? So XLR works, but 1/4" doesn't?

[@Thearcherfl]

I have one of these and a Behringer umc1820, both with ADAT Behringer ada8200 giving me 32 preamps total. I’ve tested noise, preamp gain, latency. The Behringer is dollar for dollar the better value. Other than a few tiny bells and whistles the scarlett has over it, I’d still pick the UMC 1820 over it any day. Btw to mac owners that want to add inputs but don’t want to jump into the pro audio realm of price to do so, you can buy as many units as you want and keep adding them using usb. A Mac will create aggregate devices for you so it pairs the clocks of all of your interfaces to your Mac’s interface. Some people say that the clocks aren’t as good through your Mac vs having a good dedicated word clock, but let’s face it. If I can make Money mixing and mastering with this and the outcome be unrecognizable from higher end gear, you can use these for whatever you want. The preamps aren’t colored. They are transparent as well as the converters. Which is great! Because I can’t afford 10 units of real 1173 preamps and burl converters. So for now these units are my lifeblood. Nobody including the mastering engineers I’ve worked with have ever said “that master you did would sound better if you stopped using that cheap interface” Same goes for microphones. I’ve used $15 Bluetooth clip on mics for pro production that people didn’t know weren’t my super expensive condenser mics. Learn how to use it will, make sure there’s no extra noise and go make music instead of reading about gear you have, want, or had. Gear doesn’t write songs. Songs don’t build gear. Therefor owning gear won’t help you write songs. They can help you feel creative. But won’t write you a good song.

[@DALTRON666]

Hell no. Behringer is garbage. I could never ever figure out the dumb ass mix knob. Turned all the way to the left would only hear half nice and daw audio, turned all the way to the right i would hear the other half of the mics. In the middle both but still not perfect. Seriously irritating!!! Nothing in the mix control or DAW. Could never figure that piece of junk out.

[@Thearcherfl]

@@DALTRON666 lol. Sounds like operator error. Mix should be full right unless you want live monitoring. Easy as that.

[@robbetts]

outboard

[@SanFranciscoFatboy]

vanila

[@ZachWirchak]

chocolate

[@SanFranciscoFatboy]

@@ZachWirchak cool :) i ordered a 1820 like you did and am prettty excited....... thanks for helping me decide my purchase, sir :)

[@ZachWirchak]

@Fatz Treeboy it's a fantastic unit! Hard to beat for the price point.

[@off6507]

Я купил себе эту звуковую карту. И не могу поверить своим глазам и ушам. Весь мир сошёл сума?! Это говно, ни каким образом не стоящие своих вложений.. Звук предусилителей, посредственный. Ушки крепления в рэковый стеллаж просто кусок металлической дешёвой пластинки . Софт крайне навязчивый, не интуитивный, все кнопки мембранного типа, что сокращает их ресурс работы. Это просто карта среднего класса, с завышенным ценником. Она стоит 650 евро. Карты аналогичного класса, не хуже звучанием стоят 500 евро. Покупая это, и внушая себе что это стоит своих денег, не что иное как самообман.

[@DALTRON666]

You sure you bout a focusrite!?

[@IMONGODHEAVY]

@ZachWirchak Any buffering Issues?? I will be running a Full drumset(Drum mics) on it and possibly other outboard gear simultaneously.

[@ZachWirchak]

Sorry for the late reply! I haven't had any buffering issues with mine. I believe my delay is usually around 2-4ms. I do a lot of direct monitoring from my DAW and it's never an issue!