Focusrite Control 2 is the software you need to use to manage your interface. Focusrite Control 2 manages your routing, monitoring, mixer settings, and firmware updates.
macOS interface switching
If you're using your Solo on a macOS computer you can connect multiple interfaces and switch between them using the top-left tab in Focusrite Control 2.
This is useful for setting up multiple devices quickly. We don't support device aggregation.
Presets give you a way to quickly restore settings for your Solo. You can change the settings to suit a particular session or set up and save this as a nameable preset. Next time you need to recall those settings, you can Load the preset.
Presets contain the following settings:
-
Input settings per channel:
-
Channel name
-
+48V
-
Inst
-
Air mode
-
-
Device Settings
-
Combine inputs 1 and 2
-
Send Direct Monitor mix to Loopback
-
Note
Focusrite Control 2 saves presets to the computer you're using when you save it. However, your Solo 4th Gen keeps its settings for use with a different computer or in standalone mode.
To use Presets in Focusrite Control 2 you need to change some settings. Once you've set up Focusrite Control 2 with some settings you want to recall in future, you can save a preset. There are two ways to save a preset: saving a New Preset or Overwrite an existing preset.
Saving a New Preset
-
Tweak the settings for your in Focusrite Control 2.
-
Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
-
Click the New Preset button.
-
Type the preset name in the Preset Name field. Make sure the name is useful to find and reuse it later.
-
Click Save Preset.
Once you've saved the preset, the preset name shows in the bottom left corner. If you change any setting while you're in that preset, the name shows an asterisk *.
When the name shows an asterisk * you can either create a new preset using the steps above, or you can overwrite the preset with the new changes.
Overwriting a Preset
-
Tweak an existing preset so an asterisk * appears next to the Preset name.
-
Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
-
Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
to the right of the name.
-
Click Overwrite.
-
Before committing to overwriting a Preset, read the warning pop-up and click the Overwrite button to confirm overwriting the existing preset.
Caution
Overwriting a preset replaces the stored preset's settings with your current settings. You can't undo this change.
Loading a preset recalls a set of settings you've saved previously.
Renaming allows you to change a preset's name without changing the settings.
-
Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
-
Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
-
Click Rename.
-
Type the new name for the Preset in the Preset Name field.
-
Click Rename Preset.
Caution
Deleting a Preset removes the preset from Focusrite Control 2. You cannot get it back and you can't undo this action. Deleting a Preset won't change your interface's settings.
-
Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
-
Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
-
Click Delete.
-
Before committing to deleting a Preset, read the warning pop-up and click the Delete button to confirm deleting the preset.
When you create Presets in Focusrite Control 2 they're either stored in Focusrite Control 2 or you can export the Presets to your computer. You can export these presets for many reasons, for example, as a backup, to duplicate your setup on another computer, or take them along to sessions with other artists or studios.
Once you've saved a Preset in Focusrite Control 2 (see Saving a Preset) you can Export it to your computer.
To export a Focusrite Control 2 Preset:
-
Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
-
Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
-
Click Export.
-
Choose a location to save the Preset.
By default, Focusrite Control 2 adds your presets to a Folder in your documents called Focusrite Control 2. You can choose to save it to another folder you'd like to.
To import a Focusrite Control 2 Preset:
-
Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
-
Click Import from Disk, or Import if you already have Presets.
-
Find the location of the Preset you'd like to import.
-
Select the preset in your file browser and click Open. You can select more than one Preset to import.
Click the ellipsis in Focusrite Control 2's top right corner and click
to open the Preferences page.
In the Preferences page, you have the tabs:
-
Sample rate
-
Device
-
Application
-
Remote Devices
Sample rate refers to the samples per second your computer is recording. The higher the value, the higher the quality; however, the higher the value, the more hard drive space your recordings take up.
Note
Some features are not available at quad-band sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz).
-
Air Presence & Drive (Air Presence still works)
The Device tab gives you access to settings for the LED lights on your Solo.
Adjusts the brightness of all the lights on the front panel of your Solo. There are three levels of brightness:
-
Low
-
Medium
-
High
You can turn off all the LEDS, and dim the USB LED, on your Solo.
-
You can set your Solo to do this automatically by ticking the Automatically turn off all LEDs check box in the Device tab. After 10 minutes of inactivity (no front panel adjustments or passing audio) the LEDs turn off.
-
You can manually turn off the LEDs. To do this, hold the Inst button for two seconds.
Enable this setting to allow audio from both analogue inputs to be sent to recording applications that only accept one input or a stereo input.
Some apps have a limitation which means they only accept the first input from audio interfaces. On the Solo 4th Gen, the microphone connects to Input 2 so in some apps you can't use the microphone input, this setting fixes that problem.
Your Direct Monitor Mix is a combination of your 's inputs and the software playback channels. You can set this mix in Focusrite Control 2 and record this mix via your Loopback channels. For more information, see Using your Solo 4th Gen's Loopback feature.
To do a device reset:
-
Click Reset to default settings.
-
Read the “Are you sure?” pop-up to make sure you want to Reset your Scarlett.
-
Click Reset.
Note
When you do a device reset, your presets are not deleted. So after you've factory reset your device, you can reload any previous settings you've saved as a Preset.
The Direct metering setting allows you to change how the meters in the Direct tab behave:
-
Pre-fade – The meters always show the signal level, regardless of the fader position.
-
Post-fade – The meters show the level after the fader. This mode is more representative of what you hear in the mix.
Use this tick box to opt into usage analytics to help us make Focusrite Control 2 better. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.
To accompany Focusrite Control 2 we've created the Focusrite Control 2 mobile app.
The mobile app lets you connect mobile devices on the same Wi-Fi® network as your computer to control and view Focusrite Control 2.
The remote devices tab lets you manage any phones or tablets you've previously connected to Focusrite Control 2.
The Focusrite Control 2 mobile app runs on Android and iOS, and you can download it from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store by clinking on this link or scanning the QR code on your mobile device:
fc2.focusrite.com/mobile/download
Note
The Focusrite Control 2 mobile app can only control the Focusrite Control 2 when it's running on your computer.
It's not possible to use the mobile app to control your Scarlett directly.