Advice on used Focusrite Scarlett

[beatlemartin]

Hi all, i'd like to get an used Focusrite Scarlett.

I'm no expert of the brand, but it was suggested to me by many people i know who are into home recording.

Since i'm a newbie and mainly a hobbyst, i'm leaning towards getting an used one (i think the 4i4 should meet my needs), just to cut my teeth on it.

Are there potential issues should i be aware of in looking for an used one ? like ie "stay away from series xxx because they have this well known issue yyy" or "items produced from aa to bb suffer from this well known problem ..."

Or is it more convenient pricewise to get a new one and rest easy ?

Thank you

 

[rationaltime]

Have you read the review and comments here?
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface Gen 3 Review

 

[AnalogSteph]

These used to have a bit of a reputation for being prone to clipping with a hot guitar pickup, but I think that was generally fixed by the 2nd gen. That should be better in terms of driver support, too. 3rd gen is generally a better performer over that again except for the wimpy headphone output.

Now with Scarletts being so well-known, they tend to be correspondingly sought-after on the used market, too, and generally selling for good money. It's what I like to call "IKEA syndrome". Looking around for possible alternatives is not the worst idea in the world.

 

[Balle Clorin]

I have the Scarlett Solo. I never got it to make repeatable or consistent measurements. Erratic behaviour and interface that was not very helpful. No help from focusrite. Cannot even sell it. I use a 40USD USB dongle sound card instead.(3.5mm connection and analog and Toslink out 96k) Works well every time.

 

[ampguy]

In my experience, they work great for the prices, both as DACs, and for home recording. I highly recommend using the balanced TRS outputs to some mixer or amp as it will be less noisy than TS to RCA use. I think all 2nd gen and up have balanced TRS, except the 2nd gen solo which is just RCA outs.