Hello,


The blue screen issue that you mentioned should be solved by installing our latest beta USB drivers (Focusrite USB2 Drivers 2.2b3) from here: http://beta.focusrite.com/


With regard to the input level this is normal behaviour. Please see this article for further information: http://www.focusrite.com/...en/article.php?id=1163


Best regards,


Chris
Focusrite Support

For those with the 8i6...has these latest drivers solved all your BSOD, MIDI, and latency problems?

Still over the fence on whether to get the Quad Capture or the 8i6.  If the new 8i6 drivers now work....then I'll probably go with the 8i6.

Hoping for any additional feedback. Thanks.

Vic

I received my brand new Scarlett 18i6 today. After consulting this page and a few other sources I decided to install the Scarlett MixControl from the focusrite page here and found they have a new update (October 14th to be exact). I have used the interface for 2 hours of recording using a drum machine plugged in to 4 line inputs, 1 bass guitar in another line input (through a D/I box) and 1 guitar and microphone through the two front preamp inputs.

Here are my results of this extensive recording session - 


A thoroughly impressive and relaxed recording session. Absolutely no drop outs and no OS hiss/noise.


Let me expand on this. I have a 4Gig 2.4Khz Sony Vaio running Windows 7 64bit. I previously had the M-Audio FireWire 1814 and FireWire Audiophile and had nothing but problems. OS noise bleeding through to the recordings, drop outs, BSOD and sometimes undiagnosable audio faults. This often made recording a stressful experience that I often dreaded. Made worse by the fact that it was my band that I was recording and often spent two hours recording 1 guitar layer.


With this I am performing better during recording - most likely due to less stress knowing that it will be recorded and having more recording time for multiple layers.


Well done Focusrite - the Scarlett 18i6 is a well made piece of equipment.

Hi, 

We have a full release version of Scarlett Mix control that addresses the issues mentioned here. Also for Scarlett 2i2 users there is a new version of the Focusrite USB 2 driver. You can get these on the downloads page of the Focusrite website:

2i2 - http://www.focusrite.com/downloads/scarlett_2i2/

8i6 - http://www.focusrite.com/downloads/scarlett_8i6/

18i6 - http://www.focusrite.com/downloads/scarlett_18i6/

Best Regards, 

Will
Focusrite Support

Speaking of the Mix Control - what do you think of that ? It probably should not be, but seems somewhat difficult to figure out.  Have you found that it influences the outputs / phones monitoring, whether you actually open it up or not? Once I was getting nothing out of one side of my cans on a playback (X1) and found out after opening up the Mix Control, that it was a setting in there !!

I bought my 18i6 about six months ago. I've had nothing but problems with it. I decided today to put it on Craigslist and try to get rid of the thing and find something that actually works every time without going into a big mess trying to figure something out with it. Today it was latency. I tried adjusting my buffers down to 2 ms, the lowest point at which the audio engine wouldn't cut out on me and still had the latency issue. I then tried clearing the routing preset and using the zero latency feature and still had latency. I've tried to be patient with this thing. From installation problems to the Scarlett MixControl software (I don't believe I've ever seen a worse design in my life), this has been the single most disappointing hardware I've ever purchased. I cannot tell you how forward I looked to getting this thing. That's one reason I stayed with it so long. I desperately wanted it to be the centerpiece of my home studio for years but it wasn't meant to be.

When it works correctly, everything is great. The sound is truly pristine. I really wish it would function correctly each time I need it, but it's too unreliable to be of use to me. I boxed the thing up today and decided to my old Lexicon Lambda entry-level interface to lay down a dummy vocal until I can decide what I want to replace the Focusrite with. I hate that because I love the Focusrite preamps but usefulness and reliability trumps a great sound I cannot depend upon.