Focusrite Control 2 is the software you need to use to manage your Scarlett interface. Focusrite Control 2 manages your routing, monitoring, mixer settings, and firmware updates.
Your Scarlett 4i4 contains a mixer controllable from the Mixer page in Focusrite Control 2. You can use this mixer to combine and send input sources to the physical outputs of your Scarlett 4i4 using the Routing tab.
The input sources to the mixer include:
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Physical Inputs
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Analogue inputs (Instrument, microphone, or line inputs)
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Playback Inputs
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Output Channels from your DAW software
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Software playback from other computer software.
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Once you've created a mix of inputs, you can send this to the physical outputs of your Scarlett 4i4 to create a custom mix for your speakers, or for an artist's headphone mix.
At the top of Focusrite Control 2's Mixer you can see the different Mixes you have available listed as Mix A, Mix B, etc.
Each Mix allows you to combine inputs and send the mixes to outputs for different needs. For example, you may wish to use Mix A to listen to audio through speakers and use Mix B for a singer's headphone mix. The singer may want to hear more of their own vocals in their headphones, so you can increase the volume for Mix B only.
Tip
You can have multiple Mixes active at once in Focusrite Control 2.
Each Mix works independently, so, for example, you can route Mix A to your monitors and Mix B to headphones, without affecting each other. Note, a single Output can only receive one Mix at a time—if you assign a new Mix to an Output already in use, it will overwrite the previous routing.
Click on a Mix to select it. You can now route it to any Output(s) of your choice. To do this:
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Click any existing Output, or the pencil icon
right of Routed to →
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Tick the destinations you want to send this Mix to.
For example, you could send Mix A to Outputs 1-2, where you may have connected your monitors, and Headphones. You could then hear the same mix in your headphones and monitors.
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Click
to close the Mix destinations pop-up.
Above the mixer channels, you can see which Outputs your Mix is routed to. If you've not routed a Mix to an output, you'll see No outputs assigned.
Note
You can only feed each Output from one Mix. For example, you can't send Mix A and Mix B simultaneously to your headphones. When you're choosing Mix destinations, Focusrite Control 2 shows you if an output already has a feed from a different Mix. If you route the current Mix to an Output with a Mix already routed to it, it overwrites the routing to that Output.
Note
You can also change which outputs your mixes are going to in Focusrite Control 2's Routing tab, see Using the Focusrite Control 2 Routing tab for more information.
Loopback Destination
If you would like to record the specific mix of inputs you have made, select Loopback as a Mix destination. See Loopback.
Each mixer channel has several functions.
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Mix Channel Name
This shows the name of the mixer input.
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Pan
Moves a mono channel's position in the stereo image from left to right, or changes a stereo channel's balance from left to right. The default is centre. Alt, option ⌥ click, or double-click, to reset.
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Fader
The Fader adjusts the level going to your Mix destination. Alt, option ⌥ or double-click to reset.
The faders have no effect on the sources you are currently recording.
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Meter
This shows you the channel's level, in dBFS. Green shows a good level, and amber means the level is very high.
You'll see two meters for stereo channels, one for each left and right side.
The meter shows the level post-fader, the fader setting will affect the meter.
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Mute and Solo
Mute - Click the Mute button
to silence the channel in the Mix. The Mute button lights blue
when enabled. You can Mute multiple channels simultaneously.
Solo - Click the Solo button
to solo the track by silencing all other channels in the Mix. The Solo button lights yellow
when enabled. Enabling Solo on multiple channels silences any channels without Solo enabled, i.e. you will hear all the Solo'd channels.
If you enable both Mute and Solo, the last clicked option takes priority.
The routing tab in Focusrite Control 2 lets you organise what inputs and mixes you're sending to the outputs of your Scarlett.
When you open the Routing tab, you'll see a list of Sources and Outputs:
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The Output list refers to each of the outputs on your Scarlett and is divided into Analogue outputs (line outputs, headphones) and the digital outputs (Loopback).
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The Source list is editable and lets you choose a source of audio to send to the corresponding output. Sources can either be inputs, DAW (software) playback channels or a combination of the two you've created as a mix in Focusrite Control 2's Using the Focusrite Control 2 Mixer tab.
The Routing tab in Focusrite Control 2.
To assign a source to an output, find the output you'd like to use in the Output list and click the corresponding Source dropdown menu. Click a Source in the list to start sending that audio to the output. The meters to the right of the row show what you're sending to the output.
You can only feed each Output from one Mix. For example, you can't send Mix A and Mix B simultaneously to your headphones. When you're choosing Mix destinations, Focusrite Control 2 shows you if an output already has a feed from a different Mix. If you route the current Mix to an Output with a Mix already routed to it, it overwrites the routing to that Output.
In the Routing tab, you can split stereo outputs to make two mono outputs, so you can send them completely independent Sources. You might want to use this if you're sending mono channels to outboard equipment, or if you have a mono speaker for testing your mixes.
To make an output pair two mono channels, click on the stereo symbol in the box to the left of the stereo pair.
The single stereo output expands to two mono outputs, and each output has its own independent Source dropdown box.
To revert to a stereo pair, click the mono symbol in the box to the left.
Presets give you a way to quickly restore settings for your Scarlett. 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:
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Input settings per channel:
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Input Gain
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+48V
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Inst
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Safe mode
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Air mode
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Channel linking.
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Mixer settings
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Mix destination (Routed to →)
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Pan and balance
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Fader levels
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Mute and Solo states.
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Note
Focusrite Control 2 saves presets to the computer you're using when you save it. However, your Scarlett keeps its settings for use with a different computer or in standalone mode.
The first step of using Presets in Focusrite Control 2 is changing 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
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Tweak the settings for your Scarlett in Focusrite Control 2.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Click the New Preset button.
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Type the name of your preset in the Preset Name field. Make sure the name is useful so you can find and reuse it later.
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Click Save Preset.
Once you've saved the preset, the name of the preset shows in the bottom left corner of Focusrite Control 2. 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
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Tweak the settings of an existing preset so an asterisk * appears next to the Preset name.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
to the right of the name.
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Click Overwrite.
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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 the name of a preset without changing any of its settings.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
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Click Rename.
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Type the new name for the Preset in the Preset Name field.
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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.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
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Click Delete.
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Before committing to deleting a Preset, read the warning pop-up and click the Delete button to confirm deleting the preset.
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:
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Sample rate
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Device
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Application
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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, listed below, are not available at quad-band sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz).
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Air Presence & Drive (Air Presence still works)
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Clip Safe
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Mix Sources
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Coaxial S/PDIF
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Optical S/PDIF
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ADAT Channels
Clock source sets how your Scarlett synchronises in your set-up. Most of the time you'll set this to Internal, but if you're using another device connected to the ADAT or S/PDIF inputs on your Scarlett you may need to change the clock source. For more information, see Sync Status and using your Scarlett with ADAT and S/PDIF.
The Clock Sources available are:
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Internal
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ADAT
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S/PDIF
For more information on channel ordering and which channels you can use simultaneously with your Scarlett, see the section Scarlett 4i4 Specifications.
To do a device reset:
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Click Reset to default settings.
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Read the “Are you sure?” pop-up to make sure you want to Reset your Scarlett.
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Click Reset.
Note
When you do a device reset, your presets are not deleted. So after you've factory reset your device, you reload any previous settings you've saved as a Preset.
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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.