Applies To:
- Scarlett 2nd Generation 6i6, 18i8, & 18i20
- Scarlett 3rd gen 4i4, 8i6, 18i8 & 18i20
- Clarett range.
Setting Custom Mixes
When first creating a Custom Mix, you may find that this window does not populate, though you will see two “+” signs. This button is here to add a hardware input or software output to the Custom Mix. When selected, all input options will populate in a selectable tab on the right as shown below.
Both Hardware Inputs and Software Outputs can be linked in stereo on this selection tab by selecting the “1-2” option instead of selecting “1” and “2” individually.
Outputs are primarily used in linked stereo, presenting the ‘left’ and ‘right’ of a standard mix. The option of each output being selected separately is mostly used for 5.1 (surround sound) and other routing needs.
Inputs are primarily selected individually to reflect the mono sound source being used to record, though instruments such as keyboards often provide a stereo output, in which case it would be standard practice to link the two stereo inputs.
Once you have selected which inputs you intend to route to your selected output, use the faders to assign output volume. This will be set as the output-volume cap for each selected channel, but it is worth noting any adjustments made in Focusrite Control will not affect the input signal into a DAW.
It is worth noting that the inputs of the mixer section will be limited to the amount of physical inputs of your Scarlett or Clarett interface. For instance, the Scarlett 8i6 will allow a total of 8 hardware and playback inputs, in total, to a mix while the Scarlett 18i20 will allow a total of 18 inputs. When exceeding the input amount, you will see the “The mixer is full” message in the lower-left corner of the Focusrite Control window.
Above the volume fader is a small horizontal fader, which represents a pan. Pan is the balance between left and right, or the stereo placing of the signal.
It is important to remember that in the Scarlett and Clarett range, the headphones will share a physical routing path with a specific line output. In the case of our Clarett 8PreX, Headphone 1 shares a routing path with Line Outputs 7 – 8 and Headphone 2 shares a routing path with Line Outputs 9 – 10. This means whatever is muted, soloed, or adjusted for the Headphones will also reflect in the shared Output.
The Custom Mix option will not be available once the maximum number of mixes is used. A total of 5 different Custom Mixes can be assigned to your preferred outputs. The set of input channels in a mix is ‘global’ and they will appear across all outputs. However, individual mixes, with individual levels, are possible as you can mute unwanted channels.
Creating a Separate Headphone Mix
Select the Headphone Output and set this to Custom Mix as well. It is important to note that adjusting the volumes in one Custom Mix with not affect those in another.
Let’s assume we have a guitarist plugged into Input 4 who wants to hear everyone else but doesn’t need to hear his/her guitar in the headphones, we would either mute or lower Analogue 4 as shown below.
In the opposite situation, if we have a guitarist plugged into Input 4 who only wants to hear themself. Instead of muting or lowering all other inputs we would solo Analogue 4, so it is the only source going to the Output.
Labelling
In both the Device Settings tab and Output Routing tab, you can select in the divider to populate the text box and name each input. You will only need to do this once, as each name change will reflect in both tabs as shown below.
To remove a channel name, once you are done with your session, click in the text box and hit delete on your computer keyboard.
Other articles in this series
- Understanding Focusrite Control
- (this is article 2)
- Saving, Loading, and Using Presets
The User Guide for Focusrite Control varies by range. Please find your product on our downloads page, and the relevant Focusrite Control User guide will appear in the 'User Guides' section for your product: