User Guide www.focusrite.
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INTRODUCTION This is the User Guide for Focusrite Control, the software application that has been developed specifically for use with the Focusrite Clarett range of Thunderbolt™ audio interfaces. If you’ve just become the owner of a Clarett interface, you’ll need both this User Guide and the User Guide for your hardware. You can download the hardware User Guide from http://uk.focusrite.com/downloads.
System Requirements IMPORTANT Please visit the following link for up-to-date information on computer and operating system compatibility for Focusrite Control and all Clarett products: www.focusrite.com/clarett/compatibility Software Installation Focusrite Control is available for download from the Focusrite website (www.focusrite.com/register). The Getting Started Guide provided with your Clarett hardware contains validation codes which you will need to enter at the above web address.
The Clarett Mixer – basic principles Your Clarett interface contains an internal audio mixer which allows you to create one or more mixes of the various audio sources in your system, and send them to the physical outputs of your interface. These sources include tracks that you have recorded on your DAW as well as the sources connected to the Clarett’s various physical inputs. Before starting to use Focusrite Control, it is a good idea to gain an understanding of the basic principle of this mixer.
MIXING & ROUTING PAGE Installing Focusrite Control on your computer will place an FC icon on the dock or desktop. Click the icon to launch Focusrite Control. You should see a screen similar to that below: Note that in addition to the main window, there is a dialogue box confirming that the computer is correctly connected to the hardware interface. This box also offers you some options that let you quickly configure or reconfigure the software.
Configuring and controlling the mixer NOTE To help you use the software effectively, Focusrite Control provides a comprehensive set of tool tips; when you hover the cursor over any of the controls, a description of what the control does appears in the status bar at the bottom of the window. Click File > Presets > Empty. There are other Presets available which load up pre-configured mixer configurations – these are often useful starting points for the task you’re performing.
The Output section Let’s look at the Output section first, as this is always fully visible. OUTPUTS has a vertical scroll bar; if your hardware interface has more outputs than can be fitted on the screen, scroll down to see the rest. Each output (or pair of outputs if in stereo mode) has its own tab, each of which has the following features: Stereo Output Mono Outputs 4 7 5 8 1 3 2 6 1. Output identifier (e.g.
You’ll see that as you change the source selection for an output, the right hand side of the window displays a graphic illustrating the routing. For simple one-to-one routings, the graphic looks like this: 4. 5. Fader – use this to adjust the signal level at the output. Note that all output levels are set to maximum as a default (unity gain). If the fader “knob” is green, it means that control of the output level is assigned to the physical MONITOR control on the Clarett’s front panel.
The Input section The Input section is divided into two: HARDWARE INPUTS and SOFTWARE (DAW) PLAYBACK. The two halves of the Input area are where you control the inputs to your mix for the selected output. It is important to remember that you can create a different mix for each output, and you can have as many mixes as your Clarett’s internal mixer allows.
You can now “build” the mixer that will feed the selected Output by clicking on the two ‘+’ tabs. This will open a selection box: the HARDWARE INPUTS half of the area lists all the Clarett’s physical inputs (see page 13 for details of available hardware inputs for your Clarett device), while in the SOFTWARE (DAW) PLAYBACK area, the selection box lists the available DAW tracks. You can repeat this process as many times as you like, adding channels up to the maximum capacity of your Clarett hardware.
Each input channel has the following features: 10 2 3 7 8 9 4 1 5 6 1. Input identifier – this is the actual physical input to the channel. 2. User name – you can click this field and enter a name – e.g., the instrument in question – of up to 11 characters. 3. Fader – use this to adjust the level of the signal in the mix. Note that the default setting for all faders is 0 dB, while “fader max” is at +6 dB. Double-clicking in the fader “slot” will set the fader at 0 dB. 4.
Hardware Inputs Available on Clarett Devices Your Clarett interface provides a wide range of audio inputs, however the number available depends on what operating sample rate it is set to (see page 28 for further details). Doubling the sample rate halves the number of ADAT channels available. The tables below provide details of what inputs are available to you when operating at different sample rates. 44.
88.
Using Presets Focusrite Control comes with some useful Presets, which have been designed to get you started on a recording task as quickly as possible. Selecting a Preset automatically configures the mixer for you, setting up various useful combinations of input channels. Presets are selected from the File menu; select Presets from the drop-down list.
Direct routing connections for the Clarett range are as follows: DAW track Clarett 8PreX Clarett 8Pre Clarett 4Pre Clarett 2Pre 1 Monitor Out 1 Monitor Out 1 Monitor Out 1 Monitor Out 1 (HP1 Left) 2 Monitor Out 2 Monitor Out 2 Monitor Out 2 Monitor Out 2 (HP1 Right) 3 Line Out 3 Line Out 3 Line Out 3 Line Out 3 (HP2 Left) 4 Line Out 4 Line Out 4 Line Out 4 Line Out 4 (HP2 Right) 5 Line Out 5 Line Out 5 S/PDIF Out 1 6 Line Out 6 Line Out 6 S/PDIF Out 2 7 Line Out 7 (HP1 Left
2 Channel Analogue This is the Preset to use when using the Clarett as your analogue recording “front end”. The Preset configures the Clarett’s routing with Analogue Inputs 1 and 2 available as HARDWARE INPUTS and DAW tracks 1 and 2 available as a stereo channel in the SOFTWARE (DAW) PLAYBACK section. For example, on the Clarett 8Pre, the summed output of these input channels is routed to the Monitor Outputs 1 and 2, and also to Line Outputs 7 and 8, and 9 and 10, as a stereo pair in all cases.
8 Channel Analogue Use this Preset as a starting point when recording a band. On the Clarett 8Pre, this Preset enables eight mixer channels, one for each of the hardware analogue inputs. DAW tracks 1 & 2 are also enabled as a stereo channel. As with the 2 Channel Analogue Preset, the summed output of the mixer is routed to Monitor Out 1 and 2, and Line Outs 7 to 10 as a stereo pair.
Digital This Preset is a useful starting point when using a separate ADAT-equipped microphone pre-amplifier such as the Focusrite OctoPre Mk II. When used with the Clarett 8Pre it enables ten digital input channels, eight sourced from the ADAT input port and two from the S/PDIF input. DAW tracks 1 and 2 are also enabled as a stereo channel. The sum of the inputs is routed to the same pairs of outputs as with the analogue Presets described above.
Examples of Use Recording and Tracking Recording a band or just recording yourself is basically the same process as far as Focusrite Control is concerned – the only difference is the number of mixer channels you’ll have on screen. Connect the instruments to be recorded to the Clarett interface, either directly using the INST or LINE inputs, or - for acoustic instruments and vocals - with microphones connected to the MIC inputs.
Recording and Overdubbing Overdubbing is the process of adding additional instruments to a multitrack recording, listening to the tracks you’ve already laid down as you do so. Focusrite Control is easy to configure for this operation. As with the Tracking example, the initial mix you hear from both the Monitor Outputs and Headphone Outputs will be a “rough” mix (faders all at zero) of all the tracks you’ve already recorded.
Stand-alone mixer Once the Clarett’s internal mixer has been configured by Focusrite Control, that configuration is retained by the hardware even after you remove the Thunderbolt cable and switch the unit off. This means that you can make use of the Clarett’s excellent analogue performance in a live situation, without necessarily needing to connect a computer. An example of this application would be as an on-stage keyboard mixer.
Using the Loopback feature Focusrite Control’s Loopback feature lets you record other audio sources from within your computer (e.g., the audio output from a web browser). Loopback uses the Clarett’s “virtual” inputs, which have no physical connectors on the hardware interface itself, but may be selected in the DAW as signal sources for recording in the same way as any other.
Snapshots The mixer in your Clarett interface retains the last Focusrite Control settings at all times. However, you may wish to save your session settings – mixer layouts, fader, mute and pan settings, etc. – so that you can get back to them at a later time, perhaps when working on a similar project or with a different compatible hardware device.
You can also recall both recently saved session files (Recent Snapshots) and load the Presets (Mix Templates) from the dialogue box that appears when you launch Focusrite Control. You may want to ignore this box once you’ve become familiar with the software, in which case you can click Don’t show this again. Click New Monitor Mix to open a new default mix template. For the Clarett 8Pre, clicking New Monitor Mix opens the 2 Channel Analogue preset.
DEVICE SETTINGS PAGE Clarett interfaces have a variety of hardware functions that are operated from Focusrite Control, rather than by physical controls on the unit itself. The Device Settings page gives you access to these functions. The page for the Clarett 8Pre looks like this: If you have a different Clarett model, most of the functionality will be the same, but fewer switches may be visible because your interface has fewer channels.
Inst/Line Some of the channels on your interface may be able to accept electric instruments directly. Selecting INST for these channels unbalances the input and alters the gain and impedance to optimise the pre-amplifier for a high-impedance source like an electric guitar. Selection of INST mode is confirmed by a red LED on the unit’s front panel. The alternative switch position for these channels is LINE; in this mode, the inputs are suitable for a standard balanced line level signal.
S/PDIF Source Your Clarett interface includes both an S/PDIF input and an S/PDIF output. You can connect these to digital audio equipment to route two-channel digital audio (meeting the S/PDIF standard) in and out of the interface and hence into your recording system.
Clock Source Interconnected digital audio equipment must always use the same reference clock source. Your Clarett interface is able to synchronise from three sources: • • • Internal – the internally generated reference clock. This is the default selection. S/PDIF – the embedded clock signal in a signal at the S/PDIF IN connector. ADAT – the embedded clock signal in a signal at the OPTICAL IN connector.
