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Operating System requirements

Macintosh

Mac OS X 10.6.5 Snow Leopard

Windows

Windows 7 (All versions), Windows Vista (32bit version only), or Windows XP SP3 (32bit version only)

For more detailed and up to date system requirements please go to http://www.focusrite.com/scarlett_18i6

Installation (Windows and Mac)

The latest installation software should be on the disk included with your Scarlett 18i6. However it is strongly recommend that you  

check for the latest version of software on the Focusrite website; http://www.focusrite.com/support/scarlett_18i6 before connecting 

your Scarlett 18i6 unit.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU RUN THE INSTALLER BEFORE CONNECTING THE SCARLETT 18i6 TO YOUR COMPUTER

 

Insert the installer disk into your computer’s CD-ROM drive. 

1. 

A window should pop up showing the following installer icons: 

 

2. 

 

For Windows

 - Scarlett MixControl-1.0.exe  

For Mac

 - Install Scarlett MixControl.pkg  

Double click on the installer icon to begin the installation process

3. 

Follow on screen instructions to complete the installation process  

4. 

Connect Scarlett 18i6 to the computer USB port when instructed

5. 

Connect the power supply to Scarlett 18i6

6. 

Restart the computer

7. 

Once the installation is complete, the computer OS should automatically select the Scarlett 18i6 as the default audio outputs. 

To make sure this is the case:  

 

On 

Windows 7

, go to Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Manage Audio Devices > Set Default ‘Playback’ and 

‘Recording’ to ‘Scarlett 18i6 Audio’

On 

Windows Vista

, go to Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Manage Audio Devices > Set Default  ‘Playback’ 

and ‘Recording’ to ‘Scarlett 18i6 Audio’

On 

Windows XP

, go to Start > Control Panel > Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices > Sounds and Audio Devices > Audio tab > Set 

Sound playback and recording to ‘Scarlett 18i6 Audio’

On 

Mac OSX

, go to System Preferences > Sound > Set the input and output to ‘Scarlett’ 

 

For more detailed setup options on a Mac, go to Applications > Utilities > Audio Midi Set-up 

 

Audio set-up in your DAW 

 

The Scarlett 18i6 is compatible with any DAW that uses ASIO drivers on Windows, and any DAW that uses Core Audio on Mac.   

It should be noted that the DAW software may not automatically switch the device it uses to input and output audio.  

To enable Scarlett 18i6 in the DAW software, ensure that ‘Scarlett USB ’ is selected as the ASIO driver (Windows) or Core Audio 

driver (Mac) in the DAW’s audio set-up page.   

Please refer to the DAW’s documentation if you are unsure where to select the ASIO / Core Audio driver.  

 

Summary of Contents for Scarlett 18i6

Page 1: ...1 Scarlett 18i6 User Guide FA0521 01 ...

Page 2: ...en spilled or objects have fallen into the Scarlett 18i6 the Scarlett 18i6 has been exposed to rain or moisture does not operate normally or has been dropped WARNING To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock do not expose the Scarlett 18i6 to rain or moisture It is important that Scarlett 18i6 shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing and that no objects filled with liquids such as vases sh...

Page 3: ...dance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the fo...

Page 4: ...rchitecture 10 Firmware Update 10 Scarlett MixControl 11 Pre amp section 12 Mixer section 12 Mixer tab 12 Input channel 13 Mix output channel 15 Routing section 16 Routing audio to the headphones 16 Routing presets 17 Monitor section 18 Device status section 20 Sample rate display 20 Sync source display 20 Sync status display 20 USB driver 20 Settings menu Windows only 21 ASIO buffer size 21 Strea...

Page 5: ...s are routed to the physical outputs for you to connect to an amp and speakers powered monitors headphones analogue digital mixer and any other studio equipment that you wish to use There are also connectors for sending and receiving MIDI The accompanying software application Scarlett MixControl provides further recording routing and monitoring options as well as the ability to control global hard...

Page 6: ...rlett 18i6 will use a significant amount of USB bandwidth the amount of data transferred via USB If connected to a USB hub other devices connected to the hub may affect the performance of Scarlett 18i6 For example if using a USB 2 0 hard drive for audio sample playback also transferring a large amount of data this should not be connected to the same USB hub as Scarlett 18i6 Therefore it is recomme...

Page 7: ... 2 x TRS jack sockets for monitor outputs 1 and 2 3 1 x Optical input socket for ADAT inputs 1 8 4 1 x USB 2 0 socket 5 2 x DIN5 MIDI input and output sockets 6 1 x 2 0mm DC power inlet socket use supplied power supply only 7 2 x RCA S PDIF input and output sockets Either 1 4 inch TRS balanced or TS unbalanced jack connectors can be used 2 5 4 3 1 6 7 ...

Page 8: ...ls 3 Channels 1 and 2 instrument LEDs 4 Phantom power switch with LED for mic inputs 1 2 5 Channels 1 to 8 signal and overload LEDs 6 Power LED lit when the unit receives power from the external power supply unit 7 USB Active LED lit when the unit connects to the USB driver 8 LKD Locked LED lit when the unit locks to its internal clock or to an external clock source 9 Monitor level control 10 Head...

Page 9: ... 18i6 6 Restart the computer 7 Once the installation is complete the computer OS should automatically select the Scarlett 18i6 as the default audio outputs To make sure this is the case On Windows 7 go to Start Control Panel Hardware and Sound Sound Manage Audio Devices Set Default Playback and Recording to Scarlett 18i6 Audio On Windows Vista go to Start Control Panel Hardware and Sound Sound Man...

Page 10: ...ws the input routing configuration HARDWARE IN DAW IN Analogue 1 8 1 8 S PDIF 1 2 RCA 9 10 ADAT 1 8 Optical 11 18 Note that for sample rates of 88 1kHz and 96kHz the ADAT channel count drops from eight to four channels Firmware Update When starting Scarlett MixControl for the first time a firmware update may be required Follow on screen instructions to complete the firmware update before being abl...

Page 11: ...ncy settings Windows only are available from Scarlett MixControl To open Scarlett MixControl Windows Start Programs Focusrite Scarlett MixControl Mac Open Finder Applications Scarlett MixControl This is how the Scarlett MixControl Graphical Interface will appear on your computer 1 Mixer 2 Selected Mix tab 3 Mixer Input channel 4 Selected Mix Output channel 5 Routing and pre amp section 6 Monitor s...

Page 12: ...ignal What is set up in the mixer section of Scarlett MixControl only affects what is heard in the outputs of the mix The recording levels that are sent to the DAW are therefore only affected by the input gain settings on the Scarlett 18i6 not the mixer The mixer section is useful for creating different simultaneous mixes For example the recording engineer may wish to provide a headphone monitor m...

Page 13: ...F and ADAT and DAW outputs are available When selecting a source on a stereo channel if an odd numbered input is chosen for the left channel the next even number input is auto selected for right and vice versa Note that if an input has already been taken it will be greyed out and cannot be selected again The input needs to be deselected from the track where it is already taken and then re selected...

Page 14: ...nput to the channel The recent maximum signal level is displayed in the box below The metering is always pre fade showing the level of the signal at the input Therefore the fader level has no effect on the metering There is a clip light at the top of the meter If this red portion at the top of the meter lights up then the signal level is too high The signal level must be turned down by either usin...

Page 15: ...the stereo version takes up two channels of the available total output channel count Note that when the solo button on an output channel is pressed that channel i e the whole mix is soloed and routed to Monitor outputs 1 and 2 This is a non latching button The current mix can be named by typing the desired name in the text field below the output channel The given name appears in the mix tab For ex...

Page 16: ...st of all available audio output sources The available sources include All inputs Analogue 1 8 S PDIF 1 2 ADAT 1 8 All DAW playback streams DAW 1 6 All mixes from the mixer Mix 1 6 If the mix has been named by clicking in the track name section see previous chapter then this name is displayed as the mix source name Note that the routing section is linked to the selection made for the output channe...

Page 17: ...monitors 1 2 and headphones All input channels must therefore be monitored from within the DAW application Zero Latency Tracking Zero Latency Tracking is used for the recording process It will automatically output Mix 1 and 2 to all the line outputs routing to the main monitors and to the headphones simultaneously Line inputs and DAW outputs must be set up in Mix 1 so that the monitor sources can ...

Page 18: ...itor section in Scarlett MixControl The output levels set up in the DAW are used to control digital output levels Each button can be set to one of three possible states Blue this output is controlled by the below monitor section Red this output is not controlled by the below monitor section and it is muted Grey this output is not controlled by the below monitor section and it is at full level To s...

Page 19: ...as indicated with a blue button The dB display below shows the current level to which the monitor knob is set Note that the front panel Monitor control affects only outputs 1 and 2 and is an additional volume control on top of the monitor level set in Scarlett MixControl software Dim switch Attenuates the output level by 18dB Mute switch Mutes the output Left mute switch Mutes the left output Righ...

Page 20: ... rate changes to prevent any undesirable side effects in your DAW Sync source display This sync source display shows the currently selected sync source To change the sync source click on the red sync source value and select S PDIF ADAT or Internal Sync status display The sync status display shows Locked when the Scarlett 18i6 has successfully locked to the specified Sync Source If No Lock is seen ...

Page 21: ...t MixControl set ups Save opens a File Save window allowing selection of a location into which your Scarlett MixControl set up can be saved Subsequent saves overwrite the original file Save As opens a File Save window allowing selection of a location into which your Scarlett MixControl set up can be saved Use this option if you want to keep your original saved set up and create a new one with a di...

Page 22: ...trument inputs inputs 1 and 2 Frequency response 20Hz 20kHz 0 1dB Gain range 13dB to 60dB THD N 0 004 measured with 0dBu input and 20Hz 22kHz bandpass filter Noise 87dBu 20Hz 22kHz bandpass filter Analogue audio outputs outputs 1 2 Two electronically balanced outputs Maximum output level 0dBFS 16dBu Frequency response 20Hz 20kHz 0 2dB THD N 0 001 0dBFS input 20Hz 22kHz bandpass filter Crosstalk ch...

Page 23: ...her I O One USB Type B connector Two standard 5 pin DIN MIDI connectors in and out DC power input connector for use with supplied universal input power supply Front Panel Indicators Eight 2 segment input meters 18 and 0dBFS Power indicator LKD lock indicator USB connected indicator Instrument input source selection LED for channels 1 and 2 Phantom power 48V switch and LED for inputs 1 and 2 Weight...

Page 24: ...24 ...

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