Focusrite SCARLETT, Ardour and Debian

#1

Hi,

It seems that I need to buy an external soudcard for my laptop

  • debian 12.5
  • Ardour 7.3.0~ds0 “Nerve Net” (rev 7.3.0~ds0-1) Intel 64 bits

and I wonder if somebody has any experience with :

  • Focusrite SCARLETT 2i2 4th Generation USB-C audio interface, or
  • Focusrite SCARLETT 4i4 4th Generation USB-C audio interface.

It seems that in theory, that works, but I prefer to check.

Or will I have an advice for an other soudcard ? Why not.

Thanks !

#2

Do yourself a favour and look at the Behringer UMC series, like the UMC204HD or UMC404HD.

They work very well with Linux out of the box, have better specs than many other audio interfaces (lower tested noise, true zero-latency monitoring, MIDI connectors) and are less expensive.

The following may be of interest:

The Lewitt in this video also looks nice.

Cheers,

Keith

3 Likes
#3

Yes, it definitely looks very good. But I’m afraid there’s no Linux support for its mixer software (which apparently makes a large part of its functionality).

1 Like
#4

I have “only” a 2nd Gen 2i2 and 18i20. Both work without problems in Linux / Ardour.

#5

I have a Scarlett 2x2 3rd Gen. Working very good. (Manjaro Linux. Kernel 6.8)
You need Kernel 6.8 for full Focusrite 4th Gen. Support.
More Infos:

2 Likes
#6

I have a Clarett and that works great as well, mostly thanks to Geoffrey’s :point_up: efforts.

#7

I have been using Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD at home for 3 years. Worked without problems with all versions of AvLinux since then.

In my studio I use RME UXF+ and it’s a different beast, but compared to Behringer, Behringer is unbeatable for the price.

1 Like
#8

Hi,

Thank you for the information.

If I have good understood, I can plug my Scarlett in my laptop and the speakers to the Scarlett, the sound will work even if I have the kernel 6.1.0-20-amd64 ?

#9

FWIW, I am using a Focusrite Scarlett 212 3rd gen on Debian stable and I have not had any issues, though I am running a 6.8 kernel.

#10

The 2i2 3rd gen (the interface of my band singer) also works fine on my Laptop - KDE neon (based on Ubuntu 22.04) with a 6.5 kernel.

I have a Behringer UPhoria 404HD and I love it. The only trap I fell into (on my PC as well as on the laptop) is, that the channels 3 and 4 are muted by default. The fix was to unmute and boost up the fader within alsamixer…

PS: Unfa had a video a time ago, where he explains how to “unlock” the 2i2 (3rd gen) without registration or tinkering under Windows first: https://youtu.be/5zFA5piXf8Q