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Question about Scarlett Solo

geesharp

geesharp

Oct 24, 2018
285
473
Jakarta, Indonesia
#1
I want to buy Focusrite Scarlett Solo. I intend to use it to check myself playing...to record myself play along, and learn what mistakes I make.

What I have in mind is play a song on my PC/laptop... say, the Police's Roxanne...then I play along with it, play the bass part, and record both the song and the bass that I play. Afterward, I listen to what I just recorded to learn any mistakes I make.
Can I do that with Scarlett Solo?

Thanks in advance.
 
#2
The Scarlett solo can definitely be a part of that. The other thing you need is a software DAW or digital audio workstation. The solo probably comes with a lite version of a DAW for free. There are a number of DAWs to choose from ranging from free to very expensive. The free software included shouldn’t dictate to you which DAW you choose. Reaper is a DAW that is popular, free to try, and costs $60 if you like it.

In terms of playing along with a song, you would first import the song file into your DAW as a stereo track, and then add a bass track by playing along. The DAW itself handles the playback of the song file so you don’t need to sync up to an external player like iTunes etc.
 
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#4
geesharp said:
Thank you DigitalMan.
A follow up question. When I play along, do I listen to the song the DAW played, from the headphones plugged into Scarlett Solo...or the headphones plugged into PC/laptop?
Click to expand...
Most of the time you would plug the headphones into the Scarlett and use it as the single audio input and output device. It doesn’t have to be that way, but it’s the simplest and easiest. If you decide to add powered monitors you would also hook them up to the Scarlett.
 
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#5
To elaborate, every DAW has the ability to route audio inputs and outputs in software. The DAW will typically allow you to choose any valid audio device that the system presents to it. In some cases the computer’s built-in audio ports need a special driver called and ASIO driver in order for them to be properly “seen” by the DAW. I’d generally avoid using built-in audio ports on the computer for music recording with a DAW.

The driver included with Scarlett (for Windows) is ASIO complaint. For Mac the Scarlett is plug and play as a class compliant device. Any DAW should have no problem seeing the Scarlett, and in many cases will set it automatically as the default input and output device.
 
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#6
I would suggest a simpler way to achieve your goals is to use a DAW program (Audacity, Reaper, etc..) on your PC/laptop and then load your song ("Roxanne") into an open track and enable monitor.

Open a second track and route it to your Focusrite input. Enable record on that track.

Press play/record. You'll be able to hear "Roxanne" playing, as well as yourself as you play along on bass.

When done recording, you can very easily save a mixdown of "Roxanne" and your bass as one stereo track in the music file format of your choice.

This method means you only need to use a single input on your Focusrite and don't have to bother with routing or recording "Roxanne".
 
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#7
hbarcat said:
I would suggest a simpler way to achieve your goals is to use a DAW program (Audacity, Reaper, etc..) on your PC/laptop and then load your song ("Roxanne") into an open track and enable monitor.

Open a second track and route it to your Focusrite input. Enable record on that track.

Press play/record. You'll be able to hear "Roxanne" playing, as well as yourself as you play along on bass.

When done recording, you can very easily save a mixdown of "Roxanne" and your bass as one stereo track in the music file format of your choice.

This method means you only need to use a single input on your Focusrite and don't have to bother with routing or recording "Roxanne".
Click to expand...
So, what I said in post #2, paragraph 2.
 
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#12
The Tascam GB-10 has been a lifesaver for me in the past when I’ve had to learn 3 sets of songs quickly. Just put all the mp3s on an SD card and it lets you play along, even record what you are playing as well as change the speed or the key.

Invalid Link Removed
 
#13
geesharp said:
I want to buy Focusrite Scarlett Solo. I intend to use it to check myself playing...to record myself play along, and learn what mistakes I make.

What I have in mind is play a song on my PC/laptop... say, the Police's Roxanne...then I play along with it, play the bass part, and record both the song and the bass that I play. Afterward, I listen to what I just recorded to learn any mistakes I make.
Can I do that with Scarlett Solo?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Yes. Bass into one input. Recorded song into the other input. Use the headphone monitor to listen while you play.

There are more sophisticated ways to track/monitor with a DAW if you want to pursue those options.
 
#14
The nice thing about using a DAW, even a very basic one like Audacity is that you can record the song you are playing with in a stereo track and your bass on a separate mono track (via your Scarlet solo interface - the Focusrite gear is probably your highest quality for the dollar value). When you play it back from the DAW you can control the volume between the channels so you can hear your playing clearly. You'll have to play around with the input sources, but that is part of using any DAW (I'm pretty the Solo has two mono channels).
Good luck and have fun...
 

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