Pictures from the event
Kody Standridge is a representative for Western US. He first talked about the history of the company. Focusrite was started by Rupert Neve, so all Focusrite products are based on original Neve design.
Kody brought a rack full of preamps and interfaces. We had an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and bass out in the live room to demo the gear. There was the ISA 828 preamp, Scarlett Octopre, Clarett 8Pre, and Red4Pre. The Red4Pre is compatible with the DANTE protocol; additionally, it has an iOS controller which can change settings from an iPhone or iPad. The Clarett preamps are like having two preamps in one with Air mode, which emulates the ISA sound with actual analog circuit. The Clarett and Red run on Thunderbolt 1. The Scarlett Octopre has a built-in compressor.
We first started with everything running through the ISA. We first listened to the acoustic. We changed the setting on the impedance on the ISA, which changed the character of the instruments without touching any other settings. Kody invited the students to change the settings and listen to the results.
We moved onto the Scarlette Octopre, which has its own compressor setting, which was useful for the bass. Kody noted that the compressor starts at 4:1 but can be increased to 8:1. Then, we moved to the Clarett and Red4Pre. The Red4Pre can be controlled with an iPhone/iPad, so students took turns adjusting the settings.
Finally, Kody brought out the Novation Circuit synthesizer, which was loaded with samples from Kody's new album. Kody joined in on the jam session on his Novation Circuit, patching his beats into the board and out to the performer's headphones.
Thanks to Kody for his expertise and enthusiasm for Focusrite products, and we look forward to another gear demo in the near future!
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