Scarlett 2i2 and low end tone suck

[rtav]

Hello all,

I've been using a Scarlett Focusrite 2i2 Gen 2 for almost 2 years and have been happy with it. I've used it from my pedalboard into Garageband on my Mac and have not had any complaints.

However...

I got rid of all my pedalboard stuff and have started over with a new Darkglass Vintage Ultra v2 pedal. So I plug my headphones into the pedal and the low end (I play six string basses, so it's low E down to B) sounds un-freakin-real. The bass is HUGE and ballsy, the tone is off the charts and there is so much great low end it's like the voice of god.

I run the Darkglass pedal output into my Scarlett 2i2, plug in the same headphones and listen to it through the direct monitor option by comparison it sounds pathetic. Anemic. The heft is gone, there's no real low end. I unplug my headphones, plug them back into the Darkglass and WHAM! Total night and day difference.

I tried line and instrument input settings, different cables, even changed the strings - same thing every time. Headphones monitoring the direct sound on the 2i2 - thin and weak, I go to the pedal, plug in the same headphones (AKG k240s) and it's bass heaven.

I had no idea the Scarlett was cutting frequencies the way it did until I got the Vintage Ultra and did a side by side comparison with the same bass and same headphones. It's not even close. I suppose I've been compensating with the eq in Garageband for what the 2i2 was rolling off, but just to hear the two, side by side was a real eye opener.

Now I've got to find a new USB interface, which stinks, but I can't go back to using the 2i2 for any bass work at all. It might be fine for guitar and vox, but for a six string bass it completely neuters the low end.

1) Anyone else notice this, or is it just mine?

2) Anyone have any other DAW interfaces they can recommend for deep bass? I'd like to find something with midi, so any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[JKos]

Is there an inherent difference between the Darkglass out and headphone out?

When you play your mixes through other devices (monitors, stereo, car, etc.) do you notice the same low end cut? If you connect the headphone output to the Scarlett, do you notice the same low end cut?

If you go Darkglass output to a mixer to your headphones, what does that sound like?

Anyone have any other DAW interfaces they can recommend for deep bass?

What's your budget?

- John

 

[Kro]

1) Anyone else notice this, or is it just mine?

Nope, I use a 2i2 for everything and have no such issues.

I'm not too familiar with the Darkglass unit you're using, but you're sending the 1/4 to the 2i2 right? Does the same thing happen when you use the direct out?

 

[rtav]

Is there an inherent difference between the Darkglass out and headphone out?

When you play your mixes through other devices (monitors, stereo, car, etc.) do you notice the same low end cut? If you connect the headphone output to the Scarlett, do you notice the same low end cut?

If you go Darkglass output to a mixer to your headphones, what does that sound like?


What's your budget?

- John

Thanks for your response.

I haven't done any recording as I just got the Darkglass pedal 2 days ago, so I can't say. I have noticed that the bass seems a bit thin on some recordings (using Garageband), but I've compensated with eq settings which have helped to a degree. I don't have a mixer to test against, so I can't say.

I've also been reading that there are some who say the headphone output on the Scarlett isn't as great as it could be, so that may be a part of it. Plugging my bass directly into the Scarlett produces the same thinner tone that I hear when a/b testing the pedal and the Scarlett.

The thing that is shocking is that the difference is so dramatic I'm stunned by it. It could be a combination of things, but it really is so noticeable that it's impossible to ignore.

My budget is around $400.

Thanks!

 

[rtav]

Nope, I use a 2i2 for everything and have no such issues.

I'm not too familiar with the Darkglass unit you're using, but you're sending the 1/4 to the 2i2 right? Does the same thing happen when you use the direct out?

Yes, I'm sending 1/4" out to the Scarlett. I'd like to try the direct out on the Darkglass pedal to the Scarlett but I don't have a cable - that would be an interesting test, and I may have to get a cable to test it (and just to have on hand).

Thanks!

 

[ArtechnikA]

My budget is around $400.

I have a 2i2 and the same Vintage Ultra you do (and all my basses have at least 5 strings...).
I have noticed no lack of low end in actual recordings, and I don't much care about the 2i2 hardware monitor circuit since IMO it's just for practice; all I care about is what hits the WAV files in Reaper.
I always connect to the 2i2 using a DI - I think the tone sounds better and I don't need any induced hum. And it eliminates any impedance loading issues.
I usually use a Radial JDI just for practice, or the Vintage DI (which is really hot, so I run a 20dB pad...)

I have no complaints WRT the 2i2 but I have been pretty impressed with the Motu M2 at an equivalent price point, probably better D/A, and MIDI.
"For a little more" I'd probably be looking at the Motu M4, because I have run into situations where 2 channels isn't quite enough, and I haven't wanted to drag out the 22-channel Soundcraft interface.

 

[Kro]

This is such a weird one, I wonder if it could be a power draw or driver thing... I'm a PC user, so I'm sadly probably less helpful on this front than I'd otherwise be.

 

[rtav]

I have a 2i2 and the same Vintage Ultra you do (and all my basses have at least 5 strings...).
I have noticed no lack of low end in actual recordings, and I don't much care about the 2i2 hardware monitor circuit since IMO it's just for practice; all I care about is what hits the WAV files in Reaper.
I always connect to the 2i2 using a DI - I think the tone sounds better and I don't need any induced hum.
I usually use a Radial JDI just for practice, or the Vintage DI (which is really hot, so I run a 20dB pad...)

I have no complaints WRT the 2i2 but I have been pretty impressed with the Motu M2 at an equivalent price point, probably better D/A, and MIDI.
"For a little more" I'd probably be looking at the Motu M4, because I have run into situations where 2 channels isn't quite enough, and I haven't wanted to drag out the 22-channel Soundcraft interface.

Thanks!

I could have a bum unit, and it may just be a headphone output thing. It sounds like you have a very similar setup and any such issue (if it exists for you) doesn't matter as the recordings sound great and that's your concern, any monitoring tonal differences are irrelevant.

I am curious - if you plug in headphones to the Vintage Ultra, then compare with the headphone monitor on the Scarlett, if you hear any difference. If so, I can chalk it up to the headphone output on the Scarlett, which wouldn't make any real difference in the long run.

 

[ArtechnikA]

I am curious - if you plug in headphones to the Vintage Ultra, then compare with the headphone monitor on the Scarlett, if you hear any difference. If so, I can chalk it up to the headphone output on the Scarlett, which wouldn't make any real difference in the long run.

Been meaning to try that, haven't yet. I'll give it a go tonight.
I think there have been some comments in the DarkGlass MegaThread about the headphone loudness and the need to make adjustments in the DG control suite.
It -could- be some psychoacoustic affect in that we tend to perceive louder as better...

 

[rtav]

I may be putting too much emphasis on the headphone output on the Scarlett. I'll do some recording and see if the difference is as noticeable in recording as it is when directly monitoring it.

 

[frankie5string]

Do you have both direct and loop-to-computer monitoring turned on? If so, the looped through monitoring will introduce some latency, which will partially cancel out the direct-through on the Scarlett. It will affect the monitoring of the bass signals and make them sound thin.

 

[crazyBassClown]

Do you have an alternate headphone amp you could use?
Running line out into another headphone amp could help determine if the input or headphone from the interface is rolling off the bass.

 

[Waltsdog]

If I recall correctly the Darkglass has an always on cab sim on the headphone out. Could this be what the OP is hearing?

 

[ardgedee]

What headphone are you using? Have you tried monitoring through your computer's headphone jack?

I have a Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen and I monitor through the computer's digital out into a DAC and home stereo. The bass sounds fine. (With the caveat it's a 4-stringer, only goes down to low E.)

 

[rtav]

Do you have both direct and loop-to-computer monitoring turned on? If so, the looped through monitoring will introduce some latency, which will partially cancel out the direct-through on the Scarlett. It will affect the monitoring of the bass signals and make them sound thin.

No, just the direct monitor, nothing going to the computer that I can hear. The computer sound output is set to headphone jack (which are my speakers).

 

[rtav]

Do you have an alternate headphone amp you could use?
Running line out into another headphone amp could help determine if the input or headphone from the interface is rolling off the bass.

UNfortunately, no. I have the headphone jack on the Darkglass and the headphone jack on the Scarlett. The computer has a headphone jack, but because the bad sound seems to be in the Scarlett (the only other thing in the chain), I want to isolate it and not bring a downstream headphone jack like the computer into it at this point.

 

[rtav]

What headphone are you using? Have you tried monitoring through your computer's headphone jack?

I have a Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen and I monitor through the computer's digital out into a DAC and home stereo. The bass sounds fine. (With the caveat it's a 4-stringer, only goes down to low E.)

I'm using AKG K240 headphones. They sound awesome through the Darkglass but not so much from the Scarlett, but it may be the headphone output on the Scarlett that's not so great.

 

[monsterthompson]

$400 - Check a Native Instruments unit. I went to a Komplete 6 (previous generation, not the newest black ones) from a 2i2. I mostly wanted more in/out and MIDI options. I’ve been quite happy.
Can’t say I had the issue you did with lows being cut.

Audio interfaces

 

[flatwound62p]

I use what’s probably an older 2i2 and monitor in headphones. I don’t find any lack of bottom end, in fact I put a hpf on the input to save my ears from getting turned to mush by the very low end stuff.

 

[ArtechnikA]

If I recall correctly the Darkglass has an always on cab sim on the headphone out. Could this be what the OP is hearing?

Maybe. But IME cabsims tend to act like bandpass rolling off highs and lows.
I'd expect less, not more, bass with a cabsim in the loop...
I have yet to try mine. Won't happen today. Maybe tomorrow - which is another day...