you not only showed the command, but explained what each part of the command means, making it easier to understand for us to carry out the process even with interfaces from other versions. Thank you very much.
I love this video, thanks a lot!! If more people fought for Linux and Open Source like this we'd have a better world already! I've been considering a Scarlett for ages, but I'm always put off by the thought it won't run properly (or at all) on Ubuntu.. I'm going to seriously consider it..
It works as expected, but needs to have the MSD mode disabled, which in my opinion is nothing more than an obnoxious self-promotion/upselling move disguised as being "helpful" that holds hostage part of the device's functionality until you do some work to get it back or install some software. That sucks. None of the other interfaces I tested so far have done something like this. Once you get through that it works flawlessly though, and after enabling the feature in Linux kernel - also provides full software control through AlsaMixer (that's something I have not seen on other devices, so I guess the MSD crap is a trade-off here? It didn't have to be though).
@@unfa00 Hi! Brilliant, that's great to know. On Ubuntu 18.04 LTS I used to just plug my pedal straight into the Line In and record in Audacity, but since I upgraded to 20.04 LTS I haven't been able to find a way to get Audacity to recognise it. I reckon I'll probably be forced to buy an interface, but you're right about this abusive proprietary attitude. You buy gear and they effectively lock it.
I recently bought an Universal Audio Volt 457. It works really well in my Pop-Os install and did not need any workaround. Thank you for your helpfull content btw. Greetings from Germany
I just wanna add extra information I found on Reddit for Scarlett Solo. Hope it is helpful :) "In order to force your Scarlett out of MSD mode without first registering it, hold down the 48V button while disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable, and then continue to hold the button down for a further five seconds"
That's a but different from what I found in the user manual. I have tried that and I believe it's the correct way. Shame that I've trusted Focusrite manual about this and as a result I've provided a useless demonstration :/
Thank you SO much for making this tutorial. For the longest time I couldn't understand why Jack wouldn't allow me to go above 48kHz sampling when recording Guitar. I know that >48kHz SR is a bit overkill for many circumstances, but It's very nice to have unlocked the cards' full potential - What a truly awful design decision on Scarlett's part, on an otherwise excellent soundcard. BTW. To unlock the MSD mode on my Scarlett 2i2 3rd. Gen solo, simply holding the 48V button for 5 seconds is not enough. I had to first unplug the card, then hold down the button, plug it in and continue to hold down the button for 5 seconds. Only then would the card unlock. Hope this helps anyone else with the same issue.
:o your awesome Unfa!! Ive been using this device for almost a yr and a half now and never understood how to shut off the MSD. No where near your knowledge of Linux or audio but deffiantly keep trying to learn and your videos helps a lot even though most info flys above my head lol.
@@foss_sound So you didn't have to make any adjustments to JACK audio in order for the interface to be accommodated? Or you didn't have to delete some part of PulseAudio? It's evident to my laptop that there's a USB powered audio device connected to it. But when I do the F6 selection in alsamixer I get this message, this sound device does not have any controls
@@WillsJazzLoft You cannot control the interface via a software mixer. It's just hardware control at the device itself. I didn't made any changes in pulseaudio or JACK.
Thanks! Was wondering about switching to Linux with music production and this video about drivers/installation was helpful. I'm surprized that Linux offers even more options to control the device. That's cool.
Hi Unfa. A bunch of thanks for your great work! I will certainly donate this. Just a week ago, I bought the Scarlett 2i2 to do my first steps with audio production on Linux. I am grateful for the hint to activate the driver making alsamixer work with the Scarlett.
Yes, this is something that we as Linux folks can thank iPad for :D However - providing extra stuff like software controls is a different deal, and thanks to fantastic people reverse engineering the Scarlett devices - this functionality is available to us!
Well, I've got an Alesis Multimix 16 USB 2.0 which comes with Windows XP, Vista, 7 and MacOS drivers but does not work on Linux. I wonder if there is a way to make it work anyway. Maybe by using the Windows drivers through wine? Or reverse engineering them in an other way? I don't know...
As a company, Focusrite ('s linux support) sucks. The hardware seems ok though, once you get it working. Thank goodness for Geoffrey Bennett and his excellent kernel driver for the scarlett series.
Actually the support of all Scarlett 2i2 and Scarlett Solo controls was introduced by me, Geoffrey did good job by porting all the changes into the kernel driver and submitting the patch set to upstream. But he forgot to add support of setting gain halo colors. Once we will return to them while improving the Focusrite driver.
I remember when I got my first scarlett it was the least fussy on the linuxmusiciains forum, RME interfaces were a different story. Also, the M-Audio fast track ultra was another fussy interface, but this was 2011 so a different time indeed.
Love these little Scarlett boxes! The build quality is waaaaay ahead of competition. So you'd best pick one up used. Every city usually has like 3 2nd/3rd gen Scarlet Solos or Scarlet 2i2s up for sale. If you're lucky you'd find a 2i4 or a 6i6.
great video! i was looking into getting this Audio Interface for quite some time now, and seeing that it works with just "minor" setup on linux is awesome!
Hello thank you for advancing the cause of Linux music makers. Initially, when I left Windows for Linux I was using Ubuntu. About a year after that I switched to Zorin - which I found works well with the 2ND GEN Scarlett 2i2. There were a few minor changes to be made in the audio settings. But there's not that much else. Audacity works fine for what I need to do ( which does not amount to that much )
Great video! I just managed to bring back to life an old laptop with a light distro on a 5.15 kernel. The focusrite shows up nicely. I just recorded a few notes with Audacity. Many thanks!
Thanks for talking about disabling MSD, that was really helpful. Before getting this interface I decided to try a motu m2 because it has a ton of features and supposedly great performance for its price, but its literally a brick without drivers. Proprietary windows drivers. So yea, that was instantly returned and now a couple months later I have the scarlett solo 3rd gen, and its truly plug and play. Just works so far.
Picked up this interface over the weekend, your review sold me. I was holding out for the new Arturia MiniFuse2, but knowing out-of-the-box this thing would work, just went ahead and got it. Lacks MIDI support, but like you, I don't need it. On Manjaro-testing, fired up Ardour, and laughing. Just works. Thanks for the quality review!
Nice! What about the MSD mode? Were you able to turn it off easily? It seems many people have trouble with that. I am wondering if Focusrite's manual may be wrong...
@@unfa00 Unfortunately, I do not know. It threw me for a loop too. I unfortunately ended up hooking it up to a Windows 10 system and installed their software "as they intended" to get it to go away. I have the high sample rates, ALSA control, etc.. As demonstrated in your review. Also, dmesg output showed me the exact parameters needed for modprobe, handy! Edit: Perhaps you can install the Focusrite software via Wine, and achieve the same results? Edit 2: Nope! The installer complains about some windows update nonsense and refuses to install the USB driver. Software runs, but it doesn't detect the device.
Really liked this review. Thorough on the setup details and focuses on the important bits from both the kernel and ALSA. Noting I don't use pipewire, I'll probably have to carve a decent asoundrc for it. Nice job.
The shirt, I LOVE THE SHIRT!! Where can I get one from? Love the tutorial review videos. You have a way cutting through the blah and keeping it interesting too.
Thanks! There's links in the video description :) You can order a t-shirt from TeeSpring or download my t-shirt the designs and print them locally to save money :)
Yes! I have an older 2i2 and I need to get a newer one so I can use it with my iPad. First thing I thought of was "what if I could use both on my PC and have 4 input channels?". Looking forward to your results. Excellent to know about the mass storage BS as well. Thanks for the video!
At this moment I perform interactive streams about programming where I reverse-engineer and improve the Focusrite Scarlett driver for Linux. Welcome to my channel!
@@ToshaTumanov Don't forget that Scarlett is a series of devices. And if you have 2i2, then you don't care about the driver. When you work with senior series, you may need to manage internal mixer and router. And that may work not the same way as you expect from it when applying settings via the original Focusrite Control software.
@@nightlycode4840 I don't speak English well, but I will try to tell you about my experience using "translate". For the last ten years, any audio cards have worked on linux without a driver. Even very old audio cards, such as M-Audio Fast Track. I just connected the audio interface to the PC and it immediately gave sound. I always got the maximum sound quality, better than on windows. It is possible to control the properties of the audio interface from the DAW. I do not know why a driver is needed for an audio interface without a DSP? I use Manjaro/Arch/Mint
@@ToshaTumanov It seems that you have never used the device with internal mixer and internal router. Internal mixer and router allow to get the least possible latency for the device since the signal is mixed and routed without affecting any software on your PC. Moreover, you can set up several configurations on the device for live performance. For example, organize individual monitoring for each musician in the band. The current driver allows us to do mixing and routing but does not take into account the information that original Focusrite Control software stores inside of the device. And I'm aiming to add support of data stored by the Focusrite Control software.
Thanks for your excellent video. Sadly, I cant get Alsamixer to show the software controls. It keeps saying "This sound device does not have any controls"
Thanks for this comprehensive review. Thinking about purchasing one for myself. I also noticed pipewire in your alsamixer, did you return to it? I have much less problems since the recent v0.3.44 :)
Yes, so far I'm back to PipeWire. After doing a fresh Arch Linux install I had major issues getting JACK to work, so I was kinda forced to use it, but after recent patches I don't experience the issues that forced me back to JACK previously. At least not for now.
Thank you very much. This will help me to setup my one the next days. - To buy a device without midi and to critism that the device has no midi sounds strange to me. I choosed the interface because it does not have midi since I do not need it (at least at the moment)
I LOVE this! Anyone who breaks down what they are typing into the CLI is worth their salt. I have been thinking abut this device for streaming and some music recording and this was so helpful in determining if the 2i2 3rd gen is the right choice folr me. Great stuff. Sub'd!
My scarlett 2i2 3rd gen did not respond to the 'hold 48v switch 5 seconds'. Luckily I could disable the msd nonsense in alsamixer. Thanks for the great vid! BTW, on my Manjaro rig everything works out of the box, all I needed to do was add the modeprobe change. No JACK needed, just pulse.
Yeah, sorry - you need to push it down, pull the USB cord, plugin back while still holding it down, keep it for 5 secs and you should be good. Focusrite's docs are confused about this, I shouldn't have trusted them :/
Wow! Thanks for this review. Even though you've explained each step, it seems like a nightmare to setup, compared to my Steinberg UR22, which just works out-of-the-box! So, I won't include Focusrite in my list when it comes time to upgrade!
Well, this device does work out of the box. But you need to get rid of the MSD mode. And if you want software controls, there's one extra step. I don't think other similar devices provide software controls.on Linux at all. Scarlett devices are so popular, that they got reverse engineered by Linux developers.
Nice, thats an interesting video. Becaus of the software "fun" from scarlet I#ve chosen the MOTU M2. It runs fine in Linux, since it's USB Claas compliant. This support for open/standard interfacing is the reason.
The 4i4 model doesn't even have buttons except for phantom power. It's supposed to be controlled by software that I don't think even exist for linux. I would go with a volt for a little more: it's a better device and works out of the box with nothing required.
@@dersg1freak I don't even know if your settings are stored when you reboot back to linux or you need the software running on the background all the times...
For me it works just fine. Just the phantom power won't persist. I usually just leave it configured with output 1,2 with only pc out, while output 3,4 got in 1,2 as mono and 3,4 as stereo. That way I can just jack the speakers around and won't have to fiddle with widows. Downside is of course that I can't change the output gain on outputs 3,4 but can live with that.
I acquired a distaste for Focusrite's practices after purchasing a Novation Launchkey Mini. Novation is owned by Focusrite. if you didn't know. But that keyboard had the same MSD that has to be disabled. Was further agitated by their configuration program that requires and active online account just to save and load presets and is just a link to a web portal. This influenced me greatly when it came time to purchase a audio interface and went with one of MOTU's products instead.
Sheesh, that MSD function is such a leech that I didn't even know it was enabled in the factory! Maybe this would've explained why I was getting audio glitches when using high sample rates.
@@unfa00 I have a Scarlett 18i8 now, and can't get it disabled! alsamixer won't run, missing something, and there are 2 48V buttons... The instructions say hold THE 48V button for 5 seconds. I've tried the right one, the left one, both.....nothing changes. Can you help?
@@unfa00 Speaking of USB is jankkk! It definitely is from my experience as well. My motherboard's usb controller is going crazy, and I had a pcie thing like u and it was terrible. I gave up with the pci stuff and just ordered a new motherboard. Because the motherboard is a pretty old model (z390), I have to wait 3 weeks for it to ship from some weird place that has these old motherboards for some reason.
I seems that many people have trouble getting the MSD mode disabled in hardware. I'd like to know if anybody tried this and if you failed or succeeded. As you can see in the video, I've followed manufacturer's instructions, but I also saw different (more complex) instructions elsewhere and tried them first and didn't think I should double-check if Focusrite did an oopsies in their manual or not. But maybe they did?
Completely agree about all the autostart/USB storage/registration bullshit. I've just hidden the device from gnome-disk-utility and the 5 second hold of the "48 V" button method doesn't seem to work for me.
Just chiming in with some personal focusrite latency results. (note I am running jack, not pipewire!) I'm running stock Manjaro kernel, Scarlet 2i4 2nd gen. (done the tweaks so rt checker reports all ok) and I'm getting 6ms on 48 / 32 - 4 periods and 8ms on 48 / 64 - 4. I found 4 periods worked best for me at least at lower buffersizes. 32 / 4 will run decently heavy loads without xruns, 64 has no problems with anything really.
That all looks very helpful. I bought a Behringer UMC204HD and have had a lot of issues getting Linux 20.4 to recognise it. I can see the solution using a terminal you had for Focusrite might work. What would I put into terminal for that?
{small rant on buying online} normally I just buy things from amazon so I can return if when the product wants my email or any other nonsense {amazon the only company that honers their refund policy} most company's: boo hoo you opened the box so we get to keep 50$ me why is there a scratch and wheres my 50$ this happens like 70% of the time, the product is open box refreshed but said to be new scroo most online retailers and the crap I tolerated before like email stuff dos not fly with me I use to give them a fake name too but non of that for the last 5 years also aliexpress tends to suck too but I still use it if its a cheap cable I want or something else that should not cost 16.99$ I'll take a no warranty for 2$ + 2.85$ shipping {just 5$} any day and I know not to fall for straight scams
Hey! Thanks for the video. I have a gen1 2i2 and when recording on linux it seems to treat the two inputs as stereo, which leads to audio only being recorded when to left or right when plugging in a XLR micrphone. I'm using pipewire. Do you have your scarlett configured with pipepewire or have experienced this problems? Would be very interested ot see your setup on linux.
Hello unfa, great video! I've been using the Lexicom Omega interface for years, unfortunately of its 4 channels only 2 work in Ardour. I have tried and it is impossible so far to accept all 4 channels. I don't know if you are familiar with this interface and the problem I mentioned.
Any chance you are going to review the Yamaha AG06 audio interface/ mixer anytime soon as it's about the best available around this price, And I haven't made the swap to linux yet, but it will be soon, Thanks for what your doing bud, after a couple of hours watching I'm confident most of my stuff will work, not sure about all the ableton midi controllers though, Novation Launchkey mini , Arturia Mini Lab, NI Komplete M32, Maschine Micro, and Launchpad mini, and soon the M Audio Hammer pro 88, and hopefully a Yamaha mod x 8, so I'm a bit concerned with such a big commitment as I know it's going to be a challenge to start but I'm hoping to test on an old maschine first to iron out the bugs, we need the industry to start moving this way before "Crapple" and "Pedosoft" are shut down lol, they won't stop what's comming :-), Cheers Again, Chris H.
Hey! I can only review hardware I can get my hands on (hopefully in mint condition, to rule out any wear and tear). This video was only possible because of a generous donation. BTW: you may want to check out my community chat, people there may have some experience with the hardware you have (which I don't).
First of all: Great Video, especially on the MSD and driver topic! I've one issue with the Scarlett Solo though: My Volume is very quiet on Linux. In papeaks the input volume only ever goes up to like 20%, even with gain on the device all the way up, which actually causes me to have clipping. -> When I plug in my headphones into the device, my volume is perfectly fine, but that doesn't transfer over to my system. :/ Any idea how to fix this? (I'm using Pipewire)
Thanks! As for your issue - I don't have a Solo so I can't test this (I didn't have this problem myself). I think you'd have better luck asking in my community chat: chat.unfa.xyz
Great video Unfa! I was wondering if you think the clarett+ 2pre will ever get any github support for linux (like you used on the scarlett)? Thanks for putting out great content!
I hope it's okay to ask as a linux nooB: I had a gen 1 8i6. I saw there were no linux drivers for the GUI for it, and I want to be able to use the Reaper DAW to record. So I went and bought a gen4 2i2 since I saw there is supposed to be support with the GUI driver. I tried following what directions I could find that seem related to the gen4 and ran into a problem where a popup says it needs a firmware update to work. I went to the link that message provided and saw some files (which I don't know what to do with) that end with extensions such as .deb and tar.gz. I have Nobara, which I understand is related to Fedora, Kernel: Linux 6.10.3-201.fsync.fc40.x4. I read somewhere else to place a firmware file in usr/lib/firmware/scarlett2, but there is no scarlett2 folder there. I followed the install info on the github page and did the commands and came up with the exact same popup and message. I can't find any more clear instructions on what to do at this point. Does anyone know? Thanks to anyone for any help. I really want to get linux working to get away from windows if possible. The idea of recall and possibility of going to a subscription has me about to pull out my ancient 4 track recorder. :/
HI, thank you very much for this review. I was about to buy this audio interface but... i'm on linux mint and i'm looking for a sound card for guitare mostly, with guitarix maybe. What can you suggest me ? MOTU M2 ? thank you.
Archlinux here, but I do my research before getting Audio Interfaces. The Scarletts were the first USB interfaces to fully support linux in class compliant mode back in the day out of the box. That's why I upgraded from 1st gen to 3rd.
Hey, sorry - I don't use non-free software like FL Studio, though I assume this is an issue with Wine (software that makes Windows programs run on Linux and OS). I'd search the internet fo these terms: "Wine file drag and drop not working" You can also join my community chat and ask in #proprietary-purgatory ;)
Unfa, have you ever tried to any Universal Audio interface on linux? I would like to know how these audio interfaces works on Linux. Thanks. Great job!
Hi again Unfa! Just a quick question that's maybe off-topic, but I've been searching everywhere and can't get any solid answers! Do you happen to know if you can bypass an audio interface by directly plugging in an effects pedal? That's all I actually want this Scarlett for, to plug in something like a Mooer GE200 and start recording.. The internet appears to be divided about whether it will work (it appears to be compliant, but who knows right?)
The info showed at 5:41 is not in the README.md you link to in the description. I was able to copy the PID i needed for my Scarlett Solo from your screenshot. So, thanks for that! I did check the history of that README and did not find the info you posted. So, maybe you meant to link to a different file?
@@unfa00 Your link to the pages with the various Scarlett Interfaces is broken, BUT I was able to freeze your video near that timestamp to get the PID for a Scarlett Solo. If you have an updated link for Focusrite PIDs, consider updating the show notes :) Thanks again for the work you do! I record and produce audiobooks and podcasts using Debian and Reaper. So, mostly spoken word here. I would love to see a Reaper vs Ardour vs Fairlight comparison. Comparing open vs closed source options would be enlightening.
I can't wait for steinberg, I just got the ur22mkii couple of weeks ago. Works fine as far as i'm aware, but lacks any controls in alsamixer. I got 2.7ms latency on 192000hz and 512 samples, with 38 xruns in 8 hrs of uptime without music production load. Should I aim for 0 xruns? Is it OK that I hear almost no (headphones output) difference in sound quality between using this usb card and using motherboard jack? I'm not a musician in any way tbh, and expected to hear what audiophiles were talking about.
I am waiting to get a Steinberg UR22C for testing. They are completely out of stock. I think for just listening, an onboard audio interface will not present much audible difference, if at all. I am not an audiophile or audiofool (someone who believes a $1000 power cord will somehow make them burst into tears of joy). I would say - unless you can't get enough volume out of your headphones (studio monitor headphones may be difficult to drive) - don't hesitate to just use your onboard soundcard. USB audio interfaces make sense if you want to record audio, as capture quality in onboard devices is still very poor, plus you're stuck using very cheap and low quality microphones.
@@unfa00 UR22C were out of stock in my location as well and used were sold for around $300, so I bought mkii. Also I found UR22C features irrelevant for me. And, ofc, recording quality went straight up after connecting even a simple karaoke microphone for around $50, and I can feel the difference in that case. I'm looking forward to your Steinberg-on-Linux review. My experience with ur22mkii was working out of the box with pulseaudio without any storage devices coming up. It also has a (fairly) long usb cord. Firmware upgrade requires to log in into mac/windows. You're doing an excellent job on covering this niche-in-niche case. I really appreciate your content.
@@unfa00 overall, i think that ur22c is really "just better", at least because it has usb3.0 and DSP unit, and as people in the internet say "better preamps for headphones". If there was some information in the web about this exact DSP support in linux, I might've bought the ur22c.
@@sinitsyn2000 I don't expect to be able to use any of it's DSP in Linux though. Wed have to reverse engineer the Windows tools probably to be able to use that.
@@unfa00 no worries. It's very sympathetic to me. I like it. So please keep it :-) I'm also super happy that I have found your channel, because of Audio on Linux.
![Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th gen Studio [Обзор]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/61hD6zBhZsk/mqdefault.jpg)
Every time unfa starts saying "Focusrite" with his judging expression, I inadvertently hear "fuckers" with a strong Australian accent
you not only showed the command, but explained what each part of the command means, making it easier to understand for us to carry out the process even with interfaces from other versions. Thank you very much.
man, I can't thank you enough for your hard work on this video! very detailed and well explained, cheers man, for real!
I love this video, thanks a lot!! If more people fought for Linux and Open Source like this we'd have a better world already! I've been considering a Scarlett for ages, but I'm always put off by the thought it won't run properly (or at all) on Ubuntu.. I'm going to seriously consider it..
It works as expected, but needs to have the MSD mode disabled, which in my opinion is nothing more than an obnoxious self-promotion/upselling move disguised as being "helpful" that holds hostage part of the device's functionality until you do some work to get it back or install some software. That sucks. None of the other interfaces I tested so far have done something like this.
Once you get through that it works flawlessly though, and after enabling the feature in Linux kernel - also provides full software control through AlsaMixer (that's something I have not seen on other devices, so I guess the MSD crap is a trade-off here? It didn't have to be though).
@@unfa00 Hi! Brilliant, that's great to know. On Ubuntu 18.04 LTS I used to just plug my pedal straight into the Line In and record in Audacity, but since I upgraded to 20.04 LTS I haven't been able to find a way to get Audacity to recognise it. I reckon I'll probably be forced to buy an interface, but you're right about this abusive proprietary attitude. You buy gear and they effectively lock it.
I recently bought an Universal Audio Volt 457. It works really well in my Pop-Os install and did not need any workaround. Thank you for your helpfull content btw. Greetings from Germany
Are there any DSP inside like in UADs? Can you use different sample rates than 48 kHz ALSA fallback? Aaaand: What's the latency? ;)
I just wanna add extra information I found on Reddit for Scarlett Solo. Hope it is helpful :)
"In order to force your Scarlett out of MSD mode without first registering it, hold down the 48V button while disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable, and then continue to hold the button down for a further five seconds"
That's a but different from what I found in the user manual. I have tried that and I believe it's the correct way. Shame that I've trusted Focusrite manual about this and as a result I've provided a useless demonstration :/
Many thanks @Alejandro, thanks to you I managed to disable MSD to my brand new 2i2 3rg gen.
Thanks, it worked
This is the right way to do this for most recently purchased products
This helped me massively :)
Thank you SO much for making this tutorial. For the longest time I couldn't understand why Jack wouldn't allow me to go above 48kHz sampling when recording Guitar. I know that >48kHz SR is a bit overkill for many circumstances, but It's very nice to have unlocked the cards' full potential - What a truly awful design decision on Scarlett's part, on an otherwise excellent soundcard.
BTW. To unlock the MSD mode on my Scarlett 2i2 3rd. Gen solo, simply holding the 48V button for 5 seconds is not enough. I had to first unplug the card, then hold down the button, plug it in and continue to hold down the button for 5 seconds. Only then would the card unlock. Hope this helps anyone else with the same issue.
Thanks dude! Unboxed today. Laid down some bass tracks on Linux / Reaper. Excellent!
:o your awesome Unfa!! Ive been using this device for almost a yr and a half now and never understood how to shut off the MSD.
No where near your knowledge of Linux or audio but deffiantly keep trying to learn and your videos helps a lot even though most info flys above my head lol.
I am glad I could help you with that nasty MSD thing :)
I love my 2nd gen 2i2. No thumb drive behaviour, just plain and good quality audio.
What's your distro and how did you perform setup? Thank you
@@WillsJazzLoft I mostly use Manjaro with the latest kernel.
My setup: PC - USB - Interface - done. :D
@@foss_sound So you didn't have to make any adjustments to JACK audio in order for the interface to be accommodated? Or you didn't have to delete some part of PulseAudio? It's evident to my laptop that there's a USB powered audio device connected to it. But when I do the F6 selection in alsamixer I get this message, this sound device does not have any controls
@@WillsJazzLoft You cannot control the interface via a software mixer. It's just hardware control at the device itself.
I didn't made any changes in pulseaudio or JACK.
@@foss_sound And yet, your 2ND gen worked for you 'out of the box'. You're using Manjaro. That's why it appears, at least to be a software issue
Sorry or the reupload - I've noticed some issues that had to be addressed.
can i request evo4 or information in regard to it?.......anyone else know?
Let me guess, you were not in... FOCUS!
@@braindeadbzh I couldn't focus right...
@@unfa00 LOL
how's the 4i4 gen 3 on linux?
Thanks! Was wondering about switching to Linux with music production and this video about drivers/installation was helpful. I'm surprized that Linux offers even more options to control the device. That's cool.
Hi Unfa. A bunch of thanks for your great work! I will certainly donate this. Just a week ago, I bought the Scarlett 2i2 to do my first steps with audio production on Linux. I am grateful for the hint to activate the driver making alsamixer work with the Scarlett.
Just came by to say Thank you so much for the video!! So helpful! I appreciate it!
Thank you! I'm happy it was useful to you :)
I had been considering one of these things for a while now. Your channel is invaluable.
Any hardware that supports ios on USB also works well for Linux because ios disallowed custom hardware drivers
This is insane lol this is why I use hardware originally meant for ios for Linux because no special software or drivers are needed
Yes, this is something that we as Linux folks can thank iPad for :D However - providing extra stuff like software controls is a different deal, and thanks to fantastic people reverse engineering the Scarlett devices - this functionality is available to us!
Well, I've got an Alesis Multimix 16 USB 2.0 which comes with Windows XP, Vista, 7 and MacOS drivers but does not work on Linux. I wonder if there is a way to make it work anyway. Maybe by using the Windows drivers through wine? Or reverse engineering them in an other way? I don't know...
Then it follows that 2ND GEN Scarletts should also work. Is that not so?
@@NicosLeben if device is not USB class-compliant and needs drivers for Mac OS it is not likely to work on Linux
As a company, Focusrite ('s linux support) sucks. The hardware seems ok though, once you get it working. Thank goodness for Geoffrey Bennett and his excellent kernel driver for the scarlett series.
Actually the support of all Scarlett 2i2 and Scarlett Solo controls was introduced by me, Geoffrey did good job by porting all the changes into the kernel driver and submitting the patch set to upstream. But he forgot to add support of setting gain halo colors.
Once we will return to them while improving the Focusrite driver.
@@nightlycode4840 Well thanks to you too! I was more focused on the support for the interface I have, so probably missed that part!
@@nightlycode4840 let us know when it is done. Thanks a lot
I remember when I got my first scarlett it was the least fussy on the linuxmusiciains forum, RME interfaces were a different story. Also, the M-Audio fast track ultra was another fussy interface, but this was 2011 so a different time indeed.
@@nightlycode4840 Is this driver works with gen 1 2i2? Or does it have another one and where can I find it if it does? Thanks
Great information! I'm debating between this and the presonus 24c. I heard in a livestream that you have that one too! Excited for the video
Love these little Scarlett boxes! The build quality is waaaaay ahead of competition. So you'd best pick one up used. Every city usually has like 3 2nd/3rd gen Scarlet Solos or Scarlet 2i2s up for sale. If you're lucky you'd find a 2i4 or a 6i6.
great video!
i was looking into getting this Audio Interface for quite some time now, and seeing that it works with just "minor" setup on linux is awesome!
good video that doesn't just throw a bunch of gibberish code at you but also explains wtf it does
great content! thanks for the benchmarks. it's unfortunate Sonnet card died, they used to be quite reputable hw makers...
Haven't used my Scarlett 8i6 for at least two years. Got myself a Roland Rubix 44 where everything works out of the box under Linux.
I have the 8 chanel gen 3 and use ubuntu studio. Never realised I can control it with Linux.
The sound quality is superb 👌 thanks for this.
Minute 2.45 my favorite of all youtube!!! 😀
Hello thank you for advancing the cause of Linux music makers. Initially, when I left Windows for Linux I was using Ubuntu. About a year after that I switched to Zorin - which I found works well with the 2ND GEN Scarlett 2i2. There were a few minor changes to be made in the audio settings. But there's not that much else. Audacity works fine for what I need to do ( which does not amount to that much )
This is such a great video. I've watched it three times already, although I'm not even interested in audio interfaces lol
Great video! I just managed to bring back to life an old laptop with a light distro on a 5.15 kernel. The focusrite shows up nicely. I just recorded a few notes with Audacity. Many thanks!
Your channel is a real treasure trove for the one trying to make music under linux. Many many thanks. Suscribed !
Thanks for talking about disabling MSD, that was really helpful. Before getting this interface I decided to try a motu m2 because it has a ton of features and supposedly great performance for its price, but its literally a brick without drivers. Proprietary windows drivers. So yea, that was instantly returned and now a couple months later I have the scarlett solo 3rd gen, and its truly plug and play. Just works so far.
Picked up this interface over the weekend, your review sold me. I was holding out for the new Arturia MiniFuse2, but knowing out-of-the-box this thing would work, just went ahead and got it. Lacks MIDI support, but like you, I don't need it. On Manjaro-testing, fired up Ardour, and laughing. Just works. Thanks for the quality review!
Nice! What about the MSD mode? Were you able to turn it off easily? It seems many people have trouble with that. I am wondering if Focusrite's manual may be wrong...
@@unfa00 Unfortunately, I do not know. It threw me for a loop too. I unfortunately ended up hooking it up to a Windows 10 system and installed their software "as they intended" to get it to go away. I have the high sample rates, ALSA control, etc.. As demonstrated in your review. Also, dmesg output showed me the exact parameters needed for modprobe, handy!
Edit: Perhaps you can install the Focusrite software via Wine, and achieve the same results?
Edit 2: Nope! The installer complains about some windows update nonsense and refuses to install the USB driver. Software runs, but it doesn't detect the device.
Thank you. I've been using my 2i2 for quite a while without knowing MSD...
Now you now!
Thank you for great review, I found it useful because I'm right now looking for the type of device for my Linux laptop.
Really liked this review. Thorough on the setup details and focuses on the important bits from both the kernel and ALSA. Noting I don't use pipewire, I'll probably have to carve a decent asoundrc for it. Nice job.
Thanks, Unfa for this I have a Scarlett Focusrite 4i4 and was using a Windows laptop to toggle options such as the air mode.
Hey! That must've been a pain :/
I hope now you can use the software controls in Linux?
@@unfa00 Hi unfa not working in Ubuntu Studio
@@martinc3907 Make sure you have an appropriately recent Linux kernel version.
Thank you. Clear and works!!
Great super informative video, thanks! ❤
Thanks for this information!
Cool, i was listening to linux game cast. And Venn was talking about you and this episode. He told to check your channel.
The shirt, I LOVE THE SHIRT!! Where can I get one from? Love the tutorial review videos. You have a way cutting through the blah and keeping it interesting too.
Thanks! There's links in the video description :) You can order a t-shirt from TeeSpring or download my t-shirt the designs and print them locally to save money :)
Yes! I have an older 2i2 and I need to get a newer one so I can use it with my iPad. First thing I thought of was "what if I could use both on my PC and have 4 input channels?". Looking forward to your results. Excellent to know about the mass storage BS as well. Thanks for the video!
I like the mandelbrot zoom out in the background.
Part of the cxxmatrix routine :)
At this moment I perform interactive streams about programming where I reverse-engineer and improve the Focusrite Scarlett driver for Linux.
Welcome to my channel!
Driver??? Driver audio for linux????? Connect it to PC with Pulse and it work. Connect it to PC with Alsa and it work))))))))))))))
@@ToshaTumanov Don't forget that Scarlett is a series of devices. And if you have 2i2, then you don't care about the driver. When you work with senior series, you may need to manage internal mixer and router. And that may work not the same way as you expect from it when applying settings via the original Focusrite Control software.
@@nightlycode4840 I don't speak English well, but I will try to tell you about my experience using "translate". For the last ten years, any audio cards have worked on linux without a driver. Even very old audio cards, such as M-Audio Fast Track. I just connected the audio interface to the PC and it immediately gave sound. I always got the maximum sound quality, better than on windows. It is possible to control the properties of the audio interface from the DAW. I do not know why a driver is needed for an audio interface without a DSP? I use Manjaro/Arch/Mint
@@ToshaTumanov It seems that you have never used the device with internal mixer and internal router. Internal mixer and router allow to get the least possible latency for the device since the signal is mixed and routed without affecting any software on your PC. Moreover, you can set up several configurations on the device for live performance. For example, organize individual monitoring for each musician in the band. The current driver allows us to do mixing and routing but does not take into account the information that original Focusrite Control software stores inside of the device. And I'm aiming to add support of data stored by the Focusrite Control software.
@@nightlycode4840 all in DAW, realy
Thanks for your excellent video. Sadly, I cant get Alsamixer to show the software controls. It keeps saying "This sound device does not have any controls"
Thanks for this comprehensive review. Thinking about purchasing one for myself. I also noticed pipewire in your alsamixer, did you return to it? I have much less problems since the recent v0.3.44 :)
Yes, so far I'm back to PipeWire. After doing a fresh Arch Linux install I had major issues getting JACK to work, so I was kinda forced to use it, but after recent patches I don't experience the issues that forced me back to JACK previously. At least not for now.
Thank you very much. This will help me to setup my one the next days. - To buy a device without midi and to critism that the device has no midi sounds strange to me. I choosed the interface because it does not have midi since I do not need it (at least at the moment)
I LOVE this! Anyone who breaks down what they are typing into the CLI is worth their salt. I have been thinking abut this device for streaming and some music recording and this was so helpful in determining if the 2i2 3rd gen is the right choice folr me.
Great stuff. Sub'd!
What a fantastic channel! How did I not find this out before?
Thanks. This helped me a lot :)
Man, this is a really amazing job, well done
Thanks! It was a lot of work :D
My scarlett 2i2 3rd gen did not respond to the 'hold 48v switch 5 seconds'. Luckily I could disable the msd nonsense in alsamixer. Thanks for the great vid!
BTW, on my Manjaro rig everything works out of the box, all I needed to do was add the modeprobe change. No JACK needed, just pulse.
Yeah, sorry - you need to push it down, pull the USB cord, plugin back while still holding it down, keep it for 5 secs and you should be good.
Focusrite's docs are confused about this, I shouldn't have trusted them :/
Veery helpful and informative! BIG thx.!
I think I will go for audient ID14 MK2, hope it will work good with linux.
Thanks for detailed review.
Thanks fron Brazil! Great tutorial!
Wow! Thanks for this review. Even though you've explained each step, it seems like a nightmare to setup, compared to my Steinberg UR22, which just works out-of-the-box! So, I won't include Focusrite in my list when it comes time to upgrade!
Well, this device does work out of the box. But you need to get rid of the MSD mode. And if you want software controls, there's one extra step. I don't think other similar devices provide software controls.on Linux at all. Scarlett devices are so popular, that they got reverse engineered by Linux developers.
Super helpful video, thanks! Subscribed.
Thanks! Glad I could help!
Your video is hilarious - thank you very much for doing this review.
awesome video earned a sub
Nice, thats an interesting video. Becaus of the software "fun" from scarlet I#ve chosen the MOTU M2. It runs fine in Linux, since it's USB Claas compliant. This support for open/standard interfacing is the reason.
Поздравляю!
The 4i4 model doesn't even have buttons except for phantom power. It's supposed to be controlled by software that I don't think even exist for linux. I would go with a volt for a little more: it's a better device and works out of the box with nothing required.
Yup. Also I hate that I need to keep a windows at hand change the io routing..
@@dersg1freak I don't even know if your settings are stored when you reboot back to linux or you need the software running on the background all the times...
For me it works just fine. Just the phantom power won't persist. I usually just leave it configured with output 1,2 with only pc out, while output 3,4 got in 1,2 as mono and 3,4 as stereo. That way I can just jack the speakers around and won't have to fiddle with widows. Downside is of course that I can't change the output gain on outputs 3,4 but can live with that.
You need at least 5.15 kernel to have additional controls available in Alsamixer.
9:17 in focusrite control panel you can customize it
f.e. i have pink blue and purple
I acquired a distaste for Focusrite's practices after purchasing a Novation Launchkey Mini. Novation is owned by Focusrite. if you didn't know. But that keyboard had the same MSD that has to be disabled. Was further agitated by their configuration program that requires and active online account just to save and load presets and is just a link to a web portal. This influenced me greatly when it came time to purchase a audio interface and went with one of MOTU's products instead.
That was unusually usefully comprehensive :-)
I'm glad to hear that :)
Sheesh, that MSD function is such a leech that I didn't even know it was enabled in the factory! Maybe this would've explained why I was getting audio glitches when using high sample rates.
thank you so much for this tutorial!
You're very welcome :)
Great report! Maybe a review of usb interface and preamps playlist is forthcoming? 😎👍
There's some more USB audio interfaces I'll be testing.
@@unfa00 I have a Scarlett 18i8 now, and can't get it disabled! alsamixer won't run, missing something, and there are 2 48V buttons... The instructions say hold THE 48V button for 5 seconds. I've tried the right one, the left one, both.....nothing changes. Can you help?
Thank you so much for this video.
I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
@@unfa00 Speaking of USB is jankkk! It definitely is from my experience as well. My motherboard's usb controller is going crazy, and I had a pcie thing like u and it was terrible. I gave up with the pci stuff and just ordered a new motherboard. Because the motherboard is a pretty old model (z390), I have to wait 3 weeks for it to ship from some weird place that has these old motherboards for some reason.
Thank you 🙂
Спасибо тебе, родной! Я уже два дня рою интернет, пытаяс понять почему Jack сбрасывался к низкому семплрейту, а тут вот оно что.
I seems that many people have trouble getting the MSD mode disabled in hardware.
I'd like to know if anybody tried this and if you failed or succeeded. As you can see in the video, I've followed manufacturer's instructions, but I also saw different (more complex) instructions elsewhere and tried them first and didn't think I should double-check if Focusrite did an oopsies in their manual or not.
But maybe they did?
You need to check with lsusb what your ID is first.
It looks like you need to figure out the USB ID with lsusb command
How to do this for SOLO gen 4, can't find PID for it
Looks like RME would be a better choice regarding the "helding user hostage"...
Completely agree about all the autostart/USB storage/registration bullshit. I've just hidden the device from gnome-disk-utility and the 5 second hold of the "48 V" button method doesn't seem to work for me.
Just chiming in with some personal focusrite latency results. (note I am running jack, not pipewire!)
I'm running stock Manjaro kernel, Scarlet 2i4 2nd gen. (done the tweaks so rt checker reports all ok) and I'm getting 6ms on 48 / 32 - 4 periods and 8ms on 48 / 64 - 4. I found 4 periods worked best for me at least at lower buffersizes. 32 / 4 will run decently heavy loads without xruns, 64 has no problems with anything really.
I got mine working at 16/48000 with a nbuffer of 3 without xruns in REAPER on Linux. I'm using a 9700k for a processor though.
Tack!
That all looks very helpful. I bought a Behringer UMC204HD and have had a lot of issues getting Linux 20.4 to recognise it. I can see the solution using a terminal you had for Focusrite might work. What would I put into terminal for that?
Hello Unfa, very informative video!. I'm wondering if I could try a similar process for my Komplete Audio 6 (not the last generation). Thank you.
Great intro. I have a PreSouns Studio 24c on manjaro (pipewire). But I still could not get any line inputs from it. Wish to get some help here.
{small rant on buying online} normally I just buy things from amazon so I can return if when the product wants my email or any other nonsense {amazon the only company that honers their refund policy} most company's: boo hoo you opened the box so we get to keep 50$ me why is there a scratch and wheres my 50$ this happens like 70% of the time, the product is open box refreshed but said to be new scroo most online retailers and the crap I tolerated before like email stuff dos not fly with me I use to give them a fake name too but non of that for the last 5 years also aliexpress tends to suck too but I still use it if its a cheap cable I want or something else that should not cost 16.99$ I'll take a no warranty for 2$ + 2.85$ shipping {just 5$} any day and I know not to fall for straight scams
I like the way he says Focusrite. Sounds like something a lawyer did to me once.
Hey! Thanks for the video. I have a gen1 2i2 and when recording on linux it seems to treat the two inputs as stereo, which leads to audio only being recorded when to left or right when plugging in a XLR micrphone. I'm using pipewire. Do you have your scarlett configured with pipepewire or have experienced this problems? Would be very interested ot see your setup on linux.
Hello unfa, great video! I've been using the Lexicom Omega interface for years, unfortunately of its 4 channels only 2 work in Ardour. I have tried and it is impossible so far to accept all 4 channels. I don't know if you are familiar with this interface and the problem I mentioned.
Any chance you are going to review the Yamaha AG06 audio interface/ mixer anytime soon as it's about the best available around this price, And I haven't made the swap to linux yet, but it will be soon, Thanks for what your doing bud, after a couple of hours watching I'm confident most of my stuff will work, not sure about all the ableton midi controllers though, Novation Launchkey mini , Arturia Mini Lab, NI Komplete M32, Maschine Micro, and Launchpad mini, and soon the M Audio Hammer pro 88, and hopefully a Yamaha mod x 8, so I'm a bit concerned with such a big commitment as I know it's going to be a challenge to start but I'm hoping to test on an old maschine first to iron out the bugs, we need the industry to start moving this way before "Crapple" and "Pedosoft" are shut down lol, they won't stop what's comming :-), Cheers Again, Chris H.
Hey! I can only review hardware I can get my hands on (hopefully in mint condition, to rule out any wear and tear). This video was only possible because of a generous donation.
BTW: you may want to check out my community chat, people there may have some experience with the hardware you have (which I don't).
First of all: Great Video, especially on the MSD and driver topic!
I've one issue with the Scarlett Solo though: My Volume is very quiet on Linux. In papeaks the input volume only ever goes up to like 20%, even with gain on the device all the way up, which actually causes me to have clipping. -> When I plug in my headphones into the device, my volume is perfectly fine, but that doesn't transfer over to my system. :/
Any idea how to fix this? (I'm using Pipewire)
Thanks!
As for your issue - I don't have a Solo so I can't test this (I didn't have this problem myself).
I think you'd have better luck asking in my community chat: chat.unfa.xyz
@@unfa00 Thanks, I'll ask there! :)
Great video Unfa! I was wondering if you think the clarett+ 2pre will ever get any github support for linux (like you used on the scarlett)? Thanks for putting out great content!
Hi! I don't know. I guess the devices are not as popular so nobody was interested in tackling this.
@@unfa00 Thanks for getting back to me, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.
I hope it's okay to ask as a linux nooB: I had a gen 1 8i6. I saw there were no linux drivers for the GUI for it, and I want to be able to use the Reaper DAW to record. So I went and bought a gen4 2i2 since I saw there is supposed to be support with the GUI driver. I tried following what directions I could find that seem related to the gen4 and ran into a problem where a popup says it needs a firmware update to work. I went to the link that message provided and saw some files (which I don't know what to do with) that end with extensions such as .deb and tar.gz. I have Nobara, which I understand is related to Fedora, Kernel: Linux 6.10.3-201.fsync.fc40.x4. I read somewhere else to place a firmware file in usr/lib/firmware/scarlett2, but there is no scarlett2 folder there. I followed the install info on the github page and did the commands and came up with the exact same popup and message. I can't find any more clear instructions on what to do at this point. Does anyone know? Thanks to anyone for any help. I really want to get linux working to get away from windows if possible. The idea of recall and possibility of going to a subscription has me about to pull out my ancient 4 track recorder. :/
HI, thank you very much for this review. I was about to buy this audio interface but... i'm on linux mint and i'm looking for a sound card for guitare mostly, with guitarix maybe. What can you suggest me ? MOTU M2 ? thank you.
i haven't had a single audio interface that did not work out of the box with a properly set up distro, i use solus btw
Archlinux here, but I do my research before getting Audio Interfaces. The Scarletts were the first USB interfaces to fully support linux in class compliant mode back in the day out of the box. That's why I upgraded from 1st gen to 3rd.
Thanks, I was thinking of getting the SSL2 Audio interface. Can you get that working on Linux?
Glad to watch you, how to resolve drag audio clip at fl studio installed by bottles on debian distro?
Hey, sorry - I don't use non-free software like FL Studio, though I assume this is an issue with Wine (software that makes Windows programs run on Linux and OS). I'd search the internet fo these terms: "Wine file drag and drop not working"
You can also join my community chat and ask in #proprietary-purgatory ;)
Unfa, have you ever tried to any Universal Audio interface on linux? I would like to know how these audio interfaces works on Linux. Thanks. Great job!
Hey! I have never had a device of theirs to test, sorry :)
Hi again Unfa! Just a quick question that's maybe off-topic, but I've been searching everywhere and can't get any solid answers! Do you happen to know if you can bypass an audio interface by directly plugging in an effects pedal? That's all I actually want this Scarlett for, to plug in something like a Mooer GE200 and start recording.. The internet appears to be divided about whether it will work (it appears to be compliant, but who knows right?)
Focusrite?? More like fk us right??? Da dum tss
4:50 that autocompletion with history in grey looks swell. How did you get that going? :)
I'm using Starship and Fish :)
The info showed at 5:41 is not in the README.md you link to in the description. I was able to copy the PID i needed for my Scarlett Solo from your screenshot. So, thanks for that! I did check the history of that README and did not find the info you posted. So, maybe you meant to link to a different file?
Hey, sorry for the late response. I was unable to find what that is, just now, I'd need to check archived production files. I hope it's not critical?
@@unfa00 Your link to the pages with the various Scarlett Interfaces is broken, BUT I was able to freeze your video near that timestamp to get the PID for a Scarlett Solo. If you have an updated link for Focusrite PIDs, consider updating the show notes :)
Thanks again for the work you do! I record and produce audiobooks and podcasts using Debian and Reaper. So, mostly spoken word here.
I would love to see a Reaper vs Ardour vs Fairlight comparison. Comparing open vs closed source options would be enlightening.
I can't wait for steinberg, I just got the ur22mkii couple of weeks ago. Works fine as far as i'm aware, but lacks any controls in alsamixer. I got 2.7ms latency on 192000hz and 512 samples, with 38 xruns in 8 hrs of uptime without music production load. Should I aim for 0 xruns? Is it OK that I hear almost no (headphones output) difference in sound quality between using this usb card and using motherboard jack? I'm not a musician in any way tbh, and expected to hear what audiophiles were talking about.
I am waiting to get a Steinberg UR22C for testing. They are completely out of stock.
I think for just listening, an onboard audio interface will not present much audible difference, if at all. I am not an audiophile or audiofool (someone who believes a $1000 power cord will somehow make them burst into tears of joy). I would say - unless you can't get enough volume out of your headphones (studio monitor headphones may be difficult to drive) - don't hesitate to just use your onboard soundcard.
USB audio interfaces make sense if you want to record audio, as capture quality in onboard devices is still very poor, plus you're stuck using very cheap and low quality microphones.
@@unfa00 UR22C were out of stock in my location as well and used were sold for around $300, so I bought mkii. Also I found UR22C features irrelevant for me.
And, ofc, recording quality went straight up after connecting even a simple karaoke microphone for around $50, and I can feel the difference in that case.
I'm looking forward to your Steinberg-on-Linux review. My experience with ur22mkii was working out of the box with pulseaudio without any storage devices coming up. It also has a (fairly) long usb cord. Firmware upgrade requires to log in into mac/windows.
You're doing an excellent job on covering this niche-in-niche case. I really appreciate your content.
@@sinitsyn2000 Perhaps I should revisit my choice. I assumed UR22C is "just better", but maybe that's not the case...
@@unfa00 overall, i think that ur22c is really "just better", at least because it has usb3.0 and DSP unit, and as people in the internet say "better preamps for headphones". If there was some information in the web about this exact DSP support in linux, I might've bought the ur22c.
@@sinitsyn2000 I don't expect to be able to use any of it's DSP in Linux though. Wed have to reverse engineer the Windows tools probably to be able to use that.
Thanks for the great video!
Whenever you say Focusrite I freeze for a moment, because I understood you where saying "Fck us right" :-D
Thanks! I guess my pronunciation is a bit strange? :D
@@unfa00 no worries. It's very sympathetic to me. I like it. So please keep it :-)
I'm also super happy that I have found your channel, because of Audio on Linux.